“And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:24-25 (NKJV)
The phrase “walk by the Spirit” occurred more than once in the portion from which our text is picked. It is seen in verses16 & 25, “But I say, walk by the Spirit and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Simply put, to walk in the Spirit is to operate under the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The opposite of walking by the Spirit is giving in to the desires of the flesh. Flesh” is the old, ordinary human nature that does not relish the things of God and prefers to get satisfaction from independence, power, prestige, and worldly pleasures. When we “walk by the Spirit,” we are not controlled by those drives. This is what verse 17 means: the flesh produces one kind of desire, and the Spirit produces another kind, and they are opposed to each other. Walking by the Spirit is what we do when the desires produced by the Spirit are stronger than the desires produced by the flesh. This means it is not something we do in order to get the Spirit’s help, but rather, just as the phrase implies, it is something we do by the enablement of the Spirit. Ultimately, all the good inclinations or preferences or desires that we have are given by the Holy Spirit. Apart from the Spirit we are mere flesh. And Paul said in Romans 7:18, “I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing.” Apart from the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit, none of our inclinations or desires is holy or good, “for the mind of the flesh is hostile to God’s law and does not submit to it because it cannot” (Romans 8:7).
Our walk in the spirit is in fulfillment of what God said he would do in Ezekiel 36:26, 27: “A new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you . . . I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes.” Our walk in the Spirit,” enables us to fulfill this prophecy. How then does this walk begin? Our text helps us to establish 3 major steps we must take seriously in order to achieve this. Firstly, that we belong to Jesus. 2) This understanding enables us to daily crucify the sinful nature. 3) The only way to tackle the flesh and its works is to surrender to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Beloved, in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.”( Matthew 7:18 NKJV) therefore, anyone not deeply rooted in Christ Jesus cannot walk with Him and cannot overcome the desires of the flesh. The good news however is that we have a God who takes delight in issues concerning us. However, we have roles to play. First, we must acknowledge from our hearts that we are helpless to do good apart from the enablement of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 15:5, “Without me you can do nothing”? Of course we can do something without Jesus: we can sin! But that is all we can do. We cannot do anything pleasing to God without the constant enablement of the Spirit.
Secondly, we must pray hard like Paul and pray like the writer to the Hebrews did in Hebrews 13:21. “And now may the God of peace . . . equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ”.
The third step involved in walking by the Spirit is faith. We must believe that since we have come under the gracious sway of God’s Spirit, “sin will no longer have dominion over us” (Romans 6:14). This confidence is what Paul meant by “reckoning ourselves dead to sin and alive to God” (Romans 6:11). We simply count on it that the Spirit who made us alive when we were dead in sin wills our holiness and has the power to achieve what he wills.The reason we can is that we know that God will cause his children to be led by the Spirit. One word of caution as we trust God. Do not prejudge the timing of the Holy Spirit’s work. He may decide to liberate one person overnight and bring another to freedom through months of struggle. This is a mystery concealed for now from our eyes., Always remember these golden words. “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than, any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.
The final step in walking by the Spirit is to thank God for any virtue attained or any good deed performed. If without the Spirit we can do no right, then we must not only ask his enablement but also thank him whenever we do right. Just one example from 2 Corinthians 8:16. Paul says, “Thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus.” Titus loved the Corinthians. Where did that come from? God put it in his heart. It was a fruit of the Spirit. So what does Paul do? He thanks God. Thanks be to God who puts love in our hearts!
“If we live by the Spirit, then let us also walk by the Spirit.” Let us acknowledge from our heart that we are unable to please God without the Spirit’s constant enablement. Let us pray for that enablement. Let us trust confidently in the Spirit’s power and promise to give that enablement. Then, let us turn and say with all the saints, Thanks be to God! To him be glory for ever and ever! Amen.
Wishing you a fulfilled week through the enablement of the Holy Spirit.
Your brother, friend and pastor
Clement Iwuoha