(All scripture references are NASB unless otherwise noted. Please use a Bible app and look up any scripture passages I don't reference. Don't take my word for it!)
As a quick review, I asked the question in PART ONE: what difference does the Holy Spirit make? If you have not, click above and read that article before continuing.
My point is to get us to consider how to recognize when the Spirit is at work or when the flesh is. This is called walking by or according to the Spirit.
Yet, I also want to emphasize that the gospel frees us to make mistakes, so even walking by the Spirit should not be an obsessive navel gazing exercise.
In this 2nd part, I want to consider if there are any practical ways to better understand what this looks like in our daily life and walk.
But first, a couple more verses, because there are so many and despite how long the first article was, it only scratched the surface.
Galatians 5:16-18 - “16-But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
17-For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.
18-But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
There is a lot to unpack here, but I will try to be brief. I already discussed verse 16 in my last article, but I included it for context.
What Team are you On?
Verse 17 is a crucial verse and is often misinterpreted. The main underlying question of the verse is: “what team are you on as a believer?”
Are you on “Team Flesh” or are you on “Team Spirit”? Knowing what team you’re on is crucial for your faith. The other big question tied to this is: “do you switch teams when you stumble?”
Paul answers both questions, but if you read my last article, the answer should be clear. How can we be 'in' the Spirit and the Spirit be 'in' us, and yet we are on opposite teams?
Christ famously said that “a house divided against itself will not stand”. Sadly, many believers live with the mindset that they are a divided house. No wonder we struggle with sin so much!
Remember, Paul made it clear that we are no longer “in the flesh”, but we are “in the Spirit”. You cannot be both. This is a permanent place you live spiritually; you cannot be unborn by the Spirit.
These two powers are in opposition, as verse 17 directly states. We are not a divided house. But, who we are, our true identity, is housed in a body infected by sin. Paul calls this a “treasure in an earthen vessel.”
Yet, when walking by the Spirit we can oppose and reject that sin virus infecting our fallen body. It is literally the only way to do it. You cannot do it by following rules.
Following rules always pushes you to use the flesh, not the Spirit. The enemy loves it when we use rules as a way to empower our life.
The Flesh Is an Enemy Mindset
“The flesh” (sarx) used here is not your body, though in scripture the same word can mean body in context.
Obviously, while we still live on earth, our new spirit is contained within our earthly body. But the body is neutral in a sense: it can be submitted to God or sin. We have this ability as believers despite the parasite of sin in our body.
There are many places in scripture this is described, but the tour de force passage is Romans 6. Paul does not shy away from the fact that sin is present as a force or power, yet clearly shows that we have been set free from it.
He further clarifies this in Romans 7, where he declares twice that “it is not I…but sin that dwells in me”. He then declares: “I see a different law in the parts of my body…”
This law or power he refers to is sin or the flesh. As Paul puts it, this power resides like a virus or parasite in our fleshly fallen body. Yet, Romans 6 utterly declares we are free from that power.
Only by a willful submission to it, (walking by the flesh), do we put ourselves back under it's power. But by default as believers, we are slaves of righteousness, not slaves of sin.
The Flesh is a Mindset
The flesh is a mindset; it is a power or law that sin uses to empower actions. It is a way of obtaining and empowering life outside of God. It is a mindset of living by our earthly senses, not faith.
When Paul says, “walk by faith, not by sight” he is contrasting walking by the Spirit with walking by the flesh.
As Paul says in Galatians 5, the works of the flesh he lists there are 'obvious'. And these obvious manifestations are often the only ones emphasized.
This is a harmful oversight - what most teachers fail to see or emphasize is that you can pursue morality using the power of the flesh, not just immorality.
This is the problem with world religions and humanity in general - they pursue morality without the Spirit. They are moral spiritual zombies.
Obviously, the flesh is the only power through which you seek immorality to help you get through life, but you can also pursue morality.
This is the original sin: seeking to know “good and evil”. This is what the tree in the garden offered. We must willfully resist this fleshly inclination to pursue goodness from our own power.
Paul shows the opposition of these two powers that believers can utilize. The flesh and the Spirit are in utter opposition.
If you are powered by the flesh, it does little for the Kingdom of God, no matter how good or mighty the works look outwardly. The goal is to be powered by the Spirit in all things, even if the results are small.
A cup of water given in faith is greater than a million bucks given in the flesh.
You Cannot Do What You Want?
Paul indicates that this Spirit/flesh opposition prevents us from doing what we want. There are only two sides in this conflict: Spirit (faith) and flesh (sin). Which one prevents us from doing what we want?
This is a crucial question. Again, which team are we on: the flesh team or Spirit team? As I covered above, scripture portrays believers as being on team Spirit. That is Paul's point.
Yet, many, if not most, teachers say we are on team flesh. They say we want to sin and the Spirit prevents us from doing what we really want: sinning. Is that what Paul is saying?
