You Who are Spiritual

“Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.” 
Galatians 6:1

According to the New Testament, there are two broad categories of Christian believers, carnal and spiritual - that is, those whose actions and decisions are mainly governed by the “flesh” and those who normally are governed by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Paul noted this fact when he wrote to the bickering Christians in the church at Corinth. “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ” (1 Cor. 3:1).

Even though true believers can behave carnally, the fact that they are “infants in Christ” confirms that they are “in Christ.” They just need to grow up, as it were, into spiritual maturity through partaking of both the milk and the meat of the Scriptures. Note 1 Peter 2:2 (“long for the pure milk of the word”) and Hebrews 5:14 (“But solid food is for the mature”) for the God-given principle of Christian growth.

But our text also has a warning for spiritual Christians! When confronted with the fact of a “trespass” (that is, literally, a willful sin) in the life of a Christian brother, we must remember that our own spirituality does not guarantee that we ourselves are immune from sin. We must be careful to help rather than to condemn such a weak brother because we still can also “be tempted,” even though we usually try diligently to obey God’s word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

It is vital, the apostle reminds us, that “you who are spiritual” maintain a true “spirit of gentleness” in our interactions with fellow believers, as well as with the unsaved.