Following the Spirit

Published in the February 2012 issue of the Record of the Free Church of Scotland

There is often a difference between the number of times a phrase appears in the Bible and its use in common Christian speech. One such phrase is ‘led by the Spirit’, which occurs twice in the New Testament with regard to Christians (Gal. 4:8; Rom. 8:14), and is once said of the Lord Jesus (Luke 4:1). In contrast, the phrase ‘led by the Spirit’ is used very frequently by Christians of all persuasions, from Calvinistic Presbyterians to Pentecostals to Roman Catholics (as a quick search on Google will show).  Commonly it is used to describe divine guidance – a person may claim to have been led by the Spirit to speak certain words or to perform particular activities. Of course, such a usage is almost a claim to infallibility, although most people who use it in this way would not realise what they are claiming. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to question a claim of specific guidance by the Spirit.

Usually, the claim to be led by the Spirit is connected to a powerful inner impression that a certain path is right. For example, an individual may be praying about a career and suddenly he or she gets a strong sense that a particular path should be followed, having deduced from the sensation that God has spoken directly about the matter. Or a person may be at a Christian conference and during the final meeting, when there is often a call for dedication to Christian service, he may have a strong urge to stand up and make public his act of consecration. I would not want to decry such experiences because it is obvious that God has used such occasions to lead some of his people. But is that the kind of experience that the Bible means by the leading of the Spirit?

In Romans 8 Paul makes it very clear that the leading of the Spirit is common to all Christians (and many Christians have never had the kinds of specific guidance highlighted in the previous paragraph). He says that those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. The apostle does not suggest that this privilege of being led is limited to special Christians, to those who perform spectacular deeds or have special callings. Instead he says that one function of the Spirit is to lead all the sons of God.

Led as sinners to Jesus

We can ask, ‘When did this leading of the Spirit begin in the lives of God’s children?’ The answer is that it began when the Spirit led them to Jesus at the onset of their Christian lives. They can look back to their pre-conversion days and note that at some stage they began to sense an interest in Jesus. The initial interest may not have been very strong, but whatever its strength of feeling, it continued to grow and eventually their interest became all-consuming.

The Spirit, in leading them to Jesus, used the Bible to instruct them about Jesus. This instruction may have come in a sermon or in a discussion or through reading a book. Whatever the means of communication, the Spirit led them to Jesus by enabling them to understand what the Bible says about him. They were informed about his eternal existence, about his miraculous conception and virgin birth, about his perfect life, about his atoning death, about his all-conquering resurrection, about his ascension to glory, about his current activities in heaven as he rules on God’s throne, and about his future return in great glory to judge the world and to bring into existence the new heavens and new earth. As they learned about Jesus, they sensed that the invisible Power who was leading them into this knowledge enjoyed doing so. They may have been merely curious to begin with, but soon the curiosity developed into the conviction that they had to get to know Jesus, which of course was the purpose of the Spirit for them.

In addition to instructing them as he led them to Jesus, the Spirit also taught them details about themselves. It did not matter if they were respectful and considerate characters or if they were riotous and selfish – both types of persons began to sense that there was something wrong within them, and eventually they realised that they were sinful in their thoughts and affections as well as in their behaviour. And as they discovered more about themselves, they sensed that they were being shown who they were in order that they would appreciate in increasing measure who Jesus is.

As he led them to Jesus, the Spirit convinced them that he was the only one who could save them from their sins. It was a marvellous journey, indeed it was a journey that climaxed in a momentous event when they met and were embraced by the One whom the Spirit had been telling them about. And as Jesus embraced them, they sensed that their sins were all forgiven and they were now members of his family, that they had become his brothers in the family of God. The Spirit had led them to meet the Saviour, and stage one in the journey had been completed when they, through the Spirit’s direction and enablement, trusted in Jesus personally.

How long does this aspect of his leading take? For some, the Spirit takes longer than he does with others. Why he does so is a mystery which he has not cared to explain to us and it is pointless speculating about it. If he has brought us, we are to marvel at the meeting with Jesus more than at the twists and turns we may have experienced before then. A husband, once married to his wife, should not be thinking about what he was doing before he met her, even if he can work out how several incidents brought about their meeting. Once that goal has been attained, his focus is to be on what he has or will enjoy in her company (I don’t mean to imply that later he should not think about when he first met her and what they have done together since then). The Spirit led us to Jesus for forgiveness of sins, to begin a relationship with him (and often, we will look back with delight to when it began and how it developed). In that relationship he continues to lead us onwards, and it is this further aspect of his leadership that Paul speaks about when he writes that those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God.

Led as Christians

The imagery that Paul is using here looks very like that of a parent leading a child to his home or a shepherd leading his sheep to his fold. It is true that the word translated ‘led’ includes within its meaning the concept of total control, but we have to remember who it is that has the control. If we do not, then we may imagine that the powerful leading is affectionless, such as when Stephen was led before the Sanhedrin (Acts 6:12), or when Christians were led captive to Jerusalem (Acts 9:2) – the same word is used to describe these negative circumstances, which highlights the danger of word studies that assume a word must always mean the same thing each time it is used. The one who leads us is the Spirit of the Father, the Spirit of Jesus, and he will lead according to his character.

