Recap

• Last week we explored different

of what it means to be filled with the Spirit, which Paul calls life in the Spirit or living by the Spirit in Galatians 5:25.
• God the Father has filled us with the Spirit the moment we believe and we looked at what His ministry is to us.
• But the way we left it last week was recognizing the tension between God’s work and our response. We are not

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in this process. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary puts this well >> We live in the Spirit by God’s arrangement, by means of the gift of the Spirit at conversion. But we walk in the Spirit as a matter of personal volition, taking each step in dependence upon him.
• So today we come to the question: What should our focus be when it comes to the Holy Spirit. What does that look like practically?

Galatians 5:25 | If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

• Walk = indicates

and habitual action; The word was used for movement in a definite line, as in military formation or

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.
• NLT >> Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
• Literal >> Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Galatians 5:25 gives us clarity about our daily

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on the Holy Spirit.

• We follow Jesus as our

or example. But following the leadership of or keeping in step with Holy Spirit, according to Paul, is meant to be experiential, dynamic, and responsive.
• As humans, we are creatures of

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and intuition, which is corrupted by our sin nature. Walking according to the flesh means that we do what comes naturally to us. If we feel like it, we do it. We act according to what we feel or think is right. (Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 1:22-31)
• So, when the Holy Spirit regenerates us, which Paul mentions in the first part of Galatians 5:25, Paul means that the old has been made new. Our old instincts and intuitions has been renewed, revived, or rejuvenated. We are sensitive to the things of God and to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. As we related to or fellowshipped with our

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, now we relate to the Spirit. The only difference is, Paul calls us to an active relationship and awareness and not just a “go-with-the-flow” passivity.
• This means we have to relearn how to

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, only now under the power of the Spirit rather than the flesh. Part of this is to look at the example of Jesus and learn about how the Holy Spirit moves from the NT text, but Paul’s focus is on the experience of it in this verse.
• So, the goal is to gain

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with the Holy Spirit’s movement.

//We take the posture of worship, aligning ourselves with God the Father, His character, glory and holiness.
// We consume the Gospel to see the character and example of Jesus. We hear His descriptions of Christian character. But we don’t turn this into a new law. Rather, we surrender to the Spirit’s leadership and seek to live in dynamic fellowship with Him.
// We glean how He has moved in the past from the NT.

• Theologian Wayne Grudem puts it concisely >> The Holy Spirit empowers, purifies, reveals, unifies, gives stronger or weaker evidence of the presence and blessing of God according to our response to Him. To his people, he guides, directs, gives assurance, teaches and illumines.

Starting point

1. Read Scripture
2. Prayer of surrender and dependence >> Father, I thank you for all that you have done for me in Jesus. I want to live for your glory and follow the leadership of your Spirit. Make me aware of His movement and His leadership today. Help me to sense your will in every situation I face so that I can actively bring you glory.
3. Expectation for Him to deliver the sufficient provision of Christ’s victory to us