Chapter 7 Walking in Rhythm

Identifying the difference between living for God and walking in God.

It is a paradox of the New Covenant in which freedom is realized by allowing ourselves to be controlled.

Galatians 5
 
Verse 16
 Verse 18
 
If you walk by the Spirit, you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh .
 If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law , i.e. the tyranny of the flesh.
 

The idea that "to walk" can be paralleled with Enoch is attractive. Enoch is said to have "walked" with God [Gen. 5:22]. Enoch lived in unbroken fellowship with God. His walk seems to indicate that he lived in a fixed consciousness of God's presence instead of sin and self-consciousness. In the New Covenant, this walking equates with "abiding" [Jn. 15] and this walking is "by faith, not by sight" [2 Cor. 5:7]. It is difficult to underestimate the importance of this in the pastoral context as feelings can be deceptive and must not be empowered by bad theology. Gillham puts it brilliantly:

"God's definition of hypocrisy is 'pretending to be what you are not'. On the other hand, Satan's definition is 'acting in a way contrary to how you feel'."

There will be many occasions during our Christian experience when we feel angry, envious, jealous or perhaps, worse (not that God grades sin) but this does not alter the fact of who we are in Christ. Thus, correcting errant behaviour must never become our focus. Our antidote lies in our returning to our true identity, "knowing," as McVey puts it, "that nobody can consistently behave in a manner that is inconsistent with who they see themselves to be". The author has already suggested that in the New Covenant, we move from " if " to " since " and here, we are confronted with two potentially viable interpretations of, what is after all, the only New Covenant phrase telling us to do something. In Greek, " do " and " you " are the same word. Therefore, the only way to interpret the intended meaning is by the context. The two choices are as follows:

Option 1
  Old Way [Torah]
 "And do not .."
 
   
Option 2
  New Way [Holy Spirit]
 "And you will not .."
 

In the New Covenant, " since you walk in the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" seems to fit the context rather well. W hether the subject Galatian passage is a contrast between the believer and the unbeliever, or whether it articulates the tension within the believer is difficult to assess. This is a similar conundrum to Romans 7. Seemingly, both these plights describe life under the Law. Believers, whilst "not under the Law" are, by default, effectively under it whenever they seek to pursue their own righteousness. Consequently, we should not underestimate the qualitative difference between living for God and walking with God. An attempt to summarize the differences between these two approaches in table form is as follows:

Fig. 3

Flesh-Torah

Living FOR God
 Spirit

Walking IN God
 
External obedience to a code or laws written on stone
 Internal guidance;

moment-by-moment direction
 
External Principle
 Inward Principle
 
Innate sense of inadequacy

(Fear/Works)
 Innate sense of adequacy

(Peace/Rest)
 
Stirs desires in me that look towards SELF
 Stirs desires in me that look towards GOD
 
Realm = Flesh

Invigorating a desire for forbidden things
 Realm = Spirit

Stirring a hunger for holiness
 
Living in the flesh = living humanly according to one's own guidance
 Living in the Spirit = the reality of being "in Christ"
 
A man is not above a law which is external
 A man is not under a law which is in him
 
The Spirit is not an adjunct to the Law; the Spirit assists in overcoming

the desires of the flesh by

promoting obedience to the Law
 Since we are led by the Spirit,

we are not under the Law
 

In his spirit-flesh dualism discussion , Barclay draws an interesting contrast between "the desires of the flesh" with "the leading of the Spirit". When this is amalgamated with Paul's works/fruit distinction, the following picture emerges:

Fig. 4

Flesh
 Desires
  Spirit
 Leads
 
 I initiate
   I respond
 
 Active
   Passive
 
 Works
   Fruit
 

Paul's emphasis is on voluntary subjugation or submission of our will to the Spirit who leads us. There is an obvious comparison with the marital submission depicted in Eph. 5:22 where Paul illustrates the believer's relationship to Christ as being that of a man and wife. As with married life, absolute surrender is the key to the Christian life submission . Without in anyway straining the analogy, Paul says that we were once married to the Law [Rom. 7] and death, not divorce, freed us from that relationship and we are now married to Jesus. And though we are married, we have a choice as to whether or not to submit to our new Husband or whether we will put Him on probation.

The believer is neither a helpless spectator nor an unwilling pawn in the battle between the flesh and the Spirit - the leading of the Spirit both tacitly and explicitly implies co-operation. Believers must choose to allow themselves to be led as the Spirit will never force us against our will. This is beautifully depicted in partner dancing. The breadth-taking sight of Fred Astaire dancing with Ginger Rodgers is the perfect picture of the Spirit and the believer. Interestingly, the secret of the dance is that the man cannot lead if the woman will not follow.

The heirs of Abraham must look to the Spirit not the Law. We are heirs by faith of faith for faith from faith to faith! The alternative to living by the Spirit is living in the flesh. Flesh and Spirit, then, are opposites. They pull in opposite directions [5:17]. The author rejects Hansen's comment that Paul "assured his readers that the Spirit will enable them to resist the desires of their sinful nature" . Hanson, however, does make the valid point that there is a tendency amongst people to want to develop a "computer manual approach to the Christian life" . In addition, the author dismisses his suggestion that "the acts refer to inward attitudes of the heart" as the believer has received a new heart [Ezk. 11:19]. Moreover, it is significant that, "Many of the items mentioned in these verses receive no treatment in Torah" .
Gillham, p. 135.

Barclay, p. 178.

G Walter Hansen, Galatians: The New IVP NT Commentary Series (Leicester: IVP, 1994), p. 172.

Hansen, p. 172.

Hansen, p. 172.

Eaton, p. 112.