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"Walk in the Spirit"

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."   Galatians 5:16-17

John Gill wrote in his excellent exposition of the Bible these words, "The advice the apostle thinks fit to give is, to "walk in the Spirit", that is, after the Spirit of God; making the word inspired by him the rule of behaviour, which as it is the standard of faith, so of practice, and is the lamp unto our feet, and the light unto our path."

Walking in the spirit then is to walk in the Spirit inspired Word of God, making it the rule and practice of our every day lives. In this walk, we shall not entertain the desires and lusts of the flesh; rather shun them as a great assault and hindrance upon the rule and order of our spiritual lives.

Paul said in the book of Romans, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (8:1). He who walks in the spirit, who is ordered by the clear Word of God need not fear condemnation. But as true as this is, it is just as true then, that those who do not walk in the spirit, ordering their lives by the clear Word of God, must certainly fear the condemnation of Almighty God.

I believe in once saved always saved to this extent, once a man has truly been born again, he will stay saved because he is a new creation. But the man the church calls "saved" today is nothing more than a lover of self; he is carnal and does not know God. This man never broke through at the alter, he was never born again, he does not know God.

"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin..." (I John 3:9)

"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh ... the carnal mind is enmity against God ... they that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:5-8)

"If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (I John 2:15)

One evening before I was to preach, I was in prayer and asked God to reveal Christ in the service. The Spirit of God spoke to my heart and said, if I were to reveal Christ in the way you're asking, not one soul would see Him. Why Lord? I asked. Because every soul would fall as a dead man in His presence. I immediately thought of John when the glorified Christ was revealed to him, he fell on his face as a dead man, so much so that the Lord had to reach down and give him strength to hear the message. (Revelation 1:17)

Is the church so ignorant as to think she can carry on in her carnality and claim she is walking in the spirit. "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (I John 2:4)  Is the church so ignorant as to think God is within a million miles of their abominations. "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity..." (Habakkuk 1:13).

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Also by
J. C. Philpot

"Walking in the Spirit"
By J. C. Philpot

"Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1

This description consists of two points, which I shall have to lay open.
First, what the saint of God does not walk after.
Secondly, what he does walk after.

A. Walking after the FLESH.

"He walks not after the flesh." Two things here demand our earnest inquiry.
1. What is meant by the flesh.
2. What is meant by walking after the flesh.

1. What are we to understand by the expression "the FLESH?" This word takes in the whole of that fallen nature, both in body and soul, which we have inherited from our first parent. It does not, therefore, mean merely those gross, sensual lusts, which are so sad a part of our original inheritance, but embraces every faculty of body and mind which we possess as children of Adam.

2. To WALK after the flesh, carries with it the idea of the flesh going before us, as our leader, guide, and example, and our following close in its footsteps, so that wherever it drags or draws we move after it, as the needle after the magnet. To walk, then, after the flesh, is to move step by step in implicit obedience to the commands of the flesh, the lusts of the flesh, the inclinations of the flesh, and the desires of the flesh, whatever shape they assume, whatever garb they wear, whatever name they may bear. See how wide a net these words cast forth; how thick the crop, how wide the sweep, how sharp the edge of this scythe! Can any of the fallen children of Adam escape being taken by this net? Who is there, from peer to peasant, who must not fall before this keen scythe? All will admit that those who walk after the lusts of the flesh, who are abandoned to the grosser sins of our nature, have no manifested mark of being in Christ Jesus. The common moral sense of men, the voice of natural conscience, the outspoken verdict of society at large, all proclaim, as with one voice, that sin and religion cannot be yoke-fellows.

