Love Is Not The Goal!

Galatians 5:22–25 (NIV),

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 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.

"The Apostle saith not, the works of the Spirit, as he said the works of the flesh, but he adorneth these Christian virtues with a more honourable name, calling them the fruits of the Spirit. For they bring with them most excellent fruits and commodities: for they that have them give glory to God, and with the same do allure and provoke others to embrace the doctrine and faith of Christ."[1]

"The list is not exhaustive, but representative (e.g., no mention of generosity). It presents the desires and characteristics God cultivates in believers through His Spirit. This list describes a community of believers “under the Spirit”—empowered and directed by God’s living presence rather than the dictates of the law. Just as fruit needs time to grow, these qualities require time to grow in the life of the community." [2]

"Against such things there is no law." "Although the flesh resist, yet do they walk after the Spirit. So a Christian accomplisheth the law inwardly by faith (for Christ is the perfection of the law unto righteousness, to all that do believe), outwardly by works and by remission of sins. But those which perform the works and desires of the flesh, the law doth accuse and condemn both civilly and spiritually." [1]  Or in other words: "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."  This is a settled matter for the believer.  For the Christian, our identity with Christ has "indicatively" crucified the flesh (See 2:20; 6:14; Rom. 6:6.). Sin's grip has been broken.  And because this is true "indicatively" we have the power to obey this "imperatively". "The Christian is to daily give outward expression of his inward experience and in order to do this, he must constantly reckon himself “to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 6:11)." [3]

How do we crucify and deal with the "cancelled sin" in our lives?  Answer: We live by the Spirit. We keep in step with the Spirit.  We follow the Spirit.  "For where the Spirit is, it reneweth men and worketh in them new motions: that is to say, whereas they were before vainglorious, wrathful and envious, &c., it maketh them now humble, gentle, and patient, &c. Such men seek not their own glory, but the glory of God: they do not provoke one another, or envy one another, but give place one to another, and in giving honour prevent one another." [4]

There can be the tendency as we examine these attributes of the Spirit that we so desire them for our lives that we fall prey again to making laws to arouse them and keep them in our behavior.  Not so. In fact the best way to be loving is to not try to be loving, but in fact to be filled with the Spirit, to be living and walking in the Spirit.  To follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.  “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13, NIV).

Father, I find it so easy to be a judaizer.  As soon as I hear that I need to be loving or patient or whatever I immediately start to think of rituals and disciplines that I can engage in to make me so. I'm a great law-keeper.  Unfortunately that always fails in my life. It is the Holy Spirit who must produce these wonders of grace, not me.   Help me today to get over this knee-jerk reaction.  Train in me the desire to look to the Spirit for help.  Sins power has already been broken.  Now with the grace of the Spirit we can produce His fruits and in a way that He gets the glory, not me.   Help me, Father, to do so.  For Your sake and Your glory.  Amen.

_____________________________

1. Luther, M. (1997). Commentary on Galatians (Ga 5:22). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

2. Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ga 5:22–23). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

3. KJV Bible Commentary. 1994 (E. E. Hindson & W. M. Kroll, Ed.) (2399). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

4. Luther, M. (1997). Commentary on Galatians (Ga 5:25). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.