If you have experienced a born again conversion it was the result of the power of the Spirit. Once having experienced this, the rest of your life is a process of becoming more like Jesus Christ. This process is called sanctification.
Paul refers to this in Galatians 5:5, “By faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.” It is the Holy Spirit who helps us understand what righteousness looks like. As He does, it becomes evident that it is nothing less than Christ-likeness.
The attractiveness of how Christ lived inspires followers of His to desire to live that way. The Holy Spirit lights a flame in us to eagerly anticipate and wait for this kind of practical righteousness to be experienced and expressed in our daily walk. It is our hope for our present earthly life, even as we hope for one day becoming like Jesus Christ when we see Him in glory.
It is this that Jesus referred to in the beatitude in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” We need to trust in the Holy Spirit to bring this into fruition. It is nothing short of the fruit of the Spirit manifest through our lives and behavior.
Two times in Galatians 5 Paul encourages the Christians to “live by the Spirit.” Then he adds, “let us keep in step with the Spirit.” In practical terms it is taking Paul’s words in Galatians 6 seriously: “A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” The choice is yours.