With everything I have presented from scripture about us being in the Spirit, you will have to make up your own mind. But it is clear to me that our battle is with the flesh, not the Spirit.
We are on team Spirit, working together to fight the flesh. When we give into the flesh, we are going against our new heart and self. We end up doing things we really don't want, whether we realize it or not.
We are a new creation; the new creation doesn't want to sin. Know what team you are on. Only by mentally aligning with the Spirit, thinking and acting as if you are on the same team, will you be able to defeat the flesh.
If you think you are on team flesh, then you will end up fighting the Spirit. This is just the way we are wired.
While the Spirit will ultimately win, it will go much better for you if you understand you are not on the enemy team.
I cannot overstate how crucial this mindset is! How can you truly fight the flesh if you are on the same team? It is psychologically impossible. And, this concept is not in scripture or the gospel.
Led by the Spirit
Verse 18 is another identity verse that folks try to turn into a walk verse. They say that only if you are following the Spirit well then you are not under the Law. They make it about you.
Being led by the Spirit is a default position of a believer. Paul is just saying in yet another way (among many) that believers are not under the Law.
Romans 8:14 makes this clear. “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God.” Being a child of God is our identity that is set at salvation - this verse is clear: all believers are led by the Spirit.
The bare root basics of Christianity is salvation by faith not works. If you are a child of God, you are being led by the Spirit. If you are being led by the Spirit, you are a child of God. They go together.
Thus, as a child of God, you are not under the Law. As Paul says elsewhere, the Law is not of faith, and without faith, you cannot please God.
Only the way of the Spirit pleases God.
Synopsis: as believers we are on Team Spirit and we are always being led by the Spirit. The flesh, as a power, is opposing Team Spirit, seeking to convince us to sin, which in our heart we don't really want to do.
But our mind - our beliefs - our thinking needs renewal. Our new heart and our mind (not new) need alignment. The Spirit is in our heart, and our mind learns to get in step with our heart as our mind is renewed.
We need a Team Spirit mindset: a full conviction that no matter our stumbles, we are still on Team Spirit and being led by the Spirit. Only then can we resist the flesh and sin.
Paul ends Galatians 5 in this way: 5:25 - “Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.” (BSB). Hard to put it more succinctly than that.
Fear vs. Faith Redux
Before I get to my practical thoughts, I had an additional verse come to mind in regards to my brief comments on fear in my last article.
This also gets at my theme that we are motivated by reward, not fear. We should long to bear the fruit of the Spirit, not out of obligation, but because it is awesome!
Hebrews 11:6 - “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
Hebrews 11 is commonly known as the faith chapter. I am going to start a series soon on common Christian concepts, of which faith will certainly be one. So, I will get more into it then.
But for now, notice that, duh, you must believe God exists to have faith. I can't imagine this is controversial, LOL.
What is the 2nd part that helps to define faith? You must believe that God is a God who rewards. You must believe His gifts are good, not punishing.
But, some would say, isn't the “fear” of the Lord a scriptural concept? Yet again, fear will also be a future topic.
But for now, just understand that this does not mean being afraid or anxious. There has underlying awe and worship in its meaning.
“Fearing the Lord” is undergirded by a firm realization that He is truly awesome. Again, this is rooted in the fact that He gives good gifts.
Think of Christmas morning when you were a child? What could be more awesome than that?
Much more to say, but let's get to some practical thoughts.
Practical Thoughts
You may think, this is all well and good, but how does this work?
Unfortunately, I cannot give you a set of rules to follow to do this. That would be no different from the Law. Following a set of rigid guidelines is why the Law fails to help us with sin.
Yet, what we can do is use instruction from scripture, primarily the epistles, to help us judge the outcome of our choices and see whether our mindset is working or not. But the mindset always comes first.
With the proper mindset, Spirit fruit should happen effortlessly. It is not our fruit after all, it is the Spirit’s. We simply have a mindset that allows Him to work through us. This is called submitting our members to God.
When Paul or other apostles give instructions in the New Testament, they are not making demands like under the old covenant Law, they are showing results. This is a crucial mindset to hold onto.
When you see New Testament instruction as a demand from God, then it turns into a faithless Law type requirement. This will never lead to walking by the Spirit.
When you walk by the Spirit, you will not lie, kill, or commit adultery (among many other things.) The fruit of the Spirit does not lead to these things. It never will.
But as Paul indicates in Romans 7, the fruit of the Law is sinning of every kind. Not because the Law is bad, but when you put yourself under a requirement, then the flesh immediately takes over.
The passage in Galatians 5 concerning the fruit of the Spirit also gives examples of the fruit of the flesh. And because we have the Spirit inside of us, we generally recognizethis type of flesh fruit. Even the world recognizes much of it.
As Paul says, it is obvious. But as we mature as believers, we should learn to recognize the less obvious ways when we are walking by the flesh.
A Couple Guideposts
So, though I can't give you a set of rules to follow to walk by the Spirit, I can give you some guideposts that have helped me understand the difference between walking by the flesh or Spirit.
