SOAP 12/21 - Walking by the Spirit (Galatians 5.13-25)

 

SOAP 12/21

Walking by the Spirit

Galatians 5.13-25

by R.E. Slater & ChatGPT 5

For the next 21 days, let's commit to feeding yourself spiritually by reading and reflecting on a passage of Scripture each day using the S.O.A.P. method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer). Keep a brief daily note of what you learn and how you might apply it, and at the end of the 21 days, share your biggest takeaway with someone else. 

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Walking by the Spirit

Galatians 5.13-25

Freedom Shaped by Love

Paul contrasts two ways of living: gratifying the flesh, or walking by the Spirit. Freedom is not license for self-indulgence but the capacity to love and serve one another. The works of the flesh destroy community, while the fruit of the Spirit builds it up in love, joy, peace, and virtue. This passage defines the Spirit-filled life as a visible, ethical reality that flows from freedom rightly ordered.

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Galatians 5.13-25 (ESV)

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,

20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,

21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

24 And 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.

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Greek Word Study

• ἐλευθερία (eleutheria) – “freedom” (v. 13). Not libertinism, but freedom ordered to love and service.

• σάρξ (sarx) – “flesh” (vv. 16–17). Not the body per se, but disordered desires, ego-driven existence opposed to God’s Spirit.

• καρπός (karpos) – “fruit” (v. 22). Organic metaphor: virtues grow naturally when rooted in the Spirit.

• πνεῦμα (pneuma) – “Spirit” (v. 16, 18, 22, 25). Divine breath, empowering life, relational presence guiding believers.

• στοιχῶμεν (stoichōmen) – “keep in step” (v. 25). Military/communal term: walking in ordered harmony with the Spirit.

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Historical Situation

Galatians (c. 48–55 CE) addresses churches troubled by Judaizing teachers who insisted Gentiles adopt circumcision and the Mosaic law. Paul argues fiercely that justification is by faith in Christ, not by works of the law. In this section, Paul clarifies: freedom in Christ does not mean moral chaos, but Spirit-led life. The “flesh” represents self-destructive habits and communal breakdown, while the Spirit generates a radically different ethos marked by love.

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Observation through Three Lenses

1. Traditional (Catholic / Orthodox / Protestant Mainstream)

Tradition reads this as a treatise on Christian virtue and moral formation. Freedom is safeguarded through charity: the law fulfilled in loving one’s neighbor. The contrast between works of the flesh and fruit of the Spirit resonates with ascetic disciplines and monastic spirituality, where passions are tamed so virtues can flourish. The fruit of the Spirit are not mere emotions but cultivated habits of grace, nourished in sacrament, prayer, and community. Thus, life in the Spirit is communal, sacramental, and oriented toward holiness.

2. Evangelical (Conservative Protestant)

Evangelicals emphasize the sharp conflict between flesh and Spirit as the battleground of discipleship. Freedom is the release from law’s condemnation, but also the empowerment to walk in holiness. Evangelicals stress personal transformation: the works of the flesh are marks of the unregenerate life, while the fruit of the Spirit evidence true salvation. “Keeping in step with the Spirit” becomes a call to daily surrender, Bible immersion, and holy living. Evangelicals often highlight the radical assurance: life in the Spirit is proof one belongs to Christ.

3. Process Theological (Relational, Whiteheadian)

Process theology interprets this not as dualism of flesh vs Spirit, but as the tension between self-enclosed existence and open, relational becoming. “Flesh” symbolizes destructive patterns of ego and alienation, while “Spirit” is God’s ever-present lure into harmony, compassion, and joy. Where tradition frames this as ascetic formation and evangelicals as moral battleground, the process perspective heals by reimagining fruit not as proof of salvation but as the organic blossoming of life aligned with divine relationality. The Spirit is not a coercive power but a persuasive presence cultivating love, peace, and creativity within the web of relationships. We are called to love all, but not to unlove ourselves through medieval church practices of exclusion, isolation, or harm.

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Application through Three Lenses

1. Traditional

Do I cultivate the fruit of the Spirit through prayer, sacrament, and disciplined virtue? This passage reminds me that holiness is not accidental but formed by grace working through community and spiritual practice.

2. Evangelical

Am I daily crucifying the flesh and walking in step with the Spirit? This passage challenges me to examine whether my life shows the fruit of the Spirit, as evidence that I truly belong to Christ.

3. Process Theological

Do I see the Spirit’s fruit as the gentle unfolding of God’s love within me? This passage heals by reframing discipleship not as a struggle against myself (my "flesh") but as a shared journey with God.  Love, joy, peace, and patience are not imposed or achieved through ‘crucifying the flesh,’ but blossom naturally as I open myself to God’s ever-present invitation into deeper relationship and harmony.

So then, the Spirit’s fruits unfold gently, like love awakening within me. Discipleship is not a self-imposed battle upon my flesh and body, but a shared journey of grace and healing with the God of love and gentleness. Love, joy, peace, and patience do not come by force or demand, but blossom as I open to God’s quiet invitation into harmony through the shared giving of Self to Community by whatever means I am gifted.

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Processual Sidebar

Much of traditional and evangelical teaching has indeed carried a theology of self-loathing: treating the body as an enemy, the self as worthless, the human as “a worm” in need of crushing or disregard. This produces not humility but shame... A shame which spills outward into harm of others (if I despise myself to honor God, I will learn to despise others too).

Process theology offers a profound corrective:

• Fleshly embodiment is not a curse - God necessarily clothes us with flesh and spirit which is a blessing, not a curse. The curse lies in the frailty of the body. In the Incarnation, Jesus is likewise embodied as a holy act of God; Jesus did not despise God's work, rather he invested his life in the love and ministry of others.

• Love of self is not pride - it is the necessary foundation for loving others. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal 5:14) assumes that self-love, rightly held, is part of divine intention. To love ourselves is not arrogance but alignment with God’s own delight in creation. Only when we learn to honor the life God has given us can we truly love our neighbors.

• Self-love is not anything like moralistic self-help (MTD) -  it’s not “be nice, feel better, earn approval.” Instead, it’s relational participation with God in becoming whole, creative, compassionate.

• The Spirit’s fruit emerges not from self-hatred or self-policing but from relational attunement with God’s lure toward harmony. We are not to live in ascetic denial to ourselves in monkish practice. Nor lean into legalistic forms of religious practice to make ourselves more holy than what God has given to us in fleshly form, nor Christ has purchased for us through his incarnate atonement.

This means process discipleship is neither ascetic self-denial nor therapeutic self-indulgence, but relational self-acceptance: respecting our embodied existence as God’s ongoing creation, loving ourselves as God loves us, so that our "properly loved-love" may flow outward into community.

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Prayer

Spirit of life,

You have set me free not for self-indulgence but for love. Teach me to walk in step with You, turning from destructive habits and opening myself to the fruit of compassion, joy, and peace. May my freedom become service, and may my life bear fruit that reflects Your renewing presence in the world.

Amen

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