Experiencing the Holy Spirit – Walking
I say, all of you walk by [the] Spirit and you will not bring to maturity the desires of the flesh – Galatians 5:16
Walking is a term used to describe how we generally manage our lives. Prior to being saved we walked according to the age of this world, which is a malignantly evil period. We had a lifestyle that was controlled by the futility of the mind.
in which once all of you walked according to the age of this world, according to the head of the authority of the air, the spirit now working in the sons of the disobedience – Ephesians 2:2
Therefore, I say and testify in the Lord, you are to no longer walk according to also the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their minds, Ephesians 4:17
Now we are God’s children and are to walk in the light. This is a lifestyle that rejects the works of the flesh and seeks to fulfil the desires of the Spirit so that we are fellowshipping with God.
If perhaps we should say that we are having fellowship with Him and we are walking in the darkness, we are lying and are not doing the truth. – 1 John 1:6
But if perhaps we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son keeps on cleaning us from all sin. – 1 John 1:7
We have a walk that is through faith, not through sight. This means we base our lifestyle upon the promise that God has given to us.
For we walk through faith, not through sight, 2 Corinthians 5:7
God has prepared good works for us to walk in. This involves doing what is right and loving the brethren.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus upon the basis of good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we should walk in them, Ephesians 2:10
How we frame our minds directly impacts how we walk.
For the ones that are [walking] according to flesh, set their minds of the things of the flesh, but the ones [walking] according to Spirit, the things of the Spirit. – Romans 8:5
We are no longer in the flesh so we should be walking by the Spirit.
However, you are not in flesh, but in Spirit, since indeed [the] Spirit of God dwells in you. And if, assuming it is true, someone does not have [the] Spirit of Christ, this one is not His. – Romans 8:9
Walking by the Spirit is going to start with a mind that is focused on the things above. These are the things that have to do with our position and possessions in salvation. Having our minds focused here gives us a proper measuring stick for our lifestyle. Now with our mind set in the right place, by using the renewed mind Christ gave us, we can evaluate any situation we face and discern the proper direction to go as we govern our lives by the Spirit. As we learn to identify the desires from the Holy Spirit and seek to fulfill those desires, rather than the desires from the flesh, our lives will begin to show this in the way we do things, the choices we make, the people we hang around, the things we involve ourselves in. And because we are walking by the Spirit, we will not bring the desires of the flesh to completion. Yes, we will still get them, but since our mind is focused on the truth and we are living that out we will recognize them, take the way of escape, and overcome them.
Today let us take a little bit of time to remind ourselves of who we are and get our minds framed on the things above. We are children of God. We are saints. We are in Christ and therefore are righteous ones before God. Now, let us act like it, not by self-effort, but by learning to identify the desires from the Spirit and seeking to achieve them so that we are walking by the Spirit.
Experiencing the Holy Spirit – Leading
Now that we understand that the Holy Spirit communicates His desires to us through the desires we get to do what is right and obey God’s desirous will in our lives, we can start to follow those desires and be led by Him.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God – Romans 8:14
As part of our salvation, our bounds have been marked off to the placement of sons. This means we are in a special place of privilege that is not under governor or tutors – not under law. Being a son has nothing to do with the sex of a person, this is referring to a position of maturity.
having marked off our bounds to the placement of sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself according to the good pleasure of His desirous will – Ephesians 1:5
Now I say, up until as long a time as the heir is an inarticulate babbler, he differs nothing from a slave, being lord of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the placement by the Father – Galatians 4:1-2
As sons we are then led by the Holy Spirit, not by law.
And since you are led by the Spirit you are not under law – Galatians 5:18
The righteous live out from faith, not by law. Law is not out from faith. Living out the life we have in Christ is not done by pseudo obeying the Ten Commandments, it is done by walking in faith.
for God’s righteousness is revealed in it out from faith into faith. Just as it is written, the righteous will live out from faith. – Romans 1:17
But the law is not out from faith, but the man doing it will live by it – Galatians 3:12
The leading of the Holy Spirit comes by the desires He gives us to do the will of God in our lives. This is not done in ignorance, which means we need to use the new mind we have in Christ and discern what direction He is leading us through identifying His desires and following them. We do not use law to do this, for one who is living by law is acting like a child and will not understand the leading of the Holy Spirit. Don’t take those desires you have to do what is right lightly. It is the Holy Spirit expressing to you His desires for your life and how you are to live it out in a way that glorifies God. This type of leading has a far greater impact on our lives than words or anything we may see, because it directly impacts us at our very core. Let us use what God has given us, see things as they really are, know what God’s will is for us, and discern each situation in our lives so that we are led by the Holy Spirit.