Given that sometimes the resulting actions can look the same, it is important to distinguish the two.
What Difference does the Spirit Make?
The opening premise of my article is a guidepost, in and of itself. It is probably a primary guidepost.
Prayerfully take inventory of your life. Ask God for wisdom. Think of your life before Christ. Think of both the struggles and the ‘successes’.
Consider what has changed after you met Christ. Do you have the same successes and struggles? Or did you conquer some struggles initially, only to have them creep back up after awhile?
Ask yourself, if I was purely religious, maybe a devout Jew or Mormon, how would my actions be different? How would my life be different?
Would the reasons or motivation for doing what I do be any different?
Consider any life long or consistent struggles. Areas that you have never quite conquered. Addictions that continue to maintain harmful control.
These don't have to be 'heinous' things like fornication or adultery (though certainly these would be obvious signs). Sometimes these are just activities that simply don't set well with your spirit.
These are attitudes; maybe uncontrolled anger, or a lack of patience; harmful things that seem beyond our control to fix.
And they clearly cause frequent harm to our relationships and/or to our own souls. They cause anxiety and other harmful emotions. They create a sense of unease when we do them.
As 1 Peter 2:11 puts it, these things “wage war against your soul.” Your soul being your “mind, will, and emotions” and distinguished from your spirit or heart that is new.
Your spirit is already new; your soul is being renewed by the mind of Christ. The flesh and sin war against this renewal and try to keep your soul in a place of turmoil.
My point is that we had many 'successes’ before we had the Spirit. Many unbelievers don't steal; most don't murder. Many don't commit adultery, etc.
But for my point, I'm referring to earthly successes in our life and walk: our outward actions. Continuing in those successes after we receive the Spirit is no guarantee that it is Spirit power motivating them.
All Actions, Even Lawful, Can be Powered by the Flesh
Am I making sense? Anything you were successful with before you had the Spirit means you did it by the power of the flesh. And this can be used to help us see what is still powered by the flesh.
If you were characterized as a generous person before Christ, then you were generous by the flesh. You did not have the Spirit, He could never directly empower your actions.
After salvation, if you continue to be generous, there is a good chance that this is simply maintaining your own fleshly ability to be generous.
Consider Saul of Tarsus (before he became the Apostle Paul. What does he say about his former life:
Philippians 3:2-6 - “2-Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision;
3-for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and take pride in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh,
4-although I myself could boast as having confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he is confident in the flesh, I have more reason:
5-circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;
6-as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.”
Once again, at yet another church, Paul is doing epic battle with Law pushers.
I want you to notice what Paul calls results of the flesh. He calls out his Jewish pedigree, and then the “righteousness which is in the Law”.
He makes the audacious statement that he was 'blameless'. In other words, no one could find fault in his outward performance of keeping the Law. Wow.
Yet, though he outwardly kept the Law, it was all flesh. He is clear in this passage. His blameless law keeping, which many, even today in our churches, would praise, was all flesh. He calls it 'dung'.
And he had an inward problem that he kept hidden according to Romans 7: covetousness. And only the Spirit of Christ could rescue him.
The coveting law only created more coveting. He needed rescue, and only the Spirit can truly do that which the flesh cannot.
I wish every believer could get this fact from scripture in their head: striving to keep rules and regulations out of obligation is fleshly. It is not of faith.
“The Law is not of faith.” (Gal. 3:12)
We All have Flesh Struggles
Much like Paul's coveting, we all have flesh struggles. Yet, in Romans 6-8 Paul describes how and why we can conquer them.
In Romans 7, Paul describes his struggle with coveting as a devout Pharisee, and then in Romans 8 he describes how he conquered it.
In Romans 7, he portrays how he was trying to use flesh power by trying to keep the Law to conquer sin. And it failed miserably.
In Romans 8, he is describing what Christ taught him, he learned to use Spirit power, and he finally conquered his struggle.
And this shows us a framework for determining what walking by the Spirit looks like. What is your flesh issue similar to Paul's coveting? How long have you tried to conquer it? Have you been successful?
If not, then I believe scripture indicates that you are trying to use the flesh to conquer it. Much like the Galatians who Paul calls out in Galatians 2.
Your Unconquerable Struggle is a Key Guidepost
So, one way to begin to understand and know the feeling of the Holy Spirit bearing fruit is when you are able to stop trying to conquer your struggle and yet you conquer it anyway.
This is counter intuitive to what the flesh wants. The flesh wants to exert will power, discipline, and a 10-step process to conquer it.
This happens due to a mindset that sees the actions in and of themselves as the main problem. Yet as we have seen, it is not the actions, but the motivation or power behind the actions, that really matters.
When we temporarily conquer a struggle through discipline, then whether we see it or not, the flesh is saying in the background, “Well, look at me.” It is ultimately narcissistic.
