Grace in Galatians (Part 114): Are You Following Rules or Living in the Spirit?
Today, we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.
As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.
Key scriptures for this year:
(2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT)
"Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do."
(Galatians 5:4 TPT)
"If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!"
(Romans 6:14 ERV)
"Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God's grace."
(1 Corinthians 15:10 CEV)
"But God treated me with undeserved grace! He made me what I am, and his grace wasn't wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God's grace at work and not me."
Scripture we will study today:
(Galatians 3:25 TPT)
“But now that faith has come, we are no longer under that servant-guardian.”
Supporting scriptures:
(1 Corinthians 2:12 NLT)
“And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.”
(Romans 8:14 TPT)
“The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit.”
(Galatians 5:18 NLT)
“But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.”
(John 16:13 NLT)
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.”
(Ezekiel 36:27 NLT)
“And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”
Setting the Stage:
Yesterday, in Part 113, we focused on the powerful phrases “BUT NOW” and “NO LONGER“! We discovered that when Paul said, “But NOW that faith has come, we are NO LONGER under that servant-guardian,” he was declaring a permanent status change! The old Law system is OVER, and we’re living in a completely new reality under grace!
Today, I want to paint a picture for you that will make the transition from Law to Spirit absolutely clear. I want you to see the difference between living under external rules and living by internal guidance. I want you to understand what God did when He put His Spirit inside of you!
So let me tell you a story. Let’s say I have a son, and when he’s young, I put 10 rules up on the wall in his room. Every morning, he wakes up, looks at those 10 rules, and tries his absolute best to comply with them to make Daddy happy. Now, as his father, my heart would love for him to do things that aren’t even on those 10 rules, but he can only remember so much, right? So we focus on the 10, plus all the other house rules we have to follow.
But here’s where it gets interesting! Let’s say this kid turns 18, and if I had the ability (which I don’t), I could put MY SPIRIT down inside of him! At that moment, he could take those 10 rules off the wall! Why? Because if my spirit is inside him, he’s going to know what I’m thinking! He’ll have his own thoughts AND his dad’s thoughts. He would literally have thoughts in his mind and heart that came from him and ones that came from me. He could learn to distinguish between thoughts that come from him and those that come from his dad.
And here’s the KEY: As long as he’s listening to his dad’s spirit, that spirit will NEVER lead him contrary to those 10 rules or any of the other rules! But MORE IMPORTANTLY, his dad’s spirit is going to give him things that AREN’T on the list! As his father, with my spirit in him, I can guide him and share with him my thoughts on what I want him to do with his life: plans, purposes, dreams, and assignments that could never fit on a list of rules.
Now, I can’t do that with my natural son, but God CAN and God DID! First Corinthians 2:12 says, “We have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us!” That’s exactly what happened to you when you got saved! God put His Spirit inside of you so that you would know what He had already planned for you to do.
God made plans for you before the world began, but when you were born, you were ignorant of those plans. When you get Born-Again, and you start to learn to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God begins to reveal TO YOU what God already prepared FOR YOU (from the foundations of the world), but these things were concealed FROM YOU when you were living in your trespasses and sin.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. The Law Was Like Rules on the Wall for Israel, But We Were Born Directly Into the Spirit Age!
Here’s an important clarification: When Paul talks about moving from Law to Spirit, he’s describing what happened to ISRAEL at the cross! We, as New Covenant believers, were NEVER under the Law! We were born directly into the age of grace, with God’s Spirit available to us from the moment of salvation! Which is why I am baffled at why my mother raised me under the Law and why so many Christians fight to hold on to the Law.
How this applies to you:
— The illustration of rules on the wall versus the Spirit within helps us understand what ISRAEL experienced, but we have an even greater advantage; we were born directly into the Spirit age! We never had to live under that old system!
— The Law dispensation came and went before you were born! When Christ died and rose again, He ended the Law age and ushered in the Spirit age, under the Covenant of Grace. By the time you got saved, God’s Spirit was ready to come inside you immediately!
— Think about it: The Israelites had to transition FROM external rules TO internal guidance. But YOU got the internal guidance from day one! You were never meant to live by external rules because you were born into a dispensation where God’s Spirit lives inside believers!
— The reason Paul uses the Law-to-Spirit transition as an illustration is to help us understand the DIFFERENCE between the two systems, not because we personally experienced the transition! We’re learning from Israel’s history to appreciate what we have in Christ!
— Many Christians still try to live by external rules even though they were born into a dispensation where the Holy Spirit is our guide, as we walk by faith and tap into God’s grace. Those who hold on to the Law are adopting a system that was already fulfilled and replaced before they even got saved! That’s like being born with a smartphone and choosing to use smoke signals instead!
— You were NEVER supposed to relate to God through external compliance! From the moment you got Born-Again, God put His Spirit inside you so you could be led by internal guidance, not external rules! You started with the better covenant, based on better promises! (Hebrews 8:6).
2. God Put His Spirit Inside You So You Could Know His Specific Plans for Your Life!
This truth changes everything! When you got Born-Again, God didn’t just forgive your sins and give you a new list of Christian rules to follow! He put His SPIRIT inside of you! And according to 1 Corinthians 2:12, He did this so you could “know the wonderful things God has freely given us!”
How this applies to you:
— You have God’s Spirit living inside you right now! You don’t have to wonder if God is distant or if He’s paying attention to your life. His Spirit is IN YOU, and He’s constantly communicating with you!
