HOW to Walk by the Spirit

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Galatians 5:16, 17   This I say then, 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 the one to the other; so that you cannot do the things that you desire.

Simple to say.  Walk by the spirit.  But it is also simple to do, really simple.  Not easy, but once the transformation has taken place, oh so simple.
Step number one in walking by the spirit is to recognize the spirit of God.

John 16:13-15   Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come.  He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.  All things that the Father has are mine; therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.

See the study  What is Truth?

This spirit of which Jesus is speaking is not a “he.”  That pronoun is used (in the King James version anyway) because it modifies the masculine noun “spirit.”  So whether you use the pronoun “it” or the pronoun “he,” you’re speaking about the spirit of God which was given to Jesus, the Christ, to give to the whole world.

Romans 8:26b   ….but the spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (which cannot be understood).

That spirit always makes known Christ.

John 14:21   He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me; and he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

John 15:26   But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, the spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:

You can see in verse 26 above, that the translators couldn’t determine if the spirit was a person or a thing.  First they say “whom” I will send, then they say, “which” proceeds from the Father.

Now the qualities of this spirit of Christ, which is the spirit of God, also known as the Holy Spirit (or holy spirit), are listed as fruit of the spirit in:

Galatians 5:22, 23   But the fruit (qualities) of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; with such the law does not concern itself.  (You’ll never get these qualities by walking under the law …. see study  The Law vs. Faith)

The wisdom which this spirit of Christ imparts is described in:

James 3:17   But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

Okay, we’ve learned to recognize the holy spirit of God, which is Christ:                                 1)  It makes known Christ                                                                                                                
2)  It has love, joy, peace, et. al. as its qualities.     (Galatians 5)
3)  The wisdom it imparts has the qualities of being, or imparting  pureness, peacefulness, et. al.      (James 3)
4)  It is always bringing into the light of our understanding our hope, inheritance and power.  This is seen in:

Ephesians 1:17-19a   That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge (epignosis – intimate knowing by experience)  of him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe..

So now that we can recognize the spirit of Christ, the holy spirit, how do we walk by that spirit?  Put on the mind that concerns itself with Christ (the mind of Christ), and let the things of the  spirit be more important than the things of the flesh.  Allow the spirit to make decisions for you, and not the flesh, not your emotions and feelings.  Care more about the things of the spirit than you do about the things of the flesh.  There, isn’t that simple?  Simple to say, continuously achieved by a lifetime of growth and transformation.  Romans 8:1-8 really spells this out in detail.

Romans 8:1, 2   There is therefore now no condemnation (judgment deserving of punishment) to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.  For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

This is why Galatians 5:16, 17 says what it says (our first Scripture at the beginning of this study).  Because walking in (or by) the spirit frees us from walking by the flesh.  Nothing else does.  You can spend all your life trying to make the flesh look good and acceptable, but you’ll still be walking by the flesh!

Romans 8:3, 4   For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.

What you are trying to achieve by trying not to sin, trying to do what’s best in and with and by your flesh, is automatically achieved when you walk in the spirit of Christ.  What is achieved?  You are brought into the presence of God and live as a citizen in His kingdom.  Your membership has been paid for and awarded to you, so that you may now literally walk with God!

Romans 8:5, 6   For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

The words “mind” and “minded” above are both the same word in the Greek, phronema, and means “care about,” “concern yourself with” or “think it’s important to think about.” The Words “flesh” and “carnally” are both from the same Greek word.

Those that think it’s important to think about the flesh are walking after the flesh.  If you try to solve your problems, set your priorities, organize your life,  and make your judgments by thinking about the flesh (your own and others’), then you are walking by the flesh.  If you do all those things by thinking about the things of the spirit, then you are walking by the spirit.  It’s that simple.

Don’t think that the effort it will take to transition your mind, your thinking, your emotions, your very psyche from focusing on the flesh, to focusing on the spirit (the things of Christ) will be easy, or that the results will be instantaneous.  It’s going to take a lot of time and mental effort to transition into that discipline of the spirit.  But it will be so worth it.

Romans 8:7, 8   Because the carnal mind (phronema of the flesh) is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

They that are in the flesh cannot please God!  Oh I want to drill this into everyone’s mind, and especially those who are trying to please God by their own fleshly efforts.  Those trying to please God by not swearing, not drinking, by being nice to everyone, by not offending anyone, by praying, going to Church, singing in Church extra sincerely, going on mission trips, etc. etc.  In the priority of your fleshly thinking…..you cannot please God.  (I don’t say any of the above behaviors or actions are bad in and of themselves… only that they and other similar types of thinking and behavior can often take the place of, (thus robbing you of), walking by the spirit, giving them the characteristic of a thief).

Do you have a problem in life?  (Of course you do, we all do).  One you’ve only ever tried to solve by thinking about the flesh with its emotions and feelings and “he said/she said” endless loop of frustrated thinking?  In that area, regarding that problem, put on the thinking of the spirit.  Think the things of Christ.  Stop trying to solve that problem or improve that relationship by your fleshly thinking.  Invite Christ and his spirit, his  solutions and promises into that situation and see what will happen.

Is there an area where you always get confused?  Get angry?  Get frustrated and blow up, or give up, or go nuts?  Next time those strong passionate feelings come, simply acknowledge that they are not of Christ, and then seek to put something which is of Christ in its place.  And see what happens.  Your old mind may tell you, “You have to act this way, you owe it to yourself to consider the flesh in your thinking.”  But you don’t.  You owe Christ everything.  You owe God your very life.

Romans 8:12-14   Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.  For it you live after the flesh, you shall die; but if you through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.  For as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Learn to make the thoughts of the spirit – love, peace, joy, Christ, mercy, forgiveness, compassion – the priority in your thinking in every situation.  Life and peace will fully flow in you and through you toward those around you.  You’ll find yourself free from those impulses which pushed you to think, feel and act darkly and fruitlessly and destructively.  You’ll find yourself in the middle of the life of God – Christ in you, the hope of your glory!
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See studies:
The Manifestation of the Spirit
Godly Logic (How to Serve God)
Learning to Recognize the Voice of God
The Law of God
Dead to the Law