The Vital Divine Habit

Galatians 5:16   So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.  17  The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

Wuest:  But I say, through the instrumentality of the Spirit habitually order your manner of life, and you will in no wise execute the passionate desire of the flesh,   17  for the flesh constantly has a strong desire to suppress the Spirit, and the Spirit constantly has a strong desire to suppress the flesh.  And these are entrenched in an attitude of mutual opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you desire to do.


I like how Wuest fills this out.

• We are to make it our habit of letting the Holy Spirit guide our lives.
• These desires of the sinful nature or flesh are passionate.
• the sinful nature needs suppression since the desires are so passionate.  What can suppress the sinful nature, only Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, not modern psychology, not our own will, not guilt or condemnation, not good intentions.