God’s Word Translation
Galatians 5:16
16Let me explain further. Live your life as your spiritual nature directs you. Then you will never follow through on what your corrupt nature wants.
Galatians 5:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
- New International Version (NIV)So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
- New King James Version (NKJV)I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Context of Galatians 5:16
14All of Moses’ Teachings are summarized in a single statement, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” 15But if you criticize and attack each other, be careful that you don’t destroy each other. Let me explain further. Live your life as your spiritual nature directs you. Then you will never follow through on what your corrupt nature wants. 17What your corrupt nature wants is contrary to what your spiritual nature wants, and what your spiritual nature wants is contrary to what your corrupt nature wants. They are opposed to each other. As a result, you don’t always do what you intend to do. 18If your spiritual nature is your guide, you are not subject to Moses’ laws.
Read all of Galatians 5Galatians 5:16 word by word
Λέγω δέ, πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς οὐ μὴ τελέσητε.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Galatians 5:16
- Galatians 3:17This is what I mean: The laws ⌞given to Moses⌟ 430 years after God had already put his promise ⌞to Abraham⌟ into effect didn’t cancel the promise ⌞to Abraham⌟.
- 1 Corinthians 7:29This is what I mean, brothers and sisters: The time has been shortened. While it lasts, those who are married should live as though they were not.
- Galatians 5:25If we live by our spiritual nature, then our lives need to conform to our spiritual nature.
- Galatians 6:8If you plant in ⌞the soil of⌟ your corrupt nature, you will harvest destruction. But if you plant in ⌞the soil of⌟ your spiritual nature, you will harvest everlasting life.
- Romans 8:1So those who are believers in Christ Jesus can no longer be condemned.
- 1 Peter 1:22Love each other with a warm love that comes from the heart. After all, you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth. As a result you have a sincere love for each other.
- 1 Peter 4:6After all, the Good News was told to people like that, although they are now dead. It was told to them so that they could be judged like humans in their earthly lives and live like God in their spiritual lives.
- Jude 1:19These are the people who cause divisions. They are concerned about physical things, not spiritual things.
- Galatians 5:19Now, the effects of the corrupt nature are obvious: illicit sex, perversion, promiscuity,
- Romans 6:12Therefore, never let sin rule your physical body so that you obey its desires.
- Romans 13:13We should live decently, as people who live in the light of day. Wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, rivalry, and jealousy cannot be part of our lives.
- 2 Corinthians 7:1Since we have these promises, dear friends, we need to cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit and live a holy life in the fear of God.
- Ephesians 2:3All of us once lived among these people, and followed the desires of our corrupt nature. We did what our corrupt desires and thoughts wanted us to do. So, because of our nature, we deserved God’s anger just like everyone else.
- Colossians 2:11In him you were also circumcised. It was not a circumcision performed by human hands. But it was a removal of the corrupt nature in the circumcision performed by Christ.
- Colossians 3:5Therefore, put to death whatever is worldly in you: your sexual sin, perversion, passion, lust, and greed (which is the same thing as worshiping wealth).
- 1 Peter 1:14Because you are children who obey God, don’t live the kind of lives you once lived. Once you lived to satisfy your desires because you didn’t know any better.
Commentaries on Galatians 5:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Walk in the Spirit - Get back that Spirit of God which you have grieved and lost; take up that spiritual religion which you have abandoned. Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh - If the Spirit of God dwell in and rule your heart, the whole carnal mind will be destroyed; and then, not only carnal ordinances will be abandoned, but also the works and propensities of the flesh.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16This I say then - This is the true rule about overcoming the propensities of your carnal natures, and of avoiding the evils of strife and contention. Walk - The Christian life is often represented as a journey, and the word walk, in the scripture, is often equivalent to live; Mark 7:5. See the notes at Romans 4:12; Romans 6:4, note; Romans 8:1, note. In the Spirit - Live under the influences of the Holy Spirit; admit those influences fully into your…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-26Verses 16-26 If it be our care to act under the guidance and power of the blessed Spirit, though we may not be freed from the stirrings and oppositions of the corrupt nature which remains in us, it shall not have dominion over us. Believers are engaged in a conflict, in which they earnestly desire that grace may obtain full and speedy victory. And those who desire thus to give themselves up to be led by the Holy Spirit, are not under the law as a covenant…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-26A faith without laws will not cause moral ruin. The Holy Spirit guides people, changing their hearts to follow God's will and not sin (see Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-1816. This I say then--Repeating in other words, and explaining the sentiment in Ga 5:13, What I mean is this." Walk in the Spirit--Greek, "By (the rule of) the (Holy) Spirit." Compare Ga 5:16-18, 22, 25; Ga 6:1-8, with Ro 7:22; 8:11. The best way to keep tares out of a bushel is to fill it with wheat. the flesh--the natural man, out of which flow the evils specified (Ga 5:19-21). The spirit and the flesh mutually exclude one another. It is promised, not…Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 5:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Galatians 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries