led by the spirit – The Christian Exile

This article is the 16th in an ongoing series on the Holy Spirit. To read other articles in this series click here.

According to Romans 8:3-8, there are two alternative ways of living. One can walk by the flesh, with a mind focused on the flesh, or one can walk by the Spirit, with a mind focused on the Spirit (see Part 15). In the book of Galatians, Paul stresses a very similar point.

Two Ways of Living

Paul spent a considerable part of his letter to the Galatians arguing that those who are in Christ are free, both from their pagan past and from the demands of the Jewish law.

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

For you were called to freedom, brothers.
Galatians 5:13a

But Paul also emphasized that a Christian’s freedom comes with responsibility. A Christian’s freedom must not be abused as an opportunity to emphasize the flesh, but is for the specific purpose of loving and serving one another. Unfortunately, the controversies in the Galatian churches led to behavior that Paul could describe as “biting” and “devouring” one another.

Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Galatians 5:13b-15

It is then that Paul makes his point. If Christians are going to fulfill the commandment “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” there is only one way to do this. This cannot be accomplish by them in emphasizing, or finding their true identity in the “flesh” by getting circumcised. Emphasizing the flesh ultimately leads to a disastrous way of life. It can only happen by the Spirit.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealously, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:16-24

Crucified with Christ

Underneath these two contrasting lists (the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit) lies Paul’s understanding of what happens in baptism. Notice that Paul concludes his two lists by speaking of those who “belong to Christ Jesus” who have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” As noted previously (Part 12), Paul assumed that all Christians had been baptized in the Spirit and had the Spirit who was sent into their heart (cf. Gal. 3:2-7, 27-28; 4:4-7).

First Paul describes the condition he refers to as “in the flesh.” Those who find their identity by emphasizing their fleshly characteristics will ultimately produce the “works of the flesh.” But those who belong to Christ Jesus have gone through a “crucifixion” with him (cf. Gal. 2:20; Rom 6:1-4) . What they have “crucified” is the kind of life which is driven the passions and desires of the flesh. As a result of their “crucifixion” they now begin to bear new “fruit.”

The Spirit and Self-Control

It is important to note that the nine attributes described by Paul as the fruit of the Spirit (i.e. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control) are not characteristics which will develop by a person’s own efforts apart from the Spirit. But neither should we imagine these attributes as things which simply happen “to” a Christian without them thinking or intending to practice them. Christians must make up their minds to live this way. It is not a matter of simply being baptized, and then putting our bodies on autopilot mode while the Spirit takes over control.

If that were the case, there would be no reason for what Paul says next.

If we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:25

Similar to what Paul says in Romans 8:5-8, if we are going to walk by the Spirit, we must intentionally keep our minds focused on, and submissive to the path that the Spirit lays before us. Contrary to the idea of the Spirit taking control of someone’s mind or body, Paul says “self-control” is part of the fruit of the Spirit. A Spirit-filled, Spirit-led life is a self-controlled, self-disciplined life. It is a life which intentionally follows the footprints laid by God’s Spirit.

Paul’s point is that if we choose to follow the steps laid by God’s Spirit, God’s breath, God’s words, and God’s way of thinking (cf. Part 1), this is the kind of fruit we will see in our life. When Christians demonstrate these characteristics, it can only be attributed to God’s Spirit, because this fruit will not develop when we follow our own steps, or the steps of any other man.

The Importance of the Spirit

The point Paul makes is as relevant for the church today as it was then. There are many today who emphasize the need for love, patience, kindness, goodness, etc. with an attitude towards God’s word that deemphasizes doctrine whenever they fear it will lead to arguments or disagreement. There are others who are so passionate about defending “the truth” (or rather their party or sect’s definition of the truth; a false “truth” which is determined by their fleshly identity) that their lives are filled with fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, and divisions.

Paul’s answer to these two errors is short and clear. As Christians, we must be people who are determined to follow His Spirit, His breath, His words, and His way of thinking. If we live by the Spirit, our lives will bear His fruit.

Christians who are concerned with speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) do themselves a disservice when they do not ground in their teaching, as Paul did, in a biblical understanding of the Holy Spirit.

This article is the 15th in an ongoing series on the Holy Spirit. Click here to read the other articles in this series.

