Bible
Galatians 5:16-18 encapsulates what is needed to live the Christian life. The passage describes the struggle between the pleasures of the flesh and the glory of the spirit. When a Christian lives according to the will of God, he or she lives and "walks by the Spirit," (Galatians 5:16). Walking by the Spirit diminishes the desires of the flesh, to the point where the individual is no longer tempted. It is impossible to live both in the flesh and in the Spirit, for "the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other," (Galatians 5:17). A Christian cannot do anything he or she wants to do, gratifying every pleasure or fulfilling every desire. Paul, the author of Galatians, goes on to explain what is meant by both the life of the Spirit and the temptations of the flesh.
This passage occurs in the context of Galatians 5, which begins with the line, "It is for...
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery," (Galatians 5:1). The book deals with the essential components of a Christian attitude and lifestyle. In Galatians, we learn that the Christian life liberates the believer from old Jewish laws, and introduces Jesus's new covenant. For a first century audience, Galatians inspired believers to abandon unnecessary dogma and ritual in favor of a genuine life of the Spirit.
The width of the river is small in this case. The modern audience and the first century audience differ slightly in terms of culture, language, time, situation, and covenant. However, in the case of Galatians 5:16-18, the river is more like a "narrow creek," (Duvall & Hays, p. 16). The same basic traps and temptations that existed in the first century can still steer the believer far from the path of Christ and righteousness. In Galatians 5:19, Paul points…
