Highlights
If you want to know how to live on a spiritual level – the key is walking in the Spirit. If you want to know how to get to that point where you are no longer looking at human solutions anymore, you looked at spiritual solutions and supernatural answers, the same solution – walking in the Spirit.
- The idea of walking is living life in the continual presence of the Holy Spirit.
- The desires of the Spirit are against the flesh to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
- If you walk by the Spirit, you will not carry out the flesh’s lusts or desires.
Introduction
In the last blog, we revisit the truth about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Person. He is not a force or energy but the third Person in the trinity. We have learned that He is not only present in the New Testament times, but He is present even in the beginning, actively involved in the creation itself.
His works were also evident in some of the Old Testament personalities. Still, after our Lord Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, after His ascension to heaven, the Holy Spirit took permanent residence to everyone who will accept the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is responsible for the sanctification of every believer, and because of Him, we can confidently call God as Abba Father.
Have you think about this?
If the Holy Spirit did all of these things to me, why is it that I still experience difficulty in overcoming specific weaknesses? Why is it that I always end up defeated in the face of temptation? Why is it that I even end up beaten amid a difficult situation in my life?
Story of My Friend
A week ago, one of our friends in the campus days posted in our group chat, saying she needs some forgiveness principles. Many of our friends gave different suggestions – you have to do this, and you have to do that. Then I send her a private message saying, with regards to forgiveness, you need the Holy Spirit’s help – you will not be able to do it from your strength. Then she told me, “of all the advises that I received, you are the only one who asks me to rely on the Holy Spirit.”
My Realization
And then I realize, many believers, including me in most cases, end up defeated in the face of a difficult situation not because it is an impossible situation – God will not give us impossible situations, but because we forget to rely on the Holy Spirit. We tend to rely only on our strength. We keep forgetting that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit as our Helper, our Counselor, our Mediator, even our Intercessor. Most believers forget about this truth now, but even during the first century, this is a common problem. Apostle Paul both rebuked and reminded the church of Galatia because of this. In Chapter 3, verse 3, he mentioned something like this
Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Galatians 3:3 ESV
Are you so foolish? – now, this is hardline. And Paul’s argument will prove his disappointments.
Having begun by the Spirit
Every believer starts with the Spirit. All of us came into spiritual life through the agency of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit allowed us to realize that we are a sinner and that we will not pay our sins except death no matter what we do. The Holy Spirit illuminates the fact that God loves us so much that He sends His Son – Jesus Christ, so He can live the life that we should live and die the death that we should die, and on the third day, He rose again. The Holy Spirit sealed this truth in us. When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit indwells in us, giving us a guarantee of eternal life. Now Apostle Paul is saying, every one of you begun by the Spirit. Now the question is,
are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Are you trying to live your Christian life by the flesh? Well, some of you may say, well, what do you mean by the flesh? You see, the word flesh in the Bible is one of the most challenging words to define. Authors of the Bible used the word flesh in multiple ways giving multiple meanings. In some cases, it refers to just the physical body – the Holy Spirit has no flesh and bones or weakness of our flesh – it relates to the body. However, in this verse, the flesh refers not just to the physical body but human effort. Our effort on our own. Human works.
So, Paul is saying, and this is for a believer if you are watching right now, and you think, well I haven’t decided yet, don’t worry – this is not for you. After starting with the Spirit, Paul is saying you are trying to tackle things on your effort. You are trying to solve a problem from your strength. You are trying to overcome weakness from your power. How foolish are you? Such a challenging statement, right?
You see, what Paul is saying here since you begin with the Spirit, you should continue with the Spirit. It would be best if you approached your life on a spiritual level.
Well, you might be thinking right now, but how should I do this? How do I live on a spiritual level? How do I get to that point where we’re not looking anymore at human solutions but looking at spiritual solutions and supernatural answers? To answer this, let me lead you to our main point.
Walking in the Spirit
Four powerful words should describe every Christian life. If you want to know how to live on a spiritual level – walk by the Spirit. If you want to know how to get to that point where you are no longer looking at human solutions anymore, you looked at spiritual solutions and supernatural answers – walk by the Spirit.
And this is the same instruction Apostle Paul gave to the church in Galatia, and I believe this is what he is reminding every one of us today, including me, of course.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 ESV
Now this is a command. And it is not optional. If you want to guarantee victory in whatever battle you are facing or will face in the future. You have to follow this command.
walk by the Spirit
You see, the word “walk” is a progressive present tense command with continuity. The phrase also means “keep on continually walking.”
To walk means to place one foot in front of the other and to go forward one step at a time. If you stop doing this, you are no longer walking. You are standing still—or worse, going backward. Walking always implies movement, progress, and direction.
The idea here is living life in the continual presence of the Holy Spirit. One step at a time under the control of the Holy Spirit.
