Grace in Galatians (Part 207) – Walking In The Freedom Of The Spirit

https://youtu.be/uxbIBaZZhmU?si=brvrGCC5c9QzQ21E

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 have taught a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians. We have now studied every verse in the letter. Over the next two weeks, we are recapping the entire book.

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 5:6 TPT“When you are united to the Anointed One, Jesus, circumcision and religious obligations can benefit you nothing. All that matters now is living in the faith that is activated and brought to perfection by love.”

Galatians 5:13 TPT“Beloved ones, God has called us to live a life of freedom in the Holy Spirit. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an opportunity to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. Freedom means that we become so completely free of self-indulgence that we become servants of one another, expressing love in all we do.”

Galatians 5:16 TPT“As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life.”

Galatians 5:22-23 TPT“But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.”

Supporting scriptures:

Galatians 5:14 TPT“For love completes the laws of God. All of the law can be summarized in one grand statement: ‘Demonstrate love to your neighbor, even as you care for and love yourself.'”

Galatians 5:25 TPT“If the Spirit is the source of our life, we must also allow the Spirit to direct every aspect of our lives.”

1 John 4:8 NKJV“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

1 John 4:16 TPT“We have come into an intimate experience with God’s love, and we trust in the love he has for us. God is love!”

Romans 5:5 TPT“And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy, because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!”

Romans 6:14 NKJV“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under Law but under grace.”

Setting the Stage:

Today, we continue our recap of Galatians. We have walked back through chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4. Today, we step into chapter 5.

Chapter 5 is where Paul takes the truth of grace and shows you how it plays out in everyday life. This is grace with shoes on (so you can walk it out). Paul shows us that faith works by being convinced of God’s love for us. He shows us that freedom is not a license to sin, but a mandate to serve. He gives us the secret to overcoming the flesh: walking in the Spirit. And he closes the chapter with one of the most beautiful descriptions in the entire letter: love is the root, and the fruit of the Spirit has no limit. Let’s mine the gold of chapter 5.

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. Faith Works By Love, And The Love That Powers It Is God’s Love For YOU.

Paul drops one of the most powerful lines in the entire New Testament. He says in Christ Jesus, religious credentials count for nothing. Performance counts for nothing. All that matters is faith that works by love. Many believers read that and immediately think, “I have to love my neighbor perfectly or my faith will not work.” That turns the verse into a new law. But the love Paul is talking about is not YOUR love for others. It is God’s love for YOU. Your faith is energized when you are convinced of how much God loves you. The more you believe how loved you are, the stronger your faith becomes. This is the secret sauce of the Kingdom.

How this applies to you:

— Galatians 5:6 TPT says, “When you are united to the Anointed One, Jesus, circumcision and religious obligations can benefit you nothing. All that matters now is living in the faith that is activated and brought to perfection by love.” Religious activity does not activate your faith. Your conviction of God’s love for you does. When you are convinced you are loved, you have no trouble trusting the One who loves you.

— A child does not trust his parents because the child loves them well; the child trusts them because the child is convinced the parents love HIM.

— I want you to picture a believer who is trying to “pump up” his faith for a breakthrough. He prays louder. He fasts longer. He works himself up emotionally. But his faith stays weak. Why? Because he is reaching for faith from the wrong place. Faith does not get strong by effort. Faith gets strong when you stop and meditate on how much God loves you. When you know He loves you, faith rises up naturally.

— When you doubt God’s willingness to bless you, you are really doubting God’s love for you.

— 1 John 4:16 TPT says, “We have come into an intimate experience with God’s love, and we trust in the love he has for us. God is love!” Faith is simply a response to God’s love. If you are convinced God loves you unconditionally, you will have no trouble trusting Him for anything.

— Walk into today resting in how much God loves you. Stop trying to work up faith. Start receiving God’s love for you, and faith will rise up automatically. This is #TheGraceLife.

— Your faith will be strong when you are convinced that God’s love for you is unconditional. 

2. Freedom Is Not A License To Sin. It Is A Mandate To Serve.

Paul knew that when you preach radical grace, somebody will hear “I am free” and turn it into “I can do whatever I want.” So Paul anticipates the misuse of freedom and addresses it directly. Yes, you are free. But you were not set free to do whatever your flesh wants. You were set free to serve. Grace does not free you TO sin. Grace frees you FROM sin so you can serve God and others from a heart of love. True freedom is not the absence of rules. It is the presence of power. The power to say no to the flesh and yes to love.

How this applies to you:

— Grace did not free you TO sin; grace freed you FROM sin so you could serve.

— Galatians 5:13 TPT says, “God has called us to live a life of freedom in the Holy Spirit. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an opportunity to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. Freedom means that we become so completely free of self-indulgence that we become servants of one another, expressing love in all we do.” When you use grace as an excuse to sin, you are giving the enemy a base of operations in your life. Sin cannot unravel your righteousness, but sin can unravel your life.

— I want you to picture a believer who keeps preaching grace but lives like the world. He drinks too much. He gossips. He sleeps around. He uses grace as a permission slip for everything his flesh craves. He is not free. He is a slave to himself, dressed up in a bunch grace language. A man who is enslaved to his own flesh is not a free man, no matter what he calls himself.

