Grace in Galatians (Part 142): Don’t Carry The OLD Into The NEW
Today, we continue our focus on “THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY,” as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.
As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”
Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”
1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”
Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Scripture we will study today:
Galatians 5:21 NKJV“…envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Supporting scriptures:
1 Peter 2:1 TPT“So lay aside every trace of malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.”
Matthew 5:21-22 ERV“You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, ‘You must not murder anyone. Anyone who murders another will be judged.’ But I tell you, if you are angry with your brother or sister, you will be judged.”
Ephesians 5:18 NKJV“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.”
Romans 13:13 TPT“We must live honorably and with true integrity, as children of light. We must abandon every shameful dark habit of the past: our partying and drunkenness, our sexual promiscuity and abandoned lust, and our wrangling and jealousy.”
Setting the Stage:
Today, we conclude our study of the “works of the flesh” as listed in Galatians 5. We have systematically addressed the perversions of the body, the ego, and our social circles. Paul ends this dark list with four specific manifestations of the self-life: envy, murder, drunkenness, and revelries. By looking at these today, we finally close the door on the flesh so we can open the door to the “Fruit of the Spirit” tomorrow. You can’t carry the old into the new, so today we lay it ALL down!
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Envy vs. Jealousy: The Resentment of Another Person’s Grace.
While jealousy (which we covered already) is often the fear of losing what you have or the fear of scarcity, envy is the resentment of another person for what they possess. Envy doesn’t just want the blessing; it often wishes the other person didn’t have it. Grace cures envy by teaching you that another person’s “Yes” from God doesn’t mean a “No” for you.
How this applies to you:
— Envy is a sign that you are looking at someone else’s divine assignment instead of your own. The moment you shift your gaze from what God is doing in your life to what He’s doing in someone else’s, you lose sight of your own path.
— You cannot be genuinely grateful for what you have while you are resenting what someone else has. Gratitude and envy cannot occupy the same space in your heart; one will always push the other out.
— In business, envy will cause you to gripe about a competitor’s win rather than trusting God to open your own doors. Instead of studying what they’re doing right, you waste energy wishing they weren’t doing it at all.
— When you are envious, it eats you up inside to see others win, especially those whom you consider to be lesser than you in some degree.
— Secure sons and daughters don’t envy because they know that what God has for them is for them!
— Here’s what I recommend you do when you feel the sting of envy: intentionally bless the person you are tempted to resent. When you engage your heart to pronounce a blessing over someone your flesh wanted to resent, then you are intentionally overriding the selfish desires of the flesh with the power of the Spirit.
— You can’t curse someone in your heart and bless them with your mouth at the same time, so when you choose to bless, you force the envy out.
— When you walk in the spirit, you learn that God has enough favor for everyone; no one is eating your portion of the pie!
2. Murders: The Spirit of Malice and Retaliation.
Jesus made it clear that murder begins in the heart. While most of us will never take a life physically, the flesh wants to “murder” a reputation through gossip or “kill” a relationship through a refusal to forgive. Malice is a work of the flesh that seeks to destroy. Grace, however, provides the power to be a life-giver, even to those who have wronged you.
How this applies to you:
— Most people already understand that it’s wrong to murder. I mean physical murder and taking someone’s life. What I’ll deal with here is the spirit of it, the spirit of malice and retaliation.
— Heart-murder is committed whenever you harbor deep-seated hatred or a desire for someone else’s ruin. You don’t have to pull a trigger to destroy someone in your heart; you just have to let bitterness take root and watch it poison every thought you have about that person.
— Grace gives you the supernatural capacity to forgive those who don’t deserve your forgiveness. Remember, you didn’t deserve God’s forgiveness either, but He gave it freely.
— Don’t allow the flesh to use your tongue as a weapon of assassination against another person’s character. One conversation in the wrong circle can do more damage than a physical blow, and you can’t take those words back once they’re released.
— If you are holding a grudge, you are “killing” someone in your own soul, over and over again. It is time to release it to God today. The person you refuse to forgive is living rent-free in your head while you’re the one paying the emotional price.
— The Holy Spirit empowers you to pray for your enemies and seek their restoration rather than their destruction.
— You were once an enemy of God, but He didn’t retaliate; He reached out in grace! So choose to be a bridge-builder. Your assignment is to bring life to every environment you enter. Every room you walk into should be better because you were there, not worse because of the grudges you carried in with you.
— Lastly, if you’re not careful and you allow a root of bitterness to grow in your heart, then you will become an angry person. The unforgiveness that you’re carrying can spill over and just make you bitter with life. This is definitely not a picture of the way God wants you to live.
