Let us keep in step with the Spirit
Galatians 5:25-26 - Augustine used to often pray, “Lord, deliver me from that evil man, myself.”
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
Galatians 5:25-26 NIV
Today’s verse comes just after one of the more memorable parts of the New Testament; Galatians 5:22-23, also known as “The fruit of the Spirit”. Paul tells the recipients of his letter what the acts of the flesh are (“…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.”) (Galatians 5:19-21), then enumerates the fruit of the Spirit (“…love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
What Paul says in today’s verses is this: we have been given life through the Spirit, so let Him direct your steps. We should allow the Holy Spirit to direct the course of our lives.
Easy enough, in theory... But what’s this next verse all about, telling us not to “become conceited, provoking and envying each other”?
Paul realized that one can go too far in their walk in the Spirit, actually becoming conceited about their righteousness! From Enduring Word:
This can be a masterful stroke of Satan. We can think of a child of God finally walking in the Spirit — then Satan tempts him to be conceited about it. Soon, he is sure that he is almost always right and everyone else is wrong. It often happens gradually, so Paul warned, “Do not become conceited.”
i. Morris on conceited: “To be conceited, to be sure that we are always right (even if that means that other people are always wrong!) is a perennial temptation to believers… It is easy to assume that because we are Christ’s we will always say and do the right thing. Paul is warning his readers that believers can be too confident that they are right in what they are contemplating.”
I’m sure we all know that people who are “holier than thou”. You can’t say anything about the Bible, religion, or even day-to-day life as a Christian without them pointing out that you’re wrong and they’re right. This leads to the next issue Paul brings up, as that other person (or perhaps it is you being correct all the time!) stirs up conflict as they provoke arguments by being too confident about their opinions.
The third issue — envying each other — arises when we are aware that someone else is either more right about everything or more spiritually successful than we are. We’re only human, so we resent them and even envy their righteousness!
Why did Paul bring all of this up? He wants us to do some self-examination. Once again from Enduring Word:
We often think that our problems and difficulties are all outside of ourselves. We think that we would be fine if everyone just treated us right and if circumstances just got better. But that ignores the tenor of this chapter: the problems are in us, and need to be dealt with by the Spirit of God. Augustine used to often pray, “Lord, deliver me from that evil man, myself.” With that kind of reality check, we can see a new world, and a new life — and not one other person or one other circumstance has to change. All we must do is yield to the Spirit of God, and begin to truly walk in the Spirit.
Beautifully said. We should pray that we can fully yield to the Spirit and quit wishing that others would change. The change must be in us.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I thank You that through my salvation I have been made alive in the Spirit and one with Jesus. I pray in Jesus’ name that the rest of my life can be spent walking in spirit and truth. AMEN.