Recently, during our trip as a church, one of our young brothers who just transitioned into college life as a freshman flew back to spend time with us. As he shared his college experience with us thus far, we heard within his narrative a strong, religious framework in an effort to preserve his comfort zone and habits which were yet to be tested in his new environment. Here sat a young man vulnerable to the world, though he actively sought to uphold his perception of being a “good” person. As he shared, I felt his story is not uncommon; many of us have come into transitions like this, entering into different aspects of the world, encountering new challenges about our beliefs, understanding and values. But also like him, we may find ourselves bound by taboos and our own presentation of spiritual form without reality. While on the surface it may seem good, this effort to uphold the look of spirituality is actually quite harmful to our true gaining in real human and spiritual experience. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul warns of the danger of this condition: “Having an outward form of godliness, though denying its power…” (3:5a).
While the behavior may look good or spiritual on the surface, fundamentally, we’re deviating ourselves from the source of our true spirituality — our spirit. The more that we use our own strength and effort to uphold this religious look, the more dull our conscience becomes, causing us to lose the inward sensitivity and regulation of our spirit. It is no wonder that we become dwarves in the face of real challenges — we are refusing to use the true source of power in our spirit.
So how do we gain the power to live outside of religious taboos and self effort? In Galatians chapter 5 verse 25, Paul admonishes the saints in Galatia to walk: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” The answer is found in this specific kind of “walk.” But this walk is not a common or general walk without aim or purpose; this walk will equip and substantiate our lives back to our origin as real human beings and true believers. Here, the Greek word for “walk,” stoicheo refers to a specific walk, as in “to keep in step, walking in an orderly, regulated manner.” So what does this walk look like in our daily lives? This walk is directional and specific, determined by the Spirit within us — it is all about senses. As we are walking physically through our daily living, are we seeking internally what the Spirit is directing us to? Are we responsive to that leading within? Just as the young brother visiting with us is encountering new environments at college, we too, have specific circumstances that require a genuine seeking of the inward leading in our spirit.
Just as in Genesis 13 God told Abraham to “Rise up; walk through the land according to its length and its breadth,” the Lord gives us specific “land” or environments to walk and to own (v. 17). As we walk truthfully by His speaking, the Lord also gains His territory, expanding His reign on the earth through us. This walking is a walking to own; each step we coordinate with the inward regulating of the spirit. A believer’s life is a life of gaining power in this stoicheo —walking in the spirit.
— TW