After we accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we received the infilling of the Spirit of God, the representation of the Father and the Son in us, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. After a little while, the world no longer will see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you” (John 14:16-20).
We are no longer alone; he is the sweet dove in us, whispering silently to our hearts. He talks to us, guides us along the path to go if we allow him. He teaches us about the Father, Son, and our limitations even in secular matters. He is a covering around us, the mark of the Father for protection, and a sign we are the sons of God, which the enemy identifies, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the first installment of our inheritance, regarding the redemption of God’s possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).
How then is our walk since the day we received the Lord Jesus Christ?
Are we still living our lives in the old man, the old nature of “this is who I am” or “it’s my nature I can’t change?”
A butterfly out of its cocoon does not go back to the pupal stage. Paul said, having received the Lord Jesus Christ, we are no longer in the category of those who are tossed around by every form of doctrine or the tricks and craftiness of man; but a life of growth in truth and love in Christ.
How to Walk as a Child of God
We are no longer to operate as in our former lives like the gentiles who are out of the path from God’s ways, with hard and wicked hearts with the practice of all impurities, hardness, and ignorance; but now in Christ
“if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus that about your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is corrupt under the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:21-24).
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).
The prophecy and plan of God for salvation in Christ Jesus as written in John 4, “but a time is coming and even now has arrived when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people, the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth” (v. 23-24). Paul further said, “but a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. He cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1Corinthians 2:14).
Paul also commented, “Are you so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Galatians 3:3).
“Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude” (Colossians 2:6-7).
The infilling of the Holy Spirit at New birth in Christ Jesus confirms the presence of the Lord in us, and Jesus said without him we could do nothing.
It then comes down to the fact that the Christian walk outside the Holy Spirit is set for failure. He implores believers to abide in Him, and He in us, because we can’t do anything apart from Him. (John 15:4-5).
Have we ever been frustrated about our Christian consistency? If of any concern, start to make friends with the Holy Spirit.
Do we have habits challenging to stop? Walk in the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16).
Secrets to the Life or Walk in the Spirit.
The new birth is the primary step.
The moment we ask Jesus into our heart, we receive the infilling of the Spirit of God.
Read the Bible every day. The Word is the power of God to change our mindsets. As we read the Word of God, believe the contents, and practice the teaching. The life of obedience stimulates the Holy Spirit’s work in the individual. The Holy Spirit works in us to change and mold us, renew our minds from worldly things to the ways of God.
The change in our lives occur through obedience to the Word and communication with the Holy Spirit in prayer. He is there to teach, guide, comfort, help us into God’s truth. He becomes more of a constant friend as we obey Him through living out the Word.
We grieve the Holy Spirit when we disobey God; consistent disobedience can quench or extinguish the Holy Spirit in individual lives. However, if we confess, forsake our sin, and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us re-fill, He will resume His work in us.
A consistent relationship with the Holy Spirit is a key to intimacy with God.