Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit,
and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Romans 8:10-12 KJV And if Christ be in you, the body is
dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of
righteousness. (11) But if the Spirit of him that raised up
Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the
dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth
in you. (12) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to
the flesh, to live after the flesh.
MEASURING OUT THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT
These two passages are providing us the same message of the ability of
the Spirit of God to affect our lives so much that we cease fulfilling
fleshly lusts, or in other words, cease living after the flesh.
- Rom 8:11 is not speaking about the day the rapture occurs when it
says the Spirit of God can quicken our mortal bodies.
- This is true because the quickening of our mortal bodies makes
the experiences of verse 12 possible.
- And that means if the Spirit quickens our mortal bodies, we do
not have to live after the flesh.
The Quickening our mortal bodies by the Spirit is what we need to
experience rather than the dominating of our mortal bodies by sin.
Compare the extremes of what affects our mortal bodies:
Romans 6:12 KJV Let not sin
therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the
lusts thereof.
Romans 8: (11) But if the Spirit
of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his
Spirit that dwelleth in you.
But this does not happen automatically just because we have the Holy
Spirit in our lives.
- How many have been frustrated about having God's Spirit in us,
but still doing things that God does not want us to do?
- And not knowing how to see these things stop?
This is because there is a LAW to how the Spirit works.
- There is a particular way the Spirit works, and we have to comply
with those requirements.
- Otherwise, if we do not learn how the Spirit works and what it
requires of us to work in us, we will never see victory over these
problems in our lives as Christians.
Now I want to stop for a moment and say some folks do not care how they
fail every so often.
- They are satisfied with the opportunity God gives to pray
forgiveness and be forgiven.
- While many do not really believe they can have more victory than
that, the effort we have to put forth in learning the law of the Spirit
and the ways of the Spirit is something they simply don't have time for
and are not that serious about, anyway.
- But if God provided a way to overcome this life of failure, and
it was paid for by the suffering of Jesus on the cross, then I think
the least we should do is desire with all our hearts to understand the
ways of the Spirit and to come into this real victory.
Romans 8:1-2 KJV There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (2) For the
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the
law of sin and death.
Notice it is not enough to be in Christ in order to see condemnation
stop afflicting you.
- You have to be in Christ and ALSO learn to walk after the Spirit.
- I feel bad the modern translations of the bible cut out the
qualification of "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"
from their texts.
- This is a serious point.
- Walking after the Spirit is THE ENTIRE point of this whole
discourse in Romans 7 through 8.
- The problems Paul described in wanting to do good but not being
able to do it is solved by walking after the Spirit, instead of walking
after the flesh.
I know I am throwing around a lot of biblical terms here, and it is
easy to get lost in them if we really don't know what they actually
mean.
- It's like hearing techno-babble from a computer whiz and you're
lost in translation.
Paul said that all the problems of trying to do good and not being able
to do it are summed up in this explanation:
Romans 7:25 KJV ...So then with
the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of
sin.
Paul WANTED to do good.
- So he served God quite well with his mind.
- His mind was willing to agree with law and he did agree with it.
- But how to fulfill that desire in his mind was not possible
through his flesh,
- So he said while his mind serves God's law, his flesh serves the
law of sin.
- This gives us the key to what he then said in 8:1 about not
walking after that flesh, but after the Spirit.
Since the flesh serves the law of sin, while his mind is totally in
line with the Law of God, WE MUST NOT WALK AFTER THAT FLESH.
- Condemnation goes when we stop walking after the flesh in order
to serve God.
- And walking after the flesh is actually making yourself do good
with your fleshly ability.
- Your fleshly ability is the only ability you personally can say
is yours.
- But that ability is not powerful enough to overcome the pull that
sin makes in our flesh.
- So even DOING GOOD in your fleshly strength is called WALKING
AFTER THE FLESH.
Whether we knew it or not before, we can actually walk after the Spirit.
- IN other words, we can live a life for God apart from ,making
ourselves do good in human effort.
- We can live a life for God BY THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT's ability
in us instead.
- But there is a law to this Spirit of life.
- And we have to learn that law in order for us to be able to see
The Spirit successfully work victory in us.
Psalm 1 is a perfect starting point towards understanding how the
Spirit works in a certain way that we must come to understand.
Psalm 1:1-6 Blessed is the
man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the
way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
(2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law
doth he meditate day and night. (3) And he shall be like a
tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in
his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth
shall prosper. (4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the
chaff which the wind driveth away. (5) Therefore the
ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the
congregation of the righteous. (6) For the LORD knoweth the
way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Notice there is a threefold regression here.
- We begin reading about walking in the counsel of the ungodly.
- That refers to listening to the advice or counsel of ungodly
people.
- This leads to the next step of no longer walking, but coming to a
position of STANDING.
- And after you heed the counsel of the ungodly, you're going to
start standing int he way of sinners.
- Now, this dopes not mean we block sinners from getting to God, as
though we are standing blocking their way.
- It means we are now on the WAY or the ROAD sinners exist in and
use.
- Their lifestyle becomes our lifestyle.
- Their way becomes our way.
- And then we not only stopped walking, but sit down in the seat of
the scornful.
- This regresses from listening to ungodly advice, to moving into
the way of life the sinner lines, and finally to attacking and scorning
the righteous way.
- In fact, the counsel you got from the ungodly was from their
place of sitting in the seat of scornful and scorning your good walk.
