Galatians 5:17

Gal. 5:17. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." By this, with the context, it seems that grace in the heart is no other than the Spirit of God dwelling in the heart, and becoming a principle of life and action there, acting and exalting its nature in the exercise of men's faculties. (1.) By the Spirit here spoken of, that lusteth against the flesh, seems plainly to be meant grace in the heart, or the gracious nature in man or man's regenerated and renewed part, which is opposite to the flesh or to the corrupt part. For that by the flesh is meant the corrupt nature, is most evident by Galatians 5:19-21, and Romans 7:5-18. By the Spirit, therefore, is doubtless meant the spiritual or gracious nature that is begun in man in his regeneration. Doubtless by the flesh and Spirit, that the Apostle says lust one against another, he means the same as by the "law of the members and law of the mind," that he says war one against another, in the 7th of his Epistle to the Romans, at the 23rd verse (Romans 7:23). "But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members;" which is further evident in that the Apostle there, in the continuation of the discourse of the same things, he uses the very terms of "flesh and Spirit" so much after the same manner as in this context, as may be seen by comparison, that it is most evident that he means the very same thing. (2.) That the Spirit spoken of here, and in other parallel texts, as signifying the gracious or holy nature in the regenerate, is the Spirit of God, seems plain by the context. For no doubt but the same is meant by the Spirit here, as in Galatians 5:16; Galatians 5:18-25; but is more clearly evident by the 8th chapter of Romans (Romans 8), where the Apostle is speaking of "flesh and Spirit" in like manner as here, and as we have shown already by "flesh and Spirit" he there intends the corrupt and the gracious nature. And it is evident that the Spirit there spoken of is the Spirit of God or Christ, by the 9th, 10th, 11th verses, and by the 13th and 14th verses. Those extraordinary principles of operation that Christians in those days were endued with, were called the spirit of the persons that had them, because they were nothing but the Spirit of God dwelling in them, and becoming a principle in them of such a sort of operation. (See Note on 1 Corinthians 14:32.) So the principle of grace or gracious nature that all Christians have, is called the Spirit, because it is nothing but the Spirit of God dwelling in them, and becoming in them a principle of gracious and holy exercises. For the better understanding why the corrupt nature and the gracious or regenerate nature are called "flesh and Spirit," it is to be considered that man, as he was first created, was endued with two kinds of principles, natural and spiritual. By natural principles, I mean the principles of human nature, as human nature is in this world - that is, in its animal state, as human nature is in this world - that is, in its animal state, or that belonging to the nature of man as man, or that belonging to his humanity, or that naturally and necessarily flow from the inner human nature. Such is a man's love to his own honor, love of his own pleasure, the natural appetites that he has by means of the body, etc. His spiritual principles were his love to God, and his relish of Divine beauties and enjoyments, etc. These may be called supernatural, because they are no part of human nature. They do not belong to the nature of man as man, nor do they naturally and necessarily flow from the faculties and properties of that nature. Man can be man without them; they did not flow from anything in the human nature, but from the Spirit of God dwelling in man, and exerting itself by man's faculties as a principle of action. So that man's entire nature, in his primitive state, was constituted of "flesh and spirit," that part of his entire nature that consists in the principles of the mere human nature, or that is the human nature in its perfect animal state, simply and absolutely considered, is flesh. The human nature or humanity, in that animal state in which it is in this world, is often called flesh in Scripture - Genesis 6:12; Psalms 65:2; Isaiah 40:5; Isaiah 40:6; Isaiah 49:26; Isaiah 66:16; Matthew 24:22, and John 1:14. The human nature, as it is after the resurrection, is not called flesh, being then no longer in its animal state: 1 Corinthians 15:50. "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." That spiritual nature which he had, consisting in those holy principles that he had, was quite a distinct thing, and it was only the Spirit of God dwelling in man, and exerting its nature by man's faculties. Man's natural principles, or those principles of humanity that man had, were in his primitive state very good; because that man's spiritual principles that he had were to that degree as the Spirit dwelt and acted in him to that degree, that the natural principles were entirely subordinate to them. Then the flesh did not lust against the Spirit. These two natures, or two sorts of principles, were, by an entire, an absolute subordination of one to the other, united, so as to be, as it were, one nature. The spiritual principles bare absolute rule, and therefore man was then wholly spiritual, because he lived in the Spirit, and walked wholly in the Spirit, and the flesh was only a servant to the Spirit. But when man fell, then the Spirit of God left him, and so all his spiritual nature or spiritual principles; and then only the flesh was left, or merely the principle of human nature in its animal state. They were now left alone, without spiritual principles to govern and direct them, so that man became wholly carnal, and so wholly corrupt. For the principles of human nature, when alone and left to themselves, are principles of corruption, and there are no other principles of corruption in man but these. Corrupt nature is nothing else but the principle of human nature in its animal state, or the flesh (as it is called in Scripture) left to itself, or not subordinated to spiritual principles; and so far as it is unsubordinate, so far is it corrupt. When