3. Drunkenness: The Counterfeit Influence.
Drunkenness is more than just an action; it is a surrender of control to an external substance. The flesh seeks intoxication when it lacks internal satisfaction or wants to numb the pain of reality. Paul contrasts being “drunk with wine” with being “filled with the Spirit.”
How this applies to you:
— The flesh seeks a “false high” because it is ignoring the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Why would you need a counterfeit when the real thing already lives inside of you?
— Being “under the influence” of alcohol leads to wasted time and missed purpose. You cannot walk in your divine assignment with a clouded mind; God’s instructions require clarity to receive and execute.
— Grace provides a sober-mindedness that allows you to make strategic Kingdom decisions. The Spirit-led life is a sharp life, a focused life, and a life that can discern what God is saying in every season.
— You don’t need a chemical to find rest; you need a revelation of the finished work of Jesus. True peace doesn’t come from what you pour into your body; it comes from what’s already been poured into your spirit.
— Now let me be honest with you: you will be hard-pressed to find a scripture that says a Christian cannot have a glass of wine. The Bible doesn’t prohibit drinking; what it clearly and repeatedly prohibits is drunkenness. That’s the line, and God drew it, not me.
— Isabella and I personally don’t drink, and that decision was made before we were even born again. We both have people very close to us whose lives were destroyed by alcohol; we saw its destructive nature with our own eyes. But I also know that my personal conviction is not everyone’s personal conviction, and people will make their own decisions before God. What I will say is this: if you are in a position of influence, you have to be mindful of what becomes a stumbling block to others.
— At the end of the day, here’s what is not up for debate: once you are drunk, you lose the clarity of your thoughts, and that clarity is exactly what you need to hear the Holy Spirit and walk in your divine assignment. You can’t be led by the Spirit when your mind is surrendered to a substance.
— If you are using substances to escape your life, God is inviting you to a grace that empowers you to CHANGE your life. The bottle numbs the problem; the Holy Spirit will help you address it and solve it.
4. Revelries: The Empty Pursuit of Habitual Excess.
Most people don’t use the word “revelries” anymore, so let me break it down. The Greek word here is “komos,” and it refers to a pattern of wild, excessive partying; the kind of lifestyle where every weekend is another binge, another late night, another morning of regret. Today, people call it “turning up” or just living recklessly with no boundaries. This isn’t talking about enjoying a dinner with friends or celebrating a birthday; this is a lifestyle of habitual excess.
Here’s what you need to understand: revelry is the flesh’s counterfeit version of Kingdom joy. It’s loud, it’s flashy, and it promises you the time of your life, but when the music stops, and the lights come on, you’re left emptier than when you walked in. Kingdom celebration is the exact opposite; it’s an overflow of God’s goodness that builds you up, refreshes your spirit, and leaves you stronger than before.
How this applies to you:
— Revelry is the search for joy in the wrong places and with the wrong people. The enemy doesn’t care if you’re having a “good time” as long as that good time is pulling you away from your assignment.
— The flesh loves the “noise” of revelry because it drowns out the conviction of the Spirit. Some people stay in the noise on purpose because they don’t want to hear what God has to say about their choices.
— Your life is a testimony, and what you build over years of faithful living can be damaged in a single moment of reckless decision-making.
— Grace doesn’t make you boring; grace teaches you how to celebrate with honor and have a genuinely good time without losing your integrity. God invented joy; He’s not against the party; He’s against the party that destroys you.
— If your social life is built on “revelries,” take an honest inventory and ask yourself whether the people in your inner circle are building you up or pulling you down.
— True celebration in the Spirit results in strength and refreshing, not exhaustion and regret.
We are closing the door on the flesh TODAY so we can walk through the door of the Spirit with nothing holding us back! Tomorrow we start the “Fruit” section, and I’m excited about it because we’ve spent enough time looking at the darkness.
We are not going to carry the old into the new!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for the power of Your Spirit that has completely delivered me from the works of the flesh!
I declare that I am free from the trap of envy; I celebrate the success of others because I am secure in my own assignment!
I lay aside all malice and bitterness in my heart, choosing to bless instead of curse!
I am not controlled by any substance or counterfeit high; I am under the influence of the Holy Spirit alone!
I reject a lifestyle of revelry and excess, choosing instead to find my joy in Your presence and my celebration in Your goodness!
I am dead to the cravings of the flesh and fully alive to the promptings of the Spirit!
My mind is sober, my heart is tranquil, and my future is secure in Your grace!
I am walking in my divine purpose, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
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