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Walk in the Spirit
By David A. DePra
One of the most
misunderstood Truths of the Bible is what it means, “to walk in the Spirit.”
Of course, that is misunderstood because most of us likewise don’t
understand what it means, “to walk according to the flesh.”
And yet if you read the NT these Truths are central.
Christians are told to, “walk in the Spirit.”
So it behooves us to grasp the Truth on these matters.
Right up front,
let us explain what it means to walk in the Spirit in a negative way:
It means I do NOT walk according to myself.
I don't walk according to anything about my natural man.
I am not directed by what I feel or think.
Rather, and this is the positive explanation:
I walk according to the Truth -- for the Spirit of God is the Spirit of
Truth. I walk in the Light.
In short, I walk according to Jesus Christ.
Now, to get
to the root of this, we have to go back to some basics.
For the reason these Truths are not generally understood is because the
meaning of Christianity is not understood.
What is Christianity? What is
a Christian? Answer those questions
and you will form a foundation for understanding all else.
Christ In Us
Christianity is, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
(Col. 1:27) That means that a
Christian is one in whom Christ dwells, or if you prefer, a Christian is one who
is IN CHRIST. Same Truth.
I Cor. 6:17 describes HOW Christ dwells in us.
It says, “He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”
Thus, a Christian is one whom the Lord has joined to Himself in Spirit.
That is how we are IN Christ; how Christ is IN US.
Now, we can take
this a step further. Paul also says,
“If any one is IN CHRIST, he is a new creation.”
(I Cor. 5:17) So the new
creation in Christ Jesus is what is birthed when I am joined to the Lord and
made one spirit with Him. Of course,
our spiritual union with Christ is how we are saved, born from above, and have
access to the Father. All of these
realities are the result of being made one in spirit with Jesus Christ.
But once we see
that Christianity is Christ in us – once we see that we are joined to the Lord
and made one spirit with Him – we likewise must see that there remains OUTSIDE
of that spiritual union with Christ our natural man.
Our natural man consists of two dimensions:
The natural we can see and the natural we cannot see.
The dimension of natural man that we can see is our body.
The dimension of natural man that we cannot see is our psychic or soul
man. These are NOT joined to the
Lord. We are joined to the Lord ONLY
in spirit.
This fact – that
we are joined to the Lord ONLY in spirit – creates a division or separation in
all of those who are in Christ Jesus.
That separation is often called, “the separation between soul and
spirit.” On the one hand, we have
the new creation or new man in Christ that consists of the joining of our human
spirit with the Spirit of Christ, but on the other hand we have all that is
OUTSIDE of that union, which remains natural and of the flesh.
This is our old man.
Now, the purpose
of God for this age in His people is that Christ be FORMED in us.
This is really the definition of spiritual growth.
Spiritual growth is not US, i.e., our natural man growing to be more like
Jesus. No.
Spiritual growth is my natural man being brought under the Cross so that
the Christ who is in me can be made manifest.
So we see that in
this age, the separation between soul and spirit -- between our natural man and
Christ in us -- will never disappear.
Of course, as we grow in Christ, it is the will of God that the natural
man come to be governed by Christ – this is part of sanctification.
But there will always be that separation in this age.
Each believer has within them two natures – one of Christ in the new
creation, and the other of the old man in Adam.
Only in the next age will this separation be eliminated through the
resurrection of the body.
Now, we
MUST see this separation if we are to grasp what it means, “to walk in the
spirit,” verses, “to walk in the flesh.”
We must see that there IS within each believer a spiritual union with
Christ. But there also remains
the natural man.
Two
Natures
You will note
that, “Christ in us,” is absolutely equal to the Spirit of God in us – indeed,
Jesus Christ dwells in us through His Spirit.
Indeed, we might just as easily call a, “walk in the Spirit,” a walk
according to CHRIST. For the Spirit
of God will always guide us into the Truth of Christ – revealing Christ, not
only to us, but also IN us.
Now, lets ask
ourselves a question: If each
believer is joined to the Lord in spirit, and that union is the new creation,
and if each believer likewise continues to carry an old natural man, then
according to WHICH NATURE are we to live?
Obviously, according to Christ – we are to walk IN Christ, or if you
prefer, we are, “to walk in the Spirit.”
We are NOT to walk according to our old man in Adam.
