Believers in Christ are to walk in the Spirit and live by the Spirit’s help daily.
But preacher, how do I live by the Spirit?
1) You must believe that the Holy Spirit is with you, haven’t been sent by God into your heart from the day you got baptized in the Holy Spirit.
2) In every spiritual confrontation as a believer, you must yield to the Spirit, that means you learn to submit your desires to those of the Spirit.
3) You have to depend on the Spirit for help, enabling Him to live a God-pleasing life through you. In verse 5, Paul says, “For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” (Galatians 5:5)
4) You are to anticipate the effects of the Spirit in your daily life. That means the believer who lives and walks by the Spirit will not fulfill (accomplish or carry out) the lust (strong desires) of the flesh (sinful nature).
As you can see from the points stated above, the principal ministry of the Holy Spirit is to empower believers for holy living. Our theme for the week, “walking in the Spirit” was Paul’s chief expression of the born again-life. This theme is seen emphasized in most of Paul’s letters.
The moment we are born again, we are admonished to “walk in the Spirit” as we live out our earthly life under the Lordship of Christ and in the power of the Spirit. Pastor John MacArthur in his Commentary on Romans says, “Everything that is a spiritual reality [for the believer] is also a spiritual responsibility.” For example, just as we in fact are “saints” we are also called to “be holy.”
The apostle Peter writes: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16).
This is not going to happen through our self-effort or self-righteousness, but as we total yield ourselves to the Spirit’s help. The Holy Spirit will then produce spiritual fruit in our lives as we submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: