Who do we have to walk with?

Scripture teaches us that bad company corrupts good morals, and not without reason:

"Do not go astray: 'Bad company corrupts good morals.'" Leave drunkenness, as it were, and do not sin! For some are in ignorance of God, I say to your shame." (1 Corinthians 15:33-34)

Drunkenness also represents wine in which there is dissolution, i.e. being in another spirit than the Spirit of Christ, which is why it is written:

"Take heed therefore to conduct yourselves carefully, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, for the days are evil. Therefore do not become foolish, but understand well what is the will of the Lord. And do not get drunk on wine in which there is dissolution, but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and praising the Lord in your hearts..." (Ephesians 15:5-19)

The scriptures teach us that we are to be filled with the Spirit of God...not with a spirit of the world.

He who wants to walk by the Spirit can only do so if he walks with people who live by the Spirit themselves and not by the flesh. For we will be spiritual with those who are spiritual, but as for the carnal man, he does not understand the things of the Spirit and he cannot understand them because it is spiritually judged, and if it is spiritually judged it is necessary to live by the Spirit in order to be able to understand the things of the Spirit; but all those who refuse to submit to the Law of the Spirit of life by walking by the Spirit, are subject to the law of sin by living by the flesh:

"But as it is written, "These are things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor come to the heart of man, things which God has prepared for those who love him." But God has revealed them to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. Who, then, among human beings knows the things of the human being, but the spirit of the human being within him? Likewise, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. But we have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we may know the things which God has given us by his grace. And we speak of these things, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but in the words which the Holy Ghost teaches, communicating spiritual things to those who are spiritual. Now the animal man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are judged spiritually. But the spiritual man indeed discerns all things and is judged by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:9-16)

So if we want to abide in the Spirit, we must walk with those who are in the same Spirit, those to whom God reveals his mind little by little.

Paul says that we know no one according to the flesh, and even though we came to know Christ by being carnal ourselves, today we no longer know him that way, and he says this because he was no longer carnal for his part, but spiritual, he had put to death the flesh (carnal thoughts, words and actions) by living by the Spirit:

"And he died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died and rose again for them. Therefore we know no one now according to the flesh, and though we knew Christ according to the flesh, yet we know him no longer so now. If any man then is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:15-17)

The verb to know appears three times in this translation, the last two mean the same thing, it is to come to the knowledge of Christ, to get to know Him... But the first one does not mean the same thing, it means rather to have consideration, to cherish, to pay attention... Which means that although we came to know Christ by being carnal, we do not know Him that way today, and we must walk with those who are in the same Spirit and not consider those who walk by the flesh, in the sense of not having "brotherly" fellowship with them.

This subject is far more important than we think, for most fall away through lack of knowledge of these things, and many perish. Walking with a carnal person, associating with them, having fellowship with them, will cause us to fall away from the Spirit, because it is impossible to walk with those who walk by the flesh while being spiritual; which means we will become carnal. Through human feelings and lack of discernment of the Truth, we will end up becoming carnal more or less subtly and more or less quickly depending on the person.

"Let no one deceive you with vain words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of stubbornness. Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Therefore behave as children of light! For the fruit of the Spirit is all goodness, justice and truth. Consider what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but rather condemn them!" (Ephesians 5:6-11)
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