Galatians 6:15-18 – The Joy Of Walking By The Spirit
V15 tells us that if someone walks by the Spirit, they will be concerned about the inside rather than the outside. The example here is circumcision. For those who walked by the flesh, the most important question was whether someone was circumcised or not. But for those who walk by the Spirit, a mark on someone’s body is of no importance in the grand scheme of things. Those who walk by the flesh are concerned about obedience to the law — but only outward obedience. They’re not concerned about the heart — whether their own hearts, or the hearts of those who listen to their teaching. But the big concern of those who walk by the Spirit is inward — not merely outward, behavioural change, but a new heart. And for this to come about takes a new creation. As Paul says elsewhere, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. You may have been interested in the things of God – but for you to become a Christian it has taken God to perform a miracle of new creation in your life. You can’t become a Christian by going to church any more than you can become a car by living in a garage. It takes a supernatural work of God.
And look what those who have experienced this great miracle have in v16: peace and mercy from God. That’s what’s at stake if the Galatians embrace the false teaching. They’ll lose God’s peace, and they’ll walk away from his mercy. And yet this is what we’re constantly tempted to give up.
Who is this peace and mercy for? It’s for the Israel of God. That’s the phrase Paul uses in v16. It’s a description of all God’s true people, whether Jew or Gentile. Those who have faith in Jesus and so are the true children of Abraham, who Paul has described earlier in this letter.
The Apostle Paul doesn’t want to leave us focusing on what makes us different from one another. He wants to leave us focusing on the one thing that unites us — the cross of Jesus Christ. Those around us may glory in many things. But far be it from us to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to us, and we to the world.
Questions
- What happens when we become a Christian?
- What do we have as a Christian?
Prayer Points
- Pray for the preaching and hearing of God’s Word tomorrow.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.