But are the grosser and more manifest sinners the only people who may be said to walk after the flesh? Does not all human religion, in all its varied forms and shapes, come under the sweep of this all-devouring sword? Yes; every one who is entangled in and led by a fleshly religion, walks as much after the flesh as those who are abandoned to its grosser indulgences. Sad it is, yet not more sad than true, that false religion has slain its thousands, if open sin has slain its ten thousands. This, perhaps, you would all here assent to if I were to confine myself to the lower ground of that common religion which does not even clothe itself in a gospel dress; which has not learned so much as the voice of Jacob, but wears alike the garments and speaks in the tones of Esau. But what will you say, if I bring you on higher ground, and take you as you sit under the sound of the gospel? There is a fleshly faith and a fleshly hope and a fleshly love among those of a sounder creed and purer language than the common religionists of the day; and a man that walks after this carnal faith and hope and love in the very courts of the Lord's house, is as much walking after the flesh as though he lived and died a drunkard on the ale-house bench. Our earthly Zion is overrun with a fleshly confidence which is but presumption; a fleshly knowledge which is but ignorance; and a fleshly talk which is but boasting. But to walk after the flesh, whether it be in the grosser or more refined sense of the term, is the same in the sight of God.

To walk, then, after the flesh is to be ever pursuing, desiring, and doing the things that please the flesh, whatever aspect that flesh may wear or whatever dress it may assume, whether molded and fashioned after the grosser and more flagrant ways of the profane world, or the more refined and deceptive religion of the professing church.

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The Mind of God in Scripture
By John Owen

Means to be used for the right understanding of the mind of God in the Scripture — Those which are prescribed in a way of duty.

THE means to be used for the right understanding and interpretation of the Scripture are of two sorts: — I. That which is general and absolutely necessary. II. Such as consist in the due improvement thereof.

      I.   The first is diligent reading of the Scripture, with a sedate, rational consideration of what we read. Nothing is more frequently commended unto us; and, not to insist on particular testimonies, the whole 119th Psalm is spent in the declaration of this duty, and the benefits which are attained thereby. Herein consists the first natural exercise of our minds in order unto the understanding of it. So the eunuch read and pondered on the prophecy of Isaiah, though of himself he could not attain the understanding of what he read, Acts viii. 30, 31. Either reading, or that which is equivalent there-unto, is that whereby we do, and without which it is impossible we should, apply our minds to know what is contained in the Scriptures; and this is that which all other means are designed to render useful. Now, by this reading I understand that which is staid, sedate, considerative, with respect unto the end aimed at; reading attended with a due consideration of the things read, inquiry into them, meditation on them, with a regard unto the design and scope of the place, with all other advantages for the due investigation of the truth.

Frequent reading of the word more generally and cursorily, where-unto all Christians ought to be trained from their youth, 2 Tim. iii. 15, and which all closets and families should be acquainted withal, Deut. vi. 6-9, is of great use and advantage; and I shall, therefore, name some particular benefits which may be received thereby: —

Hereby the minds of men are brought into a general acquaintance with the nature and design of the book of God; which some, to their present shame and future ruin, are prodigiously ignorant of.

They who are exercised herein come to know distinctly what things are treated of in the particular books and passages of it; whilst others who live in a neglect of this duty scarce know what books are historical, what prophetical, or what doctrinal, in the whole Bible. Hereby they exercise themselves unto thoughts of heavenly things and a holy converse with God; if they bring along with them, as they ought, hearts humble and sensible of his authority in the word.

Their minds are insensibly furnished with due conceptions about God, spiritual things, themselves, and their conditions; and their memories with expressions proper and meet to be used about them in prayer or otherwise.

God oftentimes takes occasion herein to influence their souls with the efficacy of divine truth in particular, in the way of exhortation, reproof, instruction, or consolation; whereof all who attend diligently unto this duty have experience.

They come, by “ reason of use,” to have “their senses exercised to discern good and evil;” so that if any noxious or corrupt sense of any place of the Scripture be suggested unto them, they have in readiness wherewith to oppose it from other places from whence they are instructed in the truth.

And many other advantages there are which men may reap from the constant reading of the Scripture; which I therefore reckon as a general means of coming to the knowledge of the mind of God therein.

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C. H. Spurgeon

Depend On The Holy Spirit
By Charles H. Spurgeon

Evermore, in beginning, in continuing, and in ending any and every good work, consciously and in very truth depend upon the Holy Ghost. Even a sense of your need of Him he must give you; and the prayers with which you entreat Him to come must come from Him. You are engaged in a work so spiritual, so far above all human power, that to forget the Spirit is to ensure defeat. Make the Holy Ghost to be the sine qua non of your efforts, and go so far as to say to Him, "If thy presence go not with us, carry us not up hence."

