CHAPTER 23
WALKING IN THE SPIRIT = THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
When you Walk in the Spirit you do not have to worry about breaking the law, because that is the last thing that will enter your mind. Your chief and only desire will be to please God. You will probably walk around with a stupid grin on your face. How could you not? Everything will be going right for you. Everything you set your hand to will prosper. You will be surrounded by God’s blessing.
When the devil comes, you will swat him away like a fly. The devil will stop being a terror and simply become an annoyance. After a while, the devil may even stop bugging you. You will have to start getting involved with other people’s problems if you don’t want to actually lose your spiritual fighting skills. Like Joseph, and Moses, and Gideon, and King David, you will become a Deliverer!
BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS LOVE, JOY, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, FAITH,
MEEKNESS, TEMPERANCE: AGAINST SUCH THERE IS NO LAW.
AND THEY THAT ARE CHRIST’S HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH WITH THE AFFECTIONS AND LUSTS.
IF WE LIVE IN THE SPIRIT, LET US ALSO WALK IN THE SPIRIT.
LET US NOT BE DESIROUS OF VAIN GLORY, PROVOKING ONE ANOTHER, ENVYING ONE ANOTHER.
GALATIANS 5:22-26
Jesus said, “By their fruit you will know them.” See Matthew 12:33. When you become a mature Christian, people won’t have to ask, they will know that you are the real deal. Either they will be repelled by you or they will be drawn to you. You should know that the Holy Spirit will draw people to you just like He drew people to King David, just like he drew people to Jesus Christ. People are drawn to a fruit tree by its fruit and people are drawn to a mature Christian by the fruits of the Spirit. Many people will love you and probably many more will hate and envy you. Jesus said, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.”See John 16:20. However, your reaction to them will be different than before you became a mature Christian.
They may annoy you, but you will also feel pity for them. You will pray that God will open their eyes. You will speak the Word of God to them and have the honor of leading them to Jesus Christ. You will disciple them and watch them grow into mature Christians. These same people who hated you will end up being the people who will love you the most.
Testament, n.; [French from Latin testamentium, from testars, to testify, make a will]
1. In the Bible, a covenant.
2. Either of the two parts of the Bible. The Old Testament and the New Testament; so called because considered covenants between God and man.
3. The New Testament. {Colloq.}
4. In law, a will; now rare except in the phrase last will and testament. (Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Simon and Schuster, 1979.)
We are not under the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was similar to a two-party contract. God said, “Obey me and I will bless you.” God said, “Disobey me and I will allow the blessing to depart and the curse to come upon you.” The Old Covenant was based on the actions of two parties, God and mankind. Mankind could never fulfill their side of the bargain.
The New Covenant is similar to a Last Will and Testament with a Trustee. The New Covenant has four parties, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and the Church. God the Father says, “My Son has fulfilled the Old Covenant and I give Him all of creation.” God the Son says, “I have died and fulfilled the Old Covenant, I have eliminated the curse, I am resurrected and have inherited all God the Father’s creation and I freely give all my Father’s blessings and all His creation to the Church … forever.” God the Holy Spirit as trustee says, “I will give the Church all of the Son’s creation, which Christ has passed on to her, when she is mature enough to handle the blessings, I will grant the Church the blessings from God the Father when she has reached maturity and is Walking in the Spirit.”
WHETHER PAUL, OR APOLLOS, OR CEPHAS, OR THE WORLD, OR LIFE, OR DEATH, OR THINGS PRESENT, OR THINGS TO COME; ALL ARE YOURS;
AND YE ARE CHRIST’S; AND CHRIST IS GOD’S.
I CORINTHIANS 3:22-23
The Old Testament saints could never keep the Old Covenant any more than the New Testament saints can keep the Old Covenant today. All the promises and blessings that the Old Testament saints received were under the New Covenant. They had faith in the promised Savior Messiah and his perfect atonement for the sins of the world before Jesus ever arrived on earth. They had faith because they knew and believed God’s Word and therefore they received the blessing from God before Jesus Christ was ever born, and before He ever died, and before He ever rose from the dead, and before He ever sat on the right hand of God the Father.