Self-control. We get restraint and temperance from the original word used here translated as self-control. To arrive at a proper understanding and definition of self-control, we first have to understand what control means. In other words, what are we controlling within ourselves? Since we are dealing with the work of the Holy Spirit, then the question must be, What is the Holy Spirit controlling? And then, What characteristic of the Holy Spirit are we to adopt in our own lives?
In Genesis 6:3, we read that the Lord will not always strive with us and limited the number of our years. In Isaiah 63, the Lord turned against His own people who rebelled against Him, and it caused them to remember what the Lord had done for them in the past and to wish they could restore themselves to that same relationship once again. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament restrains us from sin, or perhaps it is better said that the Holy Spirit’s work is to restrain the growth of sin and the continuation of sin in the life of an unrepentant person or nation. This was the work of the Lord in bringing the flood, which destroyed the people who had entirely forsaken the Lord.
In Galatians, there is instead an inward focus of this restraint which leads us to self-control. We are to restrain ourselves from sin. Thayer’s Lexicon indicates that self-control refers to a person who has mastered the passions and desires and commonly refers to mastering the sensual appetites. This could be interpreted several ways, one being that we master our carnal passions and desires as we draw closer to God. This definition of self-control speaks more to overcoming idolatry and would be found in our relationship with the Lord. Mastering our passions and desires also benefits the people around us because we no longer have the desire to satisfy ourselves at their expense. Although it is not specified, one passion or desire may be anger, and restraining ourselves from expressing the wrong type of anger is very important in our relationships.
It must also be restraining ourselves from indulging or over-indulging in the pleasures of the world which could so easily distract us from the Lord and render us useless in carrying out His work in the world. Self-control is not, however, power that we have apart from the Holy Spirit. The Lord most certainly helps us build up this self-control, and truly it is the Holy Spirit working in and through us when we have self-control. R.A. Torrey wrote that as we draw closer to the Lord we may find that we are gently reminded again and again of a particular issue in our lives. We should pay attention to these reminders because the Lord is identifying an area of our lives that must be addressed before we can grow deeper with Him. Most typically, we are not led to address every single area of our lives all at once.
Self-control, however, is not only the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We must also choose to heed the warnings He gives us when we face temptation. Ultimately, we have control over our own decisions and are responsible for what we choose to do. Satan normally tempts us away from the Lord in our weakest areas, and as we build up resistance and strength, Satan will tempt us at times when we least expect it or our guard is down. This has been my experience and why I am writing it here. Apart from the Holy Spirit, it is very difficult for us to exercise self-control, to choose not to act on the temptation. To have power over temptation through self-control, we must call upon the Holy Spirit to help us overcome the temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 very clearly promises that God “will provide the way of escape” from temptation “so that you will be able to endure it.”
Like this post? Subscribe to stay up to date on new posts.