Living by the Spirit
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So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.-Gal 5:16
What does it mean to live by the spirit?(And I'm so sorry I'm asking questions all the time instead of posting articles for encouragement) -
Pray always that you will do the right thing.
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The word 'live' there literally means 'walk around' or 'behave'. One is to walk around or behave by [instrumental] or in [sphere] the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit. This can be possible if a Christian will YIELD himself to the will of the Holy Spirit and not to his sinful desires.Originally posted by fallin:So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.-Gal 5:16
What does it mean to live by the spirit?(And I'm so sorry I'm asking questions all the time instead of posting articles for encouragement)
A Christian has two natures: 1) A regenerated nature and 2) sinful nature.
An unbeliever only has one: sinful nature.
In a Christian, these two oppose each other and battles for control of the will, the mind and the affections of a Christian.
The Christian experiences two opposing desires: holy and sinful. The holy comes from the promptings of the Holy Spirit and the sinful comes from the sinful nature. A Christian is to YIELD himself to the Holy Spirit's promptings by choosing the Spirit's desire and will. How can one know if these one is from the Holy Spirit or not? Throgh the Word. The Bible.
With these, a Christian has a raging battle inside. Read the next verse:
Ga 5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Ga 5:17 For the flesh [sinful nature] lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh [sinful nature]: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
How can one walk by the Spirit? The verb 'walk' there is actully in the present tense in Greek. It means a continuing and progressing action. Paul is saying here: "This i say then, Keep on walking in or by the Spirit"
He can do this by constantly YIELDING his will to the HOly Spirit.
The all important question is: do i have the Holy Spirit dwelling in me? -
Originally posted by Ironside:
Ironside, may I ask you to define the terms in your little "article". Is prompting by the Holy Spirit something like a verse suddenly poping in from no where? Yielding, I seriously I do not know the meaning. Thank you
The word 'live' there literally means 'walk around' or 'behave'. One is to walk around or behave by [instrumental] or in [sphere] the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit. This can be possible if a Christian will [b]YIELD himself to the will of the Holy Spirit and not to his sinful desires.
A Christian has two natures: 1) A regenerated nature and 2) sinful nature.
An unbeliever only has one: sinful nature.
In a Christian, these two oppose each other and battles for control of the will, the mind and the affections of a Christian.
The Christian experiences two opposing desires: holy and sinful. The holy comes from the promptings of the Holy Spirit and the sinful comes from the sinful nature. A Christian is to YIELD himself to the Holy Spirit's promptings by choosing the Spirit's desire and will. How can one know if these one is from the Holy Spirit or not? Throgh the Word. The Bible.
With these, a Christian has a raging battle inside. Read the next verse:
Ga 5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Ga 5:17 For the flesh [sinful nature] lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh [sinful nature]: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
How can one walk by the Spirit? The verb 'walk' there is actully in the present tense in Greek. It means a continuing and progressing action. Paul is saying here: "This i say then, Keep on walking in or by the Spirit"
He can do this by constantly YIELDING his will to the HOly Spirit.
The all important question is: do i have the Holy Spirit dwelling in me?[/b]
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Yield means to give way. Give way to what the Holy Spirit wants you to do as directed in His Word. Do not give in to what the sinful nature dictates. Before, when a sinner is not yet a Christian [when he has not yet being indwelt by the Holy Spirit], true and genuine godliness, righteousness and holiness is an impossibility. Any semblance of righteousness and godliness he does is but dead works.Originally posted by fallin:Ironside, may I ask you to define the terms in your little "article". Is prompting by the Holy Spirit something like a verse suddenly poping in from no where? Yielding, I seriously I do not know the meaning. Thank you
But since he became indwelt by the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ Jesus the Lord, true and genuine holiness and righteousness and godliness is possible through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit in him. But this is not automatic. To avail of that power residing in him, he must cooperate with that ‘power’ residing in him.
For example: I am in a situation where the devil presents me with a temptation to lust. I can feel the pull of my desires [sinful desires] within me as I still have within me my sinful nature. But I know that I have the Holy Spirit within me also ever ready to empower and enable me to resist this temptation and do the right thing instead. With much resistance from the sinful nature within me, I resist it and do contrary to what my sinful desire wants. I know I can do it because of the Holy Spirit is within me enabling me. I only have to cooperate with Him.
The Holy Spirit prompts us through His Word. It could be through a verse that we have just memorized and other things. The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers us and enables us to do the things written in His Word. Without Him, His commands we cannot do truly and genuinely from the inside out.
The verse could actually be translated in two ways: Walk BY the Spirit and Walk IN the Spirit.
Walking BY the Spirit means relying on His enabling power to do what He wants.
Walking IN the Spirit means behaving or conducting ourselves [inside and out] in the ways and desires of the Spirit. Being in His will, in short.
What happens if you walk BY and walk IN the Spirit?
Ga 5:16 I say then: Walk in [or by] the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh [sinful nature].
So what do you do in order for you to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit?
Well, do you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone [not in your good works not in anything and anyone else], Do you trust in what He did on the cross alone for salvation? If yes, you have the Holy Spirit my friend. YIELD.
True freedom from sin is in the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. True transfromation is possible through HIm only.
It is possible to be changed by rehabilitation [if you are a drug addict] or be a different person [for example if you embrace communist ideology or if you become a muslim] but the change is REFORMATION only not TRANSFORMATION. -
That was an informative article, thank you for spending your time and life writing it.
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Sheesh.....informative.Originally posted by fallin:That was an informative article, thank you for spending your time and life writing it.
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No problem , my friend...i consider this as a ministry.Originally posted by fallin:That was an informative article, thank you for spending your time and life writing it.