Walking In The Spirit - What Does It Mean?
by Tony Pirog - Email: tonypirog@hotmail.com
September 5th, 2001
I wish to address the subject of "Walking in The Spirit" as I understand it. I received an e-mail today wherein the writer proposed
that it might be "almost like a new age touchy feely psychic sort of thing."
I see it as nothing of the kind. For years I went around thinking "I'm missing out here. There is this MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE that other people
are having and I'm not getting it." And I would get REAL mad at God, because I believed I had as much right to it as anyone else.
It seemed SO UNFAIR!
That was then, this is now... before I go any further I feel it only fair
to comment on the subject of mysticism in the church today. I am personally
convinced that most of the Charismatic, Mystical activity that goes on in churches all
over the world, is a fake. I believe that Rabbi Paul would have been quite
distraught by all of this and would have chided these people just as he
chided the Corinthians. I see it as not much different than
what goes on at rock concerts, and various other forms of fleshly entertainment,
where the emotions are psyched up and a "high" is experienced,
as the M.C. or entertainer whips people up into a frenzy of emotion, using
well tried and trusted techniques to achieve their ends. And people come
back for more and more because it is NOT ultimately satisfying.
This is my personal observation... and CERTAINLY NOT a condemnation of those people who participate in all of that. I do not
accept that as "Walking in the Spirit" however.
The truth is, it simply means walking by faith and not by sight, and
adhering to the spirit of the Word and not the letter. I have an article on our web site entitled
"Evangelical Universalism") by James Alexander. In it, he discusses God's character and uses
Paul's description of love in 1 Cor 13 as proof text. He says that God's
love: "...always seeks the good of the other. It never takes into account wrongs
suffered. It is kind and patient and considerate. And above all, it never
fails." Who can argue with that? Well... most believers in eternal torment
will actually find themselves somewhere between feeling QUITE uncomfortable with it (on one extreme), and waxing eloquent about "God's justice requiring
vengeance" on the other end of the spectrum. Brothers and sisters
- look inside your heart. That is NOT love! Love is just as Paul describes it:
1 Cor 13:4-8a - "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it
is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres. Love never fails."
And this describes God's love towards us too!!!
In Gary Sigler's series: "Coming out of Darkness" (which can
be read, he emphasizes the "Father's Heart" of God, focusing once again
on God's love and His faithfulness, and the completion of His work through
His son at Golgoleth. IT IS FINISHED! In order to "walk in the Spirit" one must sense, believe and
know in the depth of one's heart, soul and mind that THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING YOU CAN DO to add to Christ's completed work in paying the price for YOUR redemption.
As soon as you come to a deep and abiding conviction of this truth - YOU
ARE WALKING IN THE SPIRIT. As soon as you stop striving to get yourself
saved, and learn to abide in Him and wait on Him and REST in Him, YOU ARE
WALKING IN THE SPIRIT. As soon as, and whenever, you come to a place where
you can put aside all your self effort and place ALL your confidence in
God (not on your works, or your righteousness, or your choice, or your
election, or any other idol, but ONLY in Christ), YOU... ARE... WALKING...
IN... THE... SPIRIT!!!
Gal 3:2 - "This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of
the law, or by the hearing of faith?"
What does this tell you? It tells me that "by The Spirit" means
by faith not by law.
Here is further corroboration of this interpretation:
Gal 3:5 - "He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among
you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"
And Paul makes it clear that when you walk by faith you must stop worrying about the law:
Gal 5:18 - "But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
And finally, we must continue to walk by faith and not by works:
Gal 3:3 - "Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect
by the flesh?"
So... is this "like a new age touchy feely psychic sort of thing?" Not at all!! It is trusting God in all things, knowing He will take care of guiding you into the works which He has pre-destinated
for you (Eph 2:10 - "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them"), and not worrying that we are "messing up" and not doing God's will (Do a word
study on "Fear not," if you don't believe me. It is
a serious subject!). If there is any kind of feeling; it can sometimes seem like you are driven. It's more
like an obsession or compulsion to "do," or a simple gut feeling,
or a revelation when SUDDENLY... you look at a scripture and you see something
you had never noticed before and you JUST HAVE TO write about it, or you
are pondering something which has bothered you for a long time, or you
are reading an expositive article, and you have a moment of clarity when
the ENTIRETY of scripture makes sense - you just "get it!"
It feels good. It can manifest in simple ways, or it can manifest in very
powerful ways - such as an ability to speak in another language, or to
speak God's will into existence (miracles/healing, etc.) But it is NOT
your will - it is HIS. He does it though you, and it can be quite unexpected.
I have had many of the small experiences: revelations, understanding, insights,
building the web site, a compulsion to give or to help someone. I have
not had any of the "miraculous" manifestations. But I do not
discount them, nor do I obsess about them any more. (OH, HOW BADLY I wanted
to have those kinds of experiences!) Now I am learning to accept God's
plan as being perfect - and if He decides to use me that way - great!...
If not, great also. He is in charge, not I.
In summary, walking in the flesh is trying to attain righteousness by one's
own works, which is a form of idolatry. Walking in the spirit is trusting
that you ARE ALREADY righteous through Christ Jesus. Praise God for His
mercy and goodness, for if we had to depend on the flesh, we would ALL
fail miserably. Amen? Amen!
I pray that someone will "get it" today!!!
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