Keep in step with the Spirit

Galatians 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

We are called to ‘walk’ by the Spirit; to ‘keep in step with the Spirit’ (v.25). The outcome will be that we sin less. The Holy Spirit wants to influence us for godliness and we must allow Him to rule in our lives. 

‘To walk by the Spirit means to be under the constant, moment-by-moment direction, control, and guidance of the Spirit.’ (Ronald Fung, NICNT, Page 249)

How do I know what the Spirit wants so that I can keep in step with Him?

The Holy Spirit leads us in our conscience: A Christian will have an enhanced sense of right and wrong. This is the fulfilment of the promise given to Jeremiah,

‘This is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ (Jeremiah 31:33)

Walking by the Spirit also demands that we study the bible. The bible clarifies the Spirit’s will to us. Keeping is step with the Spirit is not to be equated with ‘this just felt right’! Sometimes, what we feel is right - on decisions like our marriage, homosexuality, women’s ministry…- are actually at odds with the Spirit. As Paul says, 

'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

As J. I. Packer has said,

'The Spirit works through Means - "through the objective means of grace, namely, biblical truth, prayer, fellowship, the Lord's Supper, and . . . through the subjective means of grace whereby we open ourselves to change, namely, thinking, listening, questioning oneself, sharing what is in ones heart with another, examining oneself, admonishing oneself, and weighing any response they (those we share with) make . . .' (J. I. Packer. Keep in step with the Spirit)

Ultimately, our new holy life is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Having said what I have said, we must not equate walking with the Spirit as reading the bible and doing what it says. In fact this could leave us in the opposite place - in legalism. It is the internal power of the Holy Spirit that is transforming and empowering our lives. Yes, He will use scripture (and other means - they are vital!), but it is the Spirit himself who is changing us as we seek to walk with Him. We end with a few words from Gordon Fee, 

‘Thus the combination of the imperative ‘walk,’ joined by the dative ‘by the Spirit,’ puts the two basic things together, Ethical life is still a matter of ‘walking in the ways of God,’ but for Paul this is empowered for God’s new covenant people by God’s empowering presence in the person of his Holy Spirit.’