Galatians 5:16-26 - Walking by the Spirit

v.16: What does it mean to walk with the Spirit?

vv.16-18: If we will not gratify sinful desires, does that mean we can stop sinning?

v. 18: Why does it matter if we are under the law or not, if we don't do whatever we want?

We have two wills, one of the flesh and one of the Spirit. They are in conflict and we will never be able to stop sinning in this life, but we should try anyway. However, our salvation is not dependent on out works or lack of sinning, because we are not under the law.

vv. 19-21: Bad fruit are all individual specific actions, or acts at a specific point in time.

v. 21: Does this mean that if you sin you will not go to heaven?

Everyone struggles with sin. "Those who live like this," means those who turn individual bad acts into an open and unrepentant lifestyle. Those living by the flesh instead of the Spirit are unbelievers, and they will be judged according to their actions because they are still under the law.

vv. 22: Fruit can be singular, as in a singular piece of fruit, or it can be plural, meaning much fruit of the same kind. Fruit of different kinds can be called fruits. Why is the verb "is", used, since it is singular when a list is then given? Shouldn't it be the "fruit/fruits of the Spirit are"

One explanation I have heard is that the fruit of the Spirit is love. The rest of the list is traits, or how love is manifested, or "faith expressing itself in love" (Galatians 5:6). Another thing I have heard is that they all go together and are from the same "stem", so they are like a singular clump of grapes, not a bunch of different fruit from different places.

vv. 22-24: Can you have some of the fruit, but not all? Can an unbeliever bear these fruit? What does it mean to crucify flesh?

The fruit of the Spirit are not specific actions, but characteristics of a life lived out in love. Character traits last longer than specific actions. Having these internal traits can began to change outward behavior and help decrease in the specific negative actions from the bad fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is who we are, not what we do. If unbelievers have these traits, they are fruit, but not fruit of the Spirit since they do not have the Spirit. Good trees bear good fruit and bad trees bear bad fruit by definition (Matthew 7:15-20).

v 25: What does it mean to walk with the Spirit?

We can only have fruit of the Spirit with the help of the Spirit, we cannot do it ourselves.

v 26: Why does this verse talk about conceit and envy?

The fruit of the Spirit should make the Christian meek. Meekness is power under control, not to be confused with weakness. Loving each other means forgiving each other and showing mercy.