Walking in the Spirit

Walking in the Spirit – Dr. Tony Evans

In His Presence: Proverbs 9:10

“We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us”(1 John 3:24).

Since we all live in the flesh, we will struggle with the desires of the flesh until we get to heaven. But we can bring these desires under the Holy Spirit’s influence. “I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Notice that the apostle Paul doesn’t say we won’t have the desires of the flesh when we walk in the Spirit, but that we won’t carry out those desires.

Walking in the Spirit is similar to the concept of being filled with the Holy Spirit. To walk implies that the Spirit is going somewhere—there’s a destination. He always goes to the same place, to that which brings God glory. In contrast, the flesh is always moving to that which will please itself. Walking is continuous, so not only do we have to pay attention to our destination, but our walking also involves dedication. Like the filling of the Holy Spirit, walking in the Spirit is ongoing. A third aspect of walking includes dependency. The act of walking is taking one step after another.

The key to walking in the Spirit is to look to Him to give us the ability to do what we know we can’t do on our own. The moment we try to do it on our own, we reject the work of the Spirit. The Spirit doesn’t need our help; we need His.

One Minute Please

When we walk in the Spirit, the flesh will lose its ability to have the last word