Galatians 5:18 Learn to be Led by the Spirit, For You are not Under Law

Galatians 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

Loving one’s neighbor is not returning to legalism, but rather the natural outliving of one who is “led by the Spirit.” One does not earn merit before God by loving his/her neighbor. Walking in the Spirit is neither a license to sin nor a legalism of merit, or anything in between.[1] Rather, it is being “led by the Spirit.”

The Galatians seem to have had a great desire to live by the Law that Paul needs to beat out of them (with repetition) that they may live by grace in subjection to the Spirit. There desire to live under the Law was not healthy. One cannot be led by the Spirit when he/she is trying to merit God’s favor in actions. Neither can one be led by the Spirit when he/she is living to fulfill the desires of the flesh. Paul is seeking to make this point clear to the Galatians one more time. If they are to be free in Christ, they must learn to walk by the Spirit and not live by the flesh or by the Law. They are not under the Law if they are being led by the Spirit. They are only under the Law if they are not being led by the Spirit.

Being led by the Spirit is not something that just comes overnight to Christians. It must be learned as you walk by faith and grow to know God more and to be filled with His Word. The common response, because sin still dwells within us, is to either gratify the flesh or to live in a life of legalism; seeking to change yourself and to conform on your own power and merit. Walking by the Spirit is giving control of your life to God. It is allowing Him to live through you, that you might walk in His power and not your own. Do not return to the Law, seeking to fulfill its requirements. Do not turn to the flesh, seeking to live without any restraint, but just doing whatever feels good at the moment. Rather, pray, read the Bible (and meditate upon it), and seek to discern what the will of God is. Seek to worship God, delighting in Him and being enamored by Him, that you will delight in pleasing Him and living in obedience to His will. Only by doing this can you truly learn how to walk in the Spirit.

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[1] Expositor’s Bible Commentary on Galatians 5:18.