LESSON 14: WALKING BY THE SPIRIT

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1 FOUNDATIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH LESSON 14: WALKING BY THE SPIRIT How to live daily in the power of the Spirit 1: SUMMARY In this lesson you will learn that believers are lead by the Holy Spirit toward Christ and greater likeness to Him. As we continually rely on Him and submit to His leading, our desires are changed and we receive supernatural strength to resist temptation and walk in holiness. Spirit-filled living requires us a conscious, continual decision to sow to the Spirit and submit to His conviction. 2: BIBLE STUDY Gal 5:16-25 Read Gal 5:16-25 Background The letter to the Galatians was written to combat a heresy which threatened the very heart of the gospel salvation by grace alone, apart from human merit or works. Paul wastes no time in getting to this matter and expressing his great concern, I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel (Gal 1:6). In chapter 1-2 the gospel is defended, in chapter 3-4 it is explained, and in chapter 5-6 the gospel is applied. Throughout the letter, a stark contrast is drawn between living by Law and living by Grace. The former comes from a misplaced faith or confidence in human ability, merit and achievement; while the latter arises from faith in what God supplies due to the merit and achievements of Christ on our behalf. The Law, or commandments of God tell us what is wrong and what we should be doing, but do not give us the desire of the ability to live according to them. The Law does not and cannot save, For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them" (Gal 3:10). Likewise, the Law does not and cannot sanctify. The Law is able to help us see our sin, but is powerless to free us from it. In and through the gospel, God freely gives us what we need to be released from the ultimate penalty of sin, and from the daily power of it. He gives us Christ as the complete and sufficient payment for sin, and He gives us the Spirit to empower us to walk in daily victory over sin. That is why, when Paul comes to the application of the gospel in chapter 5-6, he can so confidently assert, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Gal 5:16). 1

2 Explain, in your own words, why it is futile to rely on your own works and efforts to rescue you from both the ultimate penalty and the immediate power of indwelling sin. The Inner Battle (5:16-17) In verse Paul describes an inner battle between the desires of the flesh and the desires of God s indwelling Spirit. The flesh as Paul describes it, refers to our fallen human nature, which is still influenced by the corruption of sin and easily enticed back to it. We live out our Christian lives in a fallen world, surrounded by temptations from without and within. There is a definite and relentless pull to go back to the habitual patterns of sin which characterized our lives before we were saved. Fortunately, every true believer is indwelt by God s Spirit, who causes new desires to well up within us, desires for all that is godly, true, righteous and good. A Christian is therefore constantly at war within. This inner battle between the indwelling Spirit and the sin corrupted flesh is not a battle between equals. The Spirit is more than able to conquer the desires of the flesh and hence Paul can confidently affirm in vs 16 that if we live our daily lives relying on the Spirit, we will not gratify the cravings of the flesh. The language Paul uses in the Greek is very emphatic at this point, indicating, You will by no means, ever give into those old sinful cravings. Can you think of a recent example of this inner battle between your fallen flesh and God s Spirit within you? Our New Guide (5:18) In the first 4 chapters of Galatians Paul has been arguing that God did not give the Law (His commandments) in order to provide people with a means of gaining a right standing before Him positionally, or legally. We cannot be justified by the Law. In chapter 5-6, the practical section of the book, he goes on to argue that we also not under the Law as a means of being righteous practically, in our daily living. We cannot be sanctified by the Law. The argument of the first 4 chapters is summarized in these verses: 2

3 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Gal 3:23-27) So the Law was intended by God to lead us to Christ by showing us that we are completely unable to live up to the perfect standard of His righteousness and therefore need a Saviour to do for us, what we cannot do for ourselves. For the Christian, the Law of God has accomplished its intended purpose and has lead us to faith in Christ as God s gift of righteousness. We are therefore no longer under the law as our guardian. In Gal 5:19 Paul is resuming this argument and affirming the fact that the Christian is no longer under the law. He states it in terms of a conditional clause, if...then. If the condition is true, then the result logically and automatically follows. The way that Paul constructs the conditional clause in the Greek indicates his firm conviction that in the case of a believer, the condition has already been met. One might paraphrase vs 19 as follows, since, as a Christian, you are lead by the Spirit, you are no longer under the Law. Having come to faith in Christ, the Christian is no longer under the Law as a tutor or guide, instead we are now being led by the Spirit. Just as the Spirit drew us to Christ for salvation, the Spirit is leading us toward greater likeness to Christ in sanctification. We are led by the Spirit in the sense that He is pulling us along toward Christ and displaying His character in our daily lives. The Spirit is God s gracious gift to enable us to live the godly life which the Law could merely describe. He leads us to live the kind of holy life we were unable to live when we merely had the external Law as a standard and guide. CHRISTIAN NON-CHRISTIAN Faith in Christ Justified before God Living under Grace= trusting in God s supply Lead/directed by the Spirit Empowered by the Spirit to live righteously Characterized by the fruit of the Spirit Faith in self Legally guilty before God Living under Law=trusting in human merit Lead/directed by the Law Powerless to live righteously Characterized by the works of the flesh A set of external rules and regulations cannot lead us to be more like Christ in our character and daily living. If God s perfect Law/commandments/rules could not accomplish this, how 3

