Have you ever felt the tension between who you know you should be and how you actually live? This struggle isn’t new—it’s been the experience of believers since the earliest days of the church. The apostle Paul addressed this very issue in his letter to the Galatians, and his words remain powerfully relevant for us today.
The Reality of Living in the Spirit
Consider this profound truth: if you belong to Christ, you already live in the Spirit. This isn’t a “maybe” proposition or something to aspire to—it’s a present reality. The question isn’t whether you live in the Spirit, but whether you’re choosing to walk in the Spirit.
This distinction matters enormously. Think of it this way: you might be a citizen of a country, but that doesn’t mean you always act in ways that honor that citizenship. Similarly, your spiritual identity is established fact, but your daily choices determine whether you’re living consistently with that identity.
Galatians 5:25 presents both a reality and a challenge: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” The “if” here isn’t expressing doubt—it’s stating a condition that’s already true. Because we live in the Spirit, the fitting and proper response is to walk in the Spirit.
The Geography of Your Existence
Here’s something to ponder: until the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30), you’re living in what we might call an “earth suit”—a physical body bound by earthly limitations. You can’t leap over buildings or fly through the air. Your geography is earthbound.
But here’s the remarkable truth: while you’re geographically bound to earth in a body of flesh, you’re no longer spiritually tied to that body. When you trusted the gospel of Christ, a spiritual circumcision took place—not made with hands—that cut your soul and spirit away from the bondage of the flesh. You’re a spiritual being, indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit, temporarily housed in physical flesh (Col. 2:11).
This is why Scripture speaks of walking “in the flesh” in two different ways. Yes, we walk in the flesh in the sense that we live on earth in physical bodies. But spiritually, we don’t war according to the flesh (2 Cor. 10:3). Our real identity, our true life, is spiritual—not fleshly.
The Choice to Walk
Paul’s instruction in Ephesians echoes this theme: “Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” There’s a walk that’s fitting for who you are. Just as it would be inappropriate for a surgeon to show up to the operating room in beach clothes, it’s inconsistent for believers to walk according to the flesh when they live in the Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance—isn’t produced by law or human effort. It’s the natural outflow of walking in step with the Spirit who dwells within you.
Three Dangers to Avoid
After establishing that we should walk in the Spirit, Paul immediately warns against three specific dangers: vainglory, provoking one another, and envying one another.
Vainglory is empty glory—glorying without reason, being conceited, seeking recognition for yourself. It’s the flesh wanting to elevate the fleshly trinity of “me, myself, and I.” Our culture celebrates self-promotion, but Scripture calls us to think soberly about ourselves, not more highly than we ought (Rom. 12:3).
When someone operates in vainglory, it inevitably leads to provoking others. Think about how you feel when someone constantly boasts or seeks attention. It stirs something negative, doesn’t it? Vainglorious behavior provokes others to anger and resentment.
This, in turn, leads to envy—that corrosive emotion that ate away at Cain until he murdered his brother Abel. The story of Cain and Abel illustrates the devastating potential of envy. When God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but rejected Cain’s, envy took root. Despite God’s warning that sin was crouching at the door, Cain let envy consume him with tragic results.
The One-Anothering Principle
Paul’s epistles are filled with “one another” commands—instructions about how believers should treat each other reciprocally and mutually. We’re members one of another in the body of Christ (Rom. 12:5). What affects one member affects all.
This means our choices matter beyond ourselves. When we seek vainglory, we’re not just sinning in isolation—we’re damaging the body. We’re provoking fellow believers and potentially stirring up envy and division.
The alternative? Romans 14:19 points the way: “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace and the things wherewith one may edify another.” The question to ask isn’t just “Can I do this?” but “Does this build up? Does this edify? Does this promote peace?”
Practical Walking
So how do we actually walk in the Spirit rather than the flesh? It starts with the renewing of the mind. The flesh operates through what we might call “stinking thinking”—old patterns, coping mechanisms, and ways of extracting value from life apart from Christ.
Walking in the Spirit means bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. When the lies come—and they will come—telling you that you’re a failure, unloved, or unacceptable, you have a choice. You can believe those lies, or you can stand on what Scripture says is true about your identity in Christ.
The Reality of Failure
Here’s some grace for the journey: we won’t always get it right. We’ll have faults and failures. That’s why the very next verse after Paul’s warning about vainglory and envy instructs believers to restore those who fall—but to do so in meekness, remembering that we’re all susceptible to temptation (Gal. 6:1).
The Christian life isn’t about perfection; it’s about direction. It’s about recognizing who you truly are—someone who lives in the Spirit—and increasingly making choices that align with that reality.
Your Reasonable Service
Presenting your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, isn’t some impossible standard. It’s your “reasonable service”—the fitting response to the incredible gift of life in the Spirit you’ve been given.
You have eternal life now, in your earth suit. The Spirit of God lives in you now. You have the capacity to choose—to walk after the Spirit rather than the flesh.
The question is: will you?
Pastor Bryan Ross
Grace Life Bible Church
Grand Rapdis, MI
Friday, December 5, 2025
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