NOTE: I have said before and I will say it again. Conquering sinful actions, no matter by what power, or how temporary, is much better than doing them, and causing that harm to you and others. Please realize this. It is never wrong to say no to sinful actions.
However, the gospel provides a better way: walking by the Spirit. And when the Spirit conquers sin, He does a perfect job of it. Romans 6 says that in our hearts, this has already happened.
Now, we just need to walk in that power.
But How?
Walking by the Spirit is as different for every believer as the way they walk by the flesh. It is a learning process. I can't tell you how to do it. You have to ask the Spirit to teach you and cooperate.
But you will know when it happens because struggles you have fought for years will melt away. Maybe not immediately, depending on how quickly you learn. But it you are truly walking by the Spirit, they ultimately will.
My Story
I can only relate my story. I am blessed because I was ignorant of this concept, yet the Spirit helped me stumble upon it even before I knew what I was doing. I only knew what I had been doing for most of my life didn't work.
I had a harmful struggle. The details are not important, I don't want to focus on sin. (Since this is public LOL, it was nothing illegal, etc., like drugs.) Some folks in the world might not even think it was a problem.
But for me it was. And it had been for 20+ years. I fought it with the flesh by trying to keep the “thou shalt not” and the Law won. I did not know that is what I was doing, but the results speak for themselves.
Finally, I gave up. I don't recommend this, but I gave an ultimatum to God. I said “If the gospel is true and You are all powerful, then prove to me that You can help me stop doing this. I’m done trying to stop.”
I have never done it again.
Please realize that scripture warns us to be humble, “take heed that you think you stand”. I am mindful of this warning.
It has been 8+ years now. God took my challenge and raised it. I did not realize it at the time, but when I stopped trying to stop, I let go of using the flesh to stop. This mindset allowed the Spirit to work.
I had been standing in the way. When we choose flesh power, we block Spirit power. After awhile I did realize what had happened. I was in awe. I was in awe of Christ.
Between that and finally reading a good book showing me that I had a new heart because of Christ; I began a journey in scripture to actually learn what the good news really was.
I found that I had barely scratched the surface in my gospel understanding before. This was a product of taking many preachers and teachers word for it, rather than relying on the Spirit directly.
My writing is a product of this discovery. If it only helps one person to discover their life in Christ at a deeper level, it was all worth it.
Thus, giving up and throwing in the towel on a struggle might be what it takes to finally submit to the Spirit power inside of you.
I do know it is always the renewing of the mind, which is a change of beliefs or mindset (repentance).
That is a discovery you will have to make. What works for you? Just realize, being stuck in a struggle or addiction for a long period of time is a sure sign that what you are doing now is not working.
I would hope that might be obvious, but we are stubborn creatures. I know I was for many, many years. A definition of stupid: keep doing the same thing and expect different results.
Areas of Success; Areas in Work
Before going further, I would like to get personal about my own growth. While there have been a lot of victories from this Spirit mindset, there are many areas of my walk still in work.
I don't want in any way to act as if I do this perfectly; imply I never walk by the flesh; or that I have conquered every struggle. That is simply not true.
However, I am not longer stuck in a stunted place where I am spinning my wheels. As the Spirit counsels me in areas that need work, I now have a basic understanding of how to approach these issues.
However, I still struggle greatly. And I want to bring up one major area that is an ongoing struggle and explain why. But first, some areas that flowed from my submitting to the Spirit for victory over that first major issue.
One area is gluttony. I sort of knew this was an issue, but it was easy to look at a population that has a super high obesity rate and say that I'm doing better than the average, LOL.
But the simple fact was food controlled me, I did not control it. And once I started to have the mindset of Spirit control over that issue, it has faded into the background.
One positive of that was I lost 60+ pounds and I have never gained it back. This is because I am utilizing Spirit fruit: self-control. I no longer feel obligated to try hard myself.
There are many areas like that, patience, kindness, etc. Every way that the fruit of the Spirit can impact your life, my new mindset has either conquered areas of struggle, or they have become much less of a struggle.
But let's turn to a example that is still in the works.
Letting the Spirit Help
Sometimes a fleshly mindset will cause us to keep trying harder and become more disciplined to overcome a weakness.
However, other times it will cause us to make excuses and think that the weakness can never be solved. Both are fleshly and show a lack of faith in the power of Christ within.
I am currently facing this type of fleshly thinking. Thankfully the Spirit has helped me to recognize it, so I am starting to submit to Him with it, yet this negative thinking is so engrained it is taking some time to expel it.
For any married men who are reading, I have a feeling you have probably faced a similar issue, or maybe still do.
Listening
Having been married 25+ years, a pattern has been established with my wife that I don't listen to her.
Now, part of this is really not about listening at the time she is speaking, but also recalling details from the conversations at just the right time when the subject comes up again.
My memory has always been a major struggle for me. Some things I retain seemingly forever without even trying. Other things, even highly important to me, I simply cannot remember no matter what I do.
