“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.”
The Battle
This closes the second movement of this book with Paul’s own direct instruction, walk in the Spirit, worth holding as this whole movement’s own culminating claim, the actual, practical means this described struggle requires is not primarily suppression alone, but this positive, active walking.
This closes the loop this whole second movement has traced. Renewing of the mind, every thought captive, thinking on true and pure things, no wicked thing before the eyes, radical removal of triggers, diligent keeping of the heart, scripture heeded and hidden, the body possessed in honour.
Notice ye shall not fulfil, worth examining this specific promise, walking in the Spirit named as genuinely, actually sufficient, this positive walking itself preventing what mere suppression alone often, honestly fails to prevent, worth trusting this promise as this movement’s own genuine, practical hope.
As this movement closes, receive walk in the Spirit as your own genuine, practical aim, not merely managing the flesh through willpower alone, but this positive, ongoing walking, worth carrying into this book’s third movement, where actual, lived freedom, not merely managed struggle, will become this book’s own focus.
Walk in the Spirit
- Consider what walking in the Spirit, not merely managing the flesh, might actually look like today.
- Practice this positive walking today, deliberately, not merely suppressing whatever tempts you.
- Carry this whole second movement’s renewal forward into this week’s exploration of actual freedom.
Prayer
Lord, let me walk in the Spirit, and not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Let this positive, active walking be my genuine practice, not merely managed suppression alone. Amen.
Carry this today
Walking in the Spirit is positive, active practice, genuinely sufficient, not merely suppression.