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Practice Love | Galatians 5:13-26

Rebecca Thornber

I wonder if any of you have picked up a new skill since being home so much this past

month?

My sister in Ottawa decided to learn how to tap a maple tree, and was able to boil

down some syrup from a tree in the backyard.

A friend in Toronto has picked a bunch of crafts like rug hooking and cross stitching,

And I’ve seen many videos posted online to teach us different skills: painting classes,

piano lessons, and many other things.

It seems like this is a great time to learn something new.

I unfortunately have not learned anything new yet,

except maybe for which flavours of chocolate I enjoy the most,

But I hope to get around to this eventually!

All this has got me thinking more about my time, and how I use it.

Each season of our lives brings with it new opportunities,

and it can take discernment to know what God is calling us to.

The passage we’re looking at today, in Galatians 5:13-26, is a familiar one.

It talks about the fruit of the Spirit.

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In this passage Paul calls to us grow in a skill that is applicable of all seasons of our

lives,

as Christians we’re always called to Practice Love.

Background

But before we get to this passage, let’s look a bit at the background and context of

Galatians.

Paul is writing to the churches in Galatia in response to a crisis.

There’s a group preaching an alternate gospel.

They’re implying that the good news they had first heard was not the whole story.

More was required.

As we continue through the letter we learn that Jewish believers in Jerusalem were

saying that the Christians in Galatia,

who would have been Gentiles, or non-Jews,

Had to be circumcised and follow the law of Moses in order to be real Christians.

And because of this, they would not even share a meal with these Gentile believers.

In Chapter 2 we see that even Apostle Peter started to do this when some of these

Jewish believers came to visit - he stopped eating with the Gentiles.

What was the appeal of this alternate gospel?

It seems that one reason was the temptation of people-pleasing

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Worrying too much about what other people thought.

This seems to be the reason that Peter stopped eating with the Gentile believers when

the ‘pro-circumcision’ Christians were in town.

We read that it was out of fear of this group.

Paul tells him off for this because this division does not reflect the truth of the gospel

that we are all one in Christ.

It was creating a two-tier Christianity where one group saw itself as superior.

Another reason this false gospel might have been appealing was to avoid persecution.

We see a hint of this in Chapter 6:12.

The Roman law at the time required that sacrifices to be made to the gods,

Jews were give a special exemption from this

But, Christians who did not follow the Jewish law,

would probably not have been recognized under this exemption

so at a greater risk of persecution.

But for Paul, church unity was so central to the gospel that there’s no room to

compromise on this,

even to avoid persecution.

He goes on to explain why Gentile believers don’t need to be circumcised.

He writes that the law was never meant to last forever,

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It was necessary for a time,

but it had served it’s purpose in showing sin for what it was,

so that it could be dealt with in Christ.

But now in Christ they’re made free of the requirements of the law,

and instead are called to live by the Spirit.

So the main focus of the letter to the Galatians is church unity.

Paul points out that we are all one in Christ.

Today, here in Canada, we may not have the same tensions between Gentile and

Jewish believers.

But I wonder if there are other issues that divided us?

Do we not want to dialogue with people from other denominations?

Or are there Christians we wouldn’t have for dinner because they are too different from

us?

For Paul the body of Christ isn’t mean to be divided,

We’re all one in Jesus.

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Moving to our passage today,

Paul describes for the Galatians what it looks like to live as a Christian community.

A community that reflects the priorities of God’s kingdom.

And his message is pretty simple:

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A kingdom community Practices Love.

It’s in this way that the Galatian community, and our communities today,

Are able show our world what God’s kingdom is like.

This kind of community, one that practices love:

1) Walks by the Spirit

2) Is other-focused

3) Lives authentically

So let’s take a closer look at the passage…

Theologian N.T. Wright suggests that Paul probably included this section in his letter to

answer a question that may have come to mind for people reading up to this point.

They might be thinking, so, if we don’t have to follow the law any more,

Does this mean there’s on longer any kind of moral guide or code of conduct to follow?

No, Paul writes.

Of course you’re not under law, but you are called to live by the Spirit.

1) A kingdom community walks by the Spirit.

V13:

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your

freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

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For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbour

as yourself.’

Imagine that you are an avid hiker (maybe you are!)