4 much more so, the imperfect rules that man often establishes for himself. Despite this, we are prone to return to legalism. For example, rather than trust God s Spirit to produce in us a hunger for His Word, we establish a rule that we must read our Bible every day. Then we feel satisfied when we have fulfilled our own legalistic standards, irrespective of whether our heart is yearning for God as it ought to (Ps 42:1-2) and we judge ourselves and others guilty by these same external standards rather than the true righteousness of the heart. Can you think of other examples of trying to live righteously by legalism/law rather than trusting in God s Spirit to transform us inwardly? Tangible Evidence (5:19-24) In vs Paul goes on to describe these two contrasting ways of living in terms of the fruit, or works they produce. It is clear that Paul is merely providing a sample, rather than a comprehensive description because he closes his list of fleshly characteristics by saying, and things like these (5:21). Complete the table below FRUIT OF THE FLESH FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT 4

5 Which two fruit of the Spirit are least evident in your life? Which two fruit of the flesh are most evident? What action(s) have you, or are you taking to do something about this? At times a Christian might think, speak and act in fleshly ways, but this is no longer the pattern and direction of our lives, those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal 5:21), their works show them to be unbelievers. Instead, those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24) and the fruit of our faith is seen in the fruit of the Spirit being produced in increasing measure. The fruit of the Spirit is shown in more than external obedience to a set of commands, it requires inner, heart transformation. Daily Dependence (5:25) Paul began this section with a command, walk by means of the Spirit (Gal 5:16) and he closes with another appeal, since we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Gal 6:25). The term walk means to follow, to agree with, to keep in step with, and indicates that the believer is to willfully and continually submit to the leading and direction of the Spirit, to rely on His power and to yield to His conviction. The Christian s daily life is lived by faith, in dependence upon the Spirit rather than relying on one s own willpower and wisdom. Just as we continue to trust in Christ to free us from the penalty of sin, we must continually trust in Christ s Spirit to free us from the power and influence of sin. As Christians we therefore have a responsibility to actively and continually depend on the Spirit and yield to His leading. His role is to lead, our responsibility is to follow, but what does such active yielding and dependance look like? Paul doesn t give a clear list of steps in Galatians because the main idea is that we live by faith in God s gracious provision of the Spirit. That involves daily, moment-by-moment, conscious dependence upon Him, its an attitude or disposition, rather than a series of steps we take. The following would be key elements of continual dependence upon the Spirit: Scripture: The Spirit inspired God s Word and He uses God s Word to renew our minds and transform our desires. A spirit-filled Christian will be saturated with the Scripture, singing it, speaking it, reading it, meditating upon it, listening to it and preaching it to himself or herself (compare Eph 5:18-19 to the parallel passage in Col 3:16-17). Prayer: Faith in, and dependence upon God is always demonstrated by prayer of all kinds, 5

6 in all contexts, for all things (Eph 6:18-19). Conviction: One of the Spirit s express duties is to convict with regard to sin, righteousness and judgment (Jn 16:7-11). The Spirit takes God s Word and uses it to convict us specifically and personally about where we are falling short. In response we must confess our sin, call on God to change us and take active steps to turn away from it. Often the Spirit will convict us, in order to lead us away from temptation and we must yield to this conviction and follow His leading. Fellowship: Spirit-filled living is not merely an individual and personal thing, but something God does among His people as we fellowship together (Acts 4:31; Eph 5:18-19). The Spirit provides gifts to the body of Christ and leads us into deep relationships with other believers which empower us for Christian living (Eph 4:15-16). We will look at some of these elements or means of grace in greater detail in the next lesson, but one may think of them as sowing to the Spirit or fanning the Spirit into flame in our lives. Paul offers this warning in the next chapter, Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Gal 6:7-8). It is evident that we have a daily duty to work with the Spirit as He leads us toward Christ. In what ways do you most regularly sow to the flesh? In which of the above areas are you most neglecting to sow to the Spirit? 3: APPLICATION Is there a specific area about which the Spirit is presently convicting you? What steps do you need to take to yield to His leading? 6

7 4: FURTHER DISCUSSION These questions are intended to help you think more deeply about the subject matter at hand and provide the basis for further discussion with another mature believer. As Gal 5:23 intimates, the Spirit leads us to a righteousness which goes beyond the Law. For example, the Spirit can lead a Christian to give joyfully and sacrificially an amount way beyond the tithe required by the law (2 Cor 9:6-9). What are other examples of this superior Spiritproduced righteousness? In some churches, the power and fullness of the Spirit is equated primarily with supernatural spiritual gifts. Discuss how an overemphasis on spiritual experiences and manifestations can actually sow to the flesh. Discuss the following statement: The Spirit leads, guides and transforms us using His Word. The Scripture therefore provides an objective standard of truth by which the Spirit s work can be discerned and followed. This is an essential safe-guard against mystical experiences and satanic deceptions. Paul describes Spirit-filled living as setting your mind on the Spirit in Rom 8:6. Discuss practical ways in which you can renew your mind with God s truth in your daily life and the moment of temptation. 5: MEMORIZATION The following Scriptures would be good to memorize and meditate upon as they summarize the truths contained in this lesson: Gal 5:16 Gal 6:7-8 6: FURTHER STUDY The book of Roman s provides more extended discussions on many of the issues covered in Galatians. Romans 6-8 deal apply the gospel to the issue of Christian sanctification and Roman s 8, in particular, is devoted to the Spirit s role in leading us toward practical righteousness. Read this chapter and compare it with what we have learned in this lesson. Read the free ebook Who is the Holy Spirit? (Crucial Questions Series Book 13 by R.C Sproul; obtainable from 7