22. Our Walking Partner
Chapter 22 Our Walking Partner A Bride From Adam’s Side
Genesis 2:21-24 says: “...So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” (NASB) When God wanted to give Adam a wife, he made Adam fall into a deep sleep. Then he cut open his side and took out a rib and created a woman out of that rib and gave her to Adam. Her name was Eve. God the Creator could have created Eve just by speaking or by using dust, or in many other different ways. But instead he chose this rather unusual method of creating Adam’s wife, which seems to indicate that it could be a type of picture. Adam’s “loss” was soon turned into a wonderful “gain.” This was a true historical event which happened to the “first Adam.” But some scholars think it could also be a type or prophetic picture of something that would happen to a future “Adam” also. Think about the time Jesus died and was still hanging on the cross. What happened to his body as he hung there in the “sleep” of death?
John 19:34 says: “...one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.”
Okay, we know that this soldier wanted to find out if Jesus was truly dead or not, so he pierced his side with a spear. But the piercing of Jesus’ side could possibly be connected with Adam and Eve. God had created a wife from Adam’s side while he was sleeping, and then he gave the wife to Adam. In a similar way, after Jesus “slept” in death while hanging on the cross, his side was also pierced. And another kind of bride was purchased from the body and blood that flowed from his wounded side. God created a bride for Christ.
Christ’s Bride
Christ’s bride isn’t like Adam’s wife. Christ’s bride is the church. Of course, we’re not talking about a building or even a local church. We’re talking about people all around the world who have believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior. All these believers are the church, and all of us together are the bride of Christ.
Eve was created from Adam’s pierced side, and we could possibly even say that in a similar way, the church came from the Savior’s side—the pierced, broken body and spilled blood of Christ on the cross. The church was formed from Christ and became one with his body, just like Eve came from Adam’s body. The Bible says that they “becomeone flesh” (Genesis 2:24; Colossians 1:18).
Ephesians 5:31-32 quotes this exact passage and says: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and beunitedto his wife, and thetwo will become oneflesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I amtalking aboutChrist and the church.”
Two Become One
Ephesians 5 quotes verses about Adam and Eve’s marriage and connects it with an important mystery—the marriage of Christ and the church. God shows us how we as the church were meant to have a very close relationship with Christ, so he used marriage as a picture of that loving partnership. God created marriage to be a permanent relationship of a man and woman who are totally committed to love and help each other. God created Eve to be an ideal companion and helper for Adam (Genesis 2:18). In the same way, he wanted the church to be Christ’s companion and helper. Christ and the church have formed a new family. The church is God’s family and lives throughout the whole world.
Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church, but unfortunately sin has marred this picture since many marriages are not good marriages. But Christ is an example of a perfect husband. Good husbands don’t want to harm or discourage their wives. They protect, love, and care for their wives and children and help them in whatever way they can. A good husband will sacrifice himself for his wife just like Jesus sacrificed himself for the church and lovingly cares for us and strengthens us (Ephesians 5:25-29). And good wives don’t disrespect their husbands (vs 33). Instead, they respect them and help them and support them in their work as a good friend and partner to them. In the same way, we, the church, should be like a respectful and supportive wife for Christ, because we are one with him—we are his family now and we need to work right alongside him and support him in what he is doing. So how did we actually become one with him and his family? The Holy Spirit Unites Us Into A New Body Or Family The Bride-Price In many cultures around the world, if a man wants to get married, his family must first give some money and gifts as a pledge or promise to the bride’s family in order to identify the woman as his chosen bride. You probably remember that Jesus’ mother, Mary was “betrothed” in this way:
Matthew 1:18 says: “...Mary waspledged(betrothed) to be married to Joseph...before they came together...” In Israel, once the groom gave this gift to the woman’s family, then they were considered to be legally married. The woman became united with her husband and his family in marriage, even though they were not living together yet. This money or gift was like a deposit showing that he would return to get her because she was already identified or marked as his wife. Then the man would go back home and prepare a house for them, and within a year he would return and take her to live with him and his family. This is a beautiful picture of what Christ did with his bride, the church. But he didn’t pay for us with money or gifts. Instead, he bought us with his own blood (1 Peter 1:18-19). When we think of Christ’s bleeding body on the cross, we see the costly bride-price he paid for his chosen bride. So in God’s eyes, Christ chose us as his own bride, to make us part of his family. And that’s what we are! The bride of Christ. And even though we do not yet live with our “Groom,” the Lord Jesus, we already belong to him—and his Father is our Father. We are his family now, and we wait for his return while he prepares an eternal home for us (John 14:2-3).