Rest only in Him and then reserve for Him all the glory. Be specially mindful of this, for this is a tender point with Him: He will not give his glory to another. Take care to praise the Spirit of God from your inmost heart, and gratefully wonder that he should condescend to work by you. Please Him by glorifying Christ. Render Him homage by yielding yourself to His impulses, and by hating everything that grieves Him. The consecration of your whole being will be the best psalm in His praise.

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T. Austin Sparks

The School of Christ     By T. Austin Sparks
The Foundation of Spiritual Education     Chapter I

The Pre-Eminent Mark of a Life Governed by the Spirit
The mark of a life governed by the Holy Spirit is that such a life is continually and ever more and more occupied with Christ, that Christ is becoming greater and greater as time goes on. The effect of the Holy Spirit's work in us is to bring us to the shore of a mighty ocean which reaches far, far beyond our range, and concerning which we feel-Oh, the depths, the fullness, of Christ! If we live as long as ever man lived, we shall still be only on the fringe of this vast fullness that Christ is.

Now, that at once becomes a challenge to us before we go any further. These are not just words. This is not just rhetoric; this is truth. Let us ask our hearts at once, Is this true in our case? Is this the kind of life that we know? Are we coming to despair on this matter? That is to say, that we are glimpsing so much as signified by Christ that we know we are beaten, that we are out of our depth, and will never range all this.

It is beyond us, far beyond us, and yet we are drawn on and ever on. Is that true in your experience? That is the mark of a life governed by the Holy Spirit. Christ becomes greater and greater as we go on. If that is true, well, that is the way of life. If ever you and I should come to a place where we think we know, we have it all, we have attained, and from that point things become static, we may take it that the Holy Spirit has ceased operations and that life has become stultified.

Let us take the example of one who is given to us, I believe, as amongst men, for this very purpose of showing forth God's ways, the Apostle Paul. The words which he uses to define and express what happened to him right at the commencement are these: "It pleased God . . . to reveal his Son in me" (Gal 1:16). Now, that man did a very great deal of teaching and preaching. He put out a great deal. He had a long and very full life, not only in the amount that he put out, but in the concentrated essence which has defeated all the attempts to fathom.

At the end of that long life, that full life, that man who said concerning its commencement, "It pleased God . . . to reveal his Son in me", is crying from his heart this cry, "that I may know him" (Phil 3:10); indicating surely that with the great initial revelation and all the subsequent and continual unveilings, even being caught up into the third heaven and shown unspeakable things, with all that, at the end he knows nothing compared with what there is to be known.

That I may know Him! That is the essence of a life governed by the Holy Spirit, and it is that which will deliver us from death, from stagnation, from coming to a standstill. It is the work of the Spirit in the School of Christ to present and to keep in view Christ in His greatness. So God, right at the beginning, brings Christ forth, presents Him, attests Him, and in effect says, This is that to which I will to conform you, to this image!

Yes, but then, having the presentation, the basic lessons begin. The Holy Spirit is not satisfied with just giving us a great presentation: He is going to begin real work in relation to that presentation, and we are, under His hand, brought to two or three basic things in our spiritual education.

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The Imitation of Christ
By Thomas À Kempis

The Love of Solitude and Silence
By Thomas À Kempis

SEEK a suitable time for leisure and meditate often on the favors of God. Leave curiosities alone. Read such matters as bring sorrow to the heart rather than occupation to the mind. If you withdraw yourself from unnecessary talking and idle running about, from listening to gossip and rumors, you will find enough time that is suitable for holy meditation.

Very many great saints avoided the company of men wherever possible and chose to serve God in retirement. "As often as I have been among men," said one writer, "I have returned less a man." We often find this to be true when we take part in long conversations. It is easier to be silent altogether than not to speak too much. To stay at home is easier than to be sufficiently on guard while away. Anyone, then, who aims to live the inner and spiritual life must go apart, with Jesus, from the crowd.