Experiencing the Holy Spirit – Desires
Why do we want the things that we want? There is always a reason behind our desires. Some of them are not so good as others, but a reason none the less.
As part of our salvation our spirits were washed and regenerated, that is, we were born again in our spirit which means we are now connected to God in spirit.
not out from works, the ones in righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us through washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, Titus 3:5
But the one knit together with the Lord is one spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:17
Our spirit is our rational part
For what human intuitively knows the things of a human except the spirit of the human, the one in Him? 1 Corinthians 2:11
Because we are now connected to God in our rational, intellectual part and the Holy Spirit indwells us, He impacts our desires. So the next time you have a desire to do what is right, that desire is not coming from you; rather, it is a direct result of the Holy Spirit expressing to you His desire for you in that situation. Don’t take these desires lightly, they are not natural to our human nature and are contrary to it.
But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will never bring to completion the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the desires of the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. For these are against one another in order that you do not do the things you desire – Galatians 5:17
Now we do not want our sin nature taking advantage of us and persuading us to do what it desires thinking it is good because we are not using the renewed mind God gave us to know His desirous will for us.
And stop being outwardly conformed to this age, but to be transformed by your renewed mind, for the purpose to test for approval what is the desirous will of God, the good and well pleasing and mature. – Romans 12:2
Understanding that the Holy Spirit impacts our desires is important because He has no need to speak to us or to show us signs and wonders. He influences us far greater than any of those could do. He indwells us and just like our flesh or our emotions, He gives us desires. We need to take the time to learn to recognize these desires and follow them. Therefore, experiencing the Holy Spirit is not an emotional thing. The hairs on the back of our neck do not stand up, we do not get goose bumps, we are not put in a trance, or made to laugh uncontrollably, or speak in gibberish (some try to pass this off as speaking in tongues); rather, it is by using the new mind we have in Christ and training our senses to discern the difference between the desires we get so that we determine what is proper and what is wrong, knowing that ultimately the desire to do what is right is coming from God and is a direct result of fellowshipping with Him. So the next time you have a desire to do what is right, that is the Holy Spirit communicating with you.
Experiencing the Holy Spirit – A Comforter
When we believed that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, we received the promise He gave when He told the disciples before His death that even though He was going away He would send another comforter.
in Whom also you, after hearing the Word of the Truth, the gospel of our salvation, in Whom also you believed, were sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise – Ephesians 1:13
And I will ask the Father and He will give to you another comforter in order that He will remain with you into the age, the Spirit of the Truth, Who the world does not have the inherent ability to receive because it cannot watch Him, nor experientially know Him, but you experientially know Him because He remains alongside you and will be in you – John 14:17
Comforter is referring to someone that has been called alongside another. This can mean they comfort, encourage, or even advocate on behalf of another. The Holy Spirit was given to the Church to remind us of the truth and testify concerning Jesus Christ.
But when the Comforter comes, Who I will send to you from alongside the Father, the Spirit of the Truth, Who proceeds from alongside the Father, that One will testify concerning Me – John 15:26
But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Who the Father will send in My name, that One will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, which things I said to you – John 14:26
It is through the reminding us of what was written that we have comfort and learn patience.
For as much as was written before hand, was written before hand for our teaching, in order that through the patience and through the encouragement of the writings we should have the hope. – Romans 15:4
And through the comfort that we can have a proper frame of mind, seeking to do the things that please God because we understand He is faithful and will do what He has promised.
And may the God of the patience and the encouragement, give to you the same frame of mind among one another according to Christ Jesus – Romans 15:5
So as we suffer for doing what is right, the comfort and encouragement from God abides in us, so we have a living Hope based upon a promise from a living God.
because just as we abound in suffering of the Christ unto us, thus through the Christ the comfort also abounds to us – 2 Corinthians 1:5
And do not despise when we are exhorted, for it shows that we truly belong to God
And do not let escape notice the encouragement, which to you as a son discerns, “My Son, do not think lightly (despise) child-training from the Lord, nor be discouraged by His rebuke. For whom the Lord loves He child-trains, and He scourges every son that He receives- Hebrews 12:5, 6
One of the aspects of our relationship with the Holy Spirit and how we experience Him is through His encouraging work that reminds us of what was written so that we have patience and are encouraged to continue to do what is right even in the face of persecution. So, when Scriptures come up in your mind in different situations throughout the day, or you recall what God has done for you in salvation and you belong to Him, remember who is doing that for you.
Colossians: Walking in a Worthy Manner
to walk worthy of the Lord into all pleasing in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the full experiential knowledge of God Colossians 1:10
2 John The Deceivers and Antichrists
Because many deceivers have entered the world, never confessing Jesus Christ, the one having come in flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 2 John 7