Christ Chose His Bride And Marked Us As His Own So after Christ paid for us with his own blood, what gift did he give to us his bride as a deposit or pledge of his promise that he would return to take us to his home?
Ephesians 1:13-14 says: “... when you heard... the gospel ... When you believed,you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeingour inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession...”
2 Corinthians 1:22 says: “He…set his seal of ownership on us, and put hisSpiritin our hearts as adeposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
Christ gave us his Holy Spirit as a mark of ownership, and claimed us as his very own, and so we have become one with him. So, we know that we are no longer part of Adam’s family who was our previous “father” (Romans 5), because the Holy Spirit now lives within us. We are now part of Christ’s body and his family. It is a spiritual family.
We Are Christ’s Spiritual Family The first Adam was the father of a huge family. Everyone born into this family has a physical body, but they are spiritually dead in God’s eyes (Ephesians 2:1-4). Their spirits are not in fellowship with God and they are unable to please God (Romans 8:7) because they are sinners born into Adam’s family. But the “second Adam” is Christ.
Christ created a new family—a spiritual family. And now we call this family the church, which is his spiritual body. Everyone in this family is made into ONE body by the Spirit of Life living inside them. The Holy Spirit Is The Spirit Of Christ The Spirit of Life inside us is the Holy Spirit, but he is Christ’s Spirit also. God is a Trinity. He is ONE God made up of three individual persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9-10 mentions all three being in us:
“...the Spirit...the Spirit of God...the Spirit of Christ...” (NET) Galatians 4:6 says: “And because you are sons,God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts…” (NET) The Spirit Of Christ Is In Us—Forever!
We see that the Holy Spirit is one with the Spirit of God the Father and with the Spirit of Christ also. Together they are ONE. This is difficult for us to understand how three persons can be one, but God is far greater than our understanding and he himself has said it, so therefore we just need to believe it. And it is this very same Spirit of the Trinity that lives inside of us believers! Jesus was the one who promised that the Holy Spirit would come to live inside us:
John 14:16-20 says: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocateto help youandbe with you forever—the Spirit of truth...He...will be in you.I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
Jesus here says that after he leaves, he would not leave us as orphans, but the Holy Spirit would come and take his place until he returns, and then he continues on to say that “I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” And so again we can know for sure that since the Holy Spirit is living inside us, that Christ is also living inside us (Romans 8:9-11; Acts 16:7)!
Think about that—what an amazing privilege to have the Lord Jesus himself living right here within us! And he promised that the Holy Spirit which is in us will be our “Helper” forever!
We Are Like Christ’s Hands And Feet On This Earth
Jesus said: “I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” This shows us two very important truths. First, it shows us that we share the same Father with Christ, so we are family—God’s family. It also shows us that since Christ really is living inside us, then we are the body of Christ.
Ephesians 5:30 says: “...we are members of his body.” The Holy Spirit has joined us together into one family, one body—the body of Christ. So now, as members of Christ’s body, we are like his hands and feet—his eyes and ears and mouth on this earth—and by using his Spirit within us, he can do his work through us here on this earth. That was God’s plan from the very beginning long ago, when he created marriage to join man and woman into one family and become one flesh. Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:32).
Christ And The Church Became One So We Can Share Everything, Like A Husband And Wife In God’s eyes, the church is like Christ’s wife and so we have become one family—one body with him—just like God joined Adam and Eve together in marriage. Those two were joined together as lifelong partners, so they can share everything and work in unison and harmony for the same goals as if they were one person. Even so now, the Holy Spirit joins us with Christ so that Christ can live in and through us, and we can work as one—partnerstogether in accomplishing the will of God. The Holy Spirit Unifies Us With Christ And Shares His Power And Wisdom With Us The Holy Spirit is the one who joins us with Christ by baptizing us into Christ’s family and by living inside us. So now we can share the strength and wisdom of Christ, and the Spirit enables us to be Christ’s hands and feet and mouth on this earth. If you think about that, it is absolutely incredible! The Holy Spirit-–the power and wisdom of the Trinity making His home in us! This is absolutely amazing!