No man appears in safety before the public eye unless he first relishes obscurity. No man is safe in speaking unless he loves to be silent. No man rules safely unless he is willing to be ruled. No man commands safely unless he has learned well how to obey. No man rejoices safely unless he has within him the testimony of a good conscience.

More than this, the security of the saints was always enveloped in the fear of God, nor were they less cautious and humble because they were conspicuous for great virtues and graces. The security of the wicked, on the contrary, springs from pride and presumption, and will end in their own deception.

Never promise yourself security in this life, even though you seem to be a good religious, or a devout hermit. It happens very often that those whom men esteem highly are more seriously endangered by their own excessive confidence. Hence, for many it is better not to be too free from temptations, but often to be tried lest they become too secure, too filled with pride, or even too eager to fall back upon external comforts.

If only a man would never seek passing joys or entangle himself with worldly affairs, what a good conscience he would have. What great peace and tranquillity would be his, if he cut himself off from all empty care and thought only of things divine, things helpful to his soul, and put all his trust in God.

No man deserves the consolation of heaven unless he persistently arouses himself to holy contrition. If you desire true sorrow of heart, seek the privacy of your cell and shut out the uproar of the world, as it is written: "In your chamber bewail your sins." There you will find what too often you lose abroad.

Your cell will become dear to you if you remain in it, but if you do not, it will become wearisome. If in the beginning of your religious life, you live within your cell and keep to it, it will soon become a special friend and a very great comfort.

In silence and quiet the devout soul advances in virtue and learns the hidden truths of Scripture. There she finds a flood of tears with which to bathe and cleanse herself nightly, that she may become the more intimate with her Creator the farther she withdraws from all the tumult of the world. For God and His holy angels will draw near to him who withdraws from friends and acquaintances.

It is better for a man to be obscure and to attend to his salvation than to neglect it and work miracles. It is praiseworthy for a religious seldom to go abroad, to flee the sight of men and have no wish to see them.

Why wish to see what you are not permitted to have? "The world passes away and the concupiscence thereof." Sensual craving sometimes entices you to wander around, but when the moment is past, what do you bring back with you save a disturbed conscience and heavy heart? A happy going often leads to a sad return, a merry evening to a mournful dawn. Thus, all carnal joy begins sweetly but in the end brings remorse and death.

What can you find elsewhere that you cannot find here in your cell? Behold heaven and earth and all the elements, for of these all things are made. What can you see anywhere under the sun that will remain long? Perhaps you think you will completely satisfy yourself, but you cannot do so, for if you should see all existing things, what would they be but an empty vision?

Raise your eyes to God in heaven and pray because of your sins and shortcomings. Leave vanity to the vain. Set yourself to the things which God has commanded you to do. Close the door upon yourself and call to you Jesus, your Beloved. Remain with Him in your cell, for nowhere else will you find such peace. If you had not left it, and had not listened to idle gossip, you would have remained in greater peace. But since you love, sometimes, to hear news, it is only right that you should suffer sorrow of heart from it.

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Great Hymns

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."   Romans 12:2

"Religion today is not transforming people; rather it is being transformed by the people. It is not raising the moral level of society; it is descending to society's own level, and congratulating itself that it has scored a victory because society is smilingly accepting its surrender." — A. W. Tozer

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"The reason why many fail in battle is because they wait until the hour of battle. The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came...Anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees before temptation comes, and you will always have victory."   R. A. Torrey

"The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus."   James Hudson Taylor

"The chief danger of the Church today is that it is trying to get on the same side as the world, instead of turning the world upside down. Our Master expects us to accomplish results, even if they bring opposition and conflict. Anything is better than compromise, apathy, and paralysis. God give to us an intense cry for the old-time power of the Gospel and the Holy Ghost!"   A. B. Simpson

"To arouse one man or woman to the tremendous power of prayer for others, is worth more than the combined activity of a score of average Christians."   A. J. Gordon

