The Spirit in us is for us to live and walk by Him. Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk by the Spirit and you shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh.” According to the context of chapter five, the Spirit here must be the Holy Spirit, who dwells in and mingles with our regenerated spirit. To walk by the Spirit is to have our walk regulated by the Holy Spirit from within our spirit. This is in contrast to having our walk regulated by the law in the realm of the flesh. The flesh is the uttermost expression of the fallen tripartite man (Gen. 6:3), and the Spirit is the ultimate realization of the processed Triune God (John 7:39). Because of Christ’s redemption and the Spirit’s work of regeneration, we who have received God’s dispensing can walk by the Spirit, by the processed Triune God, instead of by the flesh, by our fallen being. In Greek, the word walk in this verse means to tread all around, to walk at large; hence, to deport oneself, move, and act in ordinary daily life, implying a common, habitual daily walk. In this verse Paul charged us to have our daily life by the Spirit that we may by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh.
In verse 25 of Galatians 5 Paul went 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 on and regulated by the Spirit, not by the law. This equals the walk by the Spirit in verse 16. The Greek word for live in this verse implies both to have life and to live. Hence, Paul’s concept here is that, since we have life and live by the Spirit, our walk should also be by the Spirit. Literally, walk in this verse is “walk according to rules.” The Greek word means to observe the elements, to walk according to the elements, e.g., to walk in line, to march in military rank, to keep in step; and, derivatively, to walk in an orderly, regulated manner.
In Galatians 5:16 and 25 Paul used two different Greek words for walk. Both kinds of walk are by the Spirit and are regulated by the Spirit. However, the former refers to a general, daily walk; the latter, to a walk that takes God’s unique goal as the direction and purpose of life, and a walk that follows the Spirit as the elementary rule, the basic principle. Every believer should have these two kinds of walk by the Spirit. 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. 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, leading to God’s goal. If we live in the fellowship of the Triune God and take the Spirit as our essence and our way, we will surely reach the goal.
As the Spirit works in us, He fights for us against the flesh. Galatians 5:17 says, “The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these oppose each other.” This verse indicates that there is a war between the flesh and the Spirit, that the flesh and the Spirit oppose each other. The flesh lusts against the Spirit for its own desire, and the Spirit fights against the flesh for God’s purpose. If we are in ourselves, we will not be able to defeat the flesh; rather, we will be taken captive by the flesh (Rom. 7:23). Therefore, we need to be in the fellowship of the Triune God to experience and enjoy the Spirit. Then He will fight for us against the flesh that we may be delivered from the works of the flesh and live and walk by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 shows us that the Spirit works in the believers to bear the fruit of life in many aspects in their life: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control.” What the flesh does is works without life (v. 19); what the Spirit brings forth is fruit full of life. The fruit of the Spirit, as different expressions of the Spirit who is life within us, is listed here with only nine items as illustrations. It has more expressions, such as lowliness (Eph. 4:2; Phil. 2:3), compassion (Phil. 2:1), godliness (2 Pet. 1:6), righteousness (Rom. 14:17; Eph. 5:9), holiness (Eph. 1:4; Col. 1:22), purity (Matt. 5:8), and other virtues. These are also the fruit brought forth by the Spirit in many aspects in our life.
As the flesh is the expression of the old Adam, so the Spirit is the realization of Christ. Christ is actually lived out as the Spirit. The items of the fruit of the Spirit listed here are the very characteristics of Christ. We need to differentiate between our natural virtues and the fruit of the Spirit. The natural virtues do not have anything of the Spirit, whereas the fruit of the Spirit is full of the substance and element of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is the result of the believers’ walking by the Spirit. We need simply to live by the Spirit and walk by the Spirit, and then the fruit of the Spirit will be brought forth automatically.
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