We need to thank God for this grace, and for all that he provides. But since we have all this incredible power and wisdom available to us, what type of work do you think he wants to do through us, his body?
Partners With The Holy Spirit In A Very Important Work When Jesus was about to ascend into heaven, he promised the believers that they would receive power from the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit would use them to do a very important job.
Acts 1:8 says: “... you will receivepowerwhen the Holy Spirit comes on you; and youwill be my witnessesin Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Christ said that the Holy Spirit would come and live inside all believers and give us the wisdom, power, and authority to accomplish a very critical job: he wants us to tell the good news of Christ everywhere. That was his special instruction to us and he chose us specifically for this work! But why would we need so much power and authority for telling such a simple message as the gospel? Jesus knew that Satan would do everything in his power to fight against the gospel message being spread around the world, so Jesus promised that his Spirit would come and live inside us to do battle with the forces of Satan and his kingdom. On the Day of Pentecost, Christ kept his promise and sent the Holy Spirit as a Helper for the disciples to do the work of telling the good news. And now, since the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, he wants to use our hands and feet and mouths to do this work. He can use our hands to help others in need. He can use our legs to carry God’s word to places where it is not known. He can use our mouths to tell the good news and many other messages from God’s word to strengthen the believers. In this way, Christ is continuing his work here on this earth. The Holy Spirit Battles Against Our Sin Nature Within Us The Holy Spirit lives inside us and he wants to guide and direct the members of our body, as if they were the hands and feet of Christ. But the problem is, we know that our sin nature lives inside us too. And our sin nature is like an ally of Satan. Our sin nature still wants to direct our thoughts and desires and every part of our body. It is a battle.
Galatians 5:17 says: “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are inconflict with each other...” So this is a constant conflict or battle within all of us believers. Our flesh or sin nature wants us to do Satan’s work, and the Holy Spirit wants us to do his work. So what can we do about it? Actually, the verse before this one has the answer.
Walk With The Spirit—Our Walking Partner Galatians 5:16 says: “...walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Some translations say “...walk in the Spirit.” But what does it mean to walk in (or by) the Spirit? It means to walk “under the rule of” or “under the guidance of” the Spirit. The New Living Translation explains it this way:
“...let the Holy Spiritguideyour lives.”
Vs. 18 continues on with the same idea when it talks about being “Led by the Spirit.” And vs. 25 says, “keep in step with the Spirit.” The Dangers Of Walking Alone Or Without A Guide
We have to remember that this passage was written hundreds of years before they had cars or airplanes. In those days, most people walked from town to town and even to other countries. When traveling away from home, they would often go long distances through barren wilderness or rugged mountain trails. They did not have mobile phones to help guide them or call for help. These desolate areas were home to lions, bears, and other wild animals and also many highway robbers. So it was usually not wise or safe to walk alone (1 Kings 13:24).
Rich people could ride horses and hire armed soldiers to guide and protect them, but most people could not afford that. So people often walked in groups (Luke 2:44; Acts 9:7) or they traveled with a friend or relative who could act as a guide—someone who was familiar with that road and knew the way. That person would know the dangerous areas to avoid and how long it would take to arrive. They would know where to find well-water and food along the way. They would also know where to find honest people and safe shelters when traveling overnight. To walk with a trustworthy guide and protector was the safest and most productive way to travel. But to walk by yourself or with a stranger or some other shady characters was foolish and dangerous. This gives us a great word picture because, in a similar way, we also need a spiritual guide for our spiritual journey. Just like we read in Galatians 5:16 : we need to “walk by(theguidanceof) the Spirit.” We are “led by” the Holy Spirit’s guidance through the dangers of life’s journey and so we need to “keep in step” with him every step of the way because he is the only one who really knows what lies ahead and he is the perfect guide, protector, and provider on the roads of our life. We can trust his guidance and power to lead us correctly.
