Page 32 - Pneumatology - Student Textbook

Ultimately, all the good inclinations or preferences or desires that we have are given by the Holy Spirit.
Apart from the Spirit we are mere flesh. And Paul said in Romans 7:18, “I know that in me, that is, in my
flesh, dwells no good thing.” Apart from the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit, none of our inclinations
or desires is holy or good, “for the mind of the flesh is hostile to God’s law and does not submit to it
because it cannot” (Romans 8:7).

The new birth is the coming into our life of the Holy Spirit to create a whole new array of desires and loves
and yearnings and longings. And when these desires are stronger than the opposing desires of the flesh,
then we are “walking by the Spirit.” For we always act according to our strongest desires.

Therefore, “walking by the Spirit” is something the Holy Spirit enables us to do by producing in us strong
desires that accord with God’s will. This is what God said he would do in Ezekiel 36.

Ezekiel 36:26, 27 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the
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heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause
you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Thus, when we “walk by the Spirit”, we experience the fulfillment of this prophecy. The Holy Spirit produces
in us desires for God’s way that are stronger than our fleshly desires, and thus he causes us to walk in God’s
statutes. All we must do is to yield to His promptings in our lives and we can walk in the Spirit daily.

Feeling the Holy Spirit

While certain ministries of the Holy Spirit may involve a feeling, such as conviction of sin, comfort, and
empowerment, Scripture does not instruct us to base our relationship with the Holy Spirit on how or what
we feel. Every born-again believer has the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus told us that when the Comforter has
come He will be with us and in us. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be
with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows
him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). In other words, Jesus is
sending one like Himself to be with us and in us.

We know the Holy Spirit is with us because God's Word tells us that it is so. Every born-again believer is
indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but not every believer is controlled by the Holy Spirit, and there is a distinct
difference. When we step out in our flesh, we are not under the control of the Holy Spirit even though we
are still indwelt by Him. The apostle Paul comments on this truth, and he uses an illustration that helps us
to understand. “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit”
(Ephesians 5:18). Many people read this verse and interpret it to mean that the apostle Paul is speaking
against wine. However, the context of this passage is the walk and the warfare of the Spirit-filled believer.
Therefore, there is something more here than just a warning about drinking too much wine.

When people are drunk with too much wine, they exhibit certain characteristics: they become clumsy, their
speech is slurred, and their judgment is impaired. The apostle Paul sets up a comparison here. Just as there
are certain characteristics that identify someone who is controlled by too much wine, there should also be
certain characteristics that identify someone who is controlled by the Holy Spirit. We read in Galatians 5:22-
24 about the “fruit” of the Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit’s fruit, and it is exhibited by the born-again believer
who is under His control.

The verb tense in Ephesians 5:18 indicates a continual process of “being filled” by the Holy Spirit. Since it is

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