Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16, NKJV)
“Walk in the Spirit” is a command God gives us. It is followed by a wonderful promise… “you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Most people get this backward. They try not to sin, or fulfill the lust of the flesh, so that they can walk in the Spirit. That is not possible! The Bible calls our flesh our sin nature. When we are walking around controlled by our sin nature, we will sin. The Holy Spirit is God, and because He is God, He cannot sin. If we are walking in the Spirit, we cannot sin. It is when we slip back into our flesh that we sin. What does it mean to walk in the Spirit?
God never gives us a command that He doesn’t give us the power to obey that command with. The power to walk in the Spirit comes from God. No human being has the power to say “no” to sin apart from God. It was by His power that we were saved, and it is by His power that we will walk obediently. Charles Trumbull says it this way:
“As someone once said at the Keswick Convention, we Christians all know that we are justified by faith, but somehow we have gotten the idea that, for sanctification, we must paddle our own canoe. Praise God, we don’t have to paddle our own canoe for anything that the grace of God offers. ‘Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Corinthians 15:57, NKJV). God made your life plans before the foundation of the world. He just wants you to yield yourself to Him, and He’ll take care of your life plans. Surrender completely and unconditionally, or you’ll never have victory. The secret of complete victory is faith: simply believing that Jesus has done and is doing it all. The effortless life is not the will-less life. We use our will to believe, to receive, but not to exert effort in trying to accomplish what only God can do.”
Trying to do good in our own efforts is like a man who is seen pushing a powerful sports car down the road. He is moving along, but with his own effort. Walking in the Spirit is when the man gets into the car and starts the powerful engine and now goes down the road fully powered by the engine. We are to surrender in faith trusting God that He has given us the victory and the power already. Walk in faith. Walk in the Spirit!
Today as you are riding in your car thank God for the power He has given you and trust in Him and the victory that He gives. Then walk “fully powered” by His Spirit.
Other Resources:
Victory In Christ by Charles Trumbull
The Spiritual Life by Andrew Murray