"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Galatians 2:21 (NASB) 

Until we learn to lean on God’s Spirit instead of ourselves, we will live out Romans 7 and groan under the burden of frustration as did Paul.

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22  For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23  but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24  Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:21-25 (NASB) 

Romans 7 becomes our experience when we rely on the “flesh” instead of the Spirit. (If you are not familiar with the meaning of the word “flesh” as Paul uses it, please read my second article in this series now.) Jesus taught us that the “flesh” does not profit us in any way spiritually speaking. The only thing that helps us is what comes from and through the Spirit of God.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63 (NKJV)

Learning how to “walk” in the Spirit means that on a daily basis we live out of the strength and power of God’s indwelling Spirit doing what he puts in our hearts.

The better we get at partnering with the Holy Spirit, the happier, more fulfilled, and more useful we are to God and other people.

Jesus called this the “abundant life.” (John 10:10)

Partnering with God Who Lives inside Us

"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. 18  "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16-18 (NASB)  

Perhaps the most amazing part of the Christian life is that God chooses to live inside of us who believe forever.

The Holy Spirit is called the “helper” (Greek: paracletos – one called alongside). He is our best friend, someone who will never abandon us, the Person we always wanted to be, the One we are becoming like through the process called sanctification or transformation.

Jesus told his followers, whom he called “sheep,” that we are able to “hear his voice.”

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; John 10:27 (NASB) 

He said that we will know and recognize him; yet, many followers of Christ today have little or no experience of this. Perhaps it is because of a misunderstanding or misconception of what it means to hear his voice. Since our spirits are joined to the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), our thoughts are connected to God’s thoughts (1 Cor. 2:16), and our desires are becoming more in line with God’s desires (Ezekiel 11:19-20), it is likely that we may not always be aware of when God is “speaking” to us. What God is “telling” us may seem to originate in our own minds. It may appear as if we are directing our own lives. But if we understand that God lives inside us, our desire is to live in harmony with him, and we have surrendered our lives to him as best we know how, then God’s Word teaches us something that I must accept by faith: Christ lives in me.

For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. 20  "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 2:19-20 (NASB) 

Paul learned that his life was Christ’s life and Christ’s life was his.

It was not Paul; yet, it was Paul. It was Christ; yet, it was also Paul. This same principle is echoed elsewhere.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 (NASB) 

If we are looking for God somewhere outside us, we are still living in an Old Testament paradigm.

At times, it may seem as if I am working hard at this thing called transformation, but the reality is that it is a joint effort, as we rely on God’s Spirit and grace. Every true work of sanctification or transformation is a work of grace, no matter how it seems. The key thing is for us to maintain an attitude of rest. We do not struggle and strive to perfect ourselves. Instead, we “labor” to enter and maintain rest.

The struggle for believers, more than anything else, is to rely upon God’s ability to fulfill his promises and complete the transformative work inside us that he began. (Philippians 1:6)

So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10  For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11  Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11 (NASB) 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV) 

God forgave us, justified us, reconciled us to himself, and is transforming us by his Spirit as we hold fast to his promises and keep our eyes upon the Lord.

The Law, with its demands, is external to us and speaks to us from afar. The Spirit is internal and speaks most often from within.  His voice is often so subtle that, unless we quiet our noisy minds and souls, we may miss it altogether. His voice is always in harmony with the written Word of God, but not in a legalistic sense.

The Spirit is life and makes the Word of God become life and peace to us.

But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. Romans 7:6 (NLT) 

If we have learned to lean on the power of the human mind exclusively, we will have to learn to command it to be still and learn how to hear and live out of our spirits, much as a baby learns to walk.

The words of Solomon come to mind at this point.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)  

God wants us to believe that he lives inside us, communicates with us, directs us, and empowers us, even when it seems as if it is only we who are doing it. Thankfully, however, God makes his voice and presence known to us. He does not leave us on our own. We do not always have to walk by faith only. King David knew the life-giving presence of God, and so can we.

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. Psalm 16:11 (NLT) 

There are times when his voice to us is so clear that it is almost as if he audibly spoke to us, but this is not the norm. Most of the time, we must learn to trust faint impressions in our minds and hearts as coming from God. It takes a while for us to learn to distinguish between God thoughts and merely human ones, but the Holy Spirit will help us, and we can lean on other more mature followers of Christ to help us grow in this area.

Walking in the Spirit can be likened to dancing with an invisible partner. As we learn to follow his lead, those watching will think that it is only we who are dancing, but we will know that is is not. We will know that it is Christ who lives in and through us.

Click here to access all the articles in this series.