Galatians 5:16-18 | Walk by the Spirit
16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
-Galatians 5:16-18 BSB
-Galatians 5:16-18 BSB
There is not a believer I have met that is unaware of the internal battle concerning flesh and Spirit. That being said, we often underestimate just how much this battle is at large within us. I find that we also fail to recognize the power that flesh and Spirit actually have within us. More severely, we underestimate the power of the Spirit in our lives.
What is it that we have heard spoken in our churches and across the nations? Is it not that sin is a promise in your life? "It is not a question of if you sin, but when and how bad. You are probably sinning now and don't even know it! You are going to sin!" Sin is treated as a promise in the life of the believer. Have we not just looked at the freedom from the dominion of sin we have? Paul seems to challenge this notion of the expectation of sin.
If you walk by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For anyone who desires to see freedom from sin in their lives and victory over temptation, the solution is a simple one. Walk by the Spirit. As simple as that sounds, we are left with a critical question. How does someone walk by the Spirit?
In a tremendously frustrating discovery, we will find that walking by the Spirit is not explained in Scripture. At least, it is not clearly explained in the way we would prefer. We want the list of what to do and not do in order to walk by the Spirit. In other words, we want to perfect a spiritual work by the flesh. It is easier for us to have tasks and boxes to check off. If we do the right things, then we will walk by the Spirit. But Scripture seems to take this the other way and teaches that if you walk by the Spirit, you will do the right things. Let us not confuse the order.
Walking by the Spirit is walking by faith and trust in the Lord. It is waiting upon Him and placing one's hope in Him. It is following, by way of the intuition of the Spirit, the Spirit's direction. It is communing with God in prayer, in silent wordless meditation, and in His word. It is heeding the conviction of the Spirit to perform or not perform things. In short, walking by the Spirit is developing an awareness of the Spirit within oneself and heeding every prompt at every moment that the Spirit gives. Suddenly, that very simple answer just demanded a whole lot more of us. Let us not forget where we have come from. We have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer our lives that we live. The life we now live in the body we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. The demand to walk in the Spirit is then an appropriate one.
If you are a believer, let me encourage you. The Spirit is already in you. You are His temple. I encourage you to meet with God and ask Him to reveal His Spirit within you. It is a work that God loves to do. Scripture is clear about this. He uses spiritual people to carry out His spiritual work. But if we do not even know how to walk in the Spirit, how then ought the Lord use us for a spiritual work? Walking in the Spirit is the most effective way to carry forth the Christian life.
How can you take time to commune with the Lord today?
What is it that we have heard spoken in our churches and across the nations? Is it not that sin is a promise in your life? "It is not a question of if you sin, but when and how bad. You are probably sinning now and don't even know it! You are going to sin!" Sin is treated as a promise in the life of the believer. Have we not just looked at the freedom from the dominion of sin we have? Paul seems to challenge this notion of the expectation of sin.
If you walk by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For anyone who desires to see freedom from sin in their lives and victory over temptation, the solution is a simple one. Walk by the Spirit. As simple as that sounds, we are left with a critical question. How does someone walk by the Spirit?
In a tremendously frustrating discovery, we will find that walking by the Spirit is not explained in Scripture. At least, it is not clearly explained in the way we would prefer. We want the list of what to do and not do in order to walk by the Spirit. In other words, we want to perfect a spiritual work by the flesh. It is easier for us to have tasks and boxes to check off. If we do the right things, then we will walk by the Spirit. But Scripture seems to take this the other way and teaches that if you walk by the Spirit, you will do the right things. Let us not confuse the order.
Walking by the Spirit is walking by faith and trust in the Lord. It is waiting upon Him and placing one's hope in Him. It is following, by way of the intuition of the Spirit, the Spirit's direction. It is communing with God in prayer, in silent wordless meditation, and in His word. It is heeding the conviction of the Spirit to perform or not perform things. In short, walking by the Spirit is developing an awareness of the Spirit within oneself and heeding every prompt at every moment that the Spirit gives. Suddenly, that very simple answer just demanded a whole lot more of us. Let us not forget where we have come from. We have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer our lives that we live. The life we now live in the body we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. The demand to walk in the Spirit is then an appropriate one.
If you are a believer, let me encourage you. The Spirit is already in you. You are His temple. I encourage you to meet with God and ask Him to reveal His Spirit within you. It is a work that God loves to do. Scripture is clear about this. He uses spiritual people to carry out His spiritual work. But if we do not even know how to walk in the Spirit, how then ought the Lord use us for a spiritual work? Walking in the Spirit is the most effective way to carry forth the Christian life.
How can you take time to commune with the Lord today?
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John 14:22-31 | What's the lesson for me today?John 14:22-31 | What am I going to do about it?John 14:22-31 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:1-11John 15:1-11 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:1-11 | What's the connection?John 15:1-11 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:1-11 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:1-11 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:1-11 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:12-27John 15:12-27 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:12-27 | What's the connection?John 15:12-27 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:12-27 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:12-27 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:12-27 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:1-15John 16:1-15 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:1-15 | What's the connection?John 16:1-15 | What’s a lesson for the original audience?John 16:1-15 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:1-15 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:1-15 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:16-33John 16:16-33 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:16-33 | What's the connection?John 16:16-33 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 16:16-33 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:16-33 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:16-33 | Prayer Prompts
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