“But you said the sin nature does not have to take charge of my life. I tried and tried, gave all my effort. But it didn’t work!” “Yes, I did write that, but your statement shows the problem—’I tried’, and ‘I gave all my effort.’” Victory over sin comes solely through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. John Piper stated it well, “The measure of victory that we get over sin in our lives is not owing to our own unaided striving. It is owing to the work of God’s Spirit in us” (cf. Rom 6:14, 17, 18, 22). Sadly, Satan has brought confusion regarding the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The one word that best sums up the discord is extremes. At one end of the spectrum are those who teach that a believer is not even saved until they are filled with the Spirit in a separate experience. The opposite extreme is those who have all but eliminated teaching on the Holy Spirit for fear of controversy. God receives no glory in either position. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace (1Co 14:33).
Those striving in their own efforts are merely walking in the flesh struggling to keep the Law. They have not learned to walk in the Spirit. Do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Rom 8:4). But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh (Gal 5:16). In order to walk in the Holy Spirit, we must first realize that He dwells in us. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Father places us in Christ and the Holy Spirit in us. His Spirit who dwells in you (Rom 8:11). Walking in the Spirit means we yield control to Him. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God (Rom 6:13 KJV). We present our mind, eyes, ears, feet, etc. and allow Him to exert His influence over us and His power through us. We obey the desires He places in us and not the desires the flesh produces.
Think of it this way. We all understand what it means to resist the Sprit’s leading. He leads us to do or not to do something, but we don’t want to. So, we resist and refuse to yield the members of our body needed to carry out His desire. Walking in the Spirit is the exact opposite; we sense His leading, which we may not want to obey, yet instead we yield to Him and He carries out His desire through us. As we walk in the Spirit, He begins producing His fruit in us. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (Gal 5:22, 23). No amount of self-effort, discipline, or how-to formulas can bring these qualities in one’s life. In the previous verses, vv. 19-21, Paul listed what we produce in the flesh. Note it is the fruit of the Spirit not the fruit of self-effort.
An essential but often misunderstand element of walking in the Spirit, is being filled with the Spirit. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18). The original word for ‘filled’ implies controlled by. Sorrow has filled your heart (Joh 16:6). In other words, their sorrow was so great it was controlling what they did. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart” (Act 5:3). Satan was in control of Ananias. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy (Act 13:45). Jealousy controlled their actions. So, to be filled with the Spirit implies being controlled by the Spirit. The grammar here indicates being filled isn’t just a onetime event but a continued daily habitual process. It literally reads being filled, be filled meaning to continue being fill with the Spirit. Kenneth Wuest translates it, but be constantly filled (controlled) by the Spirit. Moment by moment each day, we allow Him to control our lives. In order to walk in the Spirit, we must continuously be filled (controlled) with the Holy Spirit.
In addition to producing more and more fruit—more love, more joy, more peace, etc.—the Holy Spirit helps us grow spiritually in other areas. Your new nature will become stronger making it easier to say no to temptation and yes to His leading. We grow in the knowledge and understanding of the Word. He is our teacher. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you (John 14:26). When we walk in the Spirit, He transforms our thinking. He renews our mind (Rom 12:2) and directs our thinking. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit (Rom 8:5 NLT)
My granddaughter is learning to walk. At Thanksgiving, she could stand by Christmas she was taking a few steps. Soon she will be running around the house. Walking in the Spirit and gaining victory over sin is analogous to the process of a child learning to walk. Stand up with the knowledge victory is possible, take a few steps, and keep growing until you can run with the Spirit.
Sustaining Word for the Week: Yes, I said it, because the Bible says it. Sin doesn’t have to be in charge.