Galatians 5:17-25

You were born with a flesh nature. When you are born again, you receive a spirit nature and the gift of the Holy Spirit. They are in conflict. You choose which is stronger. … When we become born again Christians, we gain a new nature that brings with it new desires. These desires are for things that please God. However, the old nature doesn’t just go away. The two natures live in conflict and the one you feed the most grows stronger. Even those who have continuously fed the Spirit nature will always have temptation from the flesh nature.

How do you know whether the flesh or the Spirit is dominant in your life? The acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) and the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) are obvious. … If the acts of the flesh are evident in your life, then the flesh nature is dominant. Likewise if the fruit of the Spirit is evident in your life then the Spirit nature is dominant. Paul also tells us that if the flesh nature is dominant, it might be a sign that you were never saved. But the presence of fruit of the Spirit is an indication that you are being led by the Spirit and saved.

How do you defeat the old nature and produce the fruit of the Spirit?

1. Crucify the flesh: make a decisive break with the passions of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:24). … What we often want to do is manage our sinful nature and not let it get out of control, but we need to take a step more and kill it off. There is no overkill in this situation.

2. Keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). … After the drastic action taken to destroy sinful nature, keep in step with the Spirit. Be aware of His presence. It can be difficult to know His presence because we can’t see Him physically, but we must learn to see the invisible and be aware of His presence.