Youth Group Connect - Walk By the Spirit
Context for Verse
- Paul is writing to churches being pressured to add religious performance (circumcision, law-keeping) on top of faith in Christ.
- His argument: if you've received the Spirit, you don't need the law to manage your behaviour. The Spirit is doing something the law never could.
- "The flesh" here doesn't mean your physical body. It means the old self-centred way of living: oriented around what you want, what looks good, what keeps you safe.
- "The fruit of the Spirit" is singular, not plural. Paul isn't giving a checklist to tick off. He's describing one kind of person, shaped by one Person.
- The tension: Christians have the Spirit and still feel the pull of the flesh. Paul names that honestly.
Verse
Try and get multiple people to read a few verses at a time. Natural break after verse 21 if you want to pause and check in.
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, factions,
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.
Questions
Pick 3 or 4. Spend the most time on Q2 and Q4.
Q1. Look at the list in verses 19-21 and the list in verses 22-23. What stands out to you about the difference between them? (Look for: one list is loud and obvious; the other is almost invisible in daily life.)
Q2. Paul calls the Spirit's list "fruit," not "achievements" or "works." What's the difference between fruit you grow yourself and fruit that grows because something is alive in you? What does that say about how the Spirit list shows up in your life?
Q3. Verse 17 says the flesh and the Spirit are "opposed to each other." That internal pull (wanting to do the right thing but feeling pulled toward the easier thing) what does that actually feel like for you at school?
Q4. "Not bowing" sounds like white-knuckling it… just refusing. How does this passage change what faithfulness looks like? What's the difference between trying hard not to bow and walking by the Spirit?
Q5. Verse 25 says: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit." What's one concrete thing this week where keeping in step might look different from just going along with everyone else?
Pray
- Pray that God would grow the fruit of the Spirit in each person, especially in the areas they mentioned
- Pray about the specific situations people brought up where they feel the pull between the two
The heart of this passage is v.25: the indicative ("we live by the Spirit") grounds the imperative ("keep in step with the Spirit"). Being unashamed isn't just refusing bad things, it's more like a positive character that comes from the Spirit being alive in you.
Don't focus on the works-of-the-flesh list. The list is just Paul illustrating what a self-oriented life produces.
Keep the focus on vv.22-25. Faithfulness is not just moral refusal.
Kids who've heard "just say no" their whole lives need to see that Spirit-walking is active towards the good, not just reactive to the bad. It should produce something visible and different.
Pastorally: sometimes the "don't bow" type of message can feel like failure. This passage teaches that the Spirit is the power source, not their willpower. Don't turn the fruit list into another thing to fail.
What exactly is "the flesh"? Not the physical body, it's the old self-centred mode of life, living as if God isn't there.
Does this mean Christians won't struggle with sin? No… v.17 says the flesh and Spirit are still in conflict. The struggle is real but we're not fighting alone.
Why is it called "fruit" not "fruits"? It's one unified character (MIND BLOWN 😂), not nine separate traits you acquire individually… they grow together from the same source.
Does "crucified the flesh" (v.24) mean we've already dealt with it? It means a decisive break has happened at conversion, but the daily "keeping in step" (v.25) is an ongoing reality.
What if I don't feel like the Spirit is in me? Paul isn't talking about feelings, he's talking about what you've received. The Spirit IS received from the moment of Salvation. The fruit grows over time and we don't judge the tree in week one.
"What about tongues / spiritual gifts?" Paul covers gifts elsewhere; this passage is specifically about character. Park it and stay in Galatians 5.
Debating which works of the flesh are "worse": The list is illustrative, not a ranking. Redirect: what does the contrast as a whole tell us about two different ways to live?