Johann
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Kenneth Wuest - The Christian and Trench Warfare
But I say, walk (present imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) by the Spirit, and you (DOUBLE NEGATIVE = ABSOLUTELY) will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For (EXPLAINS THAT THIS SPIRITUAL WARFARE NEVER CEASES EVERY DAY OF OUR LIFE ON EARTH! DON'T GET LAX! STAY ALERT!) the flesh sets its desire against (epithumeo in present tense - continually sets its strong desires against) the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition (antikeimai in present tense - continually in opposition = ongoing war until the day we die!) to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
THERE ARE some interesting word studies in Galatians 5:16–17. Those we will study are “walk, Spirit, lusteth, against, contrary, cannot.”
The Christian is exhorted to walk in the Spirit. The word “walk” is used in an early Greek manuscript in the sentence, “I am going about in a disgraceful state.” The writer of this sentence was commenting upon the kind of life he was living, how he was conducting himself. The form in the Greek shows that it is a command to be constantly obeyed. “Be constantly conducting yourselves in the Spirit.” The word “Spirit,” referring here to the Holy Spirit, is in the locative of sphere (See article on locative of sphere), and could be charted by a dot within a circle. The dot is ensphered within the circle. The exhortation therefore is, “Be constantly conducting yourselves in the sphere of the Spirit.” That is, determine every thought, word, and deed by the leading of the Spirit through the Word, and think every thought, speak every word, and do every deed, in an attitude of entire dependence upon the Holy Spirit’s empowering energy, “Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5+).
”If we do this, we have God’s guarantee and promise that we shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The word “flesh” refers here to the fallen depraved nature with which we were born, but whose power was broken when we were saved. The word “lust” has changed its meaning. Today it refers to an immoral desire. When the Authorized Version was translated, it meant what the Greek word means from which it is translated, simply a desire. The desire may be a good one or a bad one, according to the context. The word in the Greek has in this verse a preposition prefixed which intensifies its meaning. It is not only a desire, it is a craving. But as we determine our conduct by what the Spirit leads us to do, and yield to Him for the divine energy with which to do it, we have God’s promise that we will not; there is a double negative in the Greek which strengthens the negation, we will absolutely not fulfill the cravings of the fallen nature.
The explanation of how we are delivered from those cravings and the actions which would satisfy those cravings, is found in verse seventeen. The fallen nature lusts against the Holy Spirit. The same word for “lust” is used as in the previous verse. The flesh has a strong desire again the Spirit. The word “against” is from a Greek preposition which literally means “down.” The idea is one of defeat, suppression. One could render the sentence, “The flesh has constantly a strong desire to suppress the Spirit.”
The work of the Holy Spirit in the believer is two-fold, namely, to put sin out of the life and to produce His own fruit. The fallen nature has a strong desire to suppress the Holy Spirit in the work of His office. But the Holy Spirit has a strong desire likewise to suppress the fallen nature in its attempt to cause the believer to obey its behests. They are contrary to one another. The words “one another” are a reciprocal pronoun in the Greek. The Spirit and the flesh reciprocate the antagonism each has for the other. The word “contrary,” speaks of a permanent attitude of opposition toward each other on the part of both the flesh and the Spirit. The picture in the Greek word is that of two opposing armies, each digging a system of trenches for the purpose of holding the land they have and conducting a trench warfare. They have dug themselves in for a long drawn-out contest.
This contest is going on all the time in the heart of every child of God. It continues until the death of the believer. The Holy Spirit is the divine provision for victory over sin, “so that ye may not do the things that ye would desire to do.” The part the Christian must play in this trench warfare is found in our previous verse, namely, to be constantly determining his every thought, word, and deed by the leading of the Spirit, yielding to Him for the energy to act in the premises. The entire translation could read, “But I say, be constantly conducting yourselves within the sphere of the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the cravings of the flesh. For the flesh has constantly a strong desire to suppress the Spirit, and the Spirit has as constantly a strong desire to suppress the flesh, and these are entrenched in a permanent attitude of opposition to one another, so that ye may not do the things that ye would desire to do.” (Golden Nuggets - Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission)
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But I say, walk (present imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) by the Spirit, and you (DOUBLE NEGATIVE = ABSOLUTELY) will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For (EXPLAINS THAT THIS SPIRITUAL WARFARE NEVER CEASES EVERY DAY OF OUR LIFE ON EARTH! DON'T GET LAX! STAY ALERT!) the flesh sets its desire against (epithumeo in present tense - continually sets its strong desires against) the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition (antikeimai in present tense - continually in opposition = ongoing war until the day we die!) to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
THERE ARE some interesting word studies in Galatians 5:16–17. Those we will study are “walk, Spirit, lusteth, against, contrary, cannot.”
