Galatians 5:16–26
King James Version
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” — Galatians 5:16
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” — Galatians 5:25
New American Standard Bible 1995
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” — Galatians 5:16
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” — Galatians 5:25
English Standard Version
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” — Galatians 5:16
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” — Galatians 5:25
There was a season when I honestly could not tell you who I was. By day I was the young businessman: sharp, persuasive, shaking hands and closing deals. By night I was someone else entirely, chasing the next high and hiding it from everyone who trusted me. My problem was not that I had no values. I had never settled whose values I would live by. Looking back, I can trace four stages in my walk, and I suspect you will recognise some of them.
Stage 1
In Step with the Flesh
Whatever benefited me in the moment became my rule. I moved between those two men so often that I stopped noticing the switch, and I called it freedom.
Stage 2
The Cost of Breaking Away
Then I met Christ through Crossroads and Teen Challenge, under Pastor Paul Tan. Suddenly the old life had a name, sin, and the new life had a cost. Old habits do not resign politely. They argue, they bargain, and they wait for a tired evening. Paul is honest that the flesh and the Spirit are set against each other (v. 17). I felt that war in my own body.
Stage 3
Learning to Walk
Not sprinting on willpower; I had tried that and fallen flat. Keeping in step, one deliberate choice at a time: prayer before I opened my phone, Scripture before the café shutters went up, and saying no when old friends still called. Paul does not tell us to manufacture fruit. He tells us to walk by the Spirit, and the fruit grows (vv. 22–23). God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (4:6). I was not a project trying to become a son. I was a son learning to walk like one.
Stage 4
Anchored to Help Others
Today, by God’s grace, I work beside Restarters behind our counter, trying to be an anchor for those still on the path. Yet I must confess that I still fall out of step. A rushed morning, a sharp word to a barista or a proud thought after a good week is enough, and I find I have walked ahead of the Spirit instead of beside Him. These stages are not a ladder we climb once. They are a rhythm we return to every day.
So let me turn the question to you. Which stage are you in today? Perhaps you are still in the first, living as two people, one on Sunday and another on Monday. Perhaps you are in the second, feeling the cost of leaving the old life and wondering whether it is worth it. Perhaps you are learning to walk, or perhaps you have been anchoring others and have quietly drifted out of step yourself. Pause here. Name your stage honestly before God, and ask Him: what is the one step I need to take with Your Spirit today?
Here is the hope: wherever you are, you are not walking alone. The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives in you. He does not wait for you to be perfect. He waits for you to fall back into step. Walk with Him today, and perhaps before long you will find yourself running.
Prayer
Dear Father, thank You that Your Holy Spirit lives in me and helps me walk closely with You. Forgive me for the days I have lived as two people, and for the times I have rushed ahead of You. Settle my identity in Christ alone. Teach me to keep in step with You in the small choices, and make me an anchor for those still finding their way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:” — Colossians 2:6 (KJV)
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