Walking in the Spirit

[SteveB]

Good morning all.

The life of the Jesus followers is a life of spiritual things.

In Galatians 5, Paul describes what it looks like to walk in the Spirit.

He says that the fruit of the Spirit is love.
The question becomes, what does love look like in our lives?
While Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 that love is patient, kind, not boastful or proud, does not take delight in wrong/iniquity and delights in the truth, endures all, believes all, hopes all, and never quits, he goes on in Galatians 5 to say that Love is perceived as
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faith
Gentleness
Self-control

And while we may indeed have these attributes in our being, as people, they are expressed well-beyond our natural lives, because God inhabits the life of the people who follow Jesus.

They get most readily exposed in the hardships we encounter in our lives.
Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 12 how that in his hardships, he learned that the Grace of God is sufficient, and in our weaknesses, God will give us his Strength.
He iterates a similar idea in Philippians 3, where he says that he seeks to experience the power of the resurrection of Jesus, while he undergoes the fellowship of his sufferings.
Then, in Peter's first letter, first chapter, he said that we rejoice with joy indescribable because of this salvation God is giving us, even though there are times when we feel overwhelmed by our hardships.

I.e., in the hardships we experience with Jesus the fellowship of knowing he suffered because he believed and was obedient to God. As we read in Hebrews 5, he learned obedience through the things he suffered and became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him.

In Romans 8:4-7, we read that the way to walk in the Spirit is to focus our thoughts on spiritual things. Note that he tells us the only way to fulfill the law is to think on spiritual matters.

In Romans 7:12-14, we see that the Law is spiritual and we are carnal, or natural.

In Romans 13:8-10, and in Matthew 22, we see that the law is fulfilled by love.
Jesus said that the greatest law is to Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. He emphasized that the law and prophets all hang on those 2.

So, how do we do this?

Go back to Romans 8:4-7

Rom 8:4-7 WEB 4 that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; 7 because the mind of the flesh is hostile toward God; for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be.​

​

​

​

In Philippians 4:4-9 we read

Phi 4:4-9 WEB 4 Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, “Rejoice!” 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report: if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things. 9 The things which you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: do these things, and the God of peace will be with you.​

 

[SteveB]

According to 2 Peter 1:2-4 we read the following.

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.​

Take a look at this.
How is Grace and Peace made known to us? What does it say?

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord​

What has his Divine Power given to us?

as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness​

Through what means were these things made known to us?

through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue​

By what means has God given to us his promises?

by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises​

What has God given us to escape the corruption that is in this world because of evil desire?

have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.​

There is no other means by which we can escape the corruption we experience in this life other than God's Promises.
Furthermore, unless we become partakers of his divine nature, we won't be able to escape. If you want to escape that corruption, then come follow Jesus. Take the time to learn to walk in the spirit.

 

[SteveB]

According to 2 Peter 1:5-8 we read

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What do you read? What does it say?

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence​

Do you know that it's not by focusing on keeping the Law that we experience success in our lives as followers of Jesus?
Jesus' fulfilling God's Law, frees us to be able to focus on other matters, which results in a richer, more satisfying life, as Jesus told us in John 10--
I came to give life, and that more abundantly.

giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.​

Because you're a follower of Jesus, you already have faith. So..... add to your faith virtue. As you increase your virtue, add knowledge. As you increase your knowledge, add self-control. As you increase your self-control, add perseverance. As you increase your perseverance, add godliness. As you're on the way to increasing godliness, add brotherly kindness. As you're increasing brotherly kindness, add love.

By focusing on increasing faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, we learn that we will never be barren, nor fruitless in our knowledge of Jesus.

8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.​

Why do you think this is the case?
What do you know of virtue, and godliness? I encourage you to look them up.
Each of these are a fruit of the previous characteristic.
As you increase in faith, your moral excellence, or virtue increases.
As you increase in virtue, knowledge increases--- I'm kind of thinking that these are all drivers for the next.
Etc......

So..... take the time to learn.

 

[SteveB]

According to 2 Peter 1:9, those who lack the attributes listed in verses 5-7, are in a state of shortsightedness, and have forgotten that they were already cleansed from their sins.

For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.​

This is all too easy to accomplish too. In Hebrews 2, we read that we should take earnest heed to what we've been taught as followers of Jesus, so we don't drift away.
Think of this in terms of a boat that was not tied, or poorly tied to the dock. It just drifts away, with the tide.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4 that we've been instructed, so we don't get tossed about like the waves of the sea in a storm.

So, take the time to learn. God is in the business of teaching us.