You’ve probably heard something like this before:
“Grace is great to get saved, but now that you are saved, you need a new system to deal with sin. You better keep the Ten Commandments. Or pray for exactly four hours every morning. Or stay busy. Or make sure you’re checking every spiritual box.”
Sound familiar?
But here’s the thing—Paul flips that thinking right on its head.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” — Galatians 5:16
That verse doesn’t say try hard not to sin so you can walk in the Spirit. Nope. It says if you walk by the Spirit, you won’t carry out the desires of the flesh.
What Does It Mean to Walk by the Spirit?
Let’s not confuse it with being in the Spirit. That’s a done deal.
“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” — Romans 8:9
If you’re a believer, you are in the Spirit. It’s your position, your new environment. But walking in the Spirit? That’s moment-by-moment. That’s a choice.
Paul says it this way:
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” — Galatians 5:25
So, yes, you live in the Spirit—it’s your spiritual home. But now, walk like it. Make decisions that align with the truth of who you are.
Walking by the Spirit Looks Like…
Walking in the Spirit looks like serving one another in love according to Gal 5:15. So when you walk in love, you walk in the Spirit. We discussed that all believers have an innate love, and love emanates from us, because we are in the Spirit, and God is love! But there is a manifestation of love into the natural that Paul is saying here. Let it flow. That’s your walk in the Spirit. That is your natural walk.
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