Walk According to the Spirit
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
We Choose to Walk by the Spirit
First, some verses that set the background for what we are going to talk about today.
Acts 2:1–4 KJV:
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
God is Holy.
1 Peter 1:16b APNT:
…Be holy, even as I am holy.
God is Spirit.
John 4:24 KJV:
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
God has given of who He is.
1 John 4:13 KJV:
Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
New DNA (Devine Nature Acquired)
It’s a gift.
Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The Spirit is a gift—in full measure (Titus 3:6).
Ephesians 4:7 KJV:
But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
This measure is the same for every believer.
Ephesians 1:23 ESV:
But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:7 KJV:
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man [person] to profit withal.
Galatians 5:16:
(APNT) But I say, “Walk by the Spirit and never serve the desire of the flesh.”
(KJV) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Galatians, which is a “correction” epistle, specifically tells us to walk by the Spirit and do not walk by the flesh. Jan Booze explained that the only way to avoid living by the flesh is to live by the Spirit instead. They are opposites. They don’t coexist.
Walking by the flesh is to walk by our physical senses. Put off the old man and put on the new. Put away lying and speak the truth. When you work out and get sweaty, you don’t put clean clothes on top of the dirty clothes. You strip off the dirty clothes before you put on the new, clean clothes.
Galatians 5:17–18 APNT:
17 For the flesh desires what is opposed to the Spirit and the Spirit desires what is opposed to the flesh, and the two of them are opposites to each other, so that you are not doing what you want.
18 Now if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
In other words, you are not under the law’s condemnation. The law is like an error message on a computer; it doesn’t fix the problem, but it let’s you know about the problem.
QUOTE:
God leads; we walk.
Galatians 5:22–23 APNT:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,
23 meekness, patience, concerning which the law was not established.
Galatians 2:25 NLT:
Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
What does it mean to walk?
Walking is one step at a time. We have a pattern we can follow—the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s Word.
In biblical times, people didn’t have cars or modern forms of transportation. They walked everywhere. They walked all the time. Paul had to walk a lot between cities. That’s why “walking” is such a prominent illustration in scriptural metaphors and idioms. It painted a vivid mental image for people at the time.
There’s some effort involved in walking; it’s a journey.
1 Corinthians 12:6 APNT:
And there are distributions of powers, but God is the one who works [energizes] all in everyone.
God leads; we walk.
1 Corinthians 12:11 APNT:
Now all these [things] the one Spirit works and distributes to everyone as he wills.
God leads; we walk.
1 Corinthians 12:7 APNT:
Now the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one as it is profitable for him [or to one profit].
This is not about profit for the person manifesting. The word profit comes from an active Greek participle, and it is best understood by putting “ing” at the end: “profiting.” It’s profiting for others. God energizes—for the profiting of others—then we walk and get to see the results.
God knows how each manifestation contributes; they work together, for profit. We don’t have to analyze or wonder, “Am I doing a miracle today? Or is this ‘just’ gifts of healing?” It’s no harder for God to do an on-the-spot miracle than to do gifts of healing; they’re both by the same Spirit. Casting out a spirit is no harder than giving a word of prophecy; they’re both by the same Spirit.
Let’s look at an example from Acts that shows how natural and normal walking by the Spirit was for Peter.
Acts 9:32–34 APNT:
32 And it happened that as Simon was traveling [walking] around in the cities, he came down also to the holy [ones] who lived in the city [of] Lydda.
33 And he found a certain man whose name [was] Aeneas who was lying on a pallet and was paralyzed [for] eight years.
34 And Simon said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Rise up and smooth out your pallet.” And immediately he rose up.
That’s the end of the record of Peter’s interactions with Aeneas. But we see that God was glorified.
Acts 9:35 APNT:
And all who lived in Lydda and in Saron saw him and turned to God.
God is holy. God is Spirit. He gave His gift to us. It’s the fullness of Christ in us. Now we get to choose.
We cannot fix the flesh, but we can walk according to the Spirit.
People will notice when we make a habitual practice of walking as God leads.
Scripture References
Scripture quotations marked (APNT) taken from the Aramaic Peshitta New Testament Translation: With explanatory footnotes marking variant readings, customs and figures of speech, Copyright © 2006 by Janet M. Magiera, Light of the Word Ministry, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. (www.lightofword.org)
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, USA. All rights reserved.
See Also:
Choose to Walk According to the Spirit on the Acts Now Fellowship website
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