“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh...”  Galatians 5:16 (KJV)

As we progress towards the latter end of Galatians 5, these verses are leading up to the fruit of the Spirit; you cannot live these verses without the fruit of the Spirit. It is imperative for the fruit of the Spirit to become the fruit of your soul and the fruit of your body – for only then will you be sanctified. Once the fruit of the Spirit have become the encompassing thread moving through your spirit, soul, and body, you will be the very essence of 1 Thessalonians 5:23 where it talks about being sanctified wholly.

The nine gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians are very important and useful. However, it is important to understand that you cannot be sanctified by those nine gifts; whereas, with the nine fruit of the Spirit you can. You can put on the gift and even do a great job of acting like you are operating in the gift. Nevertheless, you cannot act like you are operating in any of the fruit. There are certain actions and mannerisms you will do and certain others you will refrain from when the fruit of the Spirit are functioning in and through you. You have to be real with the fruit.

Notice what happens in verse 16, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Notice the capital S.

 

V.17 “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

V.18 – “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”

There is a word that needs to come behind these verses: Free. You are free of this world’s law-containing system and everything related to it. Remember: when you are walking in the Spirit, no law can rule you anymore!