Romans
8:1 “There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
I am always looking to gain more knowledge of the truth found
in the words of the Bible. In improving my biblical knowledge, I am able to
apply these truths to my life and pass that knowledge on in my day-to-day
relational interactions with others. I read this little lesson on the term
“walk in the Spirit”. The promise in our text (above) is followed in a later
Pauline epistle by two finely distinct commands in the letter to the church at Galatia
Although they appear to be the same command in English, there
is a significant distinction in the original Greek language in which Paul
penned the letters.
Both the Romans 8:1 and the Galatians 5:16 passages
use the Greek word “peripateō”, which carries the connotation to
“walk around”, “to live a life”, and to “be at liberty.” The second employment
of the word in Galatians 5:25 uses “stoicheō”,
which means to “follow,” to “conform”, to “step precisely,” to “march” or to
“go in procession.” Same command but different emphasis. The context of
Galatians 5 stresses the difference between a lifestyle of fleshly behavior and
a life controlled by the Holy Spirit. The “fruits” of the flesh and the “fruit”
of the Spirit are diametrically opposed. They cannot exist together; they are
not harmonious
Romans 8:3-8 “For what the
law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but
they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life
and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
The Christian walk has great liberty, but that liberty must
“step precisely” in honesty, good works, and in truth. Our walk is expected to
be by faith and not by sight, and we are to conduct a spiritual warfare in the
Holy Spirit’s power protected by the full armor of God. “For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms - Ephesians 6:12. The word “carnal” – “sarx” in Greek means pertaining to the flesh, relating to the physical appetites, the sinful flesh desires
or given to crude bodily pleasures;
opposed to spiritual. The Latin
word “carne” translates to “flesh”. To be a carnal
person is being in the natural unregenerate state of fallen mankind – worldly, earthly; sensual and
temporal. This
is the carnally-minded death bondage that Christ died on the Cross to free us
from. We take this life and death redemption and salvation far too lightly. But, when we
search the Scriptures, open our hearts, minds and souls and learn the true
meaning of the words, then we can truly “walk in the
Spirit, and not fulfill the lust of the flesh”. “If we live in the Spirit, let
us also walk in the Spirit”.
In Christ, Brian
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