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In “The War Within: The Flesh vs The Spirit,” Nate Roten explores the internal conflict between the flesh and the Spirit, as described in Galatians 5:16–26. This sermon delves into the opposing natures of the flesh and the Spirit, highlighting the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. It emphasizes the need for believers to submit to the Spirit, crucify their fleshly passions, and live in harmony with God’s will, ultimately leading to spiritual growth and victory over sin.
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The War Within: The Flesh vs The Spirit
Nate Roten / Galatians 5:16–26 / May 18, 2025
Main Idea
Life in the Spirit conquers the flesh and bears fruit that the law cannot produce.
In the movie The Dark Knight, there is an interesting scene where the Joker has been captured by Batman. He seems completely unfazed by his current predicament and shows it through his boasting about the nature of their relationship. In his brief monologue, he compares their conflict to a war between an unstoppable force and an immovable object, describing the eternal nature of their opposition as equally matched opponents.
Today, we will learn about another clash of opposing forces that have immediate and eternal impacts on our lives as Christians.
I – The Internal War
Galatians 5:16–18 CSB
16 I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Two Conflicting Influencers in Total Opposition: Old vs. New Natures influenced by the Flesh and the Spirit.
Leaven war: Both have the leaven effect… whichever is given the focus is the one that will permeate.
Insights:
1. The works of the law lead to the enslavement of sin.
2. The freedom of Christ should not give ground to indulge the flesh.
It’s clear that even when we are redeemed, set free, and given a new nature, we remain prone to fall back into the traps of our old ways.
This is why Paul describes it as an internal battle between two natures and two influencers. Today, we will examine the conflict between the Flesh and the Spirit, highlighting two notable emphases.
1. Unlike what the Joker said about being equally matched, these two are certainly not.
2. There are elements of the Flesh and the Spirit, along with their respective actions.
II – The Elements of the Flesh
Galatians 5:19–21 CSB
19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
🔞 Sexual Sins
These deal with moral behavior related to sexuality and purity:
Sexual immorality (porneia) – illicit and unlawful sexual behavior.
Moral impurity (akatharsia) – uncleanness, lustful living, moral corruption of the body… but also in thought and speech.
Promiscuity (aselgeia) – debauchery, sensuality, abandonment of self-constraint in a shameless public display.
🛐 Religious Sins
These relate to false worship and spiritual perversions:
Idolatry — worshiping anything other than God.
Sorcery (pharmakeia) – occult practices, drug-induced magic, witchcraft.
💢 Relational Sins
These disrupt unity and destroy fellowship within community:
Hatreds — deep-seated hostility, enmity.
Strife — quarreling, contentious spirit.
Jealousy — resentment over others’ blessings.
Outbursts of anger — explosive temper.
Selfish ambitions — self-promotion at others’ expense.
Dissensions — standing apart, creating division.
Factions — splinter groups, sectarianism.
Envy — ill will over someone else’s success.
🍻 Addictive or Excessive Lifestyle Sins
These are sins of indulgence that enslave the body:
Drunkenness — habitual intoxication.
Carousing — wild partying, revelry.
🌀 Catch-All Category
“And anything similar” — a warning that this is not an exhaustive list, and other fleshly behaviors also apply.
Like leaven, these sins permeate every part of a person:
• sexual sins – affect your physical body
• religious sins – affect your relationship with and faithfulness to God
• relational sins – affect your relationship with others.
• addictive sins – further enslaves your desires and passions.
There is no area of life that the flesh won’t corrupt and influence. However, we can’t stop here. This merely identifies the corrupting elements. If we stop here, we only get half the picture, as we also engage with them in specific ways that we need to understand in order to discover how to combat them.
III – The Actions in the Flesh
Carry out the desires of. The flesh is a wicked taskmaster with a will and desires to which we are enslaved. Just as soldiers follow the commands of their superiors, so you will obey and fulfill the sinful desires and passions of your fallen flesh without an opposing influence.
Works of. The verbiage is similar to what the Galatians were trying to do with the law. They wanted the ‘works of the law’ to produce righteousness and justification, but of course, we know the law cannot do that. It reveals sin without the power to deliver you from its grasp; thus, you remain enslaved to the works of the flesh as long as you are under the law.
Practice. This is the habitual repetition of an action. This does not describe a time when you give in to temptation and repent afterward. A hatred of sin and genuine repentance is a sign of the Spirit’s presence within you. This refers to an abandonment of conscience and an intentional acceptance of a sinful act as tolerable.
Outcome: Divine judgment upon those who practice these things. They will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Insight: There is no hierarchy of fleshly works. Angry outbursts are just as egregious as sexual immorality. These can also characterize church people as much as non-believers. This passage cuts deeply, just as Hebrews 4:12 describes. No one is above the influence and leaven of the flesh. All fall short, which means all are susceptible.
