Part 4: Walk in the Spirit and Thrive!
It’s primarily the New Testament epistles (letters) that detail how to walk in the Holy Spirit. The scriptures cover a multitude of topics, and we discuss the key ones below, but please don’t get overwhelmed. Christians are not under the law (obligation). We don’t live by rules but instead by the life-giving ways of Jesus – that He made way for us to lay hold upon (of our free will). We “do” because we delight in our God and recognize the benefits these things bring to ourselves and others. They’re for our own good!
Hebrews 11:6 states, “…he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Think of the following list as a banquet table the Lord has so graciously provided that we have an open invitation to feast upon to bring abundant strength, overcoming, growth, and blessing.
1) Respecting our bodies (which are part of the temple of the Holy Spirit) and the testimony of our whole selves as representatives of Christ (ambassadors for Christ – 2 Corinthians 5:20). From a desire to honor Jesus, we will be mindful of what we partake in, including things pertaining to the following:
a) Physical. For example, we will regard sobriety and respectable attire.
b) Moral. We will especially abstain from sexual interaction outside of marriage, adultery, and pornography.
c) Mental. We will be mindful of what we expose ourselves to on television, on the Internet and social media, in certain books and magazines and other literature, in music, etc.
1 Corinthians 6:19, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
2) Praying in tongues as often as possible and seeking the power of the Holy Spirit for comfort, guidance, and strength to overcome the temptation of our flesh and the distractions of this world.
1 Corinthians 14:4, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself..."
Jude 1: 20-21, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
Hebrews 11:6, "...he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
James 5:16, "...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
3) Sharing the truth of the gospel at every opportunity and even using our initiative to create opportunities.
2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
Romans 10:15, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
1 Corinthians 9:16, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”
4) Continually studying the Holy Bible to grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of God and the ways of Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
5) Regularly fellowshipping with brethren in “common union.” When we gather with those of one mind and one accord (Acts 4:32, Philippians 2:2, Romans 15:5-6), we honor and worship Jesus. We seek to encourage one another and inspire one another unto righteousness and fruitfulness in His Kingdom, thereby replicating the practices of the early Church. These brothers and sisters in Christ didn’t take communion with a tiny cup of grape juice and a portion of cracker as is common today. Rather, they celebrated their common union and affirmed their loyalty to their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as part of their fellowship meal (as did Jesus with His disciples during the Last Supper).
Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…”
6) Building the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and accessing the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit is listed in Galatians 5:22-23, and it’s divided into nine categories: love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, and temperance (self-control). Although we receive the “seed” of each of these as soon as we have the Holy Spirit within us, it’s up to us to make a continued and concerted effort to cause these to grow and flourish in our lives. We do this for our own benefit as a living testimony of God’s power to draw others to Him, and we do it to glorify God’s name because we delight in Him.
In comparison, when we receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit, we instantly receive full access to the supernatural powers (extraordinary abilities) of the Spirit. These are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11: Word of wisdom, Word of knowledge, Faith, Gifts of Healing, Working of miracles, Prophecy, Discerning of spirits, Divers(e) kinds of tongues, and Interpretation of tongues. These powers can and will be made manifest in our lives as we eagerly access them with boldness and confidence. Through these gifts, together with the growing fruit of the Spirit, our lives and others’ lives are changed forever.
Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
7) Keeping our words, thoughts, and actions in line with the Word of God:
2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
2 Timothy 2:16, “But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.”
Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”
This is one of our biggest areas of overcoming. Subduing the flesh and allowing the Holy Spirit to reign is something we need to continually work at. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to do so.
Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Overcoming upon this Earth as ambassadors for the Lord is the trial of our faith.
1 Peter 1:6-7, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”
Nevertheless, the Lord is forgiving (Psalm 145:8, “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy”), and as long as we sincerely try our best, we will be victorious, and we will reap the ultimate reward of eternal life in God’s Kingdom:
Philippians 3:13, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
8) Examining traditions and common practices in the light of the ways of Jesus and discerning those that could potentially offend the Lord and lead us (and/or our children) astray from righteousness. We can use the strength of the Holy Spirit to refrain from partaking in these, no matter how enticing they might be (or how much pressure to compromise we might be experiencing from others).
Deuteronomy 32:21, “They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities…”
James 1:8, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
9) Diligently imparting the Scripture to our children and raising them according to Jesus’ ways.
This is best instructed in key Old Testament scriptures, such as the following:
Deuteronomy 6:7, “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
This mandate cannot be properly fulfilled unless we – and other truly positive spiritual influences – spend as much time as possible with our children and communicate with them abundantly. This doesn’t mean we need to play with them constantly (in the case of young ones, for example). Rather, our children can be involved in almost every part of our lives by “hanging out” and learning (which they love to do) as we go about our day.
10) Serving others in our own household (our spouse and children), in the Body of Christ fellowship, and in “the world.”
While “good works” should be a natural by-product of living our lives in the Spirit, we must always remember that the best way to serve others is by helping them to move toward the kingdom of God. This might involve sharing with them our personal born-again experience and encouraging them toward righteous thoughts, words, and deeds. It especially means monitoring our personal conduct (disciplining our own selves) so we can be a positive example in others’ lives.
Philippians 2:3-7, ” Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant…”
Acts 20:35, “…It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
11) Giving wholeheartedly and cheerfully.
Giving should always be done voluntarily and never out of obligation.
2 Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
Matthew 10:8, “…freely ye have received, freely give.”
Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
Giving may not always involve our money. It may involve our other material resources, acts of service, efforts in prayer and fasting, etc. If we are truly walking in the Holy Spirit, we will want to give abundantly simply because it is following in the steps of our dear Lord and Savior, and it helps to grow His Kingdom on Earth.
12) Fasting regularly.
This may involve short half-day fasts, 24-hour fasts, two or three-day fasts, or even longer. Fasting is one of the precious tools God has given us for strength, overcoming, seeking answers to prayer, increasing our faith, humbling ourselves and bringing our body and mind into subjection, and improving our sensitivity to God’s Word through the power of the Holy Spirit:
Luke 5:35, “But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.”
Mark 9:29, “And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
We discuss prayer and fasting in detail under J.E.W.E.L. Journey, but we also expand upon the subject in the next module.
13) Using the scriptures and Jesus Christ as our only blueprint.
Certainly, we should be inspired and motivated by the positive testimonies that come from our home and fellowship. As the Apostle Paul said, “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample,” (Philippians 3: 17). But when examining our own self and our life choices, we should use God’s Word as the only standard.
Everyone’s “walk” in the Spirit is individual, and what may be a struggle for one may not be so for another. Even though a person might be born again, s/he still has “free choice” to follow her/his own will or the will of the Lord, and only God knows the hearts of His sheep. Also, we must be careful not to assume that a seemingly “strong” person or even family in the Lord is the standard to which we should aspire, for we all fall short in many ways. God expects us all to grow in the application of His Word, continually raising our own “personal bar.”
In summary…
The above list is in no way exhaustive, and it’s our personal responsibility to read the Bible and learn what God expects of us in terms of living a holy life – a life that is aimed at pleasing our Creator and not mankind. Of course, we have “life responsibilities,” which demand our time and focus, and our activities in this world certainly serve as opportunities to preach and shine our testimony. But God does call us to examine our lives and add or cast off as necessary to ensure our spiritual walks (and the spiritual walks of our spouse and children) are nurtured.
Remember, what God wants for His children is always for their good! God in no way expects us to live as spiritual recluses, but we must be prepared to make sacrifices where necessary and prioritize our lives so we “grow” in the kingdom of God, just as a young tree grows toward the light of the sun in a healthy garden.
Psalm 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”