Do we realize
what the means? It means that I am
not to be governed by ANYTHING that belongs to the natural or earthly– no part
of my makeup that belongs to the earthly realm is supposed to govern me.
Another way of saying this is that nothing of my natural man is of
Christ. The reactions of my natural
man – intellectual or emotional – are NOT of the Spirit of God.
No. They are coming from that
area of my makeup that is OUTSIDE of my union with Christ.
And yet
most Christian people do not know the difference between our natural reactions
of emotions and intellect and the Spirit of Christ in us.
Indeed, many of us think that our emotional reactions ARE the reactions
of the Spirit of God in us. We feel, we
sense, we react – perhaps fully within our natural man – and we attribute this
to Christ. Some of think this is how
God, “leads us.”
But if we
understand this separation of soul from spirit we will see that that which is
born of the flesh IS flesh – if our reactions are of our natural man then they
ARE nothing more than earthly. But
if something emerges from the spirit of Christ in us, then it is of God.
What
is Sanctification?
Most Christian
people believe that sanctification is a matter of the believer growing, “to be
more like Jesus.” But the bigger
problem is that most of us, even if we have never thought it through, or put it
down in words, think that this work of sanctification happens upon our earthly
nature. Thus, we look for change in
that earthly nature. We expect that
our temperament, emotions, soul, and intellect ought to be changed to act like a
Christian should act.
This is probably
one of the biggest misconceptions we could have.
First of all, sanctification is NOT a matter of you and I, “looking more
like Jesus,” or, “acting like Jesus.”
Neither will our earthly nature be changed to where it acts like Christ.
Indeed, our earthly nature will never be changed at all – if what we mean
by that is that our temperament, emotions, and soul life will be like Jesus.
In short, sanctification does NOT take place in the earthly nature.
So what IS
sanctification? Actually, the
question ought to be, “WHO IS sanctification?”
Paul wrote:
That no flesh should glory in his presence.
But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption: That, according as
it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.
(I Cor. 1:29-31)
Sanctification is
CHRIST – Christ in us. Thus, rather
than think of sanctification in terms of God doing something TO US in order to
make us to look like Jesus, we need to see that sanctification is the result of
Christ IN US – coming to govern us and be manifested through us.
In other
words, sanctification is NOT a matter of our earthly nature being transformed by
the Holy Spirit to where it looks and acts like Christ.
No. Rather, sanctification is
a matter of our earthly nature coming under the work of the Cross and put
completely aside, so that the Christ who dwells within us can govern and be made
manifest.
You will note how
Paul goes out of the way in the above passage to state that the GLORY goes
completely to the Lord. Of course.
This is because our flesh or earthly nature is not changed or glorified
in this age. WE do not contribute
anything.
There are many
professing Christian people today who take a very subtle pride in their own
spiritual growth. Many think that
their personal growth, or the growth of their group or church is a trophy on
their shelf, or an indication of their great faith.
They have a focus, of not an obsession, with themselves.
But if that is my attitude, then it really indicates that I have NOT
grown. True sanctification will
absolutely crucify both pride and focus upon SELF and make us fully reliant upon
Christ. Indeed, sanctification will
set us free from focus upon ourselves altogether – “he that glories, let him
glory in the Lord.”
Few of us
know anything about this Truth. We
continue to think that the issue here is feeling bad about ourselves vs. feeling
good about ourselves. No.
BOTH are a focus upon ourselves.
The idea of a believer taking pride in their personal character
development, or being miserable over it, is completely contrary to everything
God is doing in Christ – it is the opposite of true sanctification.
Sanctification results if freedom from
self because it centers us in Jesus Christ as our life.
Paul is very
clear about this. Jesus Christ – His
life and His Lordship – is our sanctification.
Our earthly nature, because of the work of the Cross, will certainly be
brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ – and it will look like change.
But this is not a matter of our earthly nature being changed.
It is a matter of Jesus Christ living in and through us – and being made
manifest.
Paul also wrote:
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power
may be of God, and not of us…. .always bearing about in the body the dying of
the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that
the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
(II Cor. 4:7-11)
We need to see
the difference here. Many Christian
people walk according to the earthly in this matter of sanctification and
spiritual growth because we continue to think that it is a matter of God acting
upon us to make our earthly nature look like Jesus – and we continually examine
our earthly nature to see how we are doing.
