After all this discussion about walking in the Spirit, how do we know we are? What characteristics distinguish the life of disciples? This devotion looks at what those characteristics are.
Nuggets
- We see that we are living in the Spirit by a changed life after conversion.
- We should see that we have given up some sins.
- We do have to build our characters in the ways God wants.
- We need to make changes — and those changes need to be consistent.
- We actively walk in the Spirit by working on the relationship.
- Every day, we have to depend on the Spirit.
- We accomplish being open to divine influence by opening our hearts to Him.
- It doesn’t work if we don’t subordinate ourselves — if we don’t submit ourselves to God’s Will.
To read devotions in the Walk in the Spirit series, click the appropriate button below.
Okay, for the past six devotions, we have been talking about walking in the Spirit. But how do we know we are?
All of the sermons that I accessed for research were only outlined. That is a start, but what can we actually apply those in today’s world?
Really, they show us the characteristics disciples are to exhibit in their lives. Let’s take a look.
Resource
How Do We Apply This?
“We live in the Spirit” (Morgan)
We see that we are living in the Spirit by a changed life after conversion. No, it is not going to be a total flip-of-the-switch change. But we should see evidence that changes have been and still are being made.
“Is significant of progress” (Morgan)
We should see that we have given up some sins. We may still be struggling with others, but we should know how God wants us to live.
God doesn’t expect perfection — here. He will one day.
Rather, God expects us to “… work out your own salvation …” (Phil. 2: 12 ESV). He wants progress.
“Not simply by natural conscience” (Tristram)
I really thought about this for a while. We sometimes think the Holy Spirit is just our conscience.
He isn’t. The Holy Spirit is more than that.
If we just put the Holy Spirit in the counselor role, it can give the impression that we are reserving making the decision until that temptation rears its ugly head.
Yes, I know I have said we do make decisions daily to follow Christ and imitate God. But being a disciple is more than that.
We do have to build our characters in the ways God wants. That is a decision we need to make at conversion and grow into along the walk.
That is the effect that Tristram was talking about: “By the effect of the Spirit on the Christian life.” Salvation has to make a difference in our lives.
The difference has to be more than just spiritually (Pearson). It has to fundamentally change us.
“By a life that has an uniform God-ward tendency” (Tristram)
“Implies our consistency” (Morgan)
“Sustains it” (Morgan)
“He does this daily” (Marks of a Christian)
“In a constant way of progression, from grace to grace” (Evans)
Oh, yeah. This got a lot of airtime. We need to hear this loud and clear.
Yes, we need to make changes — and those changes need to be consistent.
They need to be consistent with God’s word. We can’t pick and choose which laws and commandments we are going to follow — and which ones we aren’t.
We can’t follow them only when it is convenient for us. Or advantageous for us. Or when we think people are looking — people are always looking.
Morgan said, “deportment must harmonize with character.” Our actions have to back up our words. If we say we are truthful, we have to be truthful. If we say we love our neighbors, we have to love the one that is different from us.
It comes down to — we have to live out our salvation.
“Activity the first symptom of life” (Morgan)
Okay, so how do we live it out? Actively.
“By personal power of the Holy Spirit” (Pearson)
We actively walk in the Spirit by working on the relationship. It is personal.
Yes, God wants the obedience, but even more, He wants the relationship. He wants us to be His.
The benefit of the relationship is we get to tap into the power. And God is all powerful. I mean, He did create the universe, didn’t He? He raised Jesus from the grave, didn’t He?
“Reminds us of our dependence on the Spirit” (Morgan)
Every day, we have to depend on the Spirit. We can’t do it on our own. God doesn’t want us to, anyway. He wants us to come to Him in the big things and the little things.
This has to be a daily dependence. We don’t take care of the little things and run to Him with the big ones. This is a total dependence.
I know. That goes against the worldview, which says we are supposed to be independent.
This is how God calls us to live.
“A heart always open to Divine influence” (Marks of a Christian)
We accomplish being open to divine influence by opening our hearts to Him. We talked before about opening the eyes of our hearts. God puts insights in our hearts through our observations so we can use that, rather than our own understanding, to determine what He is telling us.
We can’t walk in the Spirit if we are not open to His guidance. If we won’t submit to His guidance — close our hearts — God and His Spirit cannot work in our lives.
“A life subordinate to Divine rule” (Marks of a Christian)
It doesn’t work if we don’t subordinate ourselves — if we don’t submit ourselves to God’s Will.
Making the Connections
“Following Him in the path of duty, we find the truest happiness and perfect safety” (Morgan)
Oh, yeah. Our lives being led by the Spirit are totally different than what the worldview pushes. But a life lived under the worldview does not bring us happiness. The world, controlled by Satan, reflects his chaos. He promotes division and divisiveness. He promotes isolation.
God provides us joy. “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them shout for joy forever. May you shelter them, and may those who love your name boast about you” (Ps. 5: 11: CSB). That brings us happiness.
“The Spirit influences in different ways” (Tristram)
The Spirit is going to work on me differently than He is you. We have different life experiences. We have different strengths and weaknesses.
Also, God calls us to different ministries. He needs to prepare us differently.
“His operation must be deep and permanent” (Tristram)
The Spirit has to work on us in the very core of our being. God doesn’t want a surface clean. He wants a deep cleaning.
That is one reason why we can’t keep anything back from God. He has to have control of all of us.
“We are ignorant of the road” (Bishop Hall)
We don’t know what is coming down the road. God knows. “… for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things” (I Jn, 3: 20 CSB).
Why would we not submit to the God Who knows past, present, and future?
“Have defective vision and cannot see our way” (Bishop Hall)
No, even if we could see the future, it would be skewed. We have defective vision.
God sees everything perfectly. He “… [reveals] these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets” (I Cor. 2: 10 NLT).
Shouldn’t we rely on God’s perfect vision of our futures?
“Have defective vision and cannot see our way” (Bishop Hall)
No, even if we could see the future, it would be skewed. We have defective vision.
God sees everything perfectly. He “… [reveals] these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets” (I Cor. 2: 10 NLT).
Shouldn’t we rely on God’s perfect vision of our futures?
“Are lame and impotent” (Bishop Hall)
We can really think we are hot stuff. We can list all of our good qualities: smart, good looking, kind, good workers — the list can go on and on.
But we are nothing without God. We only have these abilities and attributes because God gave them to us.
How do we know we are walking in the Spirit? It all boils down to if we are trying to imitate God (Eph. 5: 2). If we are trying to change our character to His character, we are walking in the Spirit.
Yes, it is a tall order. Success will be sweet.
Loving Father. It is a tall order to try to imitate You. But we want to imitate You. We want to be like You. One day, we will be. Help us as we walk with the Spirit that we grow to be like You. Amen.
What do you think?
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