WALKING IN THE FLESH AND IN THE SPIRIT

Paul addresses walking in the Spirit with a capital “S" which
means that the word Spirit is a proper noun meaning this is
God the Holy Spirit as we can tell in Colossians 1:9-10 “And
so, from the day we heard,
we have not ceased to pray for
you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his
will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in
a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing
fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of
God
." If a believer is walking “in a manner worthy of the
Lord" and is “fully pleasing to Him" then they will be “bearing
fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of
God" so someone who is walking in the Spirit of God will be
producing good fruit proving that he or she is walking in the
Spirit and that they will also be “increasing in the knowledge
of God." This means that they will necessarily have a thirst
and hunger for the Word of God and be reading their Bible,
studying the Word, hearing biblical teachings, and as a
consequence, growing in the knowledge of God. David had
this hunger and thirst too which is why he wrote in Psalm
42:1-2 that “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my
soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."
This gives us an image of a deer that has been running
toward the flowing streams, which is indicative of having a
thirst not only for God’s Word but for righteousness. This is
joined with a hunger for God and anyone who hungers after
God is devouring the Word of God, which is the daily bread
we all need to sustain us in our daily walk with God. Charles
Spurgeon said that “We are not justified by the manner of our
walk, but by our being in Christ JSFlesh



What can the Bible tell us about the differences between the
two?

Walking in the Flesh
Paul tells the Galatian’s that
“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. If we
live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us
not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one
another" (Gal 5:22-25). The same thing as living by the Spirit
or keeping “in step with the Spirit" is walking in the Spirit or
being controlled by the Spirit of God by not yielding our
bodies to “the flesh with its passions and desires." Paul
reveals the evidence of a believer is faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control and other such fruits and that “those who belong
to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires." If they haven’t then they won’t be crucifying the
flesh but walking in the flesh. By walking “by the Spirit" we
won’t “gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal 5:16). When we’re
not walking in the Spirit of God, we will be gratifying the
desires of the flesh so that’s the difference between walking
in the Spirit and walking in the flesh. The fruits or works we
produce give evidence of whether we are walking in the
Spirit or walking in the flesh. That’s how we can know that
we are or we are not walking in the Spirit. That’s why Paul
wrote “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging
war according to the flesh" (2 Cor 10:3) because “our warfare
are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy
strongholds" (2 Cor 10:4).


Consequences of Walking in the Flesh

Paul had great concern for all the churches that they not
walk in the flesh because the consequences are most
severe and that includes the wages of this walk, which is
death (Rom 6:23). He continues in Romans 8:4b-8 by
saying in Jesus “he condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom
8:3c) so we must “walk not according to the flesh but
according to the Spirit. 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."
By Jesus’ death for us “we are debtors, not to the flesh, to
live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the
flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the
deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the
Spirit of God are sons of God" (Rom 8:12-14) so living by
the flesh results in death but if you are walking “by the
Spirit" you will “put to death the deeds of the body (or
flesh)" and live. Paul was persuaded of better things
concerning the Christians in Rome because he said “You,
however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact
the Spirit of God dwells in you" however “Anyone who
does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to
him" (Rom 8:9).
Walking in the Spirit or the Flesh?
Getting back to Paul’s letter to the Galatians he tells them to
“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" (Gal 5:16-18). If we are walking in the Spirit or as
Paul commands the church “walk by the Spirit" which is the
same thing, we will not be “gratifying the desires of the
flesh." The converse is true…if we are not walking in the
Spirit, then we will be walking in the flesh and producing “the
works of the flesh [which] are evident: sexual immorality,
impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,
fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy,
drunkenness, orgies, and things like these." (Gal 5:19-21a).
Our works or fruits show which spirit we are walking in…
either works of the Spirit or works of the flesh.

Five Differences Between Walking in the Flesh and
in the Spirit

To sum it up we can see evidence of whether or not we are
walking in the flesh or the Spirit as follows:
1. Those who have the Spirit of God produce fruits that
reveal whether they are a child of God or not. If there are
no Spiritual fruits, then God is not their Father.
2. Those who walk in the Spirit have crucified the flesh
and do not submit themselves to the desires of the flesh
but those who don’t walk in the Spirit grieve the Spirit
and their works producing nothing more than the wages
that they have earned and that is death (Rom 6:23).
3. Those who walk in the flesh live according to the
flesh prove that they do by their works but those with the
Spirit of God prove that they are Christ’s by producing a
Christ-like life.
4. Those who walk in the flesh produce the fruits of the
flesh like sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry,
sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries,
dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and
things like these" (Gal 5:20-21a) but those who walk in
the Spirit “will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal
5:16).
5. Those who “put to death the deeds of the body (or
flesh)" (Rom 8:13) are truly walking in the Spirit but
those who do not have the Spirit of Christ assuredly do
“not belong to him" (Rom 8:9).