Grace in Galatians (Part 154): Marching With The Holy Spirit
Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.
As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Peter 3:18 GNT
“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”
Luke 10:20 Mirror
“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”
1 John 3:10 Mirror
“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”
Proverbs 25:2 NKJV
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Scripture we will study today:
Galatians 5:25 NKJV
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:25 TPT
“If the Spirit is the source of our life, we must also allow the Spirit to direct every aspect of our lives.”
Galatians 5:25 ERV
“We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.”
Supporting scriptures:
Galatians 5:16 NKJV
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
Romans 8:14 NKJV
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Romans 8:4 TPT
“So now every righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled through the Anointed One living his life in us. And we are free to live, not according to our flesh, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit!”
Galatians 5:18 NKJV
“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
Colossians 2:6 NKJV
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”
Setting the Stage:
Paul has just delivered one of the most powerful arguments in all of scripture. He showed us the works of the flesh in verses 19-21. He revealed the fruit of the Spirit in verses 22-23. He declared that no Law can oppose the fruit of the Spirit. And in verse 24, he told us that those who belong to Christ have already crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Now, in verse 25, Paul issues a call to action. This is not a suggestion. It is a logical, Spirit-inspired conclusion to everything he has just taught.
The NKJV puts it simply: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” The word “if” here does not express doubt. In the original Greek, it is a first-class conditional statement, which means it assumes the condition is true. Paul is saying, “Since we live in the Spirit…” It’s a settled fact. You have the Spirit. You were born again by the Spirit. Your new life came from the Spirit. Now Paul is saying: Let your daily conduct match your spiritual reality.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Your New Life Already Came from the Holy Spirit.
Paul starts with a fact, not a feeling. You live in the Spirit. This is not something you are trying to achieve. When you were born again, you were born of the Spirit. John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” You received a brand-new nature. You were given a new source of life. The ERV translation captures this beautifully: “We get our new life from the Spirit.” This is a statement of identity (present state), not a goal of performance. You already have the Spirit living inside you. You are not trying to get something you don’t have. You are learning to live from what you have already received.
The Greek word for “walk” in this verse is stoicheo, which means to walk in rank, to march in step, to keep in line with. It is a military term. Paul is saying: You have the Spirit. Now stay in formation with the Spirit. Don’t wander. Don’t drift. Don’t freelance. March in step with the One who gave you life.
How this applies to you:
— You are not trying to earn the Holy Spirit’s presence because He already lives inside you.
— Religion tells you to perform for the Spirit. Grace tells you that the Holy Spirit was given freely when you were born again. You were sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13). Now you must learn to cooperate with what He’s already doing.
— The Christian life is not about acquiring something new but discovering what you already have; Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21), and everything you need is already on the inside!
— You don’t produce a spiritual life; you receive the Holy Spirit the moment you were born again. So, you must simply learn to yield to Him.
— Your new life came from the Spirit, not from your own effort or willpower.
— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that the Spirit is not a reward for good behavior. He is a gift of grace given at salvation.
— Stop questioning whether you have the Holy Spirit. If you are born again, your position is settled. Today’s message is not about whether you have the Spirit. It is about learning to walk in the newness of the reality that Christ Jesus died to give you.
2. Stay in Formation with the Spirit.
This is the heart of the verse. Paul uses the Greek word stoicheo, which is different from the word peripateo he used in verse 16. Peripateo means to walk around, to conduct yourself in a general sense. But stoicheo means something much more deliberate. It means to walk in rank, to march in step, to keep in formation. This is a military word. It describes a soldier who stays in cadence with his unit. He doesn’t wander off. He doesn’t fall behind. He doesn’t rush ahead. He marches in step with the one leading the formation. Paul is saying: You have the Spirit. He is your Commander. Now stay in step with Him. Don’t let your conduct fall out of formation with your calling.
How this applies to you:
— Walking in the Spirit is not a feeling. It is a decision to align your daily choices with the Holy Spirit’s direction.
— Stoicheo means to keep in step, where the Spirit sets the pace, and you match it. You stay in step, in pace, and in cadence with the Holy Spirit. What does this look like in real life? It looks like a person who refuses to do anything of significance until they know they have heard from God. If they don’t have peace in their heart about something, they refuse to do it because they want to make sure they are in step with the Holy Spirit.
