Walking in the Spirit
Many believers know that they have to walk in the Spirit to live a victorious Christian life. But only a few believers actually know what is meant by walking in the spirit and experience. St. Paul uses the term ‘Walk in the Spirit’ four times in Rom. 8:1-11 and in Gal. 5:16-26 where he deals about the conflict between the Spirit and the flesh. He writes here that the victory over the flesh can be achieved by walking in the Spirit.
The Greek Word used for ‘Walk’ in the New Testament is pertpateo. It is used figuratively to indicate one’s lifestyle. The Bible says that believers once walked and lived in sin (Col. 3:7). But after salvation they are exhorted to walk in the Spirit to be delivered from the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). Here are few ways by which one can walk in the Spirit.
1. By Confession: Walking in the Spirit involves the confession of sins immediately after a sin has been committed. The Bible says that we can grieve the Holy Spirit of God by our sin (Eph.4:30). It cuts off our fellowship with God. To restore the lost fellowship and to have the fullness of the Holy Spirit we must confess the sin and never cover it (Prov.28:13). Confession of sin brings forgiveness and restores our relationship with the Holy Spirit of God to get the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
2.By yielding: Once a young girl attended a meeting and accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour. After a few days when asked about the change that had taken place in her life, she replied, “Once I used to run after sin. Now after salvation I am running away from sin.” salvation we receive a new nature and so we run away from sin. But at the same time we have the old nature which entices us to commit sin. This can be prevented by yielding our members to Christ and not to sin (Rom. 6:19).
3.By Filling: The only command-ment for believers concerning the Holy Spirit of God in the scripture is to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit of God. “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation: but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Filling is not an experience, but it is permitting the Holy Spirit of God to invade all parts of our life and allowing Him to take full control of our lives. The Spirit-filled person could be identified by his Christ like character and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22,23). The power of sin can be overcome only by the power of the Holy Spirit. The fullness of the Holy Spirit makes us free from the law of sin and death (Rom.8:2).
(Dr. C Barnabas, Translated from True Discipleship Oct-Nov 1994)