In my last post I raised the question, “What does it mean to walk by the Spirit?
Psalm 1:1-2 gives us a good picture of what walking in the Spirit is, because God blesses the one who loves and delights in God’s Word, and whose thoughts are not far from it, day or night and who is not living in the same way as the “wicked,” “sinners,” and “scoffers” around her.
Love
I also affirmed that love of God, indicated by love for his Word (Psalm 1:2), is the crux of our walk by the Spirit. Furthermore, to love God is to love his Son, Jesus Christ, who said, “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father … Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching” (John 14:21, 23). Here we see the circle of love completed. This is the love that undergirds our walking by the Spirit.
Humility
In our self-centered culture, where we all tend to want our own way, doing only what “I” want to do and resisting the concept that we are accountable to others, we have to remember obedience and submission are not bad words, especially in relation to the authority of God’s Word. They are requisite to walking in the Spirit. A humble spirit is a requirement for submitting to God. God’s blessing of favor is on the meek, the humble, the teachable person (Matthew 5:5). The teachable one learns from Jesus’ teachings and obeys them. Humility is a most vital step toward walking in the Spirit.
We struggle within ourselves to be that humble and teachable person. Jesus knew we would need help to understand and do his words, even when we are his children, so he sent the Holy Spirit to live in and be with his followers after he ascended to the Father following his death and resurrection. He said, 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you … 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:15-17, 26 emphases added). Learning through the Spirit what Jesus taught is another vital step in walking by the Spirit.
God’s Spirit living in us teaches us God’s words. He makes sense of the Word of God (see 1 Cor. 2:7-13). To live by the Spirit of God means to live in loving obedience to the teachings of God. Obedience to God is born of and nourished by the love of God flowing into and through us, enabling the circle of love to be completed in us.
Obedience
If obedience to God’s Word is crucial to walking in the Spirit, what has He said that we should obey? It is on us to find out. And I think we all know where to start; we read our Bibles to learn who God is, what he is like, how he has dealt with humankind since he created us, and what he has told us about how to live in the world. Among other things, we learn the lengths to which he has gone to redeem us (John 3:16; 17:3). This alone should humble us to listen to him and do what he says!
You can see, then, why daily Bible reading and meditating on (thinking deeply about) God’s word is so vital. Remember Psalm 1:2. Be someone whose delight is in the law/Word of the Lord, and who meditates on his Word day and night. Make the most of the opportunity to read and study the Bible. Not everyone in the world has that privilege and we should not take it for granted.
Personal Bible reading and study, combined with taking time to research and prayerfully meditate (think) on the scriptures is likely one of the most powerful and deeply affecting ways to learn what God has told us, since we ourselves put forth the effort of learning from the Word and listening to the Spirit of God teach us.
God has also given Spirit-gifted teachers and others to the church, so listening to speakers, reading books and articles by these men and women of God is a good way to enhance our study of the Scriptures. But remember, everything we hear and read must be put to the test of the Word of God. That is, God’s Word is the standard by which all of men’s words and ideas are examined and we hold tight to what is in line with God’s Word (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21).
In the past few years, I have begun to study the scriptures in a way that opens me up to having those “ah-ha” moments more frequently, as my mind (and the Spirit of God) puts the “two and two” of his truth together for me. When I show up to learn from the Word, the Spirit shows up to teach.
We’ll talk more about that in the next post, on our journey to understand what walking by the Spirit is all about.
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Photo by Ben White on Unsplash.