— A Soldier who breaks rank creates confusion for the entire unit. When you step out of alignment with the Spirit, you create disorder in your own life and in the lives of those who are depending on you.
— The Holy Spirit is not asking you to figure out the route but to follow His lead.
— Many believers have the Holy Spirit, but they have drifted out of formation. One of the things that I keep hearing from my spiritual father (Pastor Tony Brazelton) for this season is the word “recalibrate“. It’s not that we have to make major adjustments; a lot of times, we just have to make small tweaks to get us back in alignment with our assignment.
— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that the Spirit-led life is not complicated. It is simply staying in cadence with the One who gave you life.
3. Grace Leads to a Logical Conclusion.
Notice that Paul does not give a new rule here. He does not add another requirement. He draws a conclusion. He says, “Since we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” The word “also” is key. It means: in addition to what you already have, let your lifestyle reflect it. This is not Law. This is logic. If you are alive in the Spirit, then it only makes sense to walk in the Spirit. Colossians 2:6 captures the same idea: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” Not by performance. Not by religious effort. By yielding to the Spirit who is already inside you.
How this applies to you:
— Paul is not adding a burden but drawing a logical conclusion from what grace has already provided. This is the beauty of grace: it empowers without enslaving.
— The grace life is not lawlessness; it is a life so empowered by the Spirit that it naturally produces a life that is lived in alignment with God’s best.
— You received Christ by faith, so you walk by faith according to Colossians 2:6.
— Religion says, “Do more to prove your faith,” but grace says, “Yield more to the Holy Spirit who is already at work in you.” This takes the spotlight off of you and rightly puts the spotlight on Him. Remember, IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM!
— Walking in the Spirit is not about straining or stressing; it is about surrendering, because the highest form of faith is rest. Let the Holy Spirit carry the weight you were never meant to bear.
— You don’t walk in the Spirit by adding more rules to your life but by removing the barriers between you and His leading. A major part of your walk with God is simply removing the blessing blockers that you were accustomed to before you got born again, and even the ones that you developed when you were religious.
4. Let the Spirit Direct Every Aspect of Your Life.
The TPT translates verse 25 this way: “If the Spirit is the source of our life, we must also allow the Spirit to direct every aspect of our lives.” That phrase “every aspect” is crucial. Paul is not saying to walk in the Spirit on Sundays. He is saying: in your finances, in your marriage, in your parenting, in your career, in your relationships, in your decisions, in your thought life. Every aspect. And notice the TPT says the Spirit is “the source of our life.” He is not just an influence. He is not an accessory. He is the source. The Spirit who gave you life wants to direct your steps in every area. Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” You belong to the Holy Spirit. Now let Him direct everything.
How this applies to you:
— The Holy Spirit does not just want your Sunday morning. He wants to direct every aspect of your life.
— Being led by the Spirit is the mark of a mature son of God, according to Romans 8:14. The Greek word here is huios, which means a full-grown, mature son who walks in the authority of his father’s house. This is different from the word teknon in John 1:12, which means a born child, like an infant who has entered the family. Every believer is a teknon, a child of God by birth. But when you allow the Spirit to lead you, you are functioning as a huios, a mature son who knows his identity, walks in his inheritance, and represents his Father well.
— The Spirit gave you life, and that same Spirit is more than capable of leading your steps. But you must learn to walk with Him and allow Him to lead you.
— I can testify to this personally: when I stopped trying to figure everything out on my own and started yielding to the Spirit’s guidance, doors opened that I never could have forced open. That’s the grace life.
— You are not walking alone. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is walking with you right now.
— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that the Spirit-led life is the most fruitful, fulfilling, and powerful way to live.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You that I live in the Spirit! My new life came from You, and I will walk in step with You every day!
I am not trying to earn the Holy Spirit’s presence. He was freely given to me by grace, and I yield to His leading in every area of my life!
I choose to walk in the Spirit. I choose to stay in formation. I choose to keep in step with the One who gave me life!
My daily conduct will match my spiritual reality. I am alive in the Spirit, and I will live like it!
I am not adding rules. I am yielding to the Spirit. The highest form of faith is rest, and I rest in His guidance!
The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in me and directs every aspect of my life!
I am walking in grace, walking in the Spirit, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
Comments