- So you get into the place where the cycle starts all over, only
this time with YOU giving ungodly counsel from the seat of the scornful.
- And someone else begins to regress the same way you did.
So the person who is blessed does not walk in the ungodly counsel,
stand in the sinners' way and sit in the seat of the scornful.
- INSTEAD, his delight is in God's law.
- Let's apply this to the LAW OF THE SPIRIT.
- Those who walk after the Spirit, have learned how the Spirit
works, or learned the Law of the Spirit of life.
This brings us to another vision.
Recall last week that we spoke of Revelation 22's river of living water.
Revelation 22:1 KJV And he shewed
me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb.
This river comes from the THRONE OF GOD AND THE LAMB.
Revelation 21:22 KJV And I saw no
temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple
of it.
God and the lamb are a TEMPLE from which a RIVER OF LIFE flows.
- This river is the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD.
- It is a RIVER OF LIFE.
- Rivers of living water.
- And there is a LAW OF THE SPIRIT OR RIVER OF LIFE.
This river flowing from the throne of God and the lamb is the same
river that Ezekiel saw flow from the HOUSE/TEMP:LE OF GOD, because God
and the Lamb are the temple!
And the three levels of water to which Ezekiel saw the river rise on
his body are perfectly related to the three stages of regression noted
in Psalm 1.
- think of the RIVER as the SPIRIT.
- And as the river REACHES the three parts of Ezekiel's body, it
affects those Ezekiel in those parts so that the three stages of
REGRESSION do not occur in a person's life.
Ezekiel 47:1-6 Afterward he
brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued
out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront
of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under
from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
(2) Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and
led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that
looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right
side. (3) And when the man that had the line in his hand
went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me
through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. (4)
Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the
waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me
through; the waters were to the loins. (5) Afterward he
measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for
the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be
passed over.
I believe the MAN that led Ezekiel through the deepening River of Life
is JESUS CHRIST.
- He is distinctly called a man, because when GOD manifested in the
FLESH, He showed us a LIFESTYLE OF WALKING IN THE SPIRIT that we are to
FOLLOW in our lives.
- We can learn HOW TO LIVE AS A SON OF GOD by looking at Jesus the
Son of God AS A MAN.
- AS A MAN, he was our example.
- AS GOD He is the one we worship!
Following Jesus as He measures the water represents learning from Him
as to who the Spirit works.
- Measuring it for us is teaching us about it.
- Educating us about it.
- And as we learn from Him, we can experience THE EFFECTS OF THE
SPIRIT UPON the very areas of life that SIN USES.
- Since WALKING is done by our ankles, in order to stop walking in
the counsel of the ungodly, the first step of regression in Psalm 1,
Ezekiel FIRST walked in the water 1000 cubits until the water reached
his ANKLES.
The ankles represent the part of us that walks in the counsel of the
ungodly.
- Now this is not talking about literal walking with ankles, but it
is speaking about FOLLOWING THE ADVICE ungodly people give.
- The River touching your ankles
represents the Spirit affecting the part of your life that causes you
to TAKE THE ADVICE OF UNGODLY PEOPLE.
- If the part of you that takes their advice and counsel is
affected by the Spirit of God, then you are going to stop taking their
advice because the SPIRIT OF GOD breaks that evil work and causes GOOD
THINGS to occur in our lives!
Then, because it is a further work of the law of sin to cause you to
not only walk in the counsel of ungodly people, but then to STAND in
the way of sinners, Ezekiel must go DEEPER in the river so that it
reaches his KNEES, THE PART THAT CAUSES US TO STAND.
- Standing in the lifestyle of sinners refers to adapting your way
of life to a sinful way of life.
- The river rising to the knees represents the Spirit's affect upon the part of us
that adapts us to ways and lifestyles of sinners so that it destroys
the sinful work of putting us in a lifestyle of sinners.
- And we instead stand in the lifestyle of GODLY PEOPLE.
Thirdly, the experience of sitting in the seat of the scornful is
affected by God to change our lives so we do not do so any more, or
keep away from ever doing so, as Ezekiel went another 1000 cubits until
the RIVER rose to his LOINS.
- Your loins are what you SIT with.
- And the Spirit affects the part of our lives
that sit in the seat of the scornful so that we cease doing so.
The work of the Spirit affects us distinctly to stop doing sinful
things.
The law of the Spirit makes us free from the law of sin and death.
- It makes us free from the very three wicked things that cause
people to lose their place with God.
- The Spirit
quickens our mortal bodies in the very areas that sin reigns in our
mortal bodies.
- The river touches the very parts of Ezekiel that are used in
experiencing the very three things that people who delight in God's law
DO NOT DO.
Notice what else Psalm 1 says.
IT EVEN MENTIONS THE RIVER.
Psalm 1: (3) And he shall be like
a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in
his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth
shall prosper.
THE RIVERS OF WATER are mentioned in Psalm 1 just like the river of
life in Ezekiel 47.
- And the three stages of walking, standing and sitting are noted
in Ezekiel 47 in the ankles, knees and loins.
Gal 5:16 This I say then,
Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
WALK IN THE RIVER, and you will not commit the sins that will cause
this to happen:
Walking in the river is experiencing what you learned the Spirit can do
when you abide by the way the Spirit works and what you must do in
order for it to work.
- It all goes back to stop walking after the flesh.
- Stop trying in your own fleshly power.
- Pray for and believe for the Spirit to empower you instead.