The Christian is exhorted to walk in the Spirit. The word “walk” is used in an early Greek manuscript in the sentence, “I am going about in a disgraceful state.” The writer of this sentence was commenting upon the kind of life he was living, how he was conducting himself. The form in the Greek shows that it is a command to be constantly obeyed. “Be constantly conducting yourselves in the Spirit.” The word “Spirit,” referring here to the Holy Spirit, is in the locative of sphere (See article on locative of sphere), and could be charted by a dot within a circle. The dot is ensphered within the circle. The exhortation therefore is, “Be constantly conducting yourselves in the sphere of the Spirit.” That is, determine every thought, word, and deed by the leading of the Spirit through the Word, and think every thought, speak every word, and do every deed, in an attitude of entire dependence upon the Holy Spirit’s empowering energy, “Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5+).
”If we do this, we have God’s guarantee and promise that we shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The word “flesh” refers here to the fallen depraved nature with which we were born, but whose power was broken when we were saved. The word “lust” has changed its meaning. Today it refers to an immoral desire. When the Authorized Version was translated, it meant what the Greek word means from which it is translated, simply a desire. The desire may be a good one or a bad one, according to the context. The word in the Greek has in this verse a preposition prefixed which intensifies its meaning. It is not only a desire, it is a craving. But as we determine our conduct by what the Spirit leads us to do, and yield to Him for the divine energy with which to do it, we have God’s promise that we will not; there is a double negative in the Greek which strengthens the negation, we will absolutely not fulfill the cravings of the fallen nature.
The explanation of how we are delivered from those cravings and the actions which would satisfy those cravings, is found in verse seventeen. The fallen nature lusts against the Holy Spirit. The same word for “lust” is used as in the previous verse. The flesh has a strong desire again the Spirit. The word “against” is from a Greek preposition which literally means “down.” The idea is one of defeat, suppression. One could render the sentence, “The flesh has constantly a strong desire to suppress the Spirit.”
The work of the Holy Spirit in the believer is two-fold, namely, to put sin out of the life and to produce His own fruit. The fallen nature has a strong desire to suppress the Holy Spirit in the work of His office. But the Holy Spirit has a strong desire likewise to suppress the fallen nature in its attempt to cause the believer to obey its behests. They are contrary to one another. The words “one another” are a reciprocal pronoun in the Greek. The Spirit and the flesh reciprocate the antagonism each has for the other. The word “contrary,” speaks of a permanent attitude of opposition toward each other on the part of both the flesh and the Spirit. The picture in the Greek word is that of two opposing armies, each digging a system of trenches for the purpose of holding the land they have and conducting a trench warfare. They have dug themselves in for a long drawn-out contest.
This contest is going on all the time in the heart of every child of God. It continues until the death of the believer. The Holy Spirit is the divine provision for victory over sin, “so that ye may not do the things that ye would desire to do.” The part the Christian must play in this trench warfare is found in our previous verse, namely, to be constantly determining his every thought, word, and deed by the leading of the Spirit, yielding to Him for the energy to act in the premises. The entire translation could read, “But I say, be constantly conducting yourselves within the sphere of the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the cravings of the flesh. For the flesh has constantly a strong desire to suppress the Spirit, and the Spirit has as constantly a strong desire to suppress the flesh, and these are entrenched in a permanent attitude of opposition to one another, so that ye may not do the things that ye would desire to do.” (Golden Nuggets - Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission)