When I was a child, I was frightened of the Holy Spirit. Looking back I cannot tell why, but I suspect one reason was because I could understand what a father was and I could imagine how kind Jesus was when I was told stories about him from the Bible. Yet it was very difficult for me to think about the Holy Spirit. I suspect that another reason was that virtually the only activity of the Spirit that I heard about was conviction of sin. Perhaps such a response is to be expected in children who cannot grasp such truths in the Bible. But when it comes to those who have faith in Jesus, there is no excuse for them not understanding who their leader, the Spirit, is. Once we know his character, we will know what to expect in his leading.

There are many aspects to his character, but for now I will focus on three because they may help us appreciate what his leading will be like. First, he is the Holy Spirit and his holiness should cause us to expect that he will lead us into holiness of life. Second, he is the Spirit of grace, and his graciousness should cause us to expect that he will lead us gently and kindly. Third, he is the Foretaste of the life that will be enjoyed in heaven, so we can expect him to give us samples of heavenly experiences as he leads us to there.

Thinking about such aspects reminds us that the One leading us is supernatural. In this respect, his leading is totally different from any other kind of guidance and direction we might experience. I may have a guide when I wander round an historical site or when I am on holiday in a foreign country, but that guide is external to me and cannot change me as I follow after him. With regard to the Holy Spirit, he leads his people from within them and wherever he takes them he is continually renewing them.

So where is he likely to lead his people? The list of locations is endless, and the location usually depends on our spiritual needs at that time. One need that all those being led by him will frequently have is that of repentance for their sins. Those he leads will frequently fall into sin, many times a day, although usually that sin is hidden from others because it normally is internal. How does the Spirit lead a sinning Christian? He first points out the sin to him and then leads him to confess it. The Spirit frequently leads Christians to the throne of grace so that there they can repent of their sins and ask their Father once again for forgiveness because of the merits of their Elder Brother.

Another need that they will have on their journey is that of guidance. Although the Spirit knows where he is leading, he does not treat his people as robots who only respond to how they previously have been programmed. Instead the Spirit leads them by informing them about the contents of his Guidebook, the Bible. In it, they find all that is needed for living in the right way. They find guidance for every situation in life – there will not be a circumstance in which they cannot apply principles found in the Bible. Rather oddly, we link divine guidance to specific occasions in life (What job should I take? Who should I marry?) about which the Bible says nothing precise rather than linking it to common occasions (developing a meaningful devotional life, helping one’s neighbour) about which the Bible says a great deal.

As he leads his people from conversion to glory, the Spirit aims to develop within them total confidence in God and no confidence in themselves. It is easy for us to say that we have trust in God and distrust about ourselves. Yet, as we are led along the paths of righteousness by the Spirit, we sometimes become very pleased with our imagined contribution to the progress we are making. When that happens, the Spirit will lead us into experiences that will change our attitude. Often this kind of situation is one in which spiritual troubles will arise, such as increased temptations from the devil or intensified sense of our sins; at other times, the Spirit will use providential events to lead us back to total dependence on God, such as removing something on which we were placing our hopes for the future. The path of the Christian has several such turnings on it, and he is led through each of them by the Spirit.

Then there are occasions when the Spirit gives foretastes or samples of heaven to his often-weary people (tired because of sin and trials). Usually this happens when he leads them to use one or more of the means of grace. Sometimes, when they are prayerfully meditating on the Bible, they sense a sweetness in their souls as the Spirit shows them a deeper meaning to the passage; or they can be sitting at the Lord’s Table and the Spirit seems to bridge the gap between Jesus and them and he comes very near and they enjoy his company in a special way.

Returning briefly to Paul’s statement in Romans 8, we might be surprised to see that Paul links the leading of the Spirit with the Christian duty of mortification of sin. This connection means that we can always know one location to which the Spirit will lead us – he will take us to where a particular sin in our hearts should be dealt with. If I am pondering whether I should serve Christ in India or China, and during my pondering lose my temper for being interrupted, the first place to which the Spirit will lead me is neither India nor China but rather to where I should deal with my bad temper. The reality is that the Spirit will lead each of his people to deal with their sins, which is the particular leading of the Spirit that Paul stresses.

The other Pauline reference to the leading of the Spirit is in Galatians 5:18. In that section of his letter, Paul rebukes the Galatians for imagining that practising the ceremonial law would result in spiritual growth. They had discovered it did not. So too will we if we decide to follow any system that depends on ourselves, and there are plenty of such programmes available for Christians. Such techniques don’t change us on the inside, where the Spirit is leading, where he has re-written God’s moral law on our hearts. They don’t weaken internal sinful desires and replace them with holy attitudes, such as those summarised by Paul in his list of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).  What we have to do, says Paul, is keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:25).

The idea of ‘keeping in step’ is an illustration from military activities. God’s people march along by the Spirit’s power and with the Spirit’s guidance. He leads us to love and enjoy the paths of righteousness and to oppose and fight sin in ourselves. That is what the Spirit does for each of his people. It is good to be a follower of the Spirit.