a man is regenerate, then again the Spirit is restored to him, and spiritual principles in a degree; so then again there is "flesh and spirit." But so little of the Spirit is given, that the flesh, or principles of human nature, are not absolutely and perfectly subject and subordinate, so that the flesh, or the principles of human nature, lust against the Spirit. And this is the reason that these two natures in the saints, the corrupt nature, and the gracious or regenerate nature, are called "flesh and Spirit," - viz., because the corrupt nature is only the principles of the human nature (which is often in Scripture called flesh), yet in great measure not subordinated to spiritual principles. And the regenerate, or gracious nature, is only the Spirit of God dwelling in the heart, and acting and exerting His own nature by man's faculties. There are two things that do confirm that, by the "flesh" in this text and parallel places, is meant human nature left in a measure to itself. The first is that the natural man and the carnal mind are evidently synonymous in Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 2:15). There we find natural and spiritual opposed one to another. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God." "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things;" and then in the next verse but one - viz., in the first verse of the third chapter (1 Corinthians 3:1) - we find carnal and spiritual in like manner opposed, and as signifying the same - "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ;" where it is most evident that, by carnal and spiritual, he means the same as he did before by natural and spiritual. I would argue thus from it, that if natural and carnal are synonymous, then nature and flesh are synonymous. A natural man is one that has only the principles of human nature; the word in the original seems to hold forth thus much, and this is the carnal man. And then, secondly, which strengthens this, and is strengthened by it, is that the Apostle in the same context explains what he means by carnal - viz., walking as men, or, as it is in the original, according to man. 1 Corinthians 3:3, "Are ye not carnal, and walk according to man?" or according to the humanity, or the principles of the human nature in its animal state as the governing principles. To the same purpose is that in 1 Peter 4:2. "That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." (See note in the place.) Corruption of heart is called "flesh" in Scripture, not chiefly because the corruption of man's nature in great part consists in the inordinancy of bodily appetites, as appears, because the Apostle in Colossians 2:18 does call the mind fleshly, particularly on account of its being corrupted with the other sort of lusts - viz., the lusts of the mind intruding into those things that he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. It is therefore not so much on this account that corruption is called flesh, as because it is from human nature left to itself. The Scripture does expressly explain itself as to the meaning of the word natural - that it is being destitute of the spirit of God, and so having nothing above human nature, Jude 1:19. "sensual, having not the Spirit." The word in the original is the same that is translated natural in other places. That, by flesh or fleshly, as the words are used in the New Testament, as opposite to Spirit and spiritual, respect is not only had to those lusts or appetites that are appetites of the body or desires of the objects of the external senses, is evident, because these terms are applied to pride, the most special of all lusts. Colossians 2:18. "Vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind." So 1 Corinthians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 3:4. "For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?" - Coroll. 1. Hence we may learn Christ's meaning in what He says to Nicodemus, John 3:6. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." There are then two natures in man - the flesh, or the mere human nature, and the spiritual nature. The aim of Christ is to inform which nature is of the first generation, and which of the second. By "flesh" Christ does not mean only the body, for there is more born by the first generation than that. - Coroll. 2. Hence we may learn what is the meaning of the word spiritual as it is often used in the New Testament. It is not intended in contradistinction from corporeal; but things are said to be spiritual as relating to the Spirit of God, especially as dwelling in the hearts of the saints. Thus the godly man is called spiritual because he has the Spirit of God dwelling in him, and acting by his faculties, as is evident by 1 Corinthians 15 compared with the context, beginning with the tenth verse. (See "Mastricht Theologia de Regeneratione," p. 661, a.) - Coroll. 3. Hence we may learn in what sense the body at the resurrection is said to be a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:44, "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body;" not spiritual in opposition to material or corporeal - for a spiritual body in that sense would be a contradiction - but spiritual in this sense that has been mentioned in coroll. 2 - not in opposition to corporeal, but to natural or animal. "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." It is sown with animal faculties and appetites suited to the needs and purposes of the animal, frail, corruptible nature. But when it shall be raised again, it shall be raised without these faculties and appetites; but all the faculties and properties that it shall be endowed with shall be directly suited and subservient to the purposes of the Spirit, of His gracious principle, or of that Divine and holy nature which God hath imparted to His saints. It is evident that the body in its present state is called a natural body, and in its future a spiritual body, with relation to that animal nature that we derive from the first Adam, and that quickening Spirit, or holy and spiritual nature, that we derive from the second Adam, by the following verse: "But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."