— The Holy Spirit will give you thoughts that didn’t originate from you! You’ll have your own thoughts, and you’ll have His thoughts. Part of spiritual maturity is learning to distinguish between the two and following the ones that come from Him!
— This is WAY better than rules on a wall! The Holy Spirit doesn’t just tell you what not to do; He tells you what TO do! He shows you opportunities, opens doors, reveals your calling, and guides you into your destiny!
— Romans 8:14 says, “The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit.” Mature sons and daughters don’t need a babysitter with a rule book; they’re led by the Spirit from the inside out!
— God has plans for your life that are FAR beyond “don’t sin”! He has assignments, opportunities, relationships, and purposes that are specifically designed for YOU! And the only way you can know them is by listening to His Spirit!
— The world doesn’t understand this! First Corinthians 2:14 says the natural mind can’t receive the things of the Spirit because they’re spiritually discerned. But you’re not natural anymore; you’re spiritual! You have the ability to hear from God directly!
— This is why Paul was so frustrated with the Galatians! He was basically saying, “You have God’s Spirit inside you, and you’re going back to following external rules? You’re missing the whole point of what Jesus died to give you!” Please don’t make that mistake!
— The Holy Spirit is always speaking, and your destiny depends on you hearing Him!
3. The Spirit Will Never Lead You Contrary to God’s Word, But He’ll Give You So Much More!
Now, here’s where some people get nervous. They say, “Brother Rick, if we’re not following the rules, won’t people just do whatever they want?” NO! Because the Holy Spirit will NEVER lead you to violate God’s Word! But He WILL lead you into specific applications of God’s Word for YOUR life!
How this applies to you:
— If my son has my spirit inside him, my spirit is never going to tell him to break the rules that were on the wall! Those rules represented my heart and my values. If my spirit is in him, he’s going to fulfill those rules naturally because my spirit is guiding him!
— Ezekiel 36:27 says, “I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” The Holy Spirit doesn’t lead you AWAY from obedience; He empowers you TO obey from the inside out!
— Galatians 5:18 says, “When you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.” Why? Because when you follow the Spirit’s leading, you naturally fulfill what the Law required without even trying!
— The Spirit’s guidance is BETTER than law-keeping because it’s personalized! The Law might say, “Love your neighbor,” but the Spirit will tell you, “Go visit Mrs. Johnson today; she’s lonely and needs encouragement. I am going to give you a WORD to share with her.” The Law gives general principles; the Spirit gives specific assignments!
— The Holy Spirit will lead you to do things that the Law never mentioned! He’ll tell you to start a business, write a book, mentor someone, move to a new city, or pursue a specific calling. These aren’t violations of God’s Word; they’re personalized expressions of God’s will for YOUR life!
— You’re not trying to avoid breaking rules anymore; you’re actively pursuing God’s purposes! That’s a completely different way of living! One is defensive (don’t mess up), and the other is offensive (advance the Kingdom)!
— The Holy Spirit is your teacher, your guide, and your empowerer! John 16:13 promises, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth… He will tell you about the future.” He’s not just preventing you from sinning; He’s directing you toward your destiny!
4. Stop Living by the List When You Have the Spirit Within!
Here’s my challenge to you today: Stop living like you’re still under the guardian’s supervision! You don’t have to keep looking at the rules on the wall when you have God’s Spirit inside you! You’re not a child anymore; you’re a mature son or daughter of God!
How this applies to you:
— Many Christians are so focused on “not sinning” that they miss God’s specific plans for their lives! They’re checking boxes and measuring their spirituality by what they DIDN’T do instead of pursuing what God CALLED them to do!
— Living by the Holy Spirit means you wake up every day asking, “Holy Spirit, what are You saying to me today? Where are You leading me? What opportunities are You opening for me?” Instead of, “What rules do I need to follow today?“
— The Spirit inside you knows things about your future that you don’t know yet! He knows the assignments God has prepared for you, the people you’re supposed to meet, the problems you’re supposed to solve, and the impact you’re supposed to make!
— Religion keeps you focused on compliance. Relationship keeps you focused on communication! God doesn’t just want you to obey rules; He wants to talk to you, guide you, and partner with you in fulfilling His purposes on the earth!
— 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit.” There are things prepared for you that you can’t even imagine, and the Spirit wants to reveal them to you!
— You have access to God’s thoughts! You have access to His wisdom! You have access to His guidance! Don’t settle for living by a list when you can live by the leading of God Himself!
— This is #TheGraceLife! You’re not following rules; you’re following a Person! When you make a conscious decision to shift from compliance-based Christianity to communion-based Christianity, every day is an adventure with God!
That's enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for putting Your Spirit inside of me!
I’m no longer living by external rules; I’m being led by Your Spirit from the inside out!
I declare that I have access to Your thoughts, Your wisdom, and Your specific plans for my life!
The Holy Spirit is my teacher, my guide, and my Source of power to do what You lead me to do!
I refuse to settle for checking boxes when You’ve called me to walk in a relationship and revelation!
Your Spirit will never lead me contrary to Your Word, but He WILL lead me into assignments that are uniquely designed for me!
I’m not just trying to avoid sin; I’m actively pursuing the purposes You’ve prepared for me!
I have the mind of Christ, the Spirit of God, and the grace to fulfill everything You’ve called me to do!
I’m Living the Grace Life, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
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