Proverbs 3:6 says: “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”(NKJV) God Has Always Desired To Walk With Us In Fellowship
It was always in God’s plan that we should walk with him, in close fellowship with him as our guide. Before Adam and Eve sinned, God used to walk with them in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8-9). The Spirit of God within them allowed them to enjoy very close fellowship together with God and they must have learned many things and asked him many questions as they walked and talked in the garden and admired all of his wonderful creation. He would teach them everything they wanted to know. But then, after they sinned, Adam and Eve lost their close fellowship with God and it was not the same as it was before, because they had turned against their Guide in life. So now they had a sin nature that did not like to listen to God. But God still desired to walk with people and fellowship with them. Many years later, Enoch walked in very close fellowship with God (Genesis 5:24) and so did Noah (6:9) and others throughout history. God even chose people like Abraham and his descendants (Israel) and invited them to walk with him in a special close relationship (Leviticus 26:12). And now God invites us to walk with him too, by giving us the Holy Spirit to live right inside of us. That way, we can walk in very close fellowship, through the help of the Spirit within us, even though the sin nature is still within us. The Sin Nature Is A Terrible Guide And Walking Partner In Life
Galatians 5:16 says that if we continue to rely on the Spirit’s guidance in all our daily choices, we will not be led by our “flesh” (or sin nature). The flesh is a terrible guide for life. It will only guide us into trouble. It would be similar to asking a drunk driver to give us a ride to a distant town or asking a criminal for directions to a safe place to spend the night. The flesh will always lead us towards harm and destruction.
Galatians 6:8 says: “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction...”
Satan’s World System Is Also A Bad Guide Through Life
We also need to remember from a previous chapter that our sin nature is like a good buddy to our enemy Satan. That is because our sin nature naturally wants to be rebellious and give in to Satan’s temptations. Of course, Satan himself cannot be everywhere all the time and tempt all of us, but hisworld system is everywhere, and he uses that world system to constantly tempt our sin nature to act. If we allow Satan and his world system to tempt us, then our sin nature will lead us to habits and self-centeredness that will hurt us and others.
Galatians 5:19-21 says: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.”
So, it is not wise for us to walk through life without a good guide, and it is also dangerous to allow the sin nature and the world system to guide us through life. Satan will use those things to lead us to ruin. But we were created to walk with God under the control and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Resist Satan By Walking By The Spirit
James 4:7 says: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (1 Peter 5:9)
If we are humbly submitting to God as this verse says, we are simply walking by the Spirit’s guidance which means we are resisting Satan and the temptations of our flesh. When we say “Yes” to the Spirit, then we are also saying “No” to Satan and will not be listening to our sin nature. Remember...
Galatians 5:16 says: “...walk by the Spirit, andyou will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” When we “walk” under the Spirit’s guidance, then our flesh will not produce its bad results. Instead, our lives will be greatly changed by the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and Christ’s life will be seen in our lives. It will be as if we are Christ’s hands and feet and mouth and he is helping others through us.
Romans 6:12-14 says: “Thereforedo not let sin reignin your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you….” (NASB) Walking Is A Step By Step Process
Walking with the Spirit of God is not something that is done once and it’s over. It is a day-by-day, minute-by-minute walk with God. That’s why it is not called “Running in the Spirit” or “Jumping in the Spirit” or even “Flying.” Instead, the word picture is “walking” because it is a step by step process. Every day, minute by minute, choice by choice, God wants us to keep walking continually in step with him by choosing to rely on him and obey him every step of the way as we travel down life’s path.
“Since we live by the Spirit, let uskeep in stepwith the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25) Ears To Hear What The Spirit Says The Holy Spirit is always right there within every Christian and he is always faithfully speaking into our hearts and minds and warning us about Satan’s lies and reminding us when we are being tempted by the flesh. But we have to choose to listen to his voice inside us. The Bible emphasizes that it is our job to listen. Many, many times, it says this:
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says...”(Revelation 2:7; Revelation 2:11; Revelation 2:17; Revelation 2:29; Revelation 3:6; Revelation 3:13; Revelation 3:22; Also Matthew 11:15; Matthew 13:9; Matthew 13:43; Mark 4:9; Mark 4:23; Luke 8:8; Luke 14:35)
God has many ways to speak to us. He uses his word, the Bible. He speaks to us through other people who know the word and he also speaks in our hearts and minds through his Spirit. God is always speaking to us, but if we don’t listen to the Spirit’s voice and obey him, then we are resisting the Spirit and submitting to Satan’s wishes.
