The believers in Christ should live and walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25). Paul does not charge us to walk according to doctrine, not even according to certain Bible verses. This does not mean, however, that our walk should not be according to the Bible. The point here is that Paul charges us to walk by the Spirit in a living way. We need to know the Bible and obey it. Nevertheless, strictly speaking, we need to walk according to the Spirit in our spirit. This requires our daily practice.
There is a difference between living by the Spirit and walking by the Spirit. To live means to have life and also to exist. A Christian, as a believer in Christ, has been born of God and has the Spirit of sonship. He has the life of the Spirit and exists by the Spirit. To live by the Spirit is to have life and exist by the Spirit. To walk means to move, act, speak, and do things by the Spirit. All of our living and walking should be by the Spirit who is in us.
In Galatians 5:16 Paul says, “Walk by the Spirit and you shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh.” The Christian walk is absolutely by the Spirit. According to the context of chapter five, the Spirit in 5:16 must be the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our regenerated spirit and mingles with it. To walk by the Spirit is to have our walk regulated by the Holy Spirit within our spirit.
The word “walk” in verse 16 means to move, act, and have our being. It includes everything we do and say. Hence, it covers our whole daily life. In this verse Paul is charging us to have our daily life-to live, walk, and have our being-by the Spirit. Paul even had the confidence to say that if we walk by the Spirit, we shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh.
In Galatians 5:25 Paul goes on to say, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” To live by the Spirit is to have our life dependent upon the Spirit and regulated by the Spirit. To walk by the Spirit is to have our practical living and acts in our daily life guided and ruled by the Spirit. Paul’s concept is that since our life is by the Spirit so our walk should also be by the Spirit. The Greek word rendered “we live” implies both to have life and to live. Initially we have life, but continually we live. If we have life by the Spirit, we should continue to live by the Spirit. A fuller rendering of the Greek here would be, “If we have life and live by the Spirit.” Paul uses a similar expression in Romans 1:17 and Hebrews 10:38. In Hebrews 10:38 it is not a matter of having life but of continuing to live by the life we have received. In Romans 1:17 and Galatians 5:25 it is a matter of both having life initially and then living continually.
In Galatians 5:16 and 25 Paul uses two different Greek words for walk, indicating thereby that in the New Testament there are two kinds of walk by the Spirit. The Greek word for walk in verse 16, peripateo, means to have our being, to deport ourselves, to order our manner of life, to walk about. It is used with respect to ordinary daily life. It denotes a common, habitual daily walk. This understanding of walking by the Spirit is confirmed by verses 22 and 23, where Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit. The various aspects of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in these verses are not unusual things; they are aspects of our ordinary daily life. Therefore, the walk in verse 16 is our habitual and common daily walk.
The Greek word for walk in verse 25, stoicheo, means to march in military rank by keeping step, that is, to walk orderly. It is the verbal form of stoicheion, element; hence, it can be translated “to observe the elements,” “to walk according to the elements.” It is derived from a root which means to arrange in a line. Thus, the Greek word for walk here means to walk in line. It also means to march in military rank. Walking in this way, like soldiers marching in rank, requires that we keep in step.
As we compare these two kinds of walk, we see that the second is more regulated than the first. In the second walk we need to walk like an army and keep in step, whereas in the first kind of walk we are free to walk about. However, both kinds of walk, the common, ordinary walk and the walking in line or in rank, are by the Spirit.
Every believer in Christ should have two kinds of walk by the Spirit. The first walk is our daily walk; the second is the walk in the divine rules and steps. As Christians, we are not those walking about without a purpose. We have been created by God and also re-created and regenerated by Him with a definite purpose. Therefore, we must have the second kind of walk, a walk to fulfill God’s purpose and to reach the goal of our life on earth. The indwelling Spirit leads us to have both kinds of walk. In the first kind of walk by the Spirit, we live, have our being, and walk about by the Spirit. This walk is a support to the second walk, a walk with a direction toward a goal. As children of God, we are not those without purpose. Our lives on earth have a definite purpose. We do not walk about aimlessly. God has an eternal purpose, and His intention is that His people should live for His purpose. Both God’s creation of us and His regeneration are for the carrying out of His purpose. Because God is purposeful and seeks to reach His goal, He charges us to have two kinds of walk by the Spirit: the walk which builds up a proper daily living and the walk in line with the divine rules and principles to reach the goal established by God.
In the first kind of walk by the Spirit we take the Spirit as the essence of our life. Then whatever we are, whatever we do, and whatever we have will be by the Spirit as our essence. This means that our essence will be the Triune God processed to become our constituent. If we take the Spirit as our essence, every aspect of our daily life will be by the Spirit.
The first kind of walk by the Spirit is for the second- that of taking the Spirit as the path for our way. We all must walk along a certain way. The path of this way should be the Spirit Himself. For the first kind of walk, the Spirit is our essence; for the second kind, the Spirit is our way. The Spirit Himself is the way, the rule, the line, the principle, leading toward God’s goal. The Spirit Himself should be our rule. If we would have the second walk by the Spirit, we must take the Spirit as our rule, our way.
When we have the first kind of walk, that of taking the Spirit as our essence, we shall be able to have the second kind of walk toward God’s goal. If we are one with the all-inclusive Spirit, He will no doubt lead us to walk in Himself as our way. As a result, the Spirit becomes the rule, the principle, leading to God’s goal. Spontaneously the Spirit becomes the lane, the regulation on the way to God’s goal. Thus, the all-inclusive Spirit becomes the path of our way. If we walk along this pathway, we shall surely reach God’s goal, and His purpose will be accomplished.
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