The believers enjoy the dispensing of the divine Trinity in the divine transformation for the divine conformation also by walking according to spirit-walking by the Spirit (Rom. 8:4b; Gal. 5:16, 25). If we live to Christ, spontaneously we shall walk according to spirit and by the Spirit.
Romans 8:4 says, “That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to flesh, but according to spirit.” The word “walk” here means to live, move, and have our being. This word indicates that we should do everything in spirit. This is to have our being and our daily life according to spirit.
As believers, we should not only walk according to spirit but also walk by the Spirit. In Galatians 5:16 Paul says, “Walk by the Spirit and you shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh.” The word “walk” 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. 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.
In Galatians 5:25 Paul speaks again about walking by the Spirit. “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. Since our life is by the Spirit, so our daily walk should also be by the Spirit.
In Galatians 5:16 and 25 Paul uses two different Greek words for walk. This indicates 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, and it denotes a common, habitual 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 derived from the root which means to arrange in a line. Thus, this Greek word for walk means to walk in line; it also means to march in military rank. This kind of walk is more regulated than the first. In the first kind of walk we are free to walk about, but in the second kind of walk we need to walk like an army and keep in step. However, both kinds of walk are by the Spirit. Every believer in Christ should have both kinds of walk by the Spirit.
In the first kind of walk by the Spirit we take the Spirit as the essence of our life, and in the second kind of walk we take the Spirit as the path for our way so that we may fulfill God’s purpose and reach the goal of our life on earth. The first kind of walk is for the second. When we take the Spirit as the essence of our life, we shall then be able to take the Spirit as the path for our way. If we have both kinds of walk by the Spirit, we shall reach God’s goal, and His purpose will be accomplished.
Walking according to spirit and by the Spirit is to walk according to the mingled spirit, our spirit mingled with the Spirit of life, the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:2, 9, 16). The Spirit of life is the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ. Such a threefold Spirit has been mingled with our spirit to become one mingled spirit.
Bible translators realize that it is difficult to determine whether the spirit in Romans 8:4, as well as in other verses in this chapter, refers to the Holy Spirit or our human spirit. Of course, in certain verses, such as 9 and 16, the Holy Spirit and the human spirit are clearly designated. In verse 4 the spirit refers to our regenerated spirit indwelt by the Spirit of God. Actually, these two spirits have become one. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:17, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” We have a wonderful mingled spirit, our human spirit regenerated by the divine Spirit and indwelt by the divine Spirit. In the New Testament we are charged to live, walk, and have our being according to this mingled spirit. The more we are willing to bear the cross, remaining in the Lord’s death and under the constraint of His love, the more we shall be energized by the resurrection life to always walk according to the mingled spirit. This kind of walk is the highest walk, a walk that is higher than a walk that is merely according to the Bible in letters.
Home | First | Prev | Next