The Holy Spirit

Week 2 | The Holy Spirit Can Free You

February 13, 2022

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Big Idea

The Holy Spirit frees us, leading us out of the slavery of our selfishness into the freedom of Jesus’ way of human flourishing.

Scripture

Galatians 5:13-26

Opening Questions

  1. In what ways were you able to B.L.E.S.S. others this week? Did you pray for, listen to, eat a meal with, serve, or tell your story to anyone this week?
  2. Whom do you call when you need a hand?
  3. The Holy Spirit wants to free us from slavery to sin and selfishness and into the life-giving way of Jesus. What do you think it means to be set free from slavery to sin?

Bible Discussion

  1. Read Galatians 5:13-26 in multiple translations (NIV, MSG, NLT). What do you notice? What is Paul saying about the flesh? The Spirit?
  2. Throughout Galatians, Paul contrasts Spirit and faith on one side and law and flesh on the other. When Paul uses the word flesh with a negative connotation, he is not saying the body or created material is bad; instead, “flesh” is shorthand for “selfish desires.” Those desires are the problem, not the body. What are all the “fleshly” desires Paul mentions in our passage? Where do you see similar fleshly desires at work in the world? In yourself?
  3. Paul mentions the Law in verse 18. What he’s saying here and in Romans (which is a longer treatment of the topic) is that the Old Testament Law, even though it was good and given by God, was powerless to free us from our fleshly desires. However, when we live by faith in the resurrected Jesus, the Holy Spirit does the work in us the law always wanted to accomplish but was powerless to do so. What do you think about Paul’s message that we can be set free from our sinful desires by the power of the Holy Spirit?
  4. Reread verses 5:22, 23. What fruits of the Spirit do you long to see in your life?
  5. Freedom in the New Testament is not defined as the ability to “do whatever one wants;” it’s about a community of people set free from sin and living out God’s way in the world. How is that similar or different from the concepts of freedom we hear regularly? How might some constraints give you the freedom to be who God wants you to be? (See the Leader Guide for more on this). What ways of God would you like to live out regularly?
  6. Look at verses 24-26 and Romans. How do you think someone crucifies the flesh? How can we stay in step with the Spirit this week?
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