In the previous article in this series, I compared walking in the Spirit to walking on water. This article shows how we can gain understanding of our union with the Spirit by examining the analogy of the pendulum action of a swing. I will show how to practically apply our union in the Spirit with Christ to everyday life. To review, walking in the Spirit describes what it is like for the Holy Spirit to live Christ’s life through us giving us the ability to rise above the downward pull of the “flesh” (our body’s connection to Adam’s sin) and sin in general and to experience God’s indwelling presence, life, and empowerment, allowing us to be effective representatives of the kingdom of God and fulfilled as people.

The Mechanics of a Swing

We have a tire swing in our front yard hanging from an enormous limb on a river birch. It is a popular spot for our grand kids, church kids, and neighborhood children. The way a swing works is simple. The rope is attached to a stable base that serves as a fulcrum. The swing oscillates back and forth. It’s range is limited by the length of the rope. On our swing, we can push the kids back and forth or in a circular motion. We can give them a gentle ride or push really hard to get a wider and higher oscillation. We can learn a lot about walking in the Spirit from this.

The Anchor Point: God

The most important factor in making a great swing is finding the perfect anchor point. It must be high enough, strong enough, and well located. It needs to be able to support whatever weight is put on it without breaking. There needs to be plenty of room for the swing path arc. Our anchor point in the Spirit is God.

When a person is born again by placing his or her faith-allegiance in Jesus the Lord, he or she is anchored to the Lord in the Spirit.

In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 18  so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19  This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20  where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:17-20 (NASB) 

God is our Rock, our immovable fortress, our sure and steadfast hope. We can trust that he will never leave us or grow weary of his commitment to us.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24  Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NASB)  

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 (NASB)

The Connection: The Spirit

No matter what kind of anchor we have, if the connection is not adequate, the swing will fail. On our tire swing, a rope and some chains connect the swing seat to the tree. The connection has a couple of great knots, some bolts, and some quick links. All the components are strong enough to withstand weight well beyond what might be put on it.

We all believe that God will never fail, but what can secure our connection to him so that we will never get disconnected from Him? The answer is simple: God uses himself to connect us to himself.

The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently, God is one in essence and three persons. That is as good as I can do explaining a mystery revealed in the Bible but clearly above my mental limits. These definitions express three crucial truths: (1) the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, (2) each Person is fully God, (3) there is only one God. (From Desiring God website)

The Holy Spirit becomes one with our spirit when we are born again.

But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 (NASB)

"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17  that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17 (NASB)

that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. John 17:21 (NASB) 

Another way to put this is that we are securely connected to God because God now lives in us in union with us.

The New Covenant is between Jesus and the Father.

I am the LORD; I have called you [Jesus] in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7  to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. Isaiah 42:6-7 (ESV)  

Jesus lived the perfect life, died a sacrificial death to atone for our covenant violations, and made it possible for us to benefit from it all. When he died in our place on the cross, God included us in that death.

knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7  for he who has died is freed from sin. Romans 6:6-7 (NASB)  

When he rose again in perfect righteousness, power, and glory, God included us in his resurrection.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9  knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11  Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:8-11 (NASB)  

At the new birth, our spirits are joined to the Holy Spirit, allowing Christ’s resurrection life to flow through us.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20 (NASB) 

As long as God remains faithful to himself, we have a secure connection to the anchor.

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5  that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6  even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7  so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8  who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9  God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (NASB)  

The Seat: The Soul

Here is where we get to the most practical part of our analogy. The swing seat is the fun part of the swing. It would be no fun to sit on the anchor point because it doesn’t move. The wider and higher the arc path taken by the swing seat, the more fun we have, unless we are afraid to swing high. Little kids are sometimes very timid and don’t want to go high, but the more secure they become and the more confident they are that the swing will hold, the more likely they will want to go higher. The photo on the right hilariously depicts the difference in our ride experience depending on our faith level.

Unlike the spirit where we are in constant peace and communion with God, our souls are prone to “swings” of emotion and varying degrees of confidence.

If we learn to depend on the state of our souls to inform us of our spiritual condition, we will be up and down in our assessment, shifting between elation and discouragement. Some days we may feel great about who we are in Christ. On “down” days, we may start to doubt our salvation.

God gave us our souls (minds, wills, and emotions). The soul is a good thing, but it was never meant to be our guide in life. God retains that for himself.

When Adam sinned, he became a “soulical” person.

But a natural [soulical - Greek: psychichos) man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NASB) 

Adam ceased being led by God’s Spirit when he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and began to rely on his own soul to guide him in life. We all learn to live this way from birth onward. It is only when we are born again that we can begin to learn how to depend on the Spirit of God instead.

The Relationship between the Spirit and Our Souls

As we learn to depend on God’s Spirit for life, direction, and strength, we learn to look at what is going on in our souls from the proper perspective.

We don’t have to be afraid of, despise, or try to quench our souls. We just need to realize that they are often unreliable indicators of truth and reality. For example, I may feel afraid because of something looming on the horizon over which I have no control. God wants us to learn how to somewhat disregard this fear. Instead of caving to it, we can instead focus on God and his promises, which provide the proper perspective and peace.

And here is a big key: we must learn to go to that quiet place where we are anchored to God in the Spirit.

We can go there anytime we like. Jesus opened the door for us into God’s presence, and our heavenly Father is always delighted to commune with us.

When we spend time in God’s presence, listening to the Spirit, we are strengthened and quieted. We gain the right perspective on our situation and we are enabled to walk in the Spirit by faith, regardless of how our soul may feel about it.

Walking in the Spirit requires us to walk by faith. Faith does not get its bearings from outward things. Its focus is on Jesus and his Word, just as when Peter walked on the water.

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7  for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8  Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9  So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (ESV) 

In the above passage, Paul wrote of his determination to walk in the union of his Spirit to God, rather than allow his fears to rule his life. His fear of the Lord outweighed his fear of the unknown and death.

His security in the Lord was stronger than the insecurities he felt in his soul. This is how God wants us to live, too.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10  He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 (ESV) 

In fact, according to Paul, we should give thanks for the stresses that come upon our souls because they force us into a tighter reliance upon the Spirit of God who indwells us.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4  and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5  and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5 (ESV)  

Conclusion

The swing analogy tells us that our souls may experience swings of mood and varying degrees of feeling secure in God, but we can and should always drop back to our anchor point in God.

The deepest reality is that we are permanently one with God in the Spirit. This truth must rule our lives.

As Paul put it, since we actually are one with God in the Spirit, let’s act like it.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 (NASB)