Say that the places that you usually go hiking have clearly marked paths through the

forest,

They are well trodden, with signs warning you that you must not to leave the path,

But then one day you find yourself setting out on a hike without paths.

You’re in the middle of the forest and trying to get to that amazing view point

(which is often at the end point of BC hikes).

You are given a compass and a map, and free to go where you want,

but you’re going to have to figure out a new way of navigating to get there.

And it may feel strange and disorienting at first.

I wonder if that’s a bit of what it might have felt like for these Jewish believers.

Paul is assuring them in Chapter 5 that there is still a system of navigation.

And the key here is to walk by the Spirit.

The Galatian believers were free from the requirements of the law.

But this freedom didn’t mean that they should live for themselves.

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Rather they’re to use their freedom to practice love.

v 15: If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by

each other.

This may be hinting at physical violence in these churches because of the divisions.

Things were getting out of hand.

V16 “So I say, walk in the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary

to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do

whatever you want.”

Paul brings out an opposition here: Spirit vs. Flesh.

So, by Spirit he means the the Holy Spirit, the third person of the trinity

In other parts of Scripture the Holy Spirit is described as an advocate (John 14),

teacher (John 14) and comforter.

In John 14 we read “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my

name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

And in John 16:13: "...He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own,

but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come.”

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We spoke last week about the resurrection,

there’s this beautiful scene in John 20 where after Jesus’ resurrection,

he comes to his disciples where there are hiding in a locked room,

afraid of the Jewish leaders.

Jesus breathed them and says “Receive the Holy Spirit,”

Which brings to mind God’s breathing life into the the first humans in Genesis.

The Holy Spirit is the mark of new creation,

He’s evidence of God’s in-breaking kingdom,

Without the Spirit, there is no new life.

His presence is the defining characteristic of the Christian.

Paul reminds the Galatians that they have been given God’s Spirit when they accepted

Jesus,

And he becomes their new system of navigation in a way.

But what does Paul mean by the flesh?

The word used for ‘flesh’ sarx - is sometimes used in scripture refer to the physical

body (We are told that Jesus came in the flesh for example),

but it can also have a spiritual sense,

Which has more of a negative connotation,

it means “human beings in opposition to God.”

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It’s the human nature untouched by God’s new creation Spirit.

It’s the part that is lacking in real life.

The part that looks to other things for that which we can only get from God.

It’s prone to idolatry.

It’s the least fully human part in a way,

as something important is missing.

And we see from the list in verses 19 and 20 that the works of the flesh,

These parts our lives lived in resistance to the touch of God’s Spirit,

Consist of things that are both self-seeking and bring division,

Compared to the virtues in verse 22 and 23 which are other-focused and bring unity.

The flesh, being hostile to God, cannot desire what the Spirit of God desires.

So Paul is saying that if these new Gentile Christians consent to be circumcised,

They’re actually choosing to live by the flesh,

because they’re trying to justify themselves by some other means,

Rather than looking to Christ.

So imagine again that you’re on this hike in the middle of the forest with no clear path

laid our for you.

You have a compass,

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but actually it turns out to be broken and the arrow spins around pointing in any

direction except north.

It would be pretty hard to get where you wanted to go,

because you would be trying to orient yourself using a number of different points - and

none of them the right one.

You might end up walking in circles, or going one way and then another,

you would lack a clear way of navigating.

We need the guidance and empowering of the Spirit to walk and live together as

followers of Jesus.

To exhibit this new creation life.

And to bear the fruit that he calls us to.

V18 “But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under law.”

Those led by the Spirit are no longer bound by the rule of the law.

They don’t need to be circumcised or to follow the other prescriptions of the law of

Moses.

They’re free to live in response to God’s Spirit and the law of love.

And according to Paul, it’s actually possible to live this way.

A kingdom community walks by the Spirit.

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2) A kingdom community is other focused

V19 “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and

debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish

ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.”

Paul gives this list not to create a new set of laws to follow,

Because as we’ve just seen, the Galatians have been made free.

But he’s describing what it looks like to live by the flesh vs. living by the Spirit.

These acts of the flesh are evidence that a person is getting their bearings in life by

something other than God’s Spirit,

They’re hiking with a broken compass,

They are looking to other things for that which they can only get from God.

Paul probably mentions these particular acts because they would have been ones that

that were obvious at that time to the Galatians.

