Lesson 11: Walking by the Spirit
Questions 7 and 8
You, as a believer, are under grace, not under law. Why is this true? Because when Jesus died, your “old man” (natural self) died with Him (Romans 6:6), and the law only applies to people who are alive (Romans 7:1-2). So, you are not under the Law’s condemnation, and you are not under the Law’s supervision. You are under grace (Romans 6:14). God has determined to interact with you only on the basis of grace, not law, for the rest of your life! What a gift!
Two Kinds of Living
To finish this lesson today, please notice the contrast between a life lived in bondage to the flesh and a life lived by the power of the Spirit:
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Galatians 5:19-26 (NIV)
Question 7. According to all that you have learned so far, what makes the difference between living like Galatians 5:19-21 and living like Galatians 5:22-26?
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In verses 19-21, we see that our self-centered flesh lives at its worst. In verses 22-26, we see our crucified-self experiencing the power of the Spirit.
The Crucial Difference
And what has made the difference between the two? We are learning to walk by the Spirit. The Spirit, who we have found waiting for us at the cross, has led us away from sin and leads us to daily walk with the Savior. We are learning to keep in step with Him (Galatians 5:25), like a child who runs to keep up with his parent as they walk across a busy and dangerous intersection.
Friend, we are naturally fleshly people. We are born gratifying our flesh and enslaved in the darkness. But supernaturally, we are born again as spiritual people who are learning to walk by the power of the Spirit.
This means that we are learning to come to the cross and wash, that we are learning to hear the good news often and believe it. And as we do, the Spirit of God works in our hearts to free us from darkness and break the sinful chains and to walk us away from self-gratification.
Reflecting on Lesson 11
Question 8. What did you learn in this lesson today, and how will you implement it into your life? Please share.
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Peter writes,
I learned some very valuable insights in this lesson. I learned that I had such a hardened and deceitful heart that I did not even recognize how enslaved I was to sins of impurity. I learned that we are inherently flesh-led people who seek to fulfill their fleshly desires by every means possible. But when we wash at the foot of the cross daily, our flesh is overruled by the spirit. And then we can learn to walk by the spirit and, in time, gain the bountiful fruits of the spirit. I learned the importance of doing both, washing at the cross and walking by the spirit.
In the next lesson, we will look at very practical ways to war against our flesh.
