The way of life in the Spirit

How is one able to live the life through or by the Spirit! Is there a law, a stipulated code by which this is accomplished, or is it a vague, nebulous ideology with no stipulated guidelines?

We have been duly admonished saying; “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh (sinful nature) lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:16-18).

Living and walking in the Spirit, is not something one does haphazardly, or without any guidelines and stipulations. One can be assured that, it is a well-defined and stipulated way of life, for we have been instructed saying; “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).

Living and walking in the Spirit therefore, is as practical and realistic as living and walking in the flesh. And for this reason we have been admonished saying; “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2).

Unfortunately, our education system has failed us miserably in this vital aspect of life, because their emphasis has been mainly on the physical aspect of life and not on the spiritual, not taking into consideration that man is the descendants of two Adams.

From the first Adam, we inherited life in the flesh which could have last forever, if only he had not sinned and had partaken of the tree of life, but since his downfall, the ultimate result is dust you are and to dust you shall return. Before the advent of the second Adam, man`s spirit was dead, in other words, separated from God and God`s relationship with man was maintain only through a few chosen people such as, Enoch, Noah, Job, the fore fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the prophets.

All those who died before the advent of the second Adam were offered life during the time the Lord spent in hell, as it is written; “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.” And Jesus said; “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live” (1 Peter 3:18-20; John 5:25).

But with the advent of the second Adam, mankind has received a new life in the spirit as it is written; “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:1-9).

So from the advent of the second Adam, man not only has life in the flesh, but also life in the spirit and so we have been given the assurance saying; “There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man” (1 Corinthians 15:5-9).

How often do we hear people saying; “there is one life to live!” These they say in the context of let us eat and drink, have fun and be merry. Yes of course there is one life to live, but how to live this life is of paramount importance. If the dead do not rise, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this perception of life, but if there is life after death one should take into consideration how to live this life, whether to live it in accordance to the flesh or whether to live it in accordance to the spirit.

To be continued.

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph