While every genuine believer in Christ receives the indwelling Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion, walking in the Spirit’s power is not an automatic process. If it were, Paul would not have commanded us to walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16) and be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18).

Sadly, there are many who profess to know Christ, but their daily lives are more characterized by the deeds of the flesh than by the fruit of the Spirit. We could well ask them Paul’s question here, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” If you did, why aren’t you walking in the power of the Spirit, so that He transforms your character and behavior to conform to Jesus Christ? Especially our families, but also those who know us, should be able to see evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. If they cannot, we need to make sure that we have trusted in Christ by faith, and we need to make it our priority to walk daily in the Spirit’s power and have our identity formed and framed by God's Word. 

Two points from our text to consider:

1. Genuine Christian have Received the Holy Spirit (v. 1-7)
2.  Genuine Christians have their Identity Formed by God’s Word (v. 5-9)

Discussion Questions

1. How can you talk about the gospel to someone who thinks that he is a Christian, but whom you suspect is not?
2. If the true gift of tongues is speaking in a foreign language, how do you explain the current phenomenon of tongues as ecstatic utterances? Is it of God? Of Satan? Other?
3. How can a believer learn to walk in the Spirit?
4. A Christian says, “Doctrine is divisive and it is not relevant to where I live.” Your response?