Living in the Spirit
Living in the Spirit is living a transparent life. It is a
life of obedience to the LORD God, and it is the very life of Jesus Christ
Himself given to us by the Holy Spirit.
Has God found in you a person who is willing to obey Him
completely? Can He trust you with the pearl of greatest price?
If I am going to live in the Spirit I must say no to self.
There are plenty of would be followers of Christ who would follow Him halfway,
but not all the way. The other half of the problem is self. Am I willing to die
to self?
The normal Christian life is one that is willing to follow
the Holy Spirit in complete obedience, without reservation, and disown self. It
means to commit yourself literally, utterly, completely in unreserved obedience
to Him.
Obedience to the Holy Spirit means freedom. There is great
freedom in the spiritual life that comes as we yield ourselves to the Holy
Spirit. The reason it is so freeing is that it is cut loose from subtle
selfishness.
“If you love Me; you will obey Me,” Jesus said. When we
obey Him we are walking in perfect freedom. “It was for freedom that Christ set
us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of
slavery” (Galatians 5:1). A little later the apostle Paul writes, “If you are
led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law” (v. 18).
“The requirement of the Law” is fulfilled in the believers,
“who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom.
8:4).
The idea of “walking” is literally “to walk about,” meaning
the habitual way a person conducts his life.
The apostle Paul speaks of this continual habitual action
again in Galatians 5:16 when he says to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not
carry out the desire of the flesh.”
Who is habitually ordering my life? Do I seek complete
obedience to my will, my desires, my ambitions, my goals, and my glory? When I
am obeying my Lord I am enjoying perfect liberty because He is in control.
George Matheson said, “Make me captive, Lord, and then I
shall be free.” When we are free in Christ we are bound to everything to which
He is bound, i.e., righteousness, holiness, love, etc.
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2
Corinthians 3:17). When I am living in the Spirit I am living in freedom. Only
then are we free to live the Christian life.
The result of this freedom to live in the Spirit is the
“fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit reproduces the likeness of
Christ in us. Here is a cluster of eight characteristics of Jesus Christ.
When we live in the Spirit we have an abundance of grace
for daily living (2 Cor. 12:9). When we are living or “walking in the Spirit” we
are living a Spirit-controlled life. We are constantly, moment by moment, filled
with the Spirit.
Living in the Spirit is a life constantly, consciously, and
definitely subjected to the Spirit. It is a life that has a consuming desire for
the Holy Spirit to be in control over our every thought, word, and deed. When we
live in the Spirit we live a life that is unceasingly controlled by the Holy
Spirit.
We cannot live the normal Christian life unless the Holy
Spirit is in constant control.
If I am not living in the Spirit, I am living under the
control of my carnal flesh, which is opposed, to everything God is for.
The Holy Spirit is a divine Person who controls another
person. As we yield ourselves to Him He uses us to accomplish God’s will in our
lives and ministries. He produces His fruit in us. Are we allowing Him to be in
constant control of our lives? Are we cooperating with Him in all things?
We have been given freedom to walk in the life of the
Spirit. Let’s exercise that freedom.
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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