Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
The verses following the list of the fruit of the Spirit seem related to the word “temperance.” The kind of temperance that God wants us to have is like a crucifixion. Some pain will be involved in the kind of self-denial God wants us to have.
It is painful because we are accustomed to walking in the flesh before we were saved – and those same lusts will come back every now and then. We must learn to say No to them and look to God for help. Despite their reappearance, God can always enable us to have the victory.
The text verses make it clear that those who are truly Christ’s “have crucified the flesh.” Still, it remains a choice – one that many today refuse to make.
It is only when the flesh is crucified, and we are surrendered to the will of God, that all the fruit will be manifested in our lives. Thankfully, their appearance in our lives will be produced automatically by the Holy Spirit. They are not something we must generate on our own.
In I Pe. 2:11, Peter pleads with the recipients of his letter: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” Following “fleshy lusts” leads to being without the blessings of God – they war against and prevent you from having them. It is always one or the other. Most likely, you will also sooner or later be chastised for it if you choose to follow the flesh. We must remember that we are only passing through this world to a much better one.
Peter also gives us some help in preparing for the things we may face as we serve Christ. In I Pe. 1:13, he says: “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (when He comes for us).