The result is a focus upon ourselves – either pride or misery.
No. The Cross will put our
earthly nature aside. God wants to
form Christ in us so that He can live through us.
He is our sanctification. Of
course. Is He not our life?
Governed by the Earthly
All of
these truths having to do with the earthly nature vs. the spirit of God in us
are necessary to see if we are to walk in the Spirit.
Otherwise we will likely walk according to the flesh – even if it is
religious flesh – and think we are walking in the Spirit.
To walk
according to the flesh, or earthly nature, is to walk according to ME – MYSELF:
How I feel, how I think, and what I sense.
It is to use my emotions, temperament, intellect, and soul man as the
guide. Can we possibly realize that
right now million of professing Christian people – sincere, nice people – are
walking in exactly that way, according to religious flesh – all the while
thinking that it is the spirit of God leading them?
There are
Christian people who are living in a world that consists of their religious
imagination, their emotions, and their soul power.
They are completely governed by their earthly nature – not in a sinful or
ugly fashion – but in a highly religious and seemingly spiritual fashion.
But it is not spiritual. It
is soulish.
“I really feel as
if the Holy Spirit is leading me…..”
Or, “I feel very strongly in my spirit….”
Or, “I can feel the anointing….”
Where in the NT do we find such things?
No where actually. Most of
this is NOT the spirit of God. It is
the soul of people.
I have even heard
people claim that God would never allow them to be deceived in this way,
“because God is faithful.” Well, it
is exactly because God is faithful that He has already warned us of these things
in the Bible – warnings that have been generally ignored.
Furthermore, God is faithful to where He is continually seeking to set us
free from these delusions of the earthly.
He has promised to guide us into all Truth.
What is the
solution here? To figure out a, “how
to,” that will enable us to know what is of God and what is of us?
No. How about a guru?
Do we need to find a spiritual guru to tell us everything to do as a
Christian? No.
Maybe we ought to study more?
Study is fine. But that alone cannot
do this work.
The problem
here is a blindness to Christ. Thus,
we will revert to the natural and earthly and easily accept a Christianity – a
walk – on the basis of the natural and earthly.
And we will not realize what is happening to us.
Thus, the solution is that we must allow God to crucify the earthly and
to reveal Christ in us – form Christ in us.
Any other supposed solution is going to be a waste of time.
If you and I want to walk in the Spirit we must come into an inward
knowledge of the One with whom we are joined in Spirit.
Governed by Christ
We have to LEARN
CHRIST. We must have Christ FORMED
in us. We must come into an inward
revelation of Him. Only if we know
Christ in that way will we know what is OF HIM and what is NOT of Him.
Only if we know Him will we be able to discern the difference between
soul and spirit in ourselves.
But learning
Christ is not a matter of theology.
It is a matter of experiencing the Truth.
Read the teachings of the apostle Paul.
How much does he really talk about having Bible studies and memorizing
doctrine – as the key to life in Christ?
He does mention it occasionally.
But is that placed front and center?
No. The forming of Christ
within, and the growing to know Him – an experiencing of Christ – THAT is Paul’s
passion. He said, “I travail until
Christ be formed in you.” (Gal.
4:19)
Without an inward
realization of Jesus Christ we are going to be left with our earthly nature.
Thus, we will operate as believers from out of that earthly nature and
will mistake it for the Spirit of God.
Our earthly
nature is tied to this earthly realm.
It is natural that this earthly environment in which all of us live is
going to play upon, affect, and seek to govern the earthly nature that remains a
part of our make-up. We are going to
react emotionally and intellectually.
Our soul or psychic makeup is going to be affected by the earthly realm.
The life of Christ in us never NEGATES this or makes it go away.
Rather, the life of Christ in us – despite our earthly nature – takes
precedent and comes to govern us. But
unless that is happening – unless Christ is being formed in us – we will
continue to be governed by this earthly realm and our earthly nature.
As I noted
earlier, millions of Christian people are absolutely walking according to their
earthly nature. Many think it is the
Holy Spirit. Many mistake their
earthly nature as the source of life and Truth.
No. We MUST see that our
emotional, psychic, or intellectual reactions are NEVER the source of Truth.
They are NEVER indicators of God’s will or of the Truth in Jesus Christ.
