Walking In The Spirit
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” - Galatians 5:16
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25 NASB
Paul through the Holy Spirit instructed the Galatian Christians to walk by the Spirit of God. When we walk by the Spirit, it will help us to abstain from doing the very things that our fleshly human nature wants. The flesh can be out of control. It’s not “saved.” It still has the desires of the old unregenerate self. So it is up to us to learn how to walk according the the Spirit, and in doing so, it will in effect put down the urges of the flesh and cause our spirit man to grow stronger and stronger over time.
If you desire to walk by the Spirit, you will have to train yourself to constantly choose to react to the situations you face in life based upon the fruit of the Spirit and not based upon how you feel. The flesh nature of man reacts in anger, hatred, jealousy, pride, etc., but the man full of the Spirit and carrying out the will of God will react completely differently. When a person is bearing the fruits of the Spirit it will cause them to react to people and circumstances in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness! What would happen if every Christian learned to suppress the flesh and walk in the ways of God’s Holy Spirit!
Believers have a responsibility to act like Christ. I know that might be a shocker to some, but it is true nonetheless! We must forsake our fleshly desires, crucify the flesh, and walk continually by the Spirit of God. If you choose the Spirit over the flesh everyday, you will walk in complete freedom from yourself and in the total victory of Christ!
Love,
Brittany