As a believer, this should be a pattern for us, a habit, or a routine. And if we do this, the result is something extraordinary. As we follow the command, there is a corresponding promise as a result of that. Let us look in the remaining part of the verse.
you will not gratify the desires of the flesh
Here it is again, the word flesh, this time it means sinful nature. Interestingly, Paul did not say here that as a believer, you will no longer experience flesh’s desires as you walk by the Spirit. No. As long as we are not yet perfect, we are going to have sinful nature. While sin has no more extended power over us, but we still have a sinful nature.
And the sinful nature is the very cause of trouble in our life. Every wrong action, every wrong word, every wrong idea, every adverse reaction, and every false emotion, every wrong attitude is from the flesh or sinful nature. The reason we have anxiety – our sinful nature. The reason we have fear, the flesh.
The reason we have terrible relationships, we give in to the desires of the flesh. The reason we have difficulty in marriage, we walk by the flesh. The reason we have a problem in the family, the flesh. The reason we have difficulty cooperating with other people, the flesh.
The reason we have pride, the flesh. The reason we have a financial problem right now, the flesh. The reason we have trouble in our studies, the flesh. All wrong deeds all come out of the flesh. Since the flesh causes all of our problems, we must subdue it by all means.
And Paul revealed to us the universal truth – if you don’t want to experience the consequences from all these troubles, do not gratify the flesh’s desires or the sinful nature. And you cannot do it using flesh or human effort. You need to walk by the Spirit. Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. What a statement.
This verse is monumental. You can take all of the Christian living and reduce it to this. You can take all the commands of the New Testament and reduce them to this. If you walk by the Spirit, you will not carry out the flesh’s lusts or desires. That’s it.
That’s victory. But you have to decide to walk by the Spirit. It is a daily, moment by moment decision that you need to do. As a believer, you see a constant conflict that we encounter – a battle between flesh and Spirit. Before, when we haven’t discovered God’s unique gift, there was no conflict – it is only flesh. But now, we have the Holy Spirit, who creates friction with the sinful nature that we have. The next verse will describe this.
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Galatians 5:17 ESV
The flesh wants to control you. It wants to have you think wrong. It wants to have you feel bad. It intends to create anger, hostility, bitterness, jealousy, envy, strife.
It wants to make you sure that you have reason to fear. It wants to make you doubt God. It wants to take love out of your heart and replace it with hatred. It wants to make you do the wrong things and fill your life with guilt. It wants to destroy your marriage. It wants to destroy your home. It wants to ruin your relationships. It wants to make you useless to God.
The flesh lusts all the time, desiring what is wrong, what is destructive. And the only hope of overcoming it is to walk in the Spirit. You see, you cannot offer a human solution for a spiritual problem. The spiritual problem requires a spiritual solution; thus, we need to walk by the Spirit. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit. With the correct decision, it will guarantee victory over our life. The flesh has no more extended power in us, but we can choose to give it power by walking. I hope we make the right choice, walk by the Spirit.
Practical Application
Walk towards the truth of God's Word
Study the Word of God to know the mind of the Spirit and the Will of the Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit is the same as letting the Word dwell in you richly because as the Word dominates your thinking, it dominates your action.
Walk-in prayer and total dependence upon the Lord
Seek Christ and His life in daily prayer, public prayer, and meditation on God’s Word.
Walk towards the light of the love of Jesus
Jesus said that He is the light of the world. To walk in the Spirit is to be following Jesus, for the Spirit speaks of Christ Jesus. The Spirit magnifies the name of Jesus. And the light of Christ is His all-pervasive grace and love.
Conclusion
The Holy Spirit is one of God’s most precious gifts to His beloved children. He takes up residence within the believer at the moment of salvation and empowers him to overcome sin and live for God’s glory and purposes. However, the Spirit’s power can be “turned off” or ignored. Only those who choose to walk with Him have unhindered access to His strength and guidance.
Walking by the Spirit denotes reliance upon Him. He leads the way, and we follow. As He speaks, we listen, heed His warnings, and obey His directions. The Spirit’s course is a path of surrender which, although difficult, leads to fullness of life.
God’s Spirit not only guides; He also empowers because the challenge of obeying Him is impossible in our strength. The Holy Spirit supplies everything we need to live a godly life, and He produces His excellent fruit in us.
Being led by the Spirit should be the natural lifestyle of the sons and daughters of God. As you intentionally seek to maintain an awareness of His presence throughout the day, He is only a thought away. When your mind turns to Him, He gives sensitivity to God’s things and understands the situations and people in your life.
Take a walk with the Spirit today, and learn to know His voice. Whenever your mind is free from day’s duties, focus your thoughts on Him, ask for His guidance, and look expectantly for His leading. When He gives it, rely on His power to obey.
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