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GALATIANS 5:25 “IF WE LIVE IN THE SPIRIT, LET US ALSO WALK IN THE SPIRIT.” (KJV, NKJV)
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (NASB, RSV)
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (NIV)
“If we are living now by the Holy Sprit’s power, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (TLB)
The first thing I notice from this verse is that we can both live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. Paul tells us that if we do the one, we should also do the other. One might honestly ask, what’s the difference? Good question.
Read the whole passage on this topic, Galatians 4:16-26. Without question, a Christian should not live a life that fulfils the lust of the flesh (4:16). They are contrary to one another (verse 17).
If we read other writings by Paul, we can easily determine that before we are converted/born again, we have that bent toward always pleasing the lust of the flesh. Our fallen nature drives us to do those things which are pleasing to us, yet not pleasing to God. So many times, what pleases us the most are those things Paul lists in 4:19-21. He lists seventeen of them. Wow!
If you want to know if you are walking in the flesh instead of the Spirit, check yourself against Paul’s list here. Are you an adulterer or fornicator? Flesh. Does uncleanness or lewdness dominate your behavior? Hatred, jealousy, outbursts of anger? Probably not walking in the Spirit. Does drunkenness and revelries (PARTY!) demonstrate your goals in life? Paul tells us in verse 21, “those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Now, we know that Jesus calls us out of those types of lifestyles. He even tells us that when we come to Him for salvation, those things all become old and he makes us something new. Our salvation comes only by faith in Him, not by stopping all those things that He describes as flesh. We always confess that there is nothing I can do to earn my salvation…it is a free gift, given to us when we trust in His work on the cross. But, when we are born again, the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and teaches us that those things listed in the previous verses that we might have given our lives to are now supposed to NOT be a part of our lives.
When my Grandpa Jack gave his life to the Lord, he testified that he removed the pack of cigarettes from his pocket, threw them away and never smoked another cigarette in his life. Cigarettes would not cast him into hell. But the Holy Spirit that, at that moment, lived in his heart convicted him that smoking was “uncleanness,” so he removed it from his life. That was walking in the Spirit.
Murderers, murder no more. That seems pretty easy for almost all of us. I never murdered anyone, so I must be walking in the Spirit, right? How about my occasional outbursts of anger though? Have I ever been jealous of the success of others around me? Selfish ambitions? That one sounds pretty common to all of us if we are honest. Look at all seventeen of those Paul lists. Do any of those that he lists seem like they would convict you of them? That is walking in the flesh.
Paul doesn’t leave us wondering if we can ever live in the Spirit. He lists nine fruits of the Spirit in verses 22-23. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are the fruits. You judge an apple tree by its fruit…apples. Our lives should demonstrate the nine fruits if we would truly walk in the Spirit. We memorized Galatians 5:22 in chapter 19 of the first book. Now, we need to examine every part of our lives against those fruits to see if we are truly living in the Spirit…walking in the Spirit. Does your speech reflect kindness and goodness? Walking in the Spirit. Have you replaced those outbursts of anger with gentleness and self-control. Walking in the Spirit.
By the way, converting from a life in the flesh to one in the Sprit doesn’t just happen. Paul gives us the secret to success in verse 24: “those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” That’s right…you gotta kill those things! Immediately, when you fall back into that fleshly habit of a fit of rage, you need to recognize it, stop it, repent of it (hopefully before it results in some action that can even be worse), crucify/kill that bent toward that previous weakness and replace it with the kind of gentleness and self-control that can only come from the Spirit.
Who knew that being a Christian could be so much work? That’s right, there is a whole lot more to being a Christian than saying the “sinner’s prayer” and checking into our home in heaven. The rest of our lives after salvation needs to be devoted to a daily walk that continuously develops us more and more into the likeness and image of Jesus.
That’s the difference between living in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit. The implication is that “living” is a matter of being…“walking” is a matter of doing. Walking is action. Every day…maybe every minute…we need to be on the lookout for those old sinful habits of our pre-salvation past that creep right back into us if we aren’t careful. When they show up, they need to be crucified and replaced with actions and behaviors which are evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. We need to both live in the Spirit AND also walk in the Spirit.
How? I could give you lots of examples of how we can replace each work of the flesh with a fruit of the Spirit. But, you don’t need me to tell you. YOU have the Holy Spirit in you to personally answer that question every moment of every day. Just ask Him. Repent if you need to because you fell back into that habit…you don’t need to be saved again, you just need to turn from your old ways. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. He will help you eradicate those old lustful habits and replace them with fruit. He will show you what it means to not only live in the Spirit but also walk in the Spirit.
Questions to ponder: So, what is the old habit you are having a hard time breaking? Maybe only share that with a very trusted brother or sister. Does committing to praying for one another and maybe holding each other accountable help us overcome those weaknesses and crucify them? Are you a walker? Describe the physical difference between walking and watching TV and consider how walking in the Spirit differs from living in the Spirit.
Other Scriptures to study: Romans 12:1-2, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice?” Difference between being conformed to the world and being transformed. What experience have you had with renewing your mind? Galatians 6:1-5, Overtaken and restoring. Bearing each others’ burdens. Examine your work. Bear your own load. James 1:2-6 testing of your faith, perseverance, maturity and wisdom. Ephesians 4:17-32 “Put off your old self…”
 
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