“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
Galatians 5:16
It is always important to remember salvation is by faith in Jesus and His atoning death upon the cross. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Once one trusts in Jesus, it is incumbent upon that new Christian to make Jesus Lord of that life. We then understand that the Christian life is not just difficult; it is impossible to live apart from the Holy Spirit. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). We are taught to walk in the Spirit. The only way to do this is to learn to deny oneself and do what Christ would have us do. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). It is with these thoughts that I awoke the other morning singing the following song. As I looked up the words to it, I was amazed at the three-fold teaching.
I Must Needs go Home by the Way of the Cross
Author: Jessie Brown Pounds (1906)
“1. I must needs go home by the way of the cross;
There’s no other way but this.
I shall ne’er get sight of the Gates of Light
If the way of the cross I miss. [Refrain]
2. I must needs go home in the blood-sprinkled way,
The path that the Savior trod,
If I ever climb to the heights sublime,
Where the soul is at home with God. [Refrain]
3. Then I bid farewell to the way of the world,
To walk in it nevermore;
For the Lord says, “Come,” and I seek my home
Where He waits at the open door. [Refrain]
Refrain:
The way of the cross leads home.
The way of the cross leads home.
It is sweet to know, as I onward go,
The way of the cross leads home.”
I remembered the song teaching that salvation is only through the cross upon which Jesus died. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). If I miss Jesus, I miss – for there is no other way.
As I read verse two, I recognized that it was teaching that I must walk in the way that Jesus walked: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). That is exactly what Jesus did. I am to follow His example.
As I read the words to the third verse, I remembered that one day I will leave this world and all of its’ struggles, to live with my Lord forevermore. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13).
In all ways – salvation, walking, and living by the Spirit in this world, and looking forward to my future home – all are by the way of the cross. They each lead me to my eternal home. So the important thing for me to concentrate upon (once I have been saved) is to walk in the Spirit, and I will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. That is my daily job. Remember the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians: “22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5.22-23). As I walk in the Spirit, I begin to produce that fruit, and my character becomes more like Christ. It is then that others can see Jesus in me.
Have you chosen to walk in the Spirit, daily, producing fruit that changes your character to be more like Jesus?