Live by the Spirit
This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16
Live by the Spirit, what spirit is the writer referring to? There are many spirits, there are evil spirits, demonic spirits, the human spirit, they even sell spirits in wine and spirit stores, although they do exist, they are created beings, there is only one life-giving Spirit, and that is the Holy Spirit.
WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
The Holy Spirit is not a “thing” or an “it.” He’s not an essence or wind. He is the third person of the Godhead. In the Godhead, there is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They have different functions: God the Father, who is the Creator, God the Son, who is Jesus the Savior, and God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is composed of intellect, emotions, and will. He has many functions: He leads, communicates, intercedes, testifies, guides, commands, anoints and appoints, reveals, seals and He delivers. He destroys yokes and bondages. He shapes and draws the believer to Christ and reveals who the believer is in Him. The Holy Spirit does have emotions. He can be grieved, and He can be saddened by our sin and our actions.
As we examine this scripture in Galatians, Paul is writing this letter to the church, to remind them of how they came to know and follow Christ, because there were now false teachers who had infiltrated the faith to try to bound them by the law. So, Paul asked them the question, how is it that you came to know Christ by the Spirit, but you now seek to live in Him by the law? Paul begins to explain to them the error of this teaching, this alternative gospel, and how they can recognize how and if they are walking in the Spirit or their flesh. He gives evidence of walking in the flesh which are: immoral ways, filthy thoughts, shameful deeds, worshiping idols, practicing witchcraft, hating others, being hard to get along with, jealousy, anger, selfishness, being argumentative, causing trouble, being envious, drinking too much, partying too much and other evil things as well. Then he also gives evidence of living by the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit makes us love, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.
I want to share with you 3 ways, that will help us to show evidence we are living by the Holy Spirit:
1. Whichever you feed the most will reign the most – If you are spending more time in the world, than in the Word, when things pop off, guess what evidence will appear? We must feed our Spirit more of the things of God, than of the world, so that the evidence of our fruit won’t appear sour.
2. Your choice must become a habit – Every Christian is filled with the Spirit, but every Christian is not led by the Spirit. You must choose if you are going to be led by your emotions or by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not override what you decide. Many are led by their feelings which are facts, but not truth. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth. Your feelings are fleeting. You can have five different feelings in a matter of minutes, which one is truth?
3. We must choose power– According to Psalm 94:13, God gives us the power of self-control in the day of adversity. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman, He speaks in a still small voice, but if you are out of control, you cannot hear Him.
We as Christians don’t want to be convicted, by the evidence of living by our flesh, we want to rep Jesus to the fullest, by the evidence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, so we must feed our spirits the things of God, it must become a habit, and we must choose the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Live by The Spirit
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