Dr. “Joey” Alan Le

Aug 11, 2024

Galatians 5:13–26 (NRSV)

The Works of the Flesh

16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

The Fruit of the Spirit

22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another. 

Study

Character matters as much as conviction. Our character speaks volumes about WHO we are, WHAT we stand for, and most importantly, HOW we’ll stand up for them.

Share/Think of a time when you felt joy.

5:13 FREE. What Paul has written about freedom from the law could be misunderstood to be a license to indulge in one’s appetites, and certainly he does not mean that. So he begins this new section on Christian living by examining the use of freedom.

Consider (vv. 7–15): What was Paul communicating through the images in these verses? What would it mean for us to use our freedom “as an opportunity for the flesh”?

Dig Deeper (v. 14): Read Jesus’s summary of the Old Testament law in Matthew 22:37–40. How do his words speak to the issue of circumcision in Galatians 5?

Galatian Problem

The Christians in Galatia were told that they could achieve righteousness on their own. They were so committed to the Law of Moses that when a Gentile (a person who is not of Jewish descent) converted to the Christian faith, they tried to impose their Jewish customs on those new converts (Keener 2001, 75). 

The problem is that the Law of Moses, like ALL LAWS in any culture, deals with people on the outside. They cannot transform the HEART. In light of this, the Apostle Paul instructs that if we let the Spirit heal us from the inside out, the law becomes unnecessary (Lawson 1987, 100).  We will be freed to be loving, to have joy, to be at peace, to have patience, to be kind and generous, and so on.

Relevance for Today

Like the early church in Galatia, many Christians today still try to achieve righteousness on their own. We do this in at least two ways: personal works and political works.

Personal Works

Many of us strive for success and are driven by a desire for popularity, influence, and impact. If we achieve it, we are prone to pride and perpetual dissatisfaction. If we fail to achieve it, we are liable to depression and despair.

That is why the “works of the flesh” can manifest as idolatry, jealousy, and envy (Gal 5:19-22).

Political Works

Secondly, we invent laws and rules to make others conform to our vision and way. We believe that our families, our church, our community, and our nation should look a certain way and to do certain things. We’re so convinced of our rightness that we feel justified in imposing our beliefs on others and coercing them to comply. 

Again, among the “works of the flesh” are enmity, strife, quarrel, dissension, and factions (Gal 5:19-22).

Brothers and sisters, have you lost your confidence and hope? Do you find yourself in constant strife with others? Do you want joy back in your life?

Joy

Every partial and momentary experience of joy you have points to the final and ultimate experience of Joy. These small joys sustain us until we can come face to face with Joy Itself.

Why do you lack joy at times? What gets in the way? 

I (Joey) believe that we lack joy because we've invested so much into our personal works or political works, and things don't go our way. In other words, when we aim to achieve righteousness on our own, we will lack joy because our identity is wrapped up in getting what we want personally, and politically.

We also lack joy when we suffer.

What other reasons do you think joy is lacking in our lives? What can be done about it? 

Now, if we follow Paul’s pomological analogy, we cannot manufacture love, joy, peace, etc. within us. We cannot force those virtues. They are, rather, an outcome of something else.

We must be rooted in something else -- the righteousness of Christ -- and when we do so, then fruit will be produced.

How does achieving righteousness on one's own look like in your life today? How might standing on Christ's righteousness change how your life now?

When things don’t go our way, and when life hurts, the Spirit can produce joy in us by cultivating faith, hope, and love.

Faith

As Christians, our identity is determined not by our past but by our destiny with Christ (Rom. 6:4-5). 

Our worth and value are not based on our works, but on the love that our Lord has for us. We are God's beloved. Therefore, nothing can rob us of our joy.

On what have you based your identity on in the past? How does being God's beloved shift your identity?

Hope

No matter how dark things get, our hope is that God will prove victorious over the powers of sin, death, and darkness. We’ve already tasted it in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Let us put our hope in the God who cannot fail. One day, the joy of the Lord will outshine our pain.

In what do you put your hope in? How does hope change your outlook on things?

Love

By itself, suffering is simply suffering. But our suffering gains meaning when we do it in love (Croasmun 2017, 136). With love, that sacrifice and its suffering become joy. What you suffer in love is not misery but joy (Kreeft 2018, 101). 

Some of life's greatest joys result from a labor of love. Do you have any examples of this?

How does Christ's cross shed light on finding joy in the midst of suffering?

Challenge

• In good, rejoice in God

• In bad, trust in God.

Summary

We no longer have to strive to make ourselves worthy. We no longer have to stir up strife with others.

Our status as God’s beloved gives us joy. Our service of love for others gives us joy.

Reflection Questions

1. How does joy show up in your life?

2. If joy feels absent, can you pinpoint why?

3. How do faith, hope, and love help cultivate joy?

4. How do you maintain your joy amidst hardship and suffering?

5. Does the fruit of the Spirit pervade your personal ambition and political activity?