Resisting The Holy Spirit The Israelites did not have “ears to hear.” They would not listen to God. And so God often called them “stiff-necked people,” because they would not allow the Holy Spirit to guide them.
Acts 7:51 says: “You stiff-necked people! ...Youalways resistthe Holy Spirit!”
God warns us not to quench or stifle the Spirit when he is talking to us. He only wants to help us and he wants what is very best for us. So we should listen to him and not resist the Holy Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 says: “Do not quench the Spirit.”
If we do stifle the Spirit’s guidance in us, this will “grieve the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30). Of course, even though he will be sad because of our disobedience, he will not leave us because we are his children and God has promised that he will live in us forever. But he will wait for us and he will also discipline us like a father disciplines his son to correct him (Hebrews 12:5-11). He will continue to speak to us until we listen. If we have failed to listen to him and he corrects us, then what should we do?
1 John 1:9 says: “If weconfess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Some people think that confession means to tell God about their sin. But of course, God already knows the sin before we even do it. The Greek word for “confess” in this verse actually has much more meaning than that. It means to “say the same thing as.” That means that God wants us to agree and change our way of thinking so that it is the same as God thinks about this sin. God knows our hearts and thoughts. Even before we confess our sins, he already knows what we are thinking. And when we do agree with him about our sin, it’s like we are judging ourselves and our own sin and...
“...by the Spirit (we) put to death the misdeeds of the body...” (Romans 8:13) In other words, the Spirit is helping us recognize what sin is, and as we do, we agree with God that Jesus’ death paid for those sins so that we don’t have to live that way any longer (Romans 6:2). That way our sins are no longer conquering us, but instead, we (by God’s Spirit in us) are conquering the power that sin wants to hold over us. It brings God great joy when we do agree with him about our sins, because then he purifies us so that our fellowship with him is not hindered and we can continue in good fellowship with him again.
What Does It Mean To Be “Filled With The Spirit?”
If we continue to confess (admit) our sin and rely on the Spirit for all our guidance, then there is nothing that hinders our relationship with the Holy Spirit. And so his guidance is filling every part of our lives. God calls this being “filled with the Holy Spirit.” The Bible uses a good word picture to help us understand what this means:
Ephesians 5:18 says: “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that willruinyour life.Instead, be filled with the Spirit...” (NLT) Word Picture: Alcohol Vs. The Holy Spirit When people start out drinking a little bit of alcohol, they can still talk fairly normal and walk straight at first. But as they continue drinking and they become “full of alcohol,” then the alcohol takes over more control of the person’s thoughts and words and their hands and feet and their entire body. Their words become slurred and they can’t think properly. They begin to speak and act silly or even fight with others and do things that they would normally be ashamed of. Eventually they may not be able to walk straight and may even fall down and become unaware of what’s happening. The Bible says that drunkenness harms people and so we should not allow alcohol to control us and bring us to ruin. But this verse says that instead of being full of alcohol, we should be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has the opposite effect of alcohol. The Holy Spirit doesn’t control us like alcohol does. He doesn’t make us act foolish or crazy or fall down and say things that don’t make sense. The Holy Spirit doesn’t want to shame or embarrass us. He doesn’t want to harm us or others—he wants to help us and encourage us. He wants us to be kind to others and make us live in peace with them and say words that are helpful and uplifting. To be filled with the Spirit means to be filled with his wisdom, his teachings, his guidance, his thoughts and his actions in every area of our lives. The Spirit causes us to act like Jesus. But the Spirit doesn’t force his control over people like demons do or like alcohol does. Instead, the Spirit waits for us to voluntarily make those choices to “be filled.” We need to offer ourselves to God willingly like a freewill offering or sacrifice (Romans 12:1). The Hands And Feet And Mouth Of Jesus
Romans 6:13-14 says: “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but ratheroffer yourselvesto God as those who have been brought from death to life; andoffer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.For sin shall no longer be your master...” As we allow the Holy Spirit to be our Boss and Guide in every choice that we make, then we are giving our bodies as a freewill offering to him to use in whatever way he chooses. Verse 13 says that our hands and feet and mouths become his “instruments of righteousness.” The Greek word “instrument” here means a tool or weapon. So the Holy Spirit can use us like a toolbox full of tools that God can use to do his good works. We can be like his mouth to speak kindly to others. We can be like his hands to serve others and help them just as Jesus would, and like his feet to take us where he would go. It’s like we are the “hands and feet and mouth of Jesus,” his representatives on earth, through the work of his Spirit who lives in us. Remember...
