GOD’S HOUSE – SCHOOL OF THE SPIRIT

“I say then: WALK in the SPIRIT, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” – Galatians 5:16

God’s House – the Church – is a SCHOOL of the SPIRIT. One of the distinctions between New Testament believers and our Old Testament counterparts is that the Person of the Holy Spirit came to dwell in us. It was by His Presence and Power that the early Christians “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). However, many in our generation of believers seem to have absconded from school, and become undisciplined, irresponsible, and powerless pupils. A strange attitude of indolence and lethargy seems to have crept into the Church. We need to go back to school - the School of the Spirit!

The Lord of the Church is ringing the bell, calling all who desire more of Him to come and LEARN, be trained, equipped, and matured: “Come to Me…Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt.11:28-30). In the School of the Spirit, we’ll learn from God’s Word, the Wisdom, Will, and Ways of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is in this dispensation our Number One Teacher: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (Jh.14:26). His Ministry is crucial and central to the life of every believer.

We were BORN of the SPIRIT: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jh.1:12-13). The Lord described the Spirit-life thus: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit”, (John 3:5-8).

We are to LIVE and WALK in the SPIRIT: “I say then: WALK in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law… If we LIVE in the Spirit, let us also WALK in the Spirit” (Gal.5:16-18,25).

We are to be LED by the SPIRIT of God continually: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom.8:14-16). It is a misnomer to see Christians wallowing in substandard, carnal living, relying more on senses and feelings than on the Spirit’s leading!

Life in the Spirit is serious business; God does not treat it casually. The price to pay is Obedience! Although every believer is a potential student by redemption, the decision to practically enrol in the School of the Spirit comes down to a choice. God is polite; He doesn’t barge into our lives (Rev.3:20). He wants us all to live in the Spirit, but we have to prove to Him that we are serious about walking with Him (Gal.6:7). You cannot manufacture true spirituality. It comes by paying the price of daily obedience; choosing to obey God even behind closed doors!

Beloved, are you actively enrolled in the School of the Spirit or have you absconded?