Galatians 3:1-5, 5:22-26 “Flesh Acts”
Last week at the Sunday evening Bible Study at David and Susie’s house, we were all treated to free avocados. They have a tree in their backyard that is heavy with perfectly huge avocados. This morning I want us to consider what an avocado would be without its flesh? Better yet, what would a bowl of guacamole be without the flesh of the avocado? That’s right, it would simply be the pits!
When we talk about flesh in the Bible, we should not necessarily count it as evil. The Bible tells us that when a man and a woman get married they become one flesh. That is considered a sacrament. When Jesus was born, we say that “Word became flesh.” It was still the Word however. At the Pentecost, we read in Acts 2 that the Spirit was poured out on all flesh.
From this, we have to understand that flesh is not necessarily bad. It is what we do with it. And, when we discuss the idea of a “flesh act,” then we must be quite careful in understanding exactly what that is. We Christians sometimes get confused ourselves in this.
Let me give you some example: For instance, we might bring up a name in a time of prayer. You know, “We really need to pray for so-and-so because he has a drinking problem, and he was arrested, and his wife wants to leave him, and I think he has really messed up his life, and if I had a mind to it I would go over and give him a slap across the face. . . .” In this way, a good Christian prayer turns into a flesh act. The prayer turns into gossip.
To be sure the quintessential flesh act of the Bible comes in Genesis when Cain kills his brother Able. He does this as we read in Genesis four because he is envious of Able’s sacrifices to God! God comes and asks Cain where his brother is, He responds, “Am I my brother’s keeper.” But, the blood is crying up from the ground, and God knows the truth. This whole episode was really about the fact that Cain was upset that his sacrifices to God were not as acceptable as Abel’s. In this way, even an act of worship was turned into a flesh act.
So, the flesh act for us Christians is when you can feel God looking over your shoulder knowing that you have sinned, and you try to cover it up. It is a sin that you try to disguise from God by saying that it is a “prayer” or “sacrament” or simply the nature of the situation or basic human nature.
Yes, even going to church can be a flesh act. Once at another church on a Sunday morning, the parking lot to the church was filling up quickly. Church members in the parking lot were whispering among themselves as they walked to the church. The subject of the whispering was a man who leaned up against the wall outside the church. He was almost lying down as if he was asleep. He had on a long trench coat that was almost in shreds and a hat topped his head, pulled down so you could not see his face. He wore shoes that looked 30 years old, too small for his feet with holes all over them, his toes stuck out.
All assumed that this man was homeless and asleep, so they walked on by through the doors of the church. They all fellowshipped for a few minutes before worship, and someone brought up the subject the man lying outside. People snickered and gossiped but no one bothered to ask him to come in. A few moments later the worship began. They all waited for the guest preacher to take his place and to give the Word, when the doors to the church opened. In came the homeless man walking down the aisle with his head down. People gasped and whispered and made faces. He made his way down the aisle and up onto the pulpit he took off his hat and coat. There stood the preacher ... he was the "homeless man." Now, you all can just imagine what he preached on!
This is the flesh act that we have to understand. It may be something we do that is legal, some my even find it righteous, but it is not good with God. It can be a prayer that turns to gossip It could be a sacrament such as marriage that turns to hatred and emotional withdrawal. It can even be going to church. It happens all the time that things that we would otherwise see as acceptable before God turns all “fleshy.”
Paul writes to the churches in Galatia that their churches have become “fleshy.” They have become corrupted before God. This is a very difficult admonition against them because Paul has a genuine love and fondness towards the people of Galatia because they nursed him back to health at one point in his ministry when he was quite ill. Apparently he was so sick that even his eyesight was failing. Paul mentions that in those days when he was recuperating with them, they would have pulled out one of their own eyes and given to him, such was their love and hospitality. That is an amazing statement that they were so unconcerned about their own flesh that they would give it up for Paul. (4:15)
Now apparently those times have changed. Now the people are doing things that are unspiritual and not pleasing in any way to God. Paul is not shy about listing those things to the churches. Check out chapter 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.” Paul just basically described the human condition in its very essence! Remember, however, that this is his complaint against the churches.
The question is how do we respond with faith when we are confronted with these things in our lives and in the lives of others. You see, flesh acts are human acts. How we respond is what causes God to look down on us with His favor over our lives. Can we respond out of the love that God showed to us through His son Jesus Christ? The Apostle Paul himself knows that he has engaged in flesh acts. He has had strife with Barnabas and Peter. He is in the middle of great dissension with the church in Corinth as we have heard. He has shown anger. Paul struggles to beat down the flesh with the power of the Spirit.
We continue to read in Galatians 5:22-26 these now famous words: “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. . . .”
This last week we have seen these two extremes meet in a profound way. On Tuesday the world celebrated what is known as Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, or Carnival. The very next day, we celebrated the beginning of Lent, a time of fasting and prayer to mark the temptation of Jesus before Satan in the wilderness. We take forty days before the crucifixion to in essence crucify our own passions and desires as Paul mentions to the Galatians.
When I was a boy growing up in the church, I remember the Sunday school lessons we had about the fruits of the Spirit. I remember taking my crayons and coloring the cutouts the teacher had prepared. There were yellow bananas, purple grapes, orange oranges, and the red apples. They were so nice looking. I wanted to have those fruits. I wanted to taste those fruits. I hope you are all remembering your own Sunday school days!
However, as I grew up, I came to understand that these fruits really don’t taste very fruity at all. Sometimes in fact, the things that Paul mentions as the fruit of Spirit are bitter and hard to swallow! And, I realized that in Sunday school we never kept reading that passage. We just listed the fruit and drew our pictures. The passage continues on with the words, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
You see, Jesus had the fruit of the Spirit, that is love, patience, kindness, self-control, and the like. He was taken to the Cross and crucified for it. The Apostle Paul had these fruits of the Spirit, and yet he suffered until his own martyrdom in Rome. As I said before, these fruits are not very fruity!
Unless. . .unless. . .we truly believe in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus! We know that there was only one letter ever written to the churches of Galatia. However, we have something even better in the Book of Acts: we have a sermon that Paul actually preached there! Acts 13:13 and on we read twice in Paul’s words to the Galatians this idea that even though Christ is crucified, He is crucified so that he not come back to “corruption.” Do you see that in Acts 13:34? 13:35?
That is where the sweetness of the fruit of the Spirit lies. Not in this fleshy part of our existence, but after we ourselves have crucified the flesh and have taken on the body that cannot be corrupted anymore.
Be careful to avoid those flesh acts that will corrupt you and take away from the spirit. Believe in the resurrection. Keep to the faith.
Amen.