“...we are members of his body” (Ephesians 5:30) Jesus Made It Possible For Us To Walk With God Again Like Adam And Eve Did
Adam and Eve broke fellowship with God, but Jesus has made it possible to walk with God in fellowship again, because Jesus became human and died in our place. He became one with us, so that we could be one with God. He sent the Holy Spirit to live inside of us so that we could walk with God and be guided by God, just like Adam and Eve were long ago. Sin had separated us from God, but now Christ has given us a new freedom to hear God’s voice and walk in close fellowship with him again.
Romans 8:1-2 says: “...there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
We are now united with Christ, so God calls us righteous as he is righteous. We can praise God for this wonderful new relationship and fellowship and freedom we now enjoy: a freedom from the slavery of sin. We are free to relate to God as family and as a friend. That’s what Jesus said to his disciples:
John 15:15 says: “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called youfriends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
Jesus Walked With His Disciples To Show Us What God Is Like
Jesus spent a lot of time walking long distances with his disciples as they went from town to town. He could have gotten a horse like other important men did in those days. But he didn’t. He wanted to spend the extra time walking with his disciples so they could talk about everything as they went from place to place. This shows us that God loves to be with us and talk with us. We should never think that God is too busy to listen to us. And we shouldn’t think that God only wants to talk about the big things in life. It would be similar to a husband and wife who enjoy talking to each other as they walk to their garden or somewhere else—they talk about many different things. Or like two friends walking together—they talk about everything that’s on their hearts—the big things and the little things. God also loves to talk with us about everything that is on our hearts. That was his plan from the beginning. The Holy Spirit inside us enables us to walk and talk with God in this way, so we should not be too busy to talk with him, nor should we think that he is too busy to talk to us! As We Walk With The Holy Spirit, He Uses Us To “Crush The Head Of The Snake”
Satan tried to defeat and destroy mankind through Adam, but Christ came and defeated Satan’s power over us through the cross. Then he sent his Holy Spirit to live inside us who believe, so that we too could defeat Satan.
1 John 4:4 says: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” So we don’t need to fear Satan and the demons anymore. We don’t need to let him tempt us to follow our sin nature. God kept his promise to send his Holy Spirit who has overcome Satan and our sin nature. So we can be close to him and walk in the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Satan and our sin nature cannot destroy us. As we let the Holy Spirit guide our thoughts and lives, we can overcome Satan and his schemes (Romans 8:37) and as we resist him, he will flee (James 4:7).
We know that the Lord Jesus Christ “crushed the head of the snake” once and for all at the cross. But now the Spirit of Christ within us believers allows us the opportunity to use that victory to defeat Satanin our daily lives. Now we too (as his hands and feet) can ‘crush the head of the snake’ (Romans 16:20). We do this by allowing the Spirit of Christ to live through us as we walk with him. So let’s praise God for this wonderful gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit and that he wants to walk with us in close fellowship!
Things That The Holy Spirit Does To Help Us
The Holy Spirit only speaks the truth, so he helps us discern lies (John 14:17).
He helps us see our sin and understand God’s judgment (John 16:8).
He helps us know Christ intimately (John 15:26).
He baptizes us into Christ’s family (body) (1 Corinthians 12:13).
He marks us as belonging to Christ and He is the seal (guarantee) of the promise to show that Christ will come back to get us (Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30).
He is the water of life we “drink” to gain spiritual strength (1 Corinthians 12:13).
He is our Helper (John 14:16).
He alone strengthens us to follow God’s will (John 15:26; Romans 8:4).
He will guide and direct our thoughts and actions (John 16:13).
He prays for us (Romans 8:26).
He alone can overcome the power of our sin nature (Galatians 5:16-25).
He produces fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23).
He will live with us forever (John 14:16)!
In the last few chapters we have seen how much the Holy Spirit helps us do battle with Satan during the church age. In the next chapter, we’ll look ahead into the future and the last days of the earth. We will see what the Holy Spirit’s role will be in using Satan in a big way during those days.