What It Means To "Walk In The Spirit"

"I say then: Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." - Galatians 5:16

We've seen what it means to "walk in the flesh"...to live YOUR life by YOUR own strength and YOUR own plans. The flesh is our natural life - the one we had before our salvation, and the one that still tries to dominate us today.

According to Galatians 5, living in the flesh always results in sin...even if you're trying to do what's right. The only answer is to "walk in the spirit". Are you ready to find out what that means?

The First Step In The Walk Of the Spirit

(I'm making the assumption - since you're reading this post - that you've already given your life to Jesus. If you have not, you need to! You cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven without knowing Him. If this doesn't describe you, message me and I'll be happy to help!)

Walking in the spirit isn't difficult or complicated. It's not spooky, or goofy, or hard to understand. Actually, the "walk in the spirit" is very practical and can be applied to your life every single day. In fact, whether they realize it or not, every believer has already taken their first step in this walk!

"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him..." - Colossians 2:6

How did you receive Jesus as your Lord? According to Ephesians 2:8, it was "by grace you have been saved through faith..." When you believed what you heard, grace came and saved you. That was your first step. It started with faith, and it resulted in grace.

If that was how this walk started, then this is also how we're called to continue.

It's that easy: The walk of the Spirit IS walking by grace through faith.

Serving God In The Spirit...By Grace

This is why we have to know that grace is more than just forgiveness. Grace is power - it's the power of God, strengthening you to do His will. We see this clearly when we read the passages below.

(As always, let me caution you - don't just glance over these verses. Read them carefully!)

Hebrews 12:28 - "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear."

1 Corinthians 15:10 - "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

2 Corinthians 12:9 - "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Clearly, God's grace isn't only a washing away of sin - but also an internalized power to live righteously! Grace is God's power working through us. This power bypasses our own strength, and completely obeys God's will through us! And according to Hebrews 12:28, we can only serve God by grace. 

Now look at Romans 1:9 - "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit..."

We serve God by grace...and we serve Him with our spirit. These two statements are the same concept! When Paul says that he's "serving God in the spirit", he's really saying that he's "serving God by grace."

The same is true for us today. When we're told to "walk in the spirit" so that we won't fulfill the lust of the flesh...we're actually being told to "walk in grace". The walk of the spirit is the walk of grace (through faith).

Faith And Grace - The Only Answer To The Flesh

"Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." - Galatians 6:18

This was Paul's closing statement to the church of Galatia - a church that, above all, needed to know how to obey God.

 - They were saved by grace through faith

 - They were being taught all the rules and commands of God

 - But they couldn't keep those rules - because they were depending on their own strength

The more they tried to stop sinning, the more the works of the flesh (mentioned in Galatians 5) popped up.

This was the church to which Paul wrote "walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Although they had started in the spirit...they then tried to continue walking in the flesh. They were a group of people who needed help with their spiritual walk. And Paul closed his letter by describing what that spiritual walk should look like..."God's grace with your spirit."

Friends, grace is the only answer to the bondage of sin and the flesh.

Grace will shatter the chains of sinful habits and hangups that have kept you a prisoner.

Grace will set you completely free to serve God and do whatever His will is for your life.

This is real grace: Effortlessly obeying God's commands without even a hint of struggle...because it's not YOU doing it. It's all about God's power working through you!