Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.
In the first part of this excerpt on walking in the Spirit, we discovered that it is a journey. It begins with our thoughts and is also a cooperative activity between us and the Lord. Our main scripture was Galatians 5:16. It says, Walk in the Spirit and you will not gratify the lust of the flesh. In that same chapter 5 verse 25, the Bible says, If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. The NIV says, Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Keeping in step means be aligned, follow keenly. In other words, let what was done in the Spirit manifest physically. If we live in the Spirit, we ought to also walk in the Spirit.
Living in the Spirit is a position, walking in the Spirit is a manifestation.
In Ephesians 2:6, we see that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. That is a position but may not be the reality in a person’s life. In Romans 8:19, the Bible says, For the earnest expectation of the creature awaits the manifestation of the sons of God. Who are the sons of God? Those who walk in the Spirit. Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. This means the world is waiting for sons of God, who are people bearing His image. It does not merely await people seated in heavenly places. There is the need to translate the heavenly capital into earthly relevance. Simply put, walking in the Spirit means taking what was done in the Spirit by the Lord Jesus. We then make it find a physical expression in our lives.
This is what the Bible calls working out your salvation in Philippians 2:12-13. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Note that he didn’t say work for your salvation. Jesus did that already. We are to work it out. So there was first an internal work based on our acceptance of what Christ did. Our spirit man is saved once we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus. Now to make that internal work show on the outside, the scripture says work it out. Why? Because He has already worked it in you. For it is God who works in you.
Thus, walking in the Spirit is also defined as working out your salvation.
The opening scripture confirms this. It says to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we have been called. In other words, the calling is already there. You just have to come in step and be aligned. Work it out for men to see and glorify the Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16. We see this in Ephesians 4. In Ephesians 1-3, the writer stated what Christ did. He explained who we used to be and who we are now after the work Christ did. In chapters 4 and 5, he begins to explain how we must walk in alignment. This aligns with what has been done by Jesus.
In conclusion, the Spirit helps us translate what Jesus did into our lives physically. We can’t do it on our own.
The Word In Clarity 