April 27

so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. — Rom 8:4 BSB

A person may be “in the flesh,” as we all are, yet not “walk after it.” To walk after the flesh implies setting it up as a pattern and willingly following it. But a person can be dragged along by the flesh against their will, like a child reluctantly dragged to school by their mother when they would rather go play. The child does not walk after the mother but is compelled against their wishes.

So it often is with the child of grace. They may be dragged by the flesh, but they do not willingly follow it. They do not sin willfully, but they are sometimes entangled by the strength of the flesh, dragged along contrary to their best wishes and in spite of their cries, groans, and tears. The believer does not follow the flesh, setting their feet deliberately in its footsteps. Instead, though they may be in the flesh, they walk after the Spirit. As the Spirit leads, they follow. As the Spirit prompts, they obey. When the Spirit reveals Christ, they love Him; when the Spirit applies a promise, they believe it; when the Spirit makes the truth of God known, they feed upon it and delight in it.