Lesson 18
May 26, 2202
Paul continuously hammers home to us that as believers we live our post-salvation
life through the means, or by dependence on the Holy Spirit. Walking by the Spirit!
In Galatians chapter 5, believers are led by means
of the Holy Spirit (5:18); are to live by means of the Holy Spirit (5:25a), and
are to walk in line by means of the Holy Spirit (5:25b).
The believer is to walk by means of the Holy
Spirit. That this is not automatic is emphasized in the remainder of the verse.
And you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
This is the strongest form of denial possible in
the Greek.
Fulfilling the lust of the flesh and walking by
means of the Spirit are mutually exclusive alternatives.
The believer at any moment either depends on the
divine provision in the Holy Spirit, or his own innate ability that has its
ultimate source in the sin nature.
The promise implicit in this mandate is that as
long as the believer consciously depends on the Holy Spirit, he will not sin.
James 1:14-15 suggests the process of sin.
We as believers are to abide in Christ, and to
walk by the Holy Spirit!
Walking in the Light
Numerous passages use walking as a
metaphor for the Christian life.
In 1 John chapter one, the apostle
does not use a simple dative. Instead, John opts for "in the
darkness" (en to skotei) and "in the light" (en to photei) to
describe the characteristics of two opposing walks of the believer's experience
(1 John 1:6,7).
As with Paul's mutually exclusive
categories of walking by the Spirit or walking according to the sin nature,
John expresses the mutually exclusive walks of life as either darkness or light
(1 John 1:6, 7). Having fellowship with
God is impossible while walking in darkness.
As believers we can either walk in
darkness or walk in light. Paul's development of walking in Ephesians 4-6
supports this.
As
children of light (Ephesians 5:8).
We are to walk
in love (Ephesians 5:2).
Christ
endured not "in love," but "by means of love."
Walking by means of love is then
parallel with the next command to: walk
as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).
Walking in the light, as John observed, is not
automatic. As believers we can surely choose
to walk in darkness instead of living on the basis of who we are now as
a member of God's family, possessing a new nature, and indwelt by God the Holy
Spirit.
The metaphor of light is used two
ways in Scripture:
1) to
portray the holiness, righteousness, and absolute perfection of God (1 John
1:5)
2) the revelation of God, His Person, Perfections, and plan through
the Word of God (Psalm 119:105, 130.)
In Ephesians chapter five Paul, again, contrasts
the mutually exclusive walk of the believer with the results of choices made
outside the will of God.
Paul shifts the metaphor of light
from light as divine perfection to light as the revelation of that perfection
in the Word that exposes sin in the context of (5:13-14).
This introduces the informational aspect of one's walk-the revelation of God's Word-that
informs us as believers of the directive will of God, the mandates, and
provisions for living the Christian life.
The role of the Holy Spirit would be in the
revelation, communication, understanding, retention, and recall of the
principles of the Word of God.
Since the walk by means of the Holy Spirit is
parallel to abiding in Christ and fellowship, we discover that the filling by
the Spirit characterizes abiding in Christ.
Comparison of these two passages
yields a couple of conclusions.
The Holy Spirit fills the believer with the Word
of God. [does this just happen?
Choices!]
The believer, then, walking by means of the Holy
Spirit, applies the Word that transforms his thinking and then his life.
The Spirit does not operate in a vacuum, but
always in conjunction with the Word of God, the light of divine revelation.
Neither works apart from the other.
Conclusion
A comparison of Galatians 3:3 with
Galatians 5:16 has revealed that our
postsalvation life develops or advances by dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Walking by the Holy Spirit and
walking according to the flesh are mutually exclusive states. The believer
either walks by means of the Spirit or not.
Walking by means of the Spirit
happens when the believer fills his soul with Scripture, which the Holy Spirit
can recall to mind for application.
Application of the truth then leads
to transformed lives in which the Spirit produces the fruit of the character of
Christ.