You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
25 If [ei] we live [zao] in the Spirit [pneuma], let
us [stoicheo] also [kai] walk [stoicheo] in the
Spirit [pneuma]. KJV-Interlinear
25 If we
live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. NASB
There are two aspects of your spiritual life. Most people know of only the salvation aspect, but unfortunately most are not familiar with the daily life and spiritual growth aspect. Thus they fail without realizing it.
Salvation takes but a single moment when you believe in Christ. Once saved, you enter into the second part of your spiritual life, which goes on for the rest of your life.
To be saved, you simply believe in Christ. ‘Father, I believe in Jesus Christ.’ A simple thought directed at God the Father. And that completes your salvation.
The spiritual life aspect runs day after day for the rest of your life. Your spiritual life is the growth aspect of your life wherein you learn and understand and thus grow up to spiritual maturity. And this is done while living in fellowship.
Fellowship is where you reside, symbolically, when you confess your sins.
When you sin, you are out of fellowship. When you confess, you are in fellowship.
Confession is directed to God the Father, ‘Father I did this and that and this and that,’ as you list your sins to Him. You do this as often as is necessary from day to day. Once a sin is named then you forget it and move on. You do not list the same sin repeatedly unless of course you are committing it over and over.
Living in fellowship, is the same as living in the spirit.
Walking in the spirit, is the day to day, moment to moment function of your life while you are in fellowship.
And not only do you get up and go to bed, get dressed and go to work and come home and eat and watch television and on and on, but also, you are to engage in a daily bible study so that you can learn bible doctrine and learn what it is that God expects of you. In this, you grow up in your spiritual life with the goal of advancing to spiritual maturity.
While in fellowship, you study and learn and understand and learn some more and understand some more. The bible doctrine that you learn becomes the building material for the inner structure of your soul, your temple, your fortress, your mansion so to speak. Your activities of life become your spiritual production, which is the finish work of the construction within your soul. That finish work, turns into spiritual muscle, which in turn develops your faith, and that in turn results in your spiritual power or maturity.
All of this leads to your qualification for greater rewards for eternity, which rewards you receive when you stand before Christ and receive your spiritual evaluation.
Those people who do not pursue their spiritual life, receive a poor evaluation and little if any reward. Those who pursue their spiritual life as God has designed it, receive a great evaluation and a great reward for eternity.
Your spiritual growth brings stability, insight, knowledge, wisdom, happiness, a relaxed attitude, patience, discernment and much, much more into your life.
The lack of a functioning spiritual life, brings instability, ignorance, misery, discontentment and so forth.
There are great advantages and reasons for living your life in fellowship and pursuing your spiritual life.
To do otherwise, brings only a failed spiritual life.
Believers receive blessings that are infinitely greater than what unbelievers will have. Heaven vs. the Lake of Fire.
Spiritually mature believers will receive blessings and rewards that are infinitely greater than what immature believers will receive.
Therefore the smart person will pursue their spiritual life, while the fool will ignore it.