Commentators have tried to group this list in different ways,

but key thing to notice here is that these are all works that stem from a focus on self,

They are self-centred acts and attitudes.

And they are all elements that bring disunity.

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It’s interesting that so many of the works listed here one can only emerge where there

are other people involved.

For “hatred, discord, and jealousy” to be present, there needs to be someone to hate,

someone to argue with, and someone to be jealous of.

The outworking of sin is always in broken relationship.

And it is not unusual to see some of these behaviours in Christian communities.

And in our families.

And for us now, being isolated at home with others can sometimes lead to even more

relational stress.

The second part of v19 reads “I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this

will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

I don’t think that Paul is staying that Christians will never do any of these things,

But a community described in this way, shows no evidence of kingdom life,

Something is very wrong.

As church, we are meant to give the world around us a picture of what God’s kingdom

is like!

We’re called to live differently.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Remember how we saw works of the flesh are both self-seeking and promote disunity?

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In the same way the fruits of the Spirit listed here are ones that have to do with being in

good relationship with each other.

This is not an exhaustive list of all that the Spirit transforms in our lives,

but these are especially helpful ones in relation to the issue faced by the Galatian

churches.

And rather being a list of works or acts, it reads more like a set of dispositions to

cultivate.

Let’s look briefly at each of these:

Love:

In the Greek language, word order is often used to provide emphasis,

and that seems to be what is going on here with the placing of ‘love’ in the first place in

the list.

Paul sees this as the most important virtue in addressing the conflict in Galatia.

In the Greek it’s agape - the form of love that can be translated: brotherly love, affection,

goodwill, benevolence.

It’s the love that God has for us and that we’re called to have for each other.

It’s other focused.

And this love provides context for all the other virtues listed.

Joy:

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One commentator describes this joy as “a settled state of mind that arises from a sense

of God’s love for us” (Moo)

It’s our reaction to remembering this love.

Peace:

The word used here can mean peace with God,

but likely in this context it means peace with other Christians,

another outflowing of God’s love for us.

It’s a lack of in-fighting.

It’s getting along.

Patience:

This is also related to love.

Paul elaborates on what he means by patience in Ephesians 4:1-2

“…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely

humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

Patience is choosing to put up with each other,

to choose to forgive rather than give up.

And it is knowing that in community we will likely need to be forgiven,

just as much as we are called to forgive.

Kindness and Goodness and Faithfulness

I won’t say too much about these, but

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These are similar in that they reflect the way that God has acted towards his people

even in the face of their rebellion.

Gentleness:

One Greek dictionary defines gentleness as:

“the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self importance”

I really like that - read again

It describes a way of being in the world that isn’t about proving ourselves,

We don’t need to always be right.

We can give space to others.

And Self-control.

Paul finishes up this list: “Against such things there is no law.”

This was probably a common expression as the time,

It may have been a reference to Roman law meaning that no one can accuse the

community of doing anything wrong if they live in these ways.

A kingdom community is other focused.

Now if this is the kind of community the Galatians are called to,

and I think we can say that we are also called to today as followers of Jesus,

How are we to live this way?

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3) A kingdom community lives authentically.

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions

and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Something significant has already happened for these Galatian believers,

And because of this, they are to live differently.

They are a community who “belong to Christ Jesus” and “have crucified the flesh” they

now “live by the Spirit”

And Paul calls them be authentic to who they now are.

He expands on this idea in the book of Romans.

We read in chapter 6:1-4: “…We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it

any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were

baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into

death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the

Father, we too may live a new life.”

The Galatian Christians, and those of us today who belong to Christ,

have been made free of the rule of the law, and given a new identity in Jesus.

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If you belong to Jesus that self-seeking part of you that looks fulfillment in every place

but in God has died - it’s lost its power.

And we’ve received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We’ve been given a working compass.

Just as God gave the first humans life through his breath,

So the Holy Spirit brings real and lasting life when we become followers of Jesus.

And because this is true, Paul calls the Galatians to “keep in step” with the Spirit,

to live it out!

But the question that comes to mind for me is, why then was the Galatian church

still struggling with these works of the flesh at all,

if they have the Holy Spirit, why does Paul even need to write this letter?

Why do we still struggle with this today?

I think the answer to this gets at the key message of this passage:

The call to Practice Love.

