Galatians 5:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

NIV: But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

NASB: But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

CSB: But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

NLT: But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

KJV: But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

NKJV: But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Paul has described the Christian life as one of potential inner conflict. In our flesh, we want what we want even if we have to sin against God or others to get it. That's part of being human, and those desires don't disappear even for people justified by God because of their faith in Christ (Galatians 5:16–17).

However, God does send His Spirit to live in the "heart" of every Christian (Galatians 4:6). The Spirit arrives with at least two things: One, He—the Spirit—wants what is right and good for those in Christ all of the time. He wants to honor God and serve others in love. Second, the Spirit brings with Him enormous power, the very power of God Almighty.

Paul now reveals that it is possible for free people in Christ to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, to win that conflict over our selfishness and sinful desires. It is possible to act in the Spirit's power to love others as Christ loves us. When we do love others in that way, we have no need of the law. None of its rules and regulations matter; our words, actions, and even thoughts will be born out of our love for God and others.

Free people in Christ can—and should—use their freedom in this way.

Galatians 5:16–26 focuses on how God's Spirit gives those in Christ the power to serve others in love. We must allow the Holy Spirit to lead, however. When we don't, our selfishness will lead us into all kinds of sinful lifestyles. When we live by the Spirit, on the other hand, we gain more than just being able not to live in sin. What comes out of us are a collection of powerful, positive characteristics.

Those who trust in Christ have been set free. Paul's readers were in danger of wasting that freedom, by veering off in one of two directions. On the one hand, false teachers were pressuring them into circumcision in order to be sure of being right with God. On the other hand, freedom can also be squandered on serving only our sinful desires instead of investing it through serving others in love. God's Spirit gives us the power to do that when we let Him lead us. Life in the Spirit bears powerful and positive fruit in a Christian's life.

Galatians 3—4 focused on theology. Galatians 5—6 focus on how Christians should live in response to those truths. In short, we must resist being dragged away from the freedom we have in Christ to follow the law. We must also resist wasting our freedom on serving our sinful desires instead of serving others in love. We can do this by the power of God's Spirit with us. When we give Him the lead, powerful, positive characteristics show up in us. Galatians 6 will show how to use those characteristics to serve each other.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.