NOTES for Gal 5:16-25
The division between spirit and flesh is a theme that occupied the minds of many ancient philosophers, but the apostle Paul speaks of an entirely new understanding of this question. What Christ offers does not fit within the framework of even the most coherent philosophical system. The spirit and human nature are directed in opposite directions, and reconciling them is practically impossible. This can be seen clearly in the absolutely incompatible fruits they bear. This is the law to which everything must be subject. Acting according to the flesh, a person must inevitably begin committing murders, adulteries, idol worship...
Only by living in the Holy Spirit is a person able to break this circle. If we are "led by the Spirit," then little by little He transforms us so that no laws have power over us any longer. For together with Christ we "crucify" our flesh "with its passions and desires," and we begin to live in the fullness of our whole being in such a way that our deeds can be called "fruits of the spirit."