Application: But this is very hard for many people. The enslavement to these types of desires comes with incredibly thick chains. If you are controlled by one or more of these things, how can you escape? If all I am used to is trying to break free through my own strength, how can I make any meaningful change?
To answer that, let’s look at Romans 7:
Romans 7:5–6 CSB
5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused through the law were working in us to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.
The one action you need to follow through on is an ongoing, willful submission to another influencer in faith, trusting that He is stronger than you and the power of the flesh. Just as Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient for our salvation, so the presence of the Spirit is sufficient to have victory over the flesh!
IV – The Elements of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22–26 CSB
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
9-fold fruit. Here, if we pay attention, we see that there are a total of 9 aspects to the fruit, which are categorized into 3 groups of 3 focuses.
⬆️ Upward Reflections of God
These describe the inner transformation of our being as we abide in our relationship with God:
Love – the foundational fruit; selfless, sacrificial love (agape) rooted in God’s character and the only means by which we can truly fulfill the law. Compare with 1 Cor. 13:4-8a.
Joy – deep gladness and delight, regardless of circumstances, grounded in relationship with God, because in His presence is the fullness of joy.
Peace – inner rest and wholeness from trusting in God as we look to Him instead of our circumstances.
↔️ Outward Actions Toward Others
These fruits are relational and shape how we treat people around us:
Patience – long-suffering, endurance with others’ faults or trials.
Kindness – a tender disposition toward others, seeking their good.
Goodness – moral integrity and generosity in action.
🔃 Inward Discipline Toward Self
These are habits of spiritual strength and inner control:
Faithfulness – reliability, trustworthiness, and loyalty.
Gentleness – humility and self-restraint, strength under control.
Self-control – mastery over desires and impulses.
Hopefully, you can see that the elements (or fruit) of the Holy Spirit also permeate the entire person. Our transformation begins with our relationship with God as we abide in Him. It then naturally overflows into our relationships with others, as the core attribute of love helps us fulfill the law. Furthermore, it changes the essence of who we are in our mind, heart, and actions.
And speaking of actions, there are also action-oriented words that come with this 9-fold fruit.
V – The Actions in the Spirit
Walk by — The only imperative command in this section, and it is a present, active verb… meaning it represents a constant, ongoing action that encompasses all other actions within this context.
Led by — Unlike the Flesh barking its commands for you to follow, the Spirit guides you as a loving and caring mentor. This is relational language, not transactional language.
Bear fruit of — The Spirit works in us to produce this fruit. Like a tree, we are designed to do this, but we can’t force the fruit to bear through our own efforts. We must submit to and trust the Spirit to perform His work in us as we focus on walking.
Live by — We cling to His every word and action. He must become our sole pursuit: the very air we breathe and the bread we consume.
Keep in step with — If we aren’t careful, we can fall out of sync. We shouldn’t try to get ahead of the Spirit and tell Him where we want to go (thus falling back into the rhythms of our own effort and desire), and we shouldn’t get distracted, thereby giving an opportunity for the flesh to take over.
*Bonus: Crucify the fleshly passions and desires. We can emulate the Romans in this regard by swiftly and ruthlessly putting to death the fleshly nature in the power of the Spirit afforded to us by the cross of Christ.
Outcome: Divine enablement, where the Spirit is the producer; divine condemnation of the flesh as crucified; victory and conquering in the life of the believer.
Insight: Singular fruit. Unlike the works of the flesh, where we can exhibit one without the other, the 9-fold fruit is produced in all believers.
Romans 6:1–14 CSB
1 What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection.
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. 13 And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. 14 For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.
🔥 Application Points:
1. Feed What You Want to Grow.
The leaven of either the flesh or the Spirit will shape who you’re becoming.
Starve the flesh and walk in step with the Spirit.
➤ Reflect: What am I regularly consuming that strengthens the flesh more than the Spirit?
2. Stop Justifying What Jesus Died to Kill.
The works of the flesh aren’t struggles to manage—they’re sins to crucify.
Put to death what Christ has already defeated.
➤Challenge: Am I excusing sin that I should be executing in the power of the Spirit?
3. Don’t Confuse Fruit with Performance.
Spiritual growth isn’t manufactured—it’s produced by abiding in Christ.
Stay rooted in relationship, not driven by results.
➤Reflect: Am I measuring fruit by external activity or by internal transformation?
4. The Spirit Leads, But You Must Follow.
Victory is attainable, but it’s not automatic—it requires surrender and obedience.
Keep in step with the Spirit, step by step, day by day.➤Act: What practical habit or rhythm do I need to change this week to stay in sync with the Spirit?