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I. Walking according to spirit
II. Being led by the Spirit
III. Two kinds of walk by the Spirit
А. Walking about — the first walk
B. Walking in line — the second walk
C. Walking by the Spirit as the rule
[If you read through your Bible, going on from the Old Testament through to the end of the New Testament, you will see that the Lord's ultimate charge to you is not that you follow laws or teachings, but that you walk according to spirit.]
[In Romans 8:4 we are told to walk, not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. The spirit here in Romans 8:4 is the mingled spirit, our spirit mingled with the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17). We have to walk according to our spirit because today the Holy Spirit is within our spirit and is even one with our spirit. When we walk according to our spirit, spontaneously we walk according to the Holy Spirit, because the two spirits are one.
Most people walk and do things according to the mind, according to what they think, and according to what they like. Some who walk according to the flesh are doing sinful things, while others are doing good things according to their mind, their thinking, and their likes and dislikes. But we Christians should walk according to the spirit. It is easy to discern the spirit from the flesh, but sometimes it is not easy to discern the spirit from the mind. Perhaps, for example, you may be thinking about visiting a brother, but deep within something is bothering you. You should walk not according to your thinking or your likes and dislikes, but just according to the "inner red light" or the "inner green light." This is to walk according to your spirit.]
[To walk means to live, to act, or to have one's being. We must live and act and have our being, not according to the Ten Commandments, or the so-called Sermon on the Mount, or some doctrines, but according to the mingled spirit.
Practice walking this way. Every day, from morning till evening, cease from your doing and seek to constantly remain in this mingled spirit.]
[Romans 8:14 says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." This verse is a continuation of the foregoing portion in which Paul tells us that we must walk according to spirit (v. 4). In a sense, to walk according to spirit is to be under the leading of the Holy Spirit.]
[The inward life gives you the sense, even in small things, of whether or not you are under the Lord's leading. Thus, we are led of the Spirit by walking according to spirit and by setting our mind upon the spirit. Therefore, the leading of the Spirit mentioned in verse 14 is not derived from the outward environment, but from the inward sense and consciousness of the divine life. This leading proves that we are sons of God, for "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."
I would like to say a word especially to the teenagers who might be reading this message. While your classmates are talking in a worldly way, you may find yourself, at a certain point, unable to join in the conversation. Although nothing outward frustrates you, you do sense an inner forbidding. This inward regulation comes from the life of God within you, the life which makes you a child of God. Your classmates may be discussing sinful things in a happy, excited way, but the divine life within you does not allow you to say a word. Instead, it turns you away from them. That is the leading of the Spirit. This leading of the Spirit marks you out as a son of God. Because of this mark from the leading of the Spirit your classmates will wonder what has happened to you. They will wonder why you do not talk and what is different about you. They will wonder because they are sons of the devil and you are a son of God. You have the leading of the Spirit within you.]
[In Galatians 5 Paul speaks twice about walking 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. It denotes a common, habitual daily walk. This understanding of walking by the Spirit is confirmed by verses 22 and 23, where Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit. The various aspects of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in these verses are not unusual things; they are aspects of our ordinary daily life. Therefore, the walk in verse 16 is our habitual and common daily walk.]
[The Greek word for walk in verse 25, stoicheo, has a very different meaning. It is derived from a root which means to arrange in a line. This may be illustrated by the movement of traffic in designated lanes on a highway. Thus, the Greek word for walk here means to walk in line. It also means to march in military rank. Walking in this way, like soldiers marching in rank, requires that we keep in step.
As we compare these two kinds of walk, we see that the second is more regulated than the first. In the second walk we need to walk like an army and keep in step, whereas in the first kind of walk we are free to walk about. However, both kinds of walk, the common, ordinary walk and the walking in line or in rank, are by the Spirit.]
[In our daily living as Christians, we need to have two kinds of walk by the Spirit. The first is a general walk, whereas the second is the walk according to a certain rule or principle for the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose. In the first kind of walk, we need to display the fruit of the Spirit, the virtues listed in 5:22 and 23. However, we are not here simply to exhibit such virtues as love, joy, and peace. We are here for the fulfillment of God's purpose. Thus, we need to walk according to certain rules or principles for the fulfillment of this purpose. For God's purpose, we need to have a walk that is orderly, a walk that is according to certain elementary rules or basic principles. Loving and being joyful are not basic rules or principles. These are simply different aspects of our daily life as Christians, not the characteristics of the walk which leads to the fulfillment of God's purpose. This walk, the second kind of walk by the Spirit, requires that we walk according to basic principles and elementary rules.
We may use the daily life of a young sister who is a student to illustrate the two kinds of walk by the Spirit. On the one hand, this sister lives with her family at home. If she truly lives Christ, she will show forth the virtues of Christ to the members of her family. On the other hand, she needs to be a proper student at school and fulfill all the requirements leading to graduation. At home she needs to walk as a daughter and sister, but at school she needs to walk as a proper student. She needs to have both the general walk at home with her family and the more specific walk at school according to basic rules and elementary principles.]
[If we consider Galatians 5:25 in light of the other verses where the Greek word stoicheo is used for walk (Rom. 4:12; Phil. 3:16), we shall see that to walk by the Spirit is to walk by the Spirit as our rule. The Spirit Himself is the way, the rule, the line, the principle, leading toward God's goal. The Spirit Himself should be our rule. If we would have the second walk by the Spirit, we must take the Spirit as our rule, our way. This may be illustrated by driving on the highway to reach a specific destination, which is different from merely driving around. When we drive on the highway, the lanes on the highway are a rule. Driving according to this rule, we are able to reach our destination.
In our Christian walk, the second kind of walk by the Spirit is a walk in which the Spirit is the rule. Our rule should not be doctrine or theology. Furthermore, it should not be the law. Paul's intention in writing to the Galatians was to tell them that they should no longer take the law as their rule. The Galatian believers had been distracted from the Spirit to the law and had taken it as their rule. Paul told them that they were foolish and that they should return to the Spirit as their rule. Since they had life and lived by the Spirit, they should also walk by the Spirit as their rule. If we would have the second walk for the fulfillment of God's purpose, we must first learn to walk by the Spirit as our way, rule, principle, and lane.
I encourage all the saints to have the second walk by the Spirit. You need to pray, "Lord, I will follow You to have the second walk by the Spirit for the fulfillment of Your purpose. I do not want to walk by doctrine, theology, organization, or natural concepts. I want to walk by the Spirit as my unique highway."
According to 5:25, since we have received life and live by the Spirit, we should now have the second walk by the Spirit as our rule. We have been given life by the Spirit that we may walk by the Spirit to fulfill God's purpose. What a glorious goal lies before us! The highway which leads us to this goal is the Spirit, the ultimate expression of the processed Triune God. As we walk on this unique highway, we should neither swerve nor turn around, but move on directly to the goal.]
The Lord's ultimate charge is that we live, act, and have our being according to the spirit. We are led by the Spirit by walking according to the inward sense of the divine life. Two kinds of walk by the spirit are mentioned in Galatians 5. The first walk is a general daily walk displaying such virtues as love, joy and peace. The second walk is according to certain elementary rules and principles for the fulfillment of God's purpose. We should live by the Spirit and have the second walk by the Spirit as our rule.