Yes, in Christ we are free of the requirements of the law,

Yes we have been given life by the Spirit,

yes we have a new identity,

But this new life also takes some practice,

it’s something that we’re called to grow in.

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Vs: 25 - Paul writes: “Since we live by the Spirit (something significant has already

changed for us), let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

There is some act of the will involved.

Just like a plant needs pruning and tending it to bear fruit,

in the same way there are things that we can do,

practices we can put in place,

to encourage the growth of good fruit.

Walking by the Spirit is something that God helps us to do,

but it’s also something we practice and grow in more and more.

We’ve been given a working compass, but we actually have to learn to use it.

So if we want to live as a kingdom community: one that walks by the Spirit, is

other-focused, and one that lives authentically.

How do we do this?

How do we partner with the Spirit in this way?

Part of the way this happens is in learning to recognize what this looks like.

Paul gives the Galatians a description of what life in the Spirit looks like so that they will

know good fruit when they see it.

Depending on the backgrounds that each of us comes from,

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This may not be so obvious to us.

If we’ve grown up in communities where what Paul calls ‘acts of the flesh’ are seen as

normal and even good,

Or if selfless care for others, is not something that’s been modelled for us,

we need to learn to recognize what Spirit-led life really looks like.

In Romans 12:2 Paul writes: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be

transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve

what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

One way of renewing of our minds is by reading and knowing Scripture.

Coming under the teaching of God’s word.

Maybe this season of being at home more,

could be an opportunity for you to spend more time reading and reflecting on Scripture.

Along with this, good community also plays a role in learning to walk by the Spirit.

N.T. Wright points out that cultivating the fruit of the Spirit is a team sport.

Part of the role of our church community is to use our different gifting to help each other

to grow.

Community can also have a role of speaking truth to each other - of reminding one

another of God’s love and his presence.

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And even though we are not physically together now, we can still do this.

I’d encourage you to ask God if there’s someone that he would have you reach out to

this week to encourage.

On the flip side, maybe you’re feeling low and are in need of encouragement.

This could be an opportunity to allow someone else practice love in encouraging you.

Is there someone you could reach out to this week to ask for prayer or help?

And finally, another way we can learn to walk by the Spirit, is by simply asking the Spirit

to help us.

I had a colleague years ago who shared with me that she struggled with anger.

For her, the evidence of the Spirit’s work in her life was that gradually the time between

something happening that made her angry,

and her ability to calm that emotion and give it to God,

became gradually shorter and shorter.

Bit by bit she was leaning to react differently.

The fruit didn’t appear overnight, but it was growing.

And she partnered with the Spirit by inviting him to help her.

In my own life, one way I’ve grown recently to be asking the Spirit’s help in this is by

having a prayer partner.

Over the past few months I’ve been meeting on a weekly basis with a friend to pray.

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In this time we share what is going on in our lives and we can pray for each other as we

learn to keep in step with the Spirit,

and ask that God gives us wisdom in our interactions with others, and to be at work in

the broken parts of us.

And I’ve been surprised, although I shouldn’t have been,

by how much I’ve seen God at work in my life,

and begin to change me,

through this kind of prayer.

Maybe there’s someone that you could ask to pray with you over the phone on a weekly

basis over the coming weeks.

I find it encouraging to remember that Paul believes that this Spirit-led way of life is

possible.

These kind of communities are possible.

Remember that in verse 16 he writes: walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the

desires of the flesh.

Overall then,

Paul calls the Galatian community to Practice Love.

And as they grow in fruit bearing,

these qualities will actually become part of who they are.

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We can learn to navigate our lives by the Spirit.

And as we focus on Jesus, and keep in step with the Spirit,

this fruit becomes part of our very characters.

N.T. Wright notes that fruits of the spirit they are not like decorations on a Christmas

tree, that are external to the tree,

but fruit actually becomes part of the tree itself.

How might we apply this today?

I wonder if we could view the season that we’re in,

This season of uncertainty,

Maybe of being alone, or of living in close quarters with others,

As being an opportunity to learn to practice love in less than ideal conditions.

What might it look like to be other-focused this week?

What would it look like to know the Scriptures more deeply?

What might it look like to invite God’s Spirit to help us to live in a way that reflects who

we are in him?

Let’s together commit ourselves to Practicing Love in this time,

And in this way to be showing the world what God’s kingdom is like.

Let me pray for us: