We are continuing this morning in part four of our series on spiritual habits, and today I want to talk with you about what it really means to live in the Spirit. We hear that phrase often, but the real question is, how do we actually do that in the middle of real life? What does it look like on Monday morning at work, when you’re facing temptation, or walking through the everyday challenges of life?

I’ll be honest with you; it has taken me a long time to learn what I’m going to share with you today. I’ve been in ministry for more than twenty years, and I have had to wrestle with this, stumble through it, and let God teach me along the way. I will be the first to admit, I still don’t always get it right, but I am moving in the right direction.

What I have discovered is this: living in the Spirit is much simpler than we make it out to be. We tend to overcomplicate it, adding rules and expectations, until something wonderful and liberating becomes confusing and burdensome. But Jesus never intended for it to be that way. Living in the Spirit was meant to be simple, accessible, and life-giving for every one of his children.

The moment we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, we are born again, we become a new creation, indwelt by the Spirit of God. And so, the Bible tells us:

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).

In other words, keep it up, don’t stop. Keep in step with the Spirit, because through him we step out of a life limited by the flesh and into a life with unlimited potential. This life in the Spirit is defined by his power, which is:

“Immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).

So living in the Spirit is not by our might or by our power, but by his Spirit at work within us.

The problem is that many believers try to walk with one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom, one foot in the old life and one foot in the new. But this creates conflict, because the Bible says,

“How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15, NLT).

And so, we can’t be double-minded, because when you walk in the flesh, the past still has the power to control you and condemn you. In fact, the only weapon the devil has against you is your past, but as a new creation in Christ, in God’s book, your past is erased. In Christ, it’s as if those things never happened, which is why we want to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead (Philippians 3:13).

In Jesus, the old is gone and the new has come. You have no past record, no condemnation, and when you believe that, you step into the freedom of the Spirit.

This is so simple, so liberating, and yet many people don’t truly believe in the Lord—they only believe about him. For example, if you asked them, “What do you believe?” they might say, “Jesus came to earth, shed his blood, died on the cross, rose again from the dead, ascended to heaven, and will return again to judge the living and the dead.” And all of that is true. That is a textbook answer, Christianity 101. But the Bible says:

“Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (James 2:19).

And so, Christianity is not about knowing the facts or even believing the facts—it is about trusting Jesus.

The gospel is so simple that many people miss it. For example, if I asked you, “Do you believe I exist?” you would say, “Yes.” But if I asked you, “Do you believe in me? Do you believe that I can save you?” that is very different, isn’t it?

Believing in Jesus in the biblical sense means that you trust him with your past, your present, and your future. To believe in Jesus is to surrender completely to him, trusting him with your soul and placing your entire life in his hands. It is recognizing that your life no longer belongs to you.

That is real Christianity, a faith which says,

“I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

So simply believing the facts about Jesus is not enough. The Jews believed about Jesus, but they did not believe in him, and so they crucified him. On the other hand, the Bible says,

“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (James 2:23).

To believe in God is to trust God with your life and your eternity. The Bible also says, that by faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going (Hebrews 11:8).

The moment you believe like that—surrendering to the will of God and stepping out in obedience—everything changes.

The problem is that some people come to the altar and pray, “Lord Jesus, come into my heart, forgive my sins, and save my soul.” But if someone prays only to escape hell, that is not surrender, because Jesus is not a fire escape. To truly receive him, you must submit to his authority, just as Abraham obeyed and went.

The truth is that many people want Jesus as Savior, but not as Lord. That is why Jesus said,

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).

Faith and obedience cannot be separated. Lord and Savior always go together.

Jesus saves those who surrender and give him their lives, submitting to his will and obeying his word. In that moment of complete surrender, you begin living in the Spirit, stepping into his kingdom, and walking in a new world without limits.

Now is the time to live as a new creation, to leave the old life behind, because it is our faith that overcomes the world. David demonstrated this kind of faith when he said,

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4).

That is the Spirit-filled life—resting in God’s presence, trusting his power, and walking with confidence no matter how dark the valley. David was unshaken because his eyes were fixed on the Lord, his heart was anchored in the Father, and he knew the Holy Spirit was with him.

To live in the Spirit is to see the Lord in every situation. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit said, we must clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Romans 13:14).

