Hey there! I'm glad you clicked on this thread, because it means you're interested in this subject just as I am - please feel free to comment any ideas, thoughts, or arguments so that we can have as much posted on this thread about this topic as possible.
That being said, I've been studying this idea a lot in the past few weeks using scripture and prayer of course, and I feel as if I've come to a couple of conclusions based on my own personal examination. With that, I would like to post this so that I can learn more about what others have found in their Christian walk when it comes to walking in the Spirit.
So I asked myself, what's the difference? One passage talks about walking after the Spirit, and the other talks about walking in the Spirit.
1). Walking after or being led of the Spirit. I believe this means, essentially, to have your spirit walking after God's Spirit, to be led of him as a saved person. I believe it's the seal/earnest of our salvation talked about in Ephesians 1:13-14, because it bears witness of us being the children of God as talked about in Romans 8:16. We walk after his Spirit, having been saved, and not after the flesh, in which we would be unsaved. I believe this is a one time event that takes place and is irreversible - to be born again is to be saved, because Christ is in us. While the flesh is dead to sin, our spirit is renewed after the Spirit of God unto life eternal as talked about in Romans 8:10. This is simply functioning as our seal of salvation, and in no way transforms our current life. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that salvation is not of works by any means. It stands to reason then, that someone can walk after the Spirit without sanctification and be saved, because walking after the Spirit doesn't necessarily mean a person has repented of their sins or has cleaned their life; they've simply believed on Jesus Christ to save them, and have called upon his name.
2). Walking in the Spirit. I believe this goes beyond just walking after the Spirit. To walk in the Spirit means to bear the fruits of the Spirit talked about in Galatians 5:22-23, and it means that we're assured of our salvation as Christians. I say this because walking in the Spirit is to have utter obedience toward God in as many aspects of your life as humanly possible, and to walk as Christ walked upon the earth. While we're unable to do this perfectly in our fleshly life, we keep his commandments to the best of our ability so that we know for certain that we're in him, and he in us. This is evidenced by 1 John 2:5-6. Walking in the Spirit provides the certainty of salvation that walking after the Spirit doesn't, because our salvation is evident, whereby it has blossomed into bearing spiritual fruits. This means that over time, the love of God becomes more perfected in us as we become more obedient(1 John 2:5).
Also, I had to keep in mind one thing: that is, the only way to worship God is to worship him in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). So I had to ask myself, do we worship God when we just walk after the Spirit, or must we walk in the Spirit to worship God? Romans 8:8-9 answers the question for me. He specifically says here: to please God, we must be in the Spirit. Not after the Spirit, but in. As I understand it at this present time, walking after the Spirit doesn't mean that we've outgrown our carnal man nor are we walking in the new man necessarily. Therefore, we can still be carnal when we walk after the Spirit, thereby unable to please God; still saved by God, but not able to please God. Whereas, when we walk in the Spirit, we are not living carnally, but spiritually, and therefore are able to please God, having bore fruits of the Spirit.
What are your guys' thoughts on this?
That being said, I've been studying this idea a lot in the past few weeks using scripture and prayer of course, and I feel as if I've come to a couple of conclusions based on my own personal examination. With that, I would like to post this so that I can learn more about what others have found in their Christian walk when it comes to walking in the Spirit.
