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NASB | Galatians 5:16 ¶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Galatians 5:16 ¶ But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts]. |
Bible Question:
Thanks for your answer, JohnyRay. It seems clear enough. A couple of questions come to mind if you will bear with me: 1. Gal 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. and: Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. Rom 7:19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. These verses, including the very context of my question, say that I can't keep God's good and holy law. If I could I wouldn't need to walk by the Spirit in order to avoid carrying out the desires of the flesh. So doesn't this seem like a "catch twenty-two?" 2. If yours is the correct answer, how did you arrive at this answer, that the way to walk in the Spirit is by walking in the light of the Law of Christ? I hope I'm not being quarrelsome, but I believe the transforming of my mind will conform me to Christ and not to the world. And I believe that struggling over the Scriptures, with God's help, will move us to that end. Thanks again for your help. Lionstrong |
Bible Answer: In Second Corinthians we read in chapter 3 verse 3 we read "clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart"-this verse points to the Old Testment passages where God would in the Messianic Age write His law upon the hearts of His covenant people-if you turn to chapter 8 of the Epistle to the Hebrews the apostle Paul quotes the OT passage where God promised He would write His laws on the hearts of His chosen people "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their god, and they shall be My people" Hebrews 8:11. To walk in the Spirit is to walk according the Law of Christ. The Holy Spirit has written God's laws on our hearts. As we grow spiritually we come to know and love the will of God. We can only walk in the ways of the Lord as we live in the Scriptures-sit under the preaching of the Scriptures-study the Scriptures-in time the Scriptures become a living thing in us-we are to have the Scriptures dwelling in us richly-we become aware how we are to walk in order to stay in constant fellowship with God-we know the way we are to walk if we are to have our hearts open to the love of God-our desires keep us fixed on the Lord-we find our hearts burning with love for the Lord that is seen in our walk. |