This means putting on Christ, taking every thought captive, walking in the Spirit, and refusing the things that feed, provoke, or encourage the sinful nature. In other words, we want to starve it because we don’t want it, we don’t need it, and so we don’t want to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

That is important because if you don’t avoid the things that awaken the sinful nature, you will not live in the Spirit but in the flesh. And so, to live in the Spirit, a radical change must take place. The Bible says:

“With regard to your former way of life, put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; be made new in the attitude of your minds; and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

This is a determined and purposeful decision to leave the old life behind, to put off your old self, and to be made new in the attitude of your minds. But this cannot be done in our own strength; it is a partnership with the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God. That’s why the Bible says,

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

This is the key to living in the Spirit: read the Bible every day. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, and never neglect it, because Jesus taught us,

“Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

When you open the Word of God, don’t just see history, poetry, or prophecy. Look for Jesus on every page, because it is all about him.

Jesus is the life of the Word. You can read about Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Joshua, but if you don’t see Jesus, you have missed the point.

Jesus walked with two disciples after the resurrection, and the Bible says,

“Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

In other words, from Genesis to Revelation, everywhere you turn—in the feasts, the names, the stories—the whole Bible reveals Jesus. It’s all about him. And when you see Jesus, his life flows into you, and your whole being comes alive to the power of God’s Word.

But you can’t renew your mind without the Word of God, because it is the Word that burns out what doesn’t belong. When worldly filth builds up in the mind, it hardens like concrete, and only the Word can break it apart.

The Lord said, “Is not my word like fire, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29).

In other words, like a hammer striking a rock, it hits again and again. And so, the key is consistency, staying in the Word every single day, because this breaking doesn’t happen in a moment; it happens over time.

Therefore, I encourage you to make a promise before God to read the Bible every day. If you haven’t read through the whole Bible yet, start now and commit yourself to it, because when you receive the Word of God, it will completely transform your life.

When you put off the old self, renewing your mind, and put on the new self, created to be like God, life in the Spirit becomes very real and very powerful. As you feed on the Word of God, feeding the inner man, you are transformed because you are being washed and sanctified by the truth. When the Word of God comes alive in you, it is a lamp to your feet, reviving your soul, and you can do what the Bible says and become imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1).

This was impossible before, but now, with the Spirit and Word alive in you, you can clothe yourself with Christ, follow him, and reflect his life, because you have been transformed and you too are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).

And so, when there is true faith and surrender, when we renew our minds and put on the new life in Christ, something powerful happens— not do we just receive his life, but we begin to draw or tap into his life. Jesus said,

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:38).

That becomes our reality. As we are joined to him, his life flows through us until it becomes who we are. Our identity is no longer in the old life but found completely in him. Because of that, we naturally—or rather supernaturally—walk in his ways and live by the Spirit.

But the person living in the flesh can never imitate the life of God. Only life in the Spirit can do that, and that is the difference between living in the Spirit and living according to the sinful nature. As Spirit-filled believers, we have the power to say no to sin—and those living in the flesh do not. The Bible says,

“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9).

That is how you know you belong to Jesus—when sin repulses you, and you cannot continue in it.

Now, let me clarify this, because we all stumble and fall short, time and time again. The Bible says,

“There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

And so, I sin and you sin. But when we do, we hate it, we despise it, we repent quickly, and we don’t want to go back to it. That is the mark of a true believer. The Bible says,

“No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him” (1 John 3:6).

If you are feeling convicted right now, that’s okay because that is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says,

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

And so, if you recognize it and you hate your sin, that is a sign that you are born again because the Holy Spirit came to convict the heart and draw you into a deeper walk with Jesus.

The Bible says, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3).

This is the wonder of living in the Spirit. God puts his Spirit within us and teaches us to walk in his ways. Our lives are now hidden with Christ in God. And so, the Christian life is not about trying harder—it is about yielding, dying to self, and offering yourself to God as an instrument of righteousness.

That’s why Paul declared, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

That is the secret of living in the Spirit—it is not our own strength; it is Christ living through us. What we have been called to do is this:

“Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1).

Because real, lasting victory comes only through surrender. So would you let him use you today?

I invite you today to take that step of surrender. Maybe you’ve believed things about Jesus, but you’ve never fully put your trust in Him. Maybe you’ve been holding on to the old life with one hand while reaching for the new with the other. But today is the day to let go, to surrender completely, to step fully into the grace of God, and begin living in the Spirit.

Graphics, notes, and commentary from LifeChurch, Ministry Pass, PC Study Bible, Preaching Library, and Sermon Central. Scripture from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.