"So I say walk in the Spirit, and you shall
not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary
to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law"
Galatians 5:16-18
"Walking in the Spirit" is a phrase we hear spoken
and preached on frequently. However many of us struggle with
its meaning and fail to comprehend what Paul is saying. For
many of us it is something to lofty or un-attainable, or
perhaps it is meant only just for the Clergy. But here we
see Paul writing to the Church at Galatia and not
necessarily to Clergy, but to all Christians, encouraging
them, to live in the Spirit. Our problem is most of us do
not know how to achieve this. We think it is something that
God has to bless us with, based on our performance, our
prayers, or our speech. The answer is not as complex as
we might think. For you see, God knows that we cannot live
as a Christian is truly suppose to live and in fact He really
doesn't expect you to. What He does expect you to do is die to
self so that Jesus can live His life through you and be seen
to all who see you. By doing this you become like Christ, a
Christian. All this is done by grace given to those who are
willing to sacrifice their flesh for His Spirit.
This willingness is carried to its highest level by what
Paul wrote in Romans 8:2, 5-7 "For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the
law of sin and death... For those who live according to the
flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who live according to the Spirit, the things of
the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to
be spiritually minded is life and peace" and in
Romans 8:8 "So then, those who are in the flesh cannot
please God". Here Paul speaks of the law of sin that
rules the flesh and rules over the flesh. If we break
the law (Gods commandments) we submit ourselves to the
judgment and penalty of the law but if we submit ourselves
to the Holy Spirit and receive Christ Jesus life in us we
are automatically removed from the judgment of the law.
In order to achieve this we must set our thinking on the
desires of the Spirit.
A person does and acts as he thinks. If you meditate on
something long enough you begin to act upon that which
you are thinking or dwelling on. So it is with the Spirit
of God, if you meditate on the things of the Spirit you
will become God conscience. If you are thinking like the
world you will do and act out the things of the world.
Paul names the worldly (flesh) deeds in Galatians 5:19-21
"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of
wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy,
murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which
I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time
past, that those who practice such things will not
inherit the kingdom of God". We now look at the things
(fruit) the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
(v.22-23). So we can easily see that walking in the Spirit
can indeed be achieved by our thought life and can be used
to influence others to do the same.
When we where in the world we influenced people with our
thoughts, speech, and actions. This same law of influence
is now in effect with the law of freedom which is in the
Spirit. That freedom is the freedom to choose what is good
and not be pulled to the world without resisting in battle.
Before we knew Christ it was natural to do evil, but now
that we are in Christ it is only natural to do what is
good and pure (Phil. 4:8). This now natural action is only
given by the grace of God. Therefore walking in the Spirit
is only achieved by the grace and mercy of the goodness
given by our Father God. Where grace abounds and lives
there is an overflowing desire to perform the acts of
righteousness. So while there is a difference between
performance and grace, we must remember it is only by this
grace we are able to perform.
David E. Walls, Sr