I have learned to function by setting reminders for myself. Technology has really helped with this. But this crutch doesn't work in the spur of the moment when my wife expects me to remember something she said.
Up until recently, I simply used my lifelong memory struggle as an excuse.
My mentality went something like this: “If my wife really loved me, she would be more patient with my struggle, give me mercy and grace, and be more understanding that I can't really help it.”
Can you see that issue with this mindset? It's amazing when you write it out how obvious it is. Yet, even after a better understanding of walking by the Spirit, I still held onto this mindset.
This is something causing harm to our relationship. Excuses are not enough. Do I believe in Spirit power or not?
Can you see how this is fleshly thinking?
In the past I have tried fixing this through my own power, but a defeatist mentality is just as fleshly as thinking I can defeat it without help.
If the enemy can't get us to try and conquer life by our own power, then he will try and get us to go into a hopeless state where we just accept defeat.
Neither of these mentalities are faith.
What Now?
Recognizing our lack of faith is the first step. Thankfully I finally recognized this in my own life. I was making excuses and blaming others rather than trusting the Spirit.
My first step was to humbly acknowledge to the Lord that my mentality was not good, and ask Him to give me wisdom to renew it.
Further, when these situations come up, I now immediately recognize this defeatist mindset and squash it. I acknowledge that with the power of the Spirit, I can learn to listen well and remember. I set my mind on truth.
I am also realistic with the fact that maybe my wife does owe me a bit more patience and grace. Yet, just as I owed God a perfect performance and He released me from that debt, I can also release her from that debt.
This is called forgiveness.
View Others According to the Spirit
I am also learning to follow Paul's guidance in 2 Corinthians 5:16 - “So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.” (BSB)
What Paul is getting at here is we should not use fleshly mindsets in our view of other people, especially other believers. We can even view Christ with a fleshly mindset.
Viewing Christ, His finished work, or the gospel through a fleshly mindset describes our entire problem! And viewing each other in the same way causes every relationship issue.
Viewing Christ through a fleshly mindset means that we cannot truly trust His promises. Such as, if we don't feel forgiven, then we must still believe we are, because the gospel promises it. A fleshly view of Christ does not trust His work.
For others, we can begin to recognize that they struggle with a fleshly mindset too. Their struggle is not the same as ours, but this allows us to more easily rely on the Spirit to give them grace and forgiveness.
For Paul, this is a continuing action flowing from the finished work of Christ. Do not let the English tense confuse the matter. Paul is not saying that he would never regard anyone according to the flesh again.
He is using the perfect tense here.
[SYNTAX OF NEW TESTAMENT GREEK, James A. Brooks, Carlton L. Winbery, University Press of America, Lanham, Md., 1988, pp. 104-5]:
"The perfect tense expresses perfective action. Perfective action involves a present state which has resulted from a past action. The present state is a continuing state; the past action is a completed action.”
Thus, learning to view Christ and others according to the Spirit is something that we grow in (much like walking by the Spirit).
But it starts with an understanding that there are actually two ways to walk and view people! It is a good way to think about relationships and analyze interactions.
Consider whether you approach an interaction or an overall relationship according to the Spirit or flesh? It will generally be pretty obvious.
There is No Condemnation
The final mindset I am working to have is to not have shame, guilt, or condemnation when I fail to listen. If I need to apologize to my wife, I do. But otherwise, I move on.
It takes faith to believe the gospel that there is no condemnation. But a condemning mindset is always the enemy of victory over any issue.
Wallowing in self-pity over a failure is not constructive, but every failure is an opportunity to learn reliance on the Spirit even more. Believing what God has said about you is essential.
Listening Conclusion
Relationship issues are tough because they involve other people. God may perfectly forgive and love us, but other people do not have that perfect ability.
The issue I referenced first in this article was a several decade struggle that I defeated in a moment with the Spirit's help.
Yet, that was a simple matter of choosing ‘No’. When faced with the start of temptation, I rely on the Spirit for help to say no.
Yet, this listening thing is more about saying 'Yes'. Instead of refusing to act, it is choosing to act. It is having a specific mental focus.
I need the Spirit's help for both saying yes and no. But it is actually much easier to say no than yes. It is easier to not take an action than to take an action. Thus, this struggle is taking longer.
But it has improved. And I am learning even more dependence. And I know that with the Spirit's help, I can do it. I am finally having a mindset of trust.
But there is another person involved, so they must also be convinced that I am actually listening well. This is going to take some time.
Walking by the Spirit in the Stuff we do Well
Both of the struggles I have mentioned are just that: struggles. Yet there are other areas that are not struggles that I am learning to improve by walking by the Spirit.
Patience has mostly come easily for me. I'm an easy going guy for the most part. My wife's slightly derogatory nickname for me is “roses and rainbows”.
Yet, even in this area that I consider a strength, there are cracks. In this case, I had to stop considering it a strength. My ability to do something that comes easily for me is certainly nothing to brag about.