Romans 8 is of particular importance when it comes to understanding the Holy Spirit. Here Paul explains the role of the Holy Spirit in his own life, as well as in the lives of all other Christians (notice the words “us,” “anyone,” “we,” and the plural “you” used throughout the chapter).

In Romans 8, Paul identifies Christians as those “who walk… according to the Spirit” (v. 4). Later, Paul says that the sons of God are those who are “led by the Spirit” (v. 14; cf. Gal. 5:25). To understand Paul’s teachings about the Spirit in Romans 8, it is important to read these phrases in context, noticing the particular role they play in the actual argument of his letter – an argument that began back in chapter 7.

Romans 8 in Context

In the latter part of Romans 7, Paul has argued that the law promised life, but in reality brought death (Rom. 7:10-12). However, the life, which was promised by the law, was ultimately achieved through God’s Spirit, who gives resurrection life to all those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:11).

The beginning of Romans 8 serves as both the conclusion to chapter 7, and the introduction to what Paul argues later in the chapter. What Paul says is indeed very dense and tight packed, but not incomprehensible so long as we read carefully and with the big picture argument in mind.

Paul begins in by stating his main idea that he is going to make throughout all of chapter 8.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1

Paul then begins to explain why that is so.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:2

What Paul says in verse 2 is dense, and it would be difficult (though not impossible) to grasp what Paul means simply by dissecting the verse in isolation. But there is no need to worry. Paul explains it himself, beginning in verses 3-4.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:3-4

Paul then unpacks this idea even further in verses 5-8.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:5-8

Finally, in verses 9-11, Paul’s argument is fully revealed. (I have replaced the plural “you” with “y’all” to help my kinsmen think about this passage in their native tongue).

Y’all, however are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in y’all. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in y’all, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in y’all, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to y’all’s mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in y’all.
Romans 8:9-11

When reading the Bible, and especially when reading the writings of Paul, it is important to not stop at a single verse or phrase. Unfortunately, this seems to happen quite often, especially in Romans 8, and especially when it comes to the Holy Spirit. It is not uncommon to hear people speak of “walking in the Spirit” or “being led by the Spirit” and to assign to those phrases all kinds of imaginative meanings that, quite frankly, do not fit with Paul’s overall argument.

Paul’s Main Argument

Again, back to verse 1, Paul’s main argument is that, unlike those who continually try, and fail, to find life through the law of Moses (Rom. 7:7-20), there is no such condemnation for those who are in Christ.

Why is that? Because “the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (v. 2). Because “God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do” (v. 3). Because “Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (v. 5). And ultimately because “to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (v. 6).

That’s why there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus – Because it is by the Spirit, and only by the Spirit, that there is hope in resurrection life (vs. 9-11).

The result is, that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled, and with it, the life that was promised by the law. This promised life is fulfilled, not in those who walk according to the flesh, but in those who walk according to the Spirit (v. 4).

Walking According to the Spirit

In the context of this particular argument, what does it mean to “walk according to the Spirit”? And how is it different from “walking according to the flesh”?

It is not, as many will apply the phrase, referring to someone who spends their life being led by some inner voice or emotional tug on their heart. Rather Paul tells us exactly what he means by this phrase.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:5-8

According to Paul, the difference between those who walk according to the flesh and those who walk according to the Spirit is their mindset. What is their mind focused on? What are they thinking about all the time? Those who are focused on the flesh, that is, on pride, jealousy, or slander (see Rom. 2:29-32 for a detailed description) are those who walk according to the flesh. They are opposed to God. They cannot submit to God’s law, and they cannot please God. But those who focus on the Spirit have a mindset that is ready submit to God’s law. They can please God. They can enjoy life and peace.

We can see how all of this leads to the end of his argument: Those who have the Spirit dwelling in them will be raised from the dead (vs. 9-11). It is the Spirit who circumcises the hearts of believers (see Part 14), and it is the Spirit who can breath new life into those who were formerly dead, in parallel to how the Spirit gave life to Jesus (see Part 8). That is why there is no condemnation for those who are baptized into Christ.

In short, the Spirit is the Christian’s hope for life, because the Spirit is the one who transforms death into life. The Spirit is He who gives life after, and out of, death. But this hope is reserved for those who are in Christ, who live with their minds focused on the Spirit of God. Christians live, that is, they have their life in, the Spirit.