No. In fact, our earthly
nature can be the biggest liar with which we must contend.
Emotions
and the other dimensions of our earthly nature are NEVER sources of Truth – they
are reacting dimensions of our makeup.
In other words, Truth comes through the life of Christ, who is in us.
This IMPACTS our earthly nature to be sure, and we will react.
We react emotionally, based on what we believe or how we interpret.
But note: The reaction itself
is not the source or indicator of Truth.
The source of Truth is Jesus Christ.
Thus, we must learn to put aside, discount, dismiss, and ignore our
emotional reactions in favor of our true knowledge of God through the Christ who
dwells in us.
Natural man has
NO point of access to God. None.
"The natural man receive not the things of the Spirit of God.
They are folly to him." (I
Cor. 2:14) But note:
Even if we are born from above in Christ, and thus, alive spiritually
with Him, our natural man still doesn't have access to God.
Never. We are one with God
only by being joined to the Lord in Spirit.
We have to get this settled or we are going to be deceived.
Where does this
leave us? At God's mercy.
At the mercy of His love and grace.
If there is nothing we can do to find or perceive God, then it is up to
God to initiate. Only then can we
respond. But make no question, we
are able to respond by either embracing the Truth or by rejecting it.
Any other thought is error.
We must be born
from above to even have a capacity to see Jesus Christ.
And then we must grow to where we are GOVERNED by Christ through the
Spirit of God. "Those who are
GOVERNED by the Spirit of God are the sons of God."
(Rom. 8:14) Read that
chapter. You will see that the word
GOVERNED is the correct word -- in context and in NT Greek.
The Christian life is more than, "leadings."
It means to be governed by the Spirit of God in Christ.
That is an inward, spiritual reality -- the outcome of Christ being
formed in us.
Here we also see
why God has given us the written Word.
It is a written standard for Truth that is OUTSIDE of us.
God will never do anything that is not in complete harmony with His
written Word. The Bible is the
written Truth and Jesus is the Living Truth.
But how many realize that there is only ONE TRUTH?
Thus, the written Truth and Living Truth will always agree.
What God is doing and revealing in Christ will always agree with what He
has written.
Walk
in the Spirit
To walk in the
Spirit is not primarily a matter of getting, “leadings,” or of walking in signs
and wonders. It is not a matter of
being weird. Neither is it a matter
of trying to make my flesh behave.
Rather, walking in the Spirit is a matter of walking FROM OUT OF Jesus Christ.
We abide in Him by faith. We
live from out of Him for all things.
We walk in the Truth. Is not the
Spirit of God the Spirit of Truth?
And to walk in the Spirit means to be under the work of the Spirit, which is to
reveal Christ to us, in us, and through us.
If this is not my walk in the Spirit, then I had better stop and listen.
It is what God is doing.
It is the
goal of Satan to get even Christian people deceived to the point where their
Christianity is not lived from out of Christ, but rather, from out of their
earthly nature. Satan does not
necessarily want Christians to live in sin – although I’m sure he would be happy
if they did. But rather, Satan wants
Christian people walking according to religious flesh – deceived into a life
based on themselves, their interests, their feelings, their earthly nature.
And how does Satan usually accomplish this purpose?
Simply by blinding people to Christ – to blinding us to the reality of
Jesus Christ in us. If Satan can do
that then Christ won’t be our sanctification or our life at all.
The earthly will be. And as I
noted, we won’t even realize what is happening to us.
Jesus said,
“Whoever would lose his life for My sake will find Me as his life.”
That is the gist of Matthew 16:24.
Do we realize that in large part that Jesus was talking about
relinquishing the earthly nature – the old life in Adam?
We have to put that on the altar and ask God to do whatever it takes to
bring us into the fullness of Jesus Christ.
What it will take is exactly what Jesus said it will take – we must pick
up our Cross daily. The result?
We will LOSE that earthly nature – we will lose it in the sense that we
will no longer possess it or try to make it our life.
It will no longer govern us.
And then the Christ who lives in us will be made manifest – we will come to know
and realize Him. Then a walk in the
spirit will be possible.
A walk in the
Spirit is a walk from out of Jesus Christ.
He IS our life. This is the
core, not only of a walk in the Spirit, but it is the core of Christianity, and
the new birth.