— Galatians 5:14 TPT says, “For love completes the laws of God. All of the law can be summarized in one grand statement: ‘Demonstrate love to your neighbor, even as you care for and love yourself.'” When you walk in love, you accidentally (meaning that it is not even your focus) fulfill the moral requirements of the Law. The Law restrained behavior from the outside. Love transforms behavior from the inside.

— Legalism asks, “What am I allowed to do?” Or “What can I get away with?” While love asks, “How can I serve and bless others?“

— Walk into today using your freedom the way Jesus used His. He had all power and all authority, but He picked up a towel and washed His disciples’ feet. That is freedom. Service is the highest use of your liberty.

— When you are led by the Holy Spirit, He will lead you to pour your life out as an offering to advance God’s kingdom and to be a blessing to others. 

3. The Solution To The Flesh Is Spiritual Pursuit, Not Legalistic Restraint.

Paul moves from theory to the daily reality of Christian living. He says, “Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.” Notice the order. He did NOT say stop sinning first, then walk in the Spirit. He said walk in the Spirit FIRST, and then you won’t fulfill the flesh. The Judaizers would have told you the solution is more rules. More restrictions. More discipline. Paul does not give you a tighter leash. He gives you a different system. You do not overcome the flesh by fighting it with willpower. Willpower is just another form of flesh. You overcome the flesh by walking with the Holy Spirit.

How this applies to you:

— You do not overcome the flesh by fighting it; you overcome the flesh by walking in the Spirit.

— Galatians 5:16 TPT says, “As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life.” Religious people focus on behavior modification and sin management. They wake up every day trying NOT to do bad things. But focusing on not sinning is still focusing on sin. Replacement is better than resistance.

— You cannot fix the flesh with the flesh; willpower is just another form of flesh.

— I want you to picture a believer fighting the same temptation over and over. He grits his teeth. He makes promises to himself. He tries to use the power of his own mind to focus his way through the day. And he falls anyway. Then there is another believer who is winning at the same battle. The second believer is not gritting his teeth. He is feeding his spirit. He is in the Word. He is in prayer. He is in worship. He fills his life with the Spirit, and the cravings of the flesh lose their grip on him.

— Your soul is getting input from your spirit (which is getting input from the Holy Spirit), and it is also getting input from your flesh. Your soul then has to decide which input to receive. The one you feed the most is the one that will win.

— Galatians 5:25 TPT says, “If the Spirit is the source of our life, we must also allow the Spirit to direct every aspect of our lives.” Yielding is an active choice, not a passive one. God will allow whatever you allow. God will permit whatever you permit. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He will not force His way on you. God will never force you to be blessed; forced you to accept his best. You must say “yes” in your own heart.

— Walk into today consciously yielding to the Holy Spirit. The more you say YES to Him, the quieter the voice of the flesh becomes. Submission to the Spirit is the pathway to dominance over the flesh.

4. Love Is The Root, And The Fruit Of The Spirit Has No Limit.

Paul closes chapter 5 with one of the most beautiful descriptions in the entire letter. He says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Most people read this as nine separate fruits to develop. The Passion Translation reveals something powerful. Paul calls it the fruit (singular) and says it is divine love in all its varied expressions. Love is not fruit number one on a list of nine. Love IS the fruit, and the other eight are varied expressions of that love. And then Paul adds five words that close the door on every form of religion. Against such, there is no Law.

How this applies to you:

— Galatians 5:22-23 TPT says, “The fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit.” 1 John 4:8 NKJV says, “God IS love.” When the Holy Spirit lives in you, you are carrying Love Himself everywhere you go. Love is not a behavior you perform. Love is a Person who lives in you.

— Joy is love celebrating, peace is love resting, patience is love enduring, and kindness is love in action.

— The flesh produces WORKS. The Spirit produces FRUIT. Works require human effort and striving. Fruit grows naturally when the right conditions are present. An apple tree does not strain to produce apples. It abides in its source, draws from the sap, and the apples appear. You do not strive for the fruit of the Spirit. You yield. Success in Christ is not more trying. It is more dying.

— The flesh says, “Try harder“; grace says, “Yield more.”

— Galatians 5:23 closes with five words that change everything: “Against such there is no Law.” When you walk in the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 

— Walk into today as a branch that is connected to the Vine. You do not manufacture the fruit. You yield, and He produces. This is #TheGraceLife.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that my faith works by being convinced of Your love for me!

The more I believe how loved I am, the stronger my faith becomes!

Grace did not free me to sin; grace freed me from sin so I could serve!

True freedom is not the absence of rules; it is the presence of power!

I do not overcome the flesh by fighting it; I overcome it by walking in the Spirit!

The one I feed the most is the one that will win, so I feed my spirit!

Love IS the fruit, and I carry Love Himself everywhere I go!

Joy is love celebrating, peace is love resting, and patience is love enduring!

Against the fruit of the Spirit there is no Law, and I am unstoppable in Christ!

I am living THE GRACE LIFE, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!