WALKING BY THE SPIRIT
In 5:16 and 25 Paul charges us to walk by the Spirit. If we regularly contact the Word, we shall be infused with the Spirit. This infusion of the Spirit will become the faith which is the realization of Christ. By this living faith, Christ is applied to us in our practical situations, and we experience God’s salvation. In a sense, the faith produced by the infusion of the Spirit actually is our salvation. By having this faith, we become those who are in the Spirit. We should then go on to walk by the Spirit.
We need to have our daily living by the Spirit. Even in talking to our husband or wife, we should live by the Spirit. However, it is our habit to talk and do many other things apart from the Spirit. When we pray, we expect to pray by the Spirit. But in doing other things we may neglect the Spirit and be satisfied as long as the things we do are good or right. But many of the good things we do are according to our habit not according to the Spirit. As long as a certain thing is not done by the Spirit, it must be done by the "I" and by the flesh. In our daily living we do not walk absolutely by the Spirit.
As we have pointed out elsewhere, in 5:16 and 25 Paul uses two different Greek words for walk. This indicates that there are two kinds of walk by the Spirit, the walk in our daily living (v. 16) and the specific walk for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose (v. 25). On the one hand, we need to live, walk, and have our being by the Spirit. On the other hand, we need to walk in rank, in step, by the Spirit for the fulfillment of God’s purpose.
SOWING UNTO THE SPIRIT
According to Paul’s word in 6:8, we also need to sow unto the Spirit. To sow unto the Spirit is to sow with a view to the Spirit. Everything we do or say is an act of sowing. In our sowing we should aim not at the flesh, but at the Spirit. Whatever we do or say that is not with a view to the Spirit is automatically a sowing unto the flesh.
ENJOYING GRACE IN OUR SPIRIT
If through the Word we receive the Spirit and have the living faith, we shall be able to walk by the Spirit in our daily life and also have a particular walk by the Spirit for God’s purpose. Moreover, we shall sow with a view to the Spirit. As a result, we shall enjoy grace. In the very last verse of Galatians Paul says "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers" (6:18). Grace is the Triune God enjoyed by us in a practical way as our portion. This enjoyment of the Triune God is in our spirit.
When we put all these matters together, we shall have the secret of experiencing Christ. We must begin by touching the Word in a living way. Through the Word we shall be infused with the Spirit. The Spirit will become in us the living faith, the realization of Christ, and we shall be one with Christ in a practical way. Following this, we need to have the two kinds of walk by the Spirit and sow with a view to the Spirit. In this way, we shall enjoy grace in our spirit.
Experiencing Christ according to all these points is a very fine matter. Neglecting this experience is like neglecting our breathing, drinking, and eating. Just as we cannot afford to neglect the things needed to maintain our physical life, so we cannot afford to neglect the Word of God. We must come to the Word and let it become in us the Spirit so that we may have faith. This faith will be to us the full realization of Christ. Then in our daily life we shall walk by the Spirit and sow unto the Spirit. Spontaneously we shall thus enjoy the Triune God as grace in our spirit. May we take this word seriously and practice it in a very fine way so that day by day and even moment by moment we may experience Christ.
(The Secret of Experiencing Christ, Chapter 8, by Witness Lee)