My Question to This Problem
I started out by asking myself: "What does it mean to walk in the Spirit?" After all, we're implored and pretty much commanded to walk in the Spirit in Galatians 5:16, especially for the purpose of resisting the lust of the flesh. At first, I thought that was my answer - "Walking in the Spirit is the means by which we are able to overcome temptation and lust." Yet, I still felt unsatisfied. Though that answer is accurate, I still felt, that, to answer the original question, it would require a much more in depth look; and what I've found is that there are multiple facets and avenues for even asking this question. By reading Galatians 5, I of course found the consequence for walking in the Spirit: which is to bear the fruit of the Spirit as talked about in the last part of the chapter, but that still didn't answer my question: "What does it mean? Does it mean to consciously make the decision every day, even every moment to walk in the Spirit, or do we walk in it naturally because Christ is in us? Does it mean, that, to walk in the Spirit means we're saved, or rather just simply assured of salvation? Does it mean we have to walk in the Spirit to be a son of God?" Etc. It was almost an endless amount of questions, and it was most definitely overwhelming for me because of how deep into a rabbit hole this subject can go.Examination of the Scripture
We know that Galatians is written to a church of saved people; So, Paul giving this cause-and-effect type of language in Gal. 5:16 for walking in the Spirit, doesn't explicitly say that we must walk in the Spirit to be saved. Cause: Walk in the Spirit. Effect: Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. However, when I looked to Romans 8 (specifically Romans 8:14), Paul says that those who are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. This confused me. If we are not led by the Spirit of God, are we not a son of God then? Obviously the scripture gave the answer, but I got hung up on it. In Gal. 5, the language wasn't as strong in the section where he talked about 'walking in the Spirit,' as Rom. 8 was with the section about "walking after the Spirit." Rom. 8 says this: Cause: Be in Christ Jesus, and walk after the Spirit. Effect: There is now therefore no condemnation.So I asked myself, what's the difference? One passage talks about walking after the Spirit, and the other talks about walking in the Spirit.
My Conclusion
I see there are two different spiritual walks as a Christian, however not being necessarily exclusive of one another. The two are these: 1). Walking after or being led of the Spirit. 2). Walking in the Spirit. I've concluded that both have different functions.1). Walking after or being led of the Spirit. I believe this means, essentially, to have your spirit walking after God's Spirit, to be led of him as a saved person. I believe it's the seal/earnest of our salvation talked about in Ephesians 1:13-14, because it bears witness of us being the children of God as talked about in Romans 8:16. We walk after his Spirit, having been saved, and not after the flesh, in which we would be unsaved. I believe this is a one time event that takes place and is irreversible - to be born again is to be saved, because Christ is in us. While the flesh is dead to sin, our spirit is renewed after the Spirit of God unto life eternal as talked about in Romans 8:10. This is simply functioning as our seal of salvation, and in no way transforms our current life. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that salvation is not of works by any means. It stands to reason then, that someone can walk after the Spirit without sanctification and be saved, because walking after the Spirit doesn't necessarily mean a person has repented of their sins or has cleaned their life; they've simply believed on Jesus Christ to save them, and have called upon his name.
2). Walking in the Spirit. I believe this goes beyond just walking after the Spirit. To walk in the Spirit means to bear the fruits of the Spirit talked about in Galatians 5:22-23, and it means that we're assured of our salvation as Christians. I say this because walking in the Spirit is to have utter obedience toward God in as many aspects of your life as humanly possible, and to walk as Christ walked upon the earth. While we're unable to do this perfectly in our fleshly life, we keep his commandments to the best of our ability so that we know for certain that we're in him, and he in us. This is evidenced by 1 John 2:5-6. Walking in the Spirit provides the certainty of salvation that walking after the Spirit doesn't, because our salvation is evident, whereby it has blossomed into bearing spiritual fruits. This means that over time, the love of God becomes more perfected in us as we become more obedient(1 John 2:5).
Also, I had to keep in mind one thing: that is, the only way to worship God is to worship him in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). So I had to ask myself, do we worship God when we just walk after the Spirit, or must we walk in the Spirit to worship God? Romans 8:8-9 answers the question for me. He specifically says here: to please God, we must be in the Spirit. Not after the Spirit, but in. As I understand it at this present time, walking after the Spirit doesn't mean that we've outgrown our carnal man nor are we walking in the new man necessarily. Therefore, we can still be carnal when we walk after the Spirit, thereby unable to please God; still saved by God, but not able to please God. Whereas, when we walk in the Spirit, we are not living carnally, but spiritually, and therefore are able to please God, having bore fruits of the Spirit.
Closing Thoughts
I might be overthinking this subject to the nth degree, but I personally find it fascinating and very helpful in discerning how to think about my walk as a Christian. I could definitely be wrong, but I try and let scripture decide for me the truth by comparing scripture with scripture, of course.What are your guys' thoughts on this?
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