Law or Spirit?

Galatians 5: 16-18

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;
and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
NKJV

I was doing a YouVersion devotional called What is True Love? When I came across this concept or if I may say, this revelation which really impacted me and made me think.

The part that had the deepest impact was verse 18 which says…

But when you are directed by the Spirit,
you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.   
New Living Translation

Overall the law existed because it was needed for the people (the Israelites) to be able to know what was right in God’s eyes and to act as a reason (if I may use that word) to encourage them to do what was right in the sight of God. However, what is verse 18 really saying?

Verse 18 is highlighting the fact that in the Old Testament, the Law of Moses existed as a guide for the people, to keep them doing what was right in the sight of God, however, we in this day and age have something much better, so much better and that is the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit acts as a natural guide for us and gives us the nature of Christ so that now we don’t have to actively strive to follow the Law or to do what is right; it now happens naturally for us! Why? Because now we have the nature of Christ, of God, given to us now that we believe in Christ and have received His Spirit. That’s why the Bible says that we are now no longer under the law!

Therefore, as long as we’re walking with the Holy Spirit we don’t need the law anymore because the Spirit will cause us to will and do God’s good pleasure; things that God has delight in.

Walking with the Spirit and having the Holy Spirit means that as long as we do what the Holy Spirit asks us to do, we are no longer under the law. However, to resist God and to go against God means that you are acting under the Law which is not right for any child of God to do.

Therefore it’s no longer about striving or working hard but it’s about allowing the Holy Spirit and giving Him room to do the work in you so that you can see the results.

I hope this has been beneficial/helpful to someone. My posts will be coming less frequently now due to exams but I will still try my best to post.

Love,

Ope 🙂

Let me know in the comments below your thoughts on the matter and how you work to keep in step with the Spirit.

If you would like the full details on the devotional it’s, ‘What is True Love?’ by Thistlebend Ministries and this topic was derived from Day 8 of the devotional. I really recommend this devotional, I know that it has helped me a lot. 🙂