Intro
We are investigating the function or operation of the human spirit in relationship to God and the person’s soul.
In Proverbs 20:27 we are told: “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.” i What is this saying about the human spirit? It is the “lamp of the LORD.” It is where God’s light shines in a person. It is where man is illuminated by the Lord. In the human spirit, revelational knowledge is received from Christ who is the light of the world (John 1:4, 9). The spirit of a man is not the light, but it is where light is received, retained, and shared into the rest of his being. Ironside explains it this way: “Notice, it is not the light of Jehovah. The lamp is the vessel that holds the light, which itself is divine, proceeding from God. But man’s spirit can be a light-receiver and a light-retainer, illuminating every part of his moral being.”ii “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD.”
In that verse, we are also told the human spirit searches all the inner depths of his heart. The spirit of a man searches his own soul and knows it well. In his argument for revelational knowledge beyond mere rational intellect, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:11: “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?” It is in your spirit that you discover who you are. There God reveals his individual design and eternal purpose for you. Your spirit can know who you are by revelation from God. “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit [pneuma, not psuche (soul)] of the man which is in him?”
In a previous teaching, we addressed some of the problems associated with the popular Self-esteem Movement. That movement tries to do through the soul what only one’s spirit can do as it is illuminated by God. Psychologists deal with the soul (psuche), not the spirit of the person. The word psychology comes from the Greek word psuche, not pneuma. Psychology is the science of the mind, not the spirit. The therapist facilitates the person’s mind (soul) to search out who they are. But it is the human spirit that receives that knowledge through revelation from God, not through mental inspection. “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?” (1 Cor 2:11).
From Proverbs 20:27 we are learning some things about the human spirit and how it functions. “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.”
FOUNDATIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS INSTRUCTION
In our previous message, we laid enough foundation for our discussion today. Today we will explore more fully how the human spirit functions and what it means to walk in the Spirit. Most of us are familiar with the phrase “walk in the Spirit”, but few have pondered it enough to really understand how that happens. Our basic understanding is that it means we follow the Spirit’s leading rather than our own carnal inclinations. That is correct. However, the more we understand about how that occurs, the more consistent we can be in doing it. One purpose of scientific research is to discover why things happens as they do. That knowledge is needed in order to consistently apply the principles.
The advantage many of us have is that we do walk in the Spirit at times. The Holy Spirit has taught us some things about the difference between walking in the Spirit and walking in the flesh. Today we want to add to that understanding by searching the scriptures on the subject.
In our first message on being spiritual, we established two truths. 1. We first learned there is a difference between the human spirit and the human soul. Paul prayed in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit (pneuma), soul (psuche), and body (soma) be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The soul is your rational mind, your emotions, and your will. Your brain is the part of your body that houses the mind, but the brain is not the mind. In physical death, your brain ceases to function. But your mind, your soul, and your spirit go to be with the Lord.
The believer’s spirit is joined with the Holy Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 6:17. It is the part of you that communes with the Lord. In John 4:24 Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth [reality].”iii The Message Bible enhances our understanding of what Jesus is saying. It says: “Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.” To worship God in spirit means I commune with him out of my spirit. “God is Spirit,” and that dictates how we must relate to him. We must relate to him from our inner spirit.
2. We also learned that the spirit of an unbeliever is dead according to Ephesians 2:1. They are only able to operate out of their natural soulish life. The first thing any child of Adam needs is to be born again or, to use another metaphor, be “made alive” or resurrected in his spirit. Without that supernatural event, no one can live or walk in the Spirit. But when a person is born again, his spirit is “made alive” or resurrected as a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Jesus said in John 3:7: “You must be born again.”
3. After establishing those two truths, we began to talk about how the human spirit functions in relationship to the soul. We will now continue that inquiry.
HOW THE HUMAN SPIRIT OPERATES IN A CHRISTIAN
In Galatians 5:25, Paul said to the Christians: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Does a Christian live in the Spirit? Yes, without that, he would not be a Christian. The NIV translates it: “Since we live by the Spirit.” “If [since] we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” We gather from Paul’s statement that being alive in our spirit does not guarantee that we are going to walk in the Spirit. If it were automatic, Paul’s exhortation would be meaningless. The believer must choose daily to walk in the Spirit. This is of supreme importance for your success in life. Do you see the practical significance of what we are talking about?
The problem for Christians is this: As unbelievers, we lived out of our soulish natural life. It was the way we lived our life every day. Being accustomed to operating that way, we must learn as believers to live out of our renewed spirit instead. It is a different way of operating. If Christians are not taught the difference, they will tend to default to the old way of doing things. They will tend to live a soulish life rather than a spiritual life.iv They will tend to walk in the flesh rather than walk in the Spirit.
This is what Paul was addressing in 1 Corinthians 3:1 when he said to those believers, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.” The Greek word translated “carnal” is sarkikos. It pertains “to what is human or characteristic of human nature--‘human or natural.’”v They were living out of their natural soulish life—their own thinking and emotions. They had not learned how to follow their human spirit which is subject to the Holy Spirit. Instead, they were following their own reasoning and desire.
