"Walk by the Spirit"

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 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 5:16-17 ESV)

Walk by the Spirit. Exactly what does that mean? If there is one part of the Trinity that exists in mystery is the Holy Spirit. We know He exists, and scripture tells us much about Him.

Jesus called Him the advocate or the helper, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”(John14:26) The Spirit is our helper. He helps us as we struggle to walk the narrow path leading to eternal life. And He intercedes and prays for us when we are unable to pray ourselves, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27)

The Spirit gives us wisdom, unlocking scripture more deeply as He sees that we are ready to learn more about our God. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13) “the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:2)  He also convicts us of our sins and causes us to repent. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27) and in John 16:7-8, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

But how do we “get” the Holy Spirit? How do we know He is there? When we turn to Christ in our repentance and receive salvation through faith in Christ, we are baptized by Christ in the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist said this about Christ, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11) Paul explained it this way, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

God enables us by His grace to understand the gospel; it is His ethereal calling. In our understanding, God gives faith in Christ, to believe what the truth of the gospel tells us, that Christ is the Son of God, and by having faith in Him as such, we are made righteous before God. We are then indwelled by the Holy Spirit. He is our guarantor in our inheritance of the Kingdom of God.

We, unfortunately, remain sinners; however, we are removed from the world spiritually. As sin is in our essence, we will do what we should not do. Paul struggled with this saying, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. When we sin and are convicted, troubled, and distraught by our sins, this is evidence of a changed heart and the presence of the Holy Spirit within us.

When we find ourselves desiring Christ more and more, this is evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. And, we are in despair and are strengthened by prayer and the presence of the Lord in our lives; the Holy Spirit is there.

If you do not know of these things, then seek Christ, the indwelling of the Spirit, and redemption through Jesus Christ will change you forever.

Grace and Peace.