has already affirmed that the converts had begun their journey thus (see 3:3), and he now urges them to finish it in the same way. Paul makes an astounding promise: those who keep themselves centered on the Spirit and allow the Spirit to guide and empower their day-to-day actions “will certainly not bring to completion what flesh desires” (or “will certainly not fulfill the desires that spring from the flesh”). Paul employs here the Greek construction known as an emphatic future negation, reserved