Words are Spirit: Living and Walking in the Truth

Words are Spirit: Living and Walking in the Truth

The concept of "the Spirit" is often shrouded in mystical confusion, relegated to the realm of inexplicable feelings or unpredictable emotional surges. Yet, if we look to the King James Bible, we find a definition that is both concrete and profoundly transformative. To truly understand the nature of the Spirit, we must anchor ourselves in the direct declaration of Jesus Christ: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (Jn.6:63). Here, the mystery is solved. The Spirit is not an atmospheric presence or a vague energy; the Spirit is the Word of God in operation.

This scriptural fact establishes that the Word of God is the delivery system for divine life. To "receive the Spirit" is not to be overcome by an outer force, but to receive the holy information, instruction, and doctrine of Christ into the heart. The Bible describes this process not as a human effort, but as the "washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Tit.3:5). This regeneration is the total overhaul of the inner man by the power of the Word. This is the foundation of our spiritual existence—our "position" or standing before God.

However, a critical distinction exists between "living" and "walking," a distinction that Paul emphasized heavily to the churches in Galatia. To "live in the Spirit" refers to our spiritual quickening—having our status changed from an orphan of the world to a son of God. This is a positional reality secured by the internalization of life-giving words. Yet, Paul presents a secondary challenge: "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Gal.5:25). This command implies a striking possibility: a person can be "alive" by the Spirit—possessing the correct doctrine and having been saved by the Word—and yet fail to "walk" by that same Spirit.

To bridge this gap, we must understand that "walking" is the physical act of yielding. Consider the analogy of a high-tech navigational system in a car. The system provides the correct information, the precise route, and the constant guidance (the "living" word within). However, the car only moves toward the destination when the driver yields their will to those instructions and actually turns the wheel. The navigation system does not force the car to turn; it informs the driver of the right path. Similarly, walking in the Spirit is the daily decision to conform your behavior to the instruction you have received. It is the transition from "knowing" the doctrine to "yielding" in obedience to it.

This yielding is where the conflict of the Christian life resides. Paul identifies this as a literal war: "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other" (Gal.5:17). The "flesh" is not just your physical body, but your old way of processing information—your impulses, your pride, and your desire to be right in your own eyes. To walk in the Spirit is to deny those old impulses and instead "yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God" (Rom.6:13).

A major misconception in modern faith is the idea that the Spirit is an impulsive force that bypasses the human mind. People often wait for a "nudge" or a "feeling" before they act, but the Bible teaches that the Spirit operates through a "renewing" of the mind (Rom.12:2). If the "Words are Spirit," then the Spirit speaks through the written page. When you read "Bear ye one another's burdens" (Gal.6:2), that is the Spirit speaking. When you choose to help a struggling friend instead of ignoring them, you are "walking in the Spirit." You are yielding your physical members to the information provided by the Word.

It is equally vital to understand what the Spirit is not. It is not a license for the "works of the flesh"—which include hatred, variance, and envying (Gal.5:19-21). Furthermore, we must distinguish the Spirit of God from "the spirit of the world" (1Cor.2:12), which focuses on human wisdom and selfish ambition. If an impulse leads toward chaos, bitterness, or legalism, it is not of the Spirit, regardless of how "spiritual" it may feel. The Spirit always aligns with the Fruit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Gal.5:22-23). These are not things we "work" to produce through human grit; they are the natural result of a life that is properly "planted" in the Word and "yielding" to its instruction.

Ultimately, the goal of knowing the Word is not academic excellence, but spiritual conformity. We are called to be "conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom.8:29). This transformation happens as we allow the words of Christ to dwell in us richly. When we trust those words enough to act on them—even when our feelings scream otherwise—we are exercising the faith that pleases God.

Be inspired today to dive deep into the scriptures, not as a book of rules, but as the very "Spirit and Life" of God. Allow that holy information to settle in your heart until it becomes the primary source of your identity. As you through faith yield your will to those words, you will find yourself walking in a new kind of power. This is the path to "bearing fruit unto righteousness," a life that stands as a living testament to the truth of the Gospel and brings ultimate glory to God. The walk begins with a single step of yielding to what the Word has already spoken.

Sin Does Not Originate in the Shell of Flesh

Sin Does Not Originate in the Shell of Flesh

You may have spent years trying to avoid sin by managing your flesh — by disciplining your body, abstaining from alcohol, avoiding certain places, dressing modestly, fasting regularly, or following routines that seem spiritual and safe. You may have believed that if you could just control your physical actions, you would be free from sin’s grip. But despite your efforts, you still find yourself wrestling with thoughts you didn’t invite, desires you didn’t want, and reactions that seem to rise from somewhere deeper than your skin and bone. And that’s because sin does not originate in the shell of your flesh. It is not in the skin or muscle or bone. The flesh is weak, yes, and under the curse, but it cannot sin without the soul’s consent.

Your body is not the source of rebellion. It is the instrument. The flesh carries out what the soul commands. And when you try to train the flesh without renewing the soul, you are polishing the surface while the root remains untouched. The truth is that sin begins in the soul — in the mind, the will, and the heart — and it manifests through the body only after the inner man has chosen to rebel, to ignore, or to disobey the truth of God’s Word.

Scripture confirms this clearly. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19). “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). These verses do not point to the body as the source of sin. They point to the soul — the place where knowledge is either received or rejected, where obedience is either chosen or refused.

Verse Study: Galatians 2:20-21

Verse Study: Galatians 2:20-21 

Having posted the “fill in the blanks” puzzle yesterday, let’s actually study out this passage in Gal.2:20-21 and find out what Paul is teaching us.

Gal 2:20-21  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  [21]  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;

This is a statement of faith. Though we have never experienced the actual cross ourselves, we must reckon that we too have died to this flesh life, even though we continue to live in it. You might live, but your mind needs to believe that you died with Christ. You must come to reckon it as true. How do we do that? Stare at the phrase. Study it out: cross referencing this with similar verses Paul writes to gain deeper understanding of it. Meditate upon it. Let it sink into your mind until it become as real and accepted as the physical objects around you. When we grow in knowledge of the truth it will start to naturally manifest in you and you will start to bear the fruit of that knowledge through your mind becoming renewed to the truth.