How do you live the Christian life? How do you walk in the Spirit?
There’s not a short answer to that, but we can address the critical concept that must be recognized.
We can understand the procedure that gets us there. As the Gospel John tells us, “Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:3). Romans 10:9 states that “if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” To walk in the Spirit requires the presence of the Spirit and the presence of the Spirit within you requires the profession of faith in Christ as your Lord.
When that sincere profession is made, a miraculous change transpires as described in 2 Cor 5:17 where it states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
So what changed?
If we think of the human persona, we can consider three aspects: our physical being, our mental and emotional being (often called the psyche), and our spiritual being. Visualize this as three concentric rings with the physical self being the outer ring, the psyche being the middle ring and the spiritual self being the inner ring. When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you are transformed. You are born again or born anew. You become a new creation and the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within you.
Well, my body didn’t change. I didn’t grow taller or thinner (sadly). My mind wasn’t suddenly filled with all sorts of knowledge and wisdom. I still feel the strong pull of temptation in my heart. So what’s different?
The spirit within you changes. It was dead and now has life–eternal life as a child of God! The inner ring of your persona changes and becomes aligned with your Creator. This is the new you! This is the true you. This is the “you” that God sees “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.” Gal 3:26.
Using our concentric ring illustration, consider how we make decisions each day. The vast majority of input comes through your five senses. You see or read things, you hear things, you smell, touch, and taste things. This information input goes to the second ring where you process and evaluate that information with your mind and your emotions. Here a response is formulated and goes back through your physical ring into action. You think, say, or do something. This happens numerous times a day.
What’s the spiritual aspect of your persona doing during all of this? That’s a great and important question! What should it be doing?
To be Spirit-led, we need to listen to that still small voice inside us for guidance. We need to be conscious of God’s presence within us and to be constantly seeking His wise counsel. This is why the apostle Paul tells us to unceasingly pray about everything (1 Thess 5:17, Phil 4:6, Eph 6:18). Prayer is our connection to God.
We should strive to possess a Kingdom of God point of view–to see the world as God sees the world. That can only happen if we keep our communication lines open with the Holy Spirit. Thus, in our decision-making illustration, data or information comes in through our senses, our psyche evaluates it, then seeks advice from our Spirit, then forms a response. It’s an extra step, but it is sure worth it! How many bad decisions have we made by not consulting God’s Spirit within us before giving a response?
It’s an easy answer. All of them.
This new way of thinking, living, and acting takes time to develop. It’s a process. In order to grow, you must focus on improving from the inside out–to have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to you. This is why following Christ cannot be achieved through behavior modification. That’s an outside in process. The apostle Paul describes this in Romans 7 where he states, “I don’t understand what I do.” Ever thought that? Yeah, we’ve all been there. Paul goes on to state that the things he wants to do, he doesn’t do, but the things he knows are wrong and don’t want to do, he does. He summarizes his state with, “Oh, what a wretch man am I!”
It must start within our spirit which is connected to God’s Spirit when we accept Christ as our Lord. Starting from His perfect Spirit we surrender and submit to His will and let it flow through us flushing out or getting rid as James states (v 1:21) the moral filth and evil expression within us. As we spiritually grow to be like Christ from the inside out, we reflect His good character and nature in our actions. Like a good branch attached to the true vine (Christ), we will produce the fruit of the spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, and self control. (Gal 5:22).
Who doesn’t want to produce a crop like that?
So to walk with Christ is to think inside out. Let His Spirit radiate outward from you and may you enjoy the fruits of the Spirit and be a bright light for the Lord!
