Romans 8:4-14 “that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. (5) For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. … (12) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. (13) For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
There are certain promises in God’s word that when acted upon in faith, always produce instant results. For example, the miracle of the new birth always happens the moment that the unsaved accept Christ Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. In other words there is no delay and there is also no gradual transition from being spiritually dead to being born-again. All are instantly born-again. And then there are some promises of God that when acted upon, can produce instant results but can also produce results over a period of time. Physical healing is an example of this type of promise, for there are times when hands are laid on an individual to receive healing and they are instantly healed. But there are also times when hands are laid on an individual to receive healing, and although they begin to recover from that moment, their healing is progressive, and they only fully recover over a period of time. And so the promise of financial prosperity falls into the category of being manifested over a period of time. The reason for that is because in order for the believer to enjoy financial prosperity, God has to change the believer’s lifestyle, and that takes time. When we walk in God’s righteousness by faith, then two things begin to happen. We find that we no longer desire to walk in the flesh, for the flesh is against the righteousness of God. But rather we find that our desire is to walk in the spirit, for the spirit is life because of righteousness. In other words, our thinking begins to change. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit teaches us that those who walk in righteousness no longer think as the flesh thinks but rather as the spirit thinks, for He says that those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit. The same passage of scripture teaches us that it is the Holy Spirit that both enables us and leads us to put to death the deeds of the body. And so we see that in all of this it is the Spirit of God that works in the believer both to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). In the same manner, when we begin to walk in God’s provision by faith, the Holy Spirit begins to lead us and enable us, to start putting into practice Godly principles in this area. In other words, our thinking begins to change and thus our lifestyles begin to change, for the way we think determines the way we behave.
Michael E.B. Maher
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