Thus, the same mindset of reliance on the Spirit is needed so that my patience comes from the heart, and not just from my genetics.
And further, sometimes I went along to get along because I was afraid of confrontation or lazy. And I excused it because I could mentally overlay “I'm being patient”. But this was simply not true.
True patience that comes from Spirit fruit does not shy away from necessary confrontation nor becomes a rug.
The manifestions of Spirit fruit are not in conflict. 'Patience' that is taken to far is not loving.
Use Weakness to Learn
But my point is that an easier place to learn to recognize reliance on Spirit power is always a place of weakness.
Those issues where we are too weak to resolve them means when the Spirit resolves them from within, it is easier to recognize.
We can then take what we have learned and apply it to our 'strengths'. In this way, we learn to walk by the Spirit by faith in every area: strengths and weaknesses.
I think we have heard this before, what did Christ tell Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9? “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Obviously there was nothing wrong with the power of Christ. He wasn't speaking of His own power being perfected in some way.
What He means is that our weaknesses are how we learn to use His power. Our use of His power is perfected by our weaknesses.
This is simply logical, and is the point I am trying to get across. If we had fleshly strength where we always acted in a righteous way in every circumstance, then we would never see our need to rely on Christ.
Think about it, this was Saul of Tarsus' issue as a Pharisee. Remember that he said about himself according to the flesh he was found blameless under the Law.
Yet, he secretly knew he had a coveting problem. He lusted after what other people had. He hid it well, but it was there. This ultimately led him to Christ for the answer.
Of course, this requires us to admit our weakness. Paul goes on to say in the passage above that he glories in his weaknesses.
Not because he wants to remain in them, but because they are the best way to learn reliance on the Spirit to escape them.
Weakness is the best way for us to learn how to use the power of a Christ and to walk by the Spirit.
And trust me, if we are honest, we have a lot of weakness to glory in! And once we begin to walk by the Spirit and defeat these issues, even more obscure and hidden weaknesses will come to light.
But rather than be discouraged, we can truly be joyful. We have so many opportunities to learn to rely on the Spirit! And the finished work of Christ is keeping us safe all along the way.
There truly is no condemnation if you are in Christ.
Scripture Instruction
John 5:38-40 are verses that changed my life and upon which I based the URL for this series of articles. I would like to quote it here as it is relevant to walking by the Spirit.
This is Christ speaking to his Jewish audience:
“38-and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.
39-You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
40-yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (ESV)
In these verses, Christ is contrasting the Word with scripture. And no, these are not the same. Christ makes this clear.
This is a complicated topic that deserves it's own treatment, and frankly a PHD level thesis. But for now, consider the impact of Christ's words.
Christ is saying that scripture contains the Word, points to the Word, but not every word in scripture is a word about the Word. 🤔
In other words, (pun intended), the Word of Truth, or the gospel, is what brings Life and saves, through the indwelling of the Living Word, Jesus Christ.
There are a lot of words in scripture that do not bring Life. Paul's says the Law is a ministry of death. Words in scripture have been used to justify slavery and other heinous attitudes and actions.
It is the enemy's finest deception: has God not said? He used scripture to even tempt Christ Himself.
Of course, it is never God's intended meaning or context, it is simply using scripture and twisting it to mean something corrupt. Yet, this happens all the time in both subtle and obvious ways.
All scripture is inspired by God and useful, but only if used for it's intended purpose: to teach you how to be born again, connect to Christ, and after you become a new creation, to learn what that really means.
There are many Bible scholars, in schools around the country, who have dedicated their life to studying scripture, yet have no clue what being “born again” means.
Christ's point is that scripture is important, it is authoritative, it has its place, but if it's teaching doesn't lead you to being joined in heart to the living Christ, a partaker of the Divine nature, then it is just useless words.
What is my Point?
My point is simple: be careful that you do not substitute scripture for the Spirit. But conversely, do not make up stuff that goes against clear scripture and call it the Spirit.
We have all heard the stories - “The Lord is leading me to divorce my spouse and run off with someone half my age.” Hog wash.
Maybe that is a bad example since divorce in scripture is a controversial and often twisted topic. But we can be assured that the Spirit is on the side of marital reconciliation in all but the most extreme circumstances.
Life only comes from Christ
So, yes, there are extreme examples of people blaming all sorts of nasty stuff on the Holy Spirit's leading. But what Christ was warning against seems to be more prevalent.
More often in my Christian circles, we take non-gospel stuff from scripture and elevate it to Spirit status. Or even with the gospel passages, we elevate our interpretation and try to make it into a Divine edict.
Christ makes it clear, scripture is not the 4th member of the Godhead! We cannot make an idol out of scripture. We cannot worship scripture over the Author of scripture.
This attitude does not demean or belittle scripture at all, it uplifts it! It is part of “rightly dividing”. And it is following Christ's teaching about scripture.
Do not fall prey to what Christ was warning about. The living Christ, joined to our new creation nature, is what brings Life. Do not expect life to come from scripture or following scriptural principles.
