What do these words of the apostle mean: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16)?

When your entire body was anointed with Holy Myron oil, the Holy Spirit dwelt in you, and you were sanctified and set aside to the Lord alone. The more you submit in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, the more will the members of your body be sanctified to Him and help you on the path of life. For example: the instinct of love, which sin uses as an instrument of iniquity for death, makes you, by the help of the Holy Spirit, a lover of the Lord and an instrument of righteousness that bears fruit for God. The instinct of wrath provokes you against your fellow human; but if you strive by surrendering to the Holy Spirit, you will rebel against your own sin and lust. In the life of one who strives with the help of the Holy Spirit, the instinct of fear is no longer a source of terror and fear of people, but instead says, “Unite my heart to fear Your name” (Ps. 86:11). The instruments that were previously used for

809 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Romans 13 (NPNF I/11:429). 810 Translators’ Note: i.e., of the body or the flesh.

iniquity become instruments of righteousness unto God. Your members become members of Christ (1 Cor. 6:15) and are holy.