Good day folks. It is another wonderful opportunity to bring you this latest post in Vignettes of Grace.
In the last few weeks we have been going through the lovely chapter 5 of Galatians looking at the issues of the conflict between the Spirit and the flesh, the ascendancy of the Spirit and the glorious nature of the fruit of the Spirit. I do hope it has been richly rewarding for you.
To bring our considerations in this section of the epistle full circle, I would direct us this week to verse 25:
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” Galatians 5:25 King James Version
“If” is the title of a poem written in 1895 by Rudyard Kipling and the words of the poem have inspired so many people since its publication. Very well known in Britain, several lines of the poem are found in framed photographs and are written on walls in public places most notably on the walls of the players’ entrance at the venue of the world famous Wimbledon tennis championships.
The word “if” is a conjunction that we use many times to indicate conditionality and also on many occasions it connotes suppositions and uncertain possibilities. It paints a picture of hypothetical situations; situations that we should just imagine as possibilities but yet not certain occurrences. Such are the scenarios Kipling eloquently describes in his poem-imagined possibilities as evidence of complete transition from childhood to manhood.
However, the King James Version rendition of our verse in focus (as well as many other versions) in using the conjunction “if” often conveys to our minds a less forceful and precise message than intended. The message of Galatians 5:25 was not to conjure any sort of hypothetical situation or uncertain possibility. Rather, it is actually a very direct call to action based on an unchanging reality of our spiritual existence as believers in Christ. The word translated “if” would be better rendered “since” as we find in a few translations:
“Since we live by the Spirit…” New International Version
“Since we are living by the Spirit…” New Living Translation
We already live in the Spirit. That is one of the benefits of grace. Once in our lives we were dead in sin and trespasses, yes. But we have been made alive by the Spirit of our God and we now live in the Spirit. That is a simple fact, it is an unchanging reality. Based on that fact, God is now calling us to action- He calls us walk in the Spirit. Since believers in Christ are actually alive in the Spirit, we are instructed to walk in the Spirit.
Have you ever watched a military parade or perhaps been a part of one in the past? Then you will appreciate the import of the term “walk” in that phrase. It describes the act of marching in military rank, keeping step and falling in line. In a military parade, every foot is lifted and dropped in conformity, every salute is executed with a near perfect accuracy and there is no room for any form of disorderliness. This is what God is calling us to.
My message this week is since we live in the Spirit, let us keep step, and let us fall in line with the Spirit. Let us march in accordance with the Spirit. Let us live in full conformity with the Spirit. There is no room for a “sluggish foot drag”. Let us yield fully to the influence of the Spirit and to His guidance. Let us with military alertness and dispatch keep ourselves aligned to Him.
My song for the week is “Broken Vessels” by Hillsong Worship.
From next week we will move to the last chapter of Galatians but remember that the reality of life in and by the Spirit is another snapshot of the amazing grace of God. Have a nice day and a great week.
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