The Spirit will guide us into truth. Any adventure in scripture begins with walking by the Spirit. There is a symbyosis between the Spirit, the Word, and scripture.
Without scripture, we would not easily learn about the gospel, Christ, and the Spirit. But without the Spirit and a focus on the gospel (words that bring Life), the enemy can use scripture to really mess you up.
Instruction Passages are Promises
Having said that, how do we use scripture properly to help us walk according to the Spirit?
Well, one key mindset I briefly mentioned is to understand that new testament instruction is different in nature than old covenant Law. Though the desired results may be similar, the mindset is totally different.
Under the old covenant, God's instruction must be obeyed or else. You are forced by fear of punishment and condemnation from God to summon up enough will power to obey.
Hebrews calls this mindset “weak and useless”.
Under the new covenant, our sins have been taken away. God (and the Spirit) have promised to “remember your sins no more”.
It's amazing sometimes how we want to dwell on and obsess about that which God has promised to forget. You don't believe me? Let's look at what Hebrews 8:12 says when describing the Lord bringing in the new covenant:
“For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.” (BSB)
And if you thought the Spirit was not on board with the rest of the Trinity (LOL):
Hebrews 10:15-17 - “15-The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says:
16-“This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their hearts and inscribe them on their minds.”
17-Then He adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” (BSB)
It's as if the author wanted to make sure his audience understood that the Holy Spirit was on board with this “forgetting sin” promise.
So Sin Doesn't Matter?
This question is much like those questioning Paul in Romans 6, where he had to help them understand that despite the fact that grace covers all sin, God forbid that they keep sinning.
His whole point is they no longer live “in sin”, they are “in Christ”. Why would they continue actively sinning if it is no longer their nature?
Sin kills. Sin stinks. Sin destroys. Sin gives us anxiety and makes us sick. Sin destroys relationships. Sin makes our life miserable. Sin takes away our peace. Sin prevents us bearing Spirit fruit. Yes, sinning matters. Duh.
But the promises of God through the gospel says we are free from sin and we can count ourselves dead to it. We are able to say no to sin only because we can now walk by the Spirit.
Don't confuse keeping rules with saying no to sin. Using flesh to keep rules is sin.
Back to Instruction as Promises
So yes, sin matters, but not for the same reasons it did under the old covenant. And the definition of sin has changed for us, it is no longer defined by the Law, it goes far beyond that.
I will expand upon that concept later. For now, I want to use the book of Ephesians to illustrate my point. Paul's progression in that epistle is quite deliberate and should be studied.
You cannot have Ephesians 4-6, without Ephesians 1-3. If you don't understand or believe Ephesians 1-3, then stay away from 4-6 until you go back to understand and believe 1-3.
I will give a couple of verses as examples. Ephesians 2:1-2a, then 4-6:
“1-And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2-in which you used to walk…
4-But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5-made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!
6-And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,” (BSB)
Notice Paul says that they “used to” walk in sin (past tense). This is much like his description in Romans 8 where those who walk by the Spirit are saved. This is an identity verse.
You used to be identified as a person who walked in sin. Now you are identified as a person who walks by the Spirit or walks in righteousness.
As we will see in a bit, Paul clearly doesn't mean that you never walk in a sinful way. Yet, he wants to make your identity as a child of God clear. It is the foundation for everything else.
You will never act alive if you don't know and believe you are alive. You will never set your mind on heavenly things unless you know and believe that spiritually you are seated with Christ in Heaven already.
So, before you start reading chapter 4, learn, understand, and believe the first 3. This order of things is crucial. Yet, so many jump to instruction before understanding the foundation.
Instruction Continued
Ephesians 4:1-3 - “1-Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
2-with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
3-being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
So, Paul takes 3 chapters to build up the foundation of the believers identity. He shows them that they no longer have an identity of walking in sin. They are no longer dead, they are alive.
In chapter one he reminds us that we are saints, not sinners. He reminds us of our adoption and inheritance, freely given in Christ, no effort needed in our part.
In chapter two, he reminds us that we are alive and reminds us where we are seated spiritually with Christ in His throne. He reminds us that we are a new creation, created new as a work of God. He reminds us of our spiritual lineage in God's household.
In chapter three, he reminds us that we now understand the mystery of the ages, that God through Christ has an open invitation to all, even those pagan Gentiles.
“3:12-In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.” (BSB)
He reminds us that we have been given a position of boldness with God. And then he prays that we truly understand the love of Christ so that we are so full of His love it overflows.
This is what he builds up before he ever talks about our daily walk. Because if you don't understand or believe these things, your walk will not be of faith, it will be of flesh, even when being moral.
The Calling
Thus, as Paul goes into chapter four, he switches from identity talk to walk talk. Meaning: “Listen up folks, this is what faith through your identity in Christ will cause, effect, and become.”
He starts by saying “walk in a manner worthy of your calling”. So, what is your calling? Paul just spent three chapters explaining it. Your calling and your identity are wrapped into one package.
