by Miles J. Stanford
This I
say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
(Galatians 5:16).
As we walk in the
Spirit, worship in the Spirit, and pray in the Spirit, we shall come to know,
not the Spirit, but the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus explicitly said,
"He (the Comforter) shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and
shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore
said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you" (John 16:
14, 15).
"What is it to 'walk in the
Spirit' (Gal. 5: 16)? It is to walk in
communion with the Father, in dependence upon the Spirit, having the Lord Jesus
as my one object. What held the
attention of Stephen, 'full of faith and of the Holy Spirit' (Acts 6:5)? Two things: the Word of God on earth, and
the Christ of God in heaven (Acts 7:55)."
"To walk in the Spirit is
not self-occupation, nor even occupation with the Spirit. Walking according to
the Spirit is occupation with the Lord Jesus. When the believer looks to the Lord Jesus, depends upon Him, draws
all he needs from Him if the Lord Jesus is his all, then the believer walks
in the Spirit." A.C.G.
"To be Spirit-controlled
does not mean the loss of free-agency.
A free agent acts as he pleases, and the Spirit-controlled individual
pleases to act in accordance with the mind and will of the Spirit."
"'I say then, walk in the
Spirit, and ye shall not (in no way) fulfill the lust of the flesh'
(Gal. 5:16). It might be objected, if a
Christian were not under the restraint of the law that his life might be
careless. The 'no way' of our verse
forbids such a notion." H.EW.
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This article is excerpted
from the devotional, "None But the Hungry Heart" #8, which was
compiled by Miles J. Stanford.