spirit & flesh
The fifth chapter of the Letter to the Galatians (NABRE) focuses on spirit and flesh. We see there a clear contrast between living in the spirit and living in the flesh, with the strong suggestion that the two are mutually exclusive. What makes these two things opposed, and what is Paul really asking?
The Greek words σάρξ (sarx) and πνεῦμα (pneuma) correspond well to our concepts of body and soul. In the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament), God created man first by creating his body and then by breathing divine life into him. As we’ve recently completed the celebration of Pentecost, we’re reminded that Christianity represents a sort of renewal of that act of Creation in which God’s spirit again comes to live within us. The spirit by which we live, then, is not merely our souls but the divine life of God living within us. It is quite literally, then, not our life we’re called to live but God’s.
The true contrast in this passage is not between our better and lesser natures, but rather between human and divine. We are all called to live a divine life. In order to do so, we must at times act against our own will and desires and embrace the divine life within.
related topic: spirit; Paraclete
you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.
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