How would I as a new creation act? What would my new creation think? What would the very spawn of a holy good God with my personality do? What do I look and act like? Answer these questions help find your calling.
Paul spends the rest of Ephesians explaining what actions a new creation produces (an Ephesian centric version, but there are guideposts for us all).
Does doing them make you a new creation? God forbid. But do they describe a new creation? Absolutely. When we walk by the Spirit, we will think, act, and look like these things.
Will walking by the Spirit lead to stealing? Will walking by the Spirit lead to adultery? Will walking by the Spirit lead to a deceptive life? Of course not. And this is Paul's point.
If you have sin struggles that are reeking havoc in your life, stop trying “thou shalt not” and start learning to walk by the Spirit.
The instruction passages in scripture are beautiful promises of the life we can have because we have the very character and life of Christ within.
They are not law like demands that we must follow “or else”. That is a fear based system and it is not of faith. If you see these things as requirements it will destroy your faith.
But if you see them as beautiful amazing promises of the life you can live because of who you are, who God birthed you to be, then your mind and spirit will begin to become aligned.
Your heart already wants these things because God has said as a believer it is filled with His love. My goal for myself and all other believers is to help our minds to catch up.
Yes, it is the Spirit who renews our mind. But we must 'set' our mind on these truths. A crucial cooperation that leads to walking by the Spirit.
Final Thoughts
I wish I had a 10 step plan to walking by the Spirit. I wish it was that simple. But it's not. This is an adventure. This is relationship with the one true God, your Lord and Creator.
But the beginning, middle, and end of the adventure is all the same: believe the good news of Christ's finished work and what that means about you. Trust who God says you are as a new creation.
Walking by the Spirit is a very individual thing. We all have different flesh patterns and mindsets that tempt us away from God's truth.
Like the pond ripple from a stone that becomes a flood, every varied life experience leaves it's impact on us, making us who we are. We are each unique.
Only God can see those ties of our history and experience and use them to lead us to maturity. And only we have the ability within ourselves as part of our own personal new creation in Christ to learn how to walk well.
I cannot teach you how to walk. I can give anecdotes about how I am learning to walk, but this is something you have to figure out with the Spirit.
Even scripture cannot teach you how to walk well. This is the mistake so many make which turns their walk into a faithless endeavor of rule keeping. But scripture is essential for learning how to set our minds.
Believe what Christ said: scripture is about Him. It is helping you set your mind on Him. It is helping you believe what He has done and promised concerning you. This is it's purpose - use it for this.
As a believer, you are joined to Him in a special way only you can be. No two believers interact with the Spirit in the same way.
As Andrew Farley likes to say, only believers can be themselves and reflect Christ at the same time. Your personality is used by Christ as He works within to make you the unique new creation that only you can be.
Practice Makes Perfect
Have you ever watched a talented pianist or other artist and noticed that they don't even glance at what their hands are doing.
Or, have you ever gotten lost in thought while driving your car and realized that you just did a few minutes of driving and don't even remember how you got where you are safely?
Both of these occur because of practice.
When you have played your instrument so much or driven a car for so many years - your subconscious takes over and you just perform without even thinking about it.
As my final piece of advice, I want to say that walking by the Spirit is much the same.
My daughter has only been driving for a few years, and she is very deliberate in her actions. It has gotten better, but compared to me she has to truly think about every single action involved in driving.
Walking by the Spirit is similar in the sense that at first, and as new issues or struggles come into focus, you will need to intentionally focus your mind on the truths of the gospel in a deliberate way to see results.
However, after a while, it will become second nature. A circumstance where you would have blown up at someone before, you will respond with gentleness and patience now without even thinking about it.
Your submission to the Spirit to use His power within will begin to feel like it is you doing it. You will not realize it in the moment and look back at situations in wonder as you realize you reacted with Spirit fruit.
Yet, in other areas you must be deliberate about setting your mind on the truth as you face temptations. You must be intentional in your submission to the Spirit.
I want to encourage you that as you learn this essential spiritual skill, it will truly pay off as you bear Spirit fruit effortlessly.
Sometimes stopping the effort is a major first step! But while we cannot make it happen by flesh power, we do still need to put a lot of effort into setting our mind and believing who we are in Christ.
Faith is always the greatest, yet most difficult, work. It is the only work we are called to.
Welcome to God's economy - where working hard to produce good works kills faith, but working hard on our faith produces good works.
I hope between the scripture I discussed and a few anecdotes from my walk you have some ideas now about how to start your own walking by the Spirit.
If you are already walking by the Spirit, I hope I have encouraged you to continue and learn even more. Either way, I cheer you on your journey.
The pay off is spectacular as your walk begins to reflect more and more the righteous saint you are in heart. You and those around you cannot help but notice the sweet aroma of Christ as your inner righteousness is reflected outward to the world. (2 Cor. 2:15)
There is simply no better way to live!