Not every believer is spiritual in the way they do life. In Galatians 6, Paul gave instructions to that church on how to restore a fallen brother. In verse 1, he instructs: “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual (pneumatikos) restore such a one. . . .” He is not assigning this task to just any Christian. The qualification for the job is that they be “spiritual.” That stands in contrast to the carnal Christians Paul addressed in 1 Corinthian 3.
A spiritual Christian follows the directives of his spirit. A carnal Christian follows the inclinations of his mind and emotions. He does not give heed to God’s prompting in his spirit. In fact, he has ignored that to the point of diminished sensitivity to it.
The order of activity that God wants for the believer is this: The human spirit is in communion with God receiving his counsel. That counsel is communicated to the soul for execution of the will of God. The soul executes that will through his body. So, the person’s life is led by God to his spirit, to his soul, to his body. It is a life of dependence on God. It is a life of obedience to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
The order of activity lived by a carnal believer is this: He initiates action out of his soul without attention to his spirit. For all practical purposes, his spirit is inactive. In his reasoning and emotion and will, he decides what he wants to do and directs the body accordingly. This lack of submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit in his spirit makes him ineffective in ministry. Because he is not availing himself of the wisdom the Holy Spirit wants to give him, he makes many unnecessary mistakes in life.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WALKING IN THE SPIRIT AND WALKING IN THE FLEAH
When the human spirit is actively communing with God and directing the soul accordingly, the person is walking in the Spirit. When the person is living out of his own natural soul life, neglecting and ignoring his own spirit, he is walking in the flesh. To the onlooker, the carnal Christan may be very moral and industrious in his work for the Lord. But it is done out of his own initiative, and it lacks the life of God in it. The life [zoe] of God comes from the Holy Spirit through the human spirit.
Consider with me at the instruction provided in Galatians 5:16-26. I want you to see in Scripture what God has to say on this in this latter half of Galatians 5. So we will take it verse by verse.
Verse 16: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” The metaphor of walking is indicating the way we conduct our lives. The Greek word translated walk is in the present tense indicating an ongoing, continual action.vi This should be our lifestyle.
How do we live a victorious Christian life? We must live out of our spirit. We must walk in the Spirit. Religion will just tell you to say no to the lust of the flesh. But your flesh cannot say no to your flesh. What you need is the Holy Spirit empowering you through your human spirit to say no to the flesh and yes to God. Watch this closely: Most Christians think this verse says, “Do not fulfill the lust of the flesh, and you will walk in the Spirit.” In their minds, they have reversed the order. As a result, they struggle to live in victory.
The power to “not fulfill the lust of the flesh” is found in walking in the Spirit. That’s one reason we need to thoroughly understand this subject. How many young Christians have gotten this point wrong: pursuing the right objective (Heb. 12:14) but in the wrong way. They try and try and try—and fail and fail and fail. They try even harder and still fail. At some point they just give up and accept a low level of Christianity—they just live out of their natural soulish life hoping one day to go to heaven. But that is not God’s will for his children. He wants you to live in victory now. And he has provided everything you need to do that (2 Pet. 1:3). So, get the order taught in Galatians 5:16 set in your mind: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
Verse 17: “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Here the problem is stated. One part of us wants to do the will of God. That part is your renewed spirit that is jointed with the Holy Spirit. The other part of you wants to do its own thing. Your carnal mind has its own desires and agenda. So, there is this internal conflict that every Christian deals with. You cannot fulfill your own carnal desires and fulfill God’s will at the same time. Most of us understand that. But how do we win that battle? We saw the first clue in verse 16: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” The focus must be on walking in the Spirit. We need to understand how to do that.
Verse 18: “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Here is a second clue: You will not win the battle through legalism. The theme of this epistle is to live in the power of the Spirit, not in the efforts of keeping the law. Legalism is the soul trying to please God by keeping rules and regulations, relying on human strength and willpower. It never works. People do one of two things: (1) They try hard over and over. It does not work. So, they conclude it cannot be done. They decide God is an unreasonable, hard taskmaster. They then rebel against him and go their own way. Or (2) They try hard over and over. It does not work. So, they conclude it cannot be done. Instead of rebelling, they simply resign themselves to a low level of Christian living hoping God understand their life of defeat—hoping God loves them anyway. He does love them anyway, but he has so much more for them than they are experiencing. Legalism is not the answer. “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the
law.”vii
Verse 19-23: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
There is no law in Scripture and even in civil government against behaving in love, joy, peace, etc..viii If you are loving your neighbor as yourself and living at peace with others, you are fulfilling the second great commandment of God. You are not violating the law if you walk in the Spirit. In fact, you’re fulfilling the law of God.
So, how can I know the Spirit is directing me? How can I know that I am walking in the Spirit? You will know it by the fruit it bears in your life. Is your life characterized by love, joy, peace, etc.” If so, you are walking in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit would never lead you otherwise. And your human spirit that is joined with the Holy Spirit would not produce fruit contrary to that nine-fold description.
