IF WE LIVE BY THE SPIRIT, DO WE WALK BY IT TOO?, Gal. 5:25,26

Paul said, “If we live by the Spirit, let us walk by the Spirit” v25.

An obvious question is what is the difference between living by and walking by the Spirit? Whatever the difference, the conditional statement implies the first can be done without the second.

The ‘do what I say, not what I do’ habit is a common thing.

The Berean Literal Translation reflects the subjunctive nature of the admonition saying, “we SHOULD walk in step with the Spirit”. As stated above, we do not always do what we should.

Are there people “living”, as in being alive in Christ, who are not walking by the Spirit? Apparently so, or Paul wouldn’t have said it.

“Living” by the Spirit is the Present Active verb for something that is real and true at the moment. This person is born again, you might understand it to say. The second part of the conditional statement – IF you are this, THEN you should DO according to the Spirit – says what might or should be the Christian’s response.

Interestingly, as the “walk by the Spirit” is in the subjunctive in vs 25, so is the admonition in vs 26 that says, “we SHOULD not become boastful, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Since the question is ‘how do we walk by the Spirit?’, it appears vs 26 gives the answer. And if I could boil down verse 26, to walk by the Spirit means to think less of self and care more for others.

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