"Oh, to realize that souls, precious, never dying souls, are perishing all around us, going out into the blackness of darkness and despair, eternally lost, and yet to feel no anguish, shed no tears, know no travail! How little we know of the compassion of Jesus!"   Oswald J. Smith

"Wise leaders should have known that the human heart cannot exist in a vacuum. If Christians are forbidden to enjoy the wine of the Spirit they will turn to the wine of the flesh....Christ died for our hearts and the Holy Spirit wants to come and satisfy them."   A. W. Tozer

"Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon Earth."   John Wesley

"The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church...grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil."   Leonard Ravenhill

"There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools as to refuse good bank notes because there are false ones in circulation; and although we see here and there manifestations of what appears to us to be nothing more than mere earthly fire, we none the less prize and value, and seek for the genuine fire which comes from the altar of the Lord."   William Booth

"We must continue in prayer if we are to get an outpouring of the Spirit. Christ says there are some things we shall not get, unless we pray and fast, yes, "prayer and fasting." We must control the flesh and abstain from whatever hinders direct fellowship with God."   Andrew Bonar

"Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late - and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work. To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in Scripture is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience."   A. W. Tozer

"God the Holy Ghost calls for crusaders… How many ministers would be in church if it were not their job? The answer will be found in the number who never go to the job that is outside."   Samuel Chadwick

"We need a baptism of clear seeing. We desperately need seers who can see through the mist--Christian leaders with prophetic vision. Unless they come soon it will be too late for this generation. And if they do come we will no doubt crucify a few of them in the name of our worldly orthodoxy."   A. W. Tozer

"We must wake ourselves up! Or somebody else will take our place, and bear our cross, and thereby rob us of our crown."   William Booth

"It is a costly and a suffering thing to come up against the religious system that has ' settled down ' here. It is far more costly than coming up against the naked world itself. The religious system can be more ruthless and cruel and bitter; it can be actuated by all those mean things, contemptible things, prejudices and suspicions things that you will not even find in decent people in the world. It is costly to go on to the heavenlies, it is painful; but it is the way of the pioneer, and it has to be settled that that is how it is."   T. Austin Sparks

"The Church has not yet touched the fringe of the possibilities of intercessory prayer. Her largest victories will be witnessed when individual Christians everywhere come to recognize their priesthood unto God and day by day give themselves unto prayer."   John R. Mott

"The nature of Christ's salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day evangelist. He announces a Savior from hell rather than a Savior from sin. And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness."   A. W. Pink

"Why does the Church stay indoors? They have a theology that has dwindled into a philosophy, in which there is no thrill of faith, no terror of doom and no concern for souls. Unbelief has put out the fires of passion, and worldliness garlands the altar of sacrifice with the tawdry glitter of unreality. The Holy Ghost cannot conquer the world with unbelief, nor can He save the world with a worldly Church. He calls for a crusade, a campaign, and an adventure of saving passion. For this enterprise He wants a separated, sanctified and sacrificial people."   Samuel Chadwick

"Are we, the Christians of today, awake to these facts and responsive to the claims of this glorious work? Do we understand that this vast responsibility rests upon us? That it is possible now, as never before in the world's history, to preach the Gospel to all the nations? And do we mean; God helping that this work shall be done ere we die? This is the deep significance of the hour to this generation."   Judson Smith

"The whole history of the Church is one long story of this tendency to settle down on this earth and to become conformed to this world, to find acceptance and popularity here and to eliminate the element of conflict and of pilgrimage. That is the trend and the tendency of everything. Therefore outwardly, as well as inwardly, pioneering is a costly thing."   T. Austin Sparks

"We give ourselves to prayer. We preach a Gospel that saves to the uttermost, and witness to its power. We do not argue about worldliness; we witness. We do not discuss philosophy; we preach the Gospel. We do not speculate about the destiny of sinners; we pluck them as brands from the burning. We ask no man's patronage. We beg no man's money. We fear no man's frown…Let no man join us who is afraid, and we want none but those who are saved, sanctified and aflame with the fire of the Holy Ghost."   Samuel Chadwick

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