In contrast, the works of the flesh are very different. Look at verses 19-21 again: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” If that is the way a person lives, it is questionable as to whether he has been born again (1 John 3:7).ix But in 1 Corinthians 3 we see Christians being selfish and divisive, and Paul calls them carnal. They are believers walking in the flesh and producing some of the behavior described here in Galatians 5.
So, we are given criteria for discerning that which originates in the spirit versus that which originates in the soulish carnal mind. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” That’s the attitudes and actions that flow out of the regenerated spirit.
Galatians 5:24: “And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” They live the crucified life that we have talked about in other messages.x The victorious abundant life that God has for his children is only experienced by those who deny the flesh and walk in the Sprit. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-25: “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
We cannot indulge the flesh and walk in the Spirit at the same time. If we will choose to walk in the Spirit, we will be empowered by the grace of God to deny the flesh. But if we choose to follow our own lusts and desires, then our carnal nature will gain prominence, and we will fail to walk in the Spirit. This choice between walking in the Spirit versus walking in the flesh is not a one-time decision. There may be moments of breakthrough and commitment, but it is a daily moment-to-moment choice. The temptation is to try to have it both ways. That is simply not possible for anyone. To say yes to one, is an automatic no to the other. Verse 24 again: “And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Now in verse 25, we come to the directive God is giving these Christians at Galatia: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Everything that is said in this latter part of Galatians 5 can be said of the Holy Spirit and can be said of the regenerated human spirit. You could put a capital “S” on spirit or a small “s” and be right either way. Why? Because the two are joined together (1 Cor. 6:17). The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, etc. And the fruit of the regenerated human spirit is love, joy, peace, etc. To walk in the Holy Spirit is to walk in one’s regenerated spirit because the Holy Spirit functions through the human spirit. To walk in one’s regenerated spirit is to walk in the Holy Spirit because the life of God is imparted by the Holy Spirit. The only way you can follow the Holy Spirit is by following your human spirit.
I’m emphasizing this because many Christians think they are following the Holy Spirit when they are in fact following their own mind and inclinations. As a practical matter, we must follow the intuition in our human spirit if we are to walk in the Spirit.
In conclusion, let’s review what we learned today.
We discussed the difference between the way a spiritual Christian functions versus the way a carnal Christian functions. A spiritual Christian operates out of his regenerated spirit. The Holy Spirit supplies to his human spirit knowledge, direction, and empowerment. His human spirit directs the soul to execute the will of God through the body. In contrast, a carnal Christian does not pay attention to his spirit. Out of his natural mind he reasons and acts to fulfill his own will. He may have a very religious veneer, but bottom line, he follows his own inclinations. For the spiritual Christian, his regenerated spirit is in the driver’s seat. For the carnal Christian, his soul is in the driver’s seat with his spirit in the back seat being ignored.
From Galatians 5 we gained additional understanding about walking in the Spirit.
(1) We examined the criteria for discerning the source of attitudes and behavior. The carnal mind produces lewdness, selfish ambition, contentions, and works like that. The spirit produces love, joy, peace and fruit like that. We can know the difference between walking in the Spirit and walking in the flesh by the fruit it produces (Luke 6:43-44).
(2) We talked about the battle that goes on in every Christian—a battle for dominance between the regenerated spirit and the carnal mind. We must choose (on an ongoing basis) to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our human spirit and not follow the impulses and desires of our carnal nature. It is always one or the other. This choice occurs in the will.
So, we have learned some things about what it is to walk in the Sprit. But we need to know more about how to do that. There are practical actions that we can take to help us consistently walk in the Spirit. We will deal with that in our next teaching.
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
ii H. A. Ironside, Notes on the Book of Proverbs, 1908 (Neptune, J=NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1980),276. See also Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament comments on this verse.
iii See the Amplified Bible Classic Edition. Worship signifies much more than just a song service.
iv Since the world around us operates out of their natural soulish life, this mode of operation tends to get reinforced in our interaction with the world. The normal way Christians should live is to operate out of their renewed spirit. However, since most Christians are carnal and all the world is carnal, the normal Christian life can easily be labeled fanatical and abnormal since the wrong standard is being applied.
v Louw-Nida Lexicon.
vi Cleon Rogers, Jr. and Cleon Rogers III, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998), 431. Walk in the Spirit is a translation of the two Greek words: pneumati peripateite. Peripateite.is a dative of sphere or means. Either is possible because we are to operate out of, by means of, our spirit. And it is in the sphere of the Spirit that we are to function. Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 158.
vii See also Romans 6:14.
viii While there may be exceptions to this in civil law, as a general statement, governments want their citizens to behave this way for the sake of society as a whole. In the context, Paul is addressing the Old Covenant law.
ix See Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019), 170-189.
x See Richard W. Tow, Beatitudes of Christ: Pathway of Blessing (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2024), 159-163.
