The Guidance of the Spirit

Back in the days of my youth, there was this eruption in the Church. It wasn’t just in America but in many places around the world. And it was not just among Protestants but also within the Catholic Church. I’m referring to the Charismatic Movement. There were many questions about the ministry of the Spirit that were raised then. And there were many different answers offered.

There still is debate among some about the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, things like prophecy. I’m not going to be dealing with that today. I want to take up something that will speak more to where you are. I want to speak to you about the guidance of the Spirit. As you read the Bible you’ll come upon commands like ‘walk by the Spirit’ or comments about being led by the Spirit. And you’ll also read about those who did something because the Spirit told them to do that. And you may have encountered people who have told you that they made some choice because the Spirit told them to do so. Does the Spirit actually still do that sort of thing? It’s this aspect of the Spirit’s ministry that I want to help you with this morning.

One of the key issues in dealing with this has to do with the relationship between the Spirit and the Scriptures. There are some who expect the Spirit to lead quite apart from any input from the Scriptures. And there are those who expect the Scriptures alone to provide all the guidance a Christian will ever need. Then there are those who are somewhere in the middle. I’d like to explore this topic so that you will have a clearer understanding about the relationship of the Spirit and the Scriptures when it comes to how God guides through life. That’s something that we all need to be clear about if we’re going to live well.

Let’s start with some basics. Every Christian enjoys the presence of the Spirit. It’s a necessary aspect of being a Christian.

For one thing, it’s by being born by the Spirit that a person becomes a Christian. Listen to Jesus.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ​That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3.5-6

One result of this is that every Christian has the Spirit within him.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? 1 Corinthians 6.19

And the Spirit acts in important ways in the life of every Christian.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8.26

It is because of this presence of the Spirit that we read commands like this.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5.16

But what does it mean for us to walk by the Spirit? How are we to do that?

If we are going to be able to answer that question well, we will need to explore another theme of the Gospel. While it is a fact to be believed and enjoyed that we have been graced with the Spirit, it is also a fact to be believed and enjoyed that we have been graced with the Word. Listen to some familiar sentences.

Your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against You. … Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. Psalm 119.11,18

And you remember how Jesus used something Moses wrote in His battle with the tempter.

It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4.4

We have the gift of the Spirit. We have the gift of the Word. And both are necessary. But how do these two gifts of the Gospel work together so that we can be guided through this life?

I’m guessing that what many of you have heard is that the Spirit uses the Word to guide us through life. That’s the standard answer in Reformed circles to the question about how the two relate to each other. And it’s a fine answer. But I doubt that there are many who understand what that is supposed to look like in action, in the nitty‑gritty decisions of life.

So, here’s the question that I want to answer. How does the Spirit use the Word to guide us through life?

There are two parts to my answer to that question. Here’s the first. It is as we come to know the Word better, seeing more clearly what it is actually saying, that the Spirit will use it more powerfully in our lives. As that happens, being guided by the Spirit will become less of the mystery that it currently is for so many Christians.

So, with that in mind, what do we do with the Bible so that the Spirit can use it to guide us? What do we look for as we read it?

Let’s start with the obvious. The Spirit uses the commands of the Scriptures to guide us through life. Here’s a familiar command to illustrate this.

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4.5,6

When confronted with the temptation to become anxious, to worry, this is a command that the Spirit can use to guide you through that situation. It’s important to understand this not as, ‘You had better not be anxious or else’, but rather as, ‘Relax. There is no need to be anxious. The Lord is near to guide you through the problem.’ This is just one of the commands that the Spirit uses to guide us.

Let’s move on to another layer of the Bible. The Spirit also uses principles that are revealed in the Word. So, consider this.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. Exodus 20.12

This commandment is about more than just what happens in the home. It covers a category of life. It deals with all authority structures, those in the home, in the state, in the church and elsewhere. How can we know that? What you need to do is look at the rest of the Scriptures. When you do that you will find, for example, that ‘father’ covers more than just one’s parents. Listen to two saints use this term outside of any family relationship.

And Elisha saw [Elijah] and he cried, “My father, my father!”  2 Kings 2.12

And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me.” Acts 7.2

Proper respect is due not just to your dad but also to others who have authority over you. That’s what Elisha and Stephen were doing. And that’s what the fifth commandment is about.

Careful study of the Scriptures will show that each of the Ten Commandments provides a summary statement about a particular category of life. So, in light of other Scripture, it is clear that the eighth commandment about stealing also includes the call for generosity.

So, what we have in the Ten Commandments are principles. The Spirit can use these principles to guide us.

Now, to another layer of the Bible. The Scriptures offer us examples to imitate. So, James encourages prayer by pointing to Elijah.

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. James 5.16–18

That one is pretty familiar. There are, though, other examples in the Bible that are too often missed. Here’s one that comes from the time when Abraham was called to sacrifice Isaac.

Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and we will return to you.” Genesis 22.5

Did you notice what Abraham said in that last phrase? ‘We will worship and we will return to you.’ Abraham expected that both he and Isaac would return from the top of the mountain. But wasn’t he supposed to kill Isaac up there? How could they both return?

The writer to the Hebrews explains.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. Hebrews 11.17–19

The aspect of Abraham’s example that that I want you to notice is his use of logic. Abraham was told to kill Isaac. But he knew that God had promised to create a multitude of descendants through Isaac. But how could He do that if Isaac was dead. Therefore, as the author of Hebrews tells us, Abraham concluded that God would raise Isaac from the dead so that He will be able to keep His promise. And out of that Abraham could say, ‘we will worship and we will return to you’. Abraham applied logic to the command of God and the promise of God. And that guided his actions.

So, the Spirit can guide us using Scriptural commands, Scriptural principles and the results of logic applied to those commands and principles.

Here’s another layer to consider. Listen to Jesus as He debates the Sadducees about life after death. (Remember that the Sadducees didn’t believe in any life after death. Once you’re dead you’re done.)

And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ​’I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” Matthew 22.31- 32

Jesus quotes something that God said to Moses. How does that prove His point about life after death? It all hangs on the tense of the verb. ‘I am the God of Abraham…’ not ‘I was…’. Abraham is still alive though he passed from this life centuries before.

So, along with commands, principles and logic, the Spirit guides us using the grammar of the Bible, things like verb tenses.

These are some ways that the Spirit uses a person’s knowledge of the Scriptures to guide him through life. It’s as a Christian knows those commands, understands the principles, applies logic and notes the grammar of the Bible that the Spirit has much to use to guide that believer.

But this reveals a problem, and I think you know what it is. Most Christians these days don’t know their Bibles very well. They may know some commands but only some. Few know that the Ten Commandments provide wide-ranging principles. How many use logic in applying various Scriptures to decision-making? And what can I say about the state of the knowledge of grammar in general? These deficiencies come together to explain why the notion of being guided by the Spirit as He uses the Word is so confusing to so many.

A need of the day is obvious: to know the Bible better, to know the layers of the Bible better. This underscores the importance of meditating on the Scriptures. After all, what is meditation? It’s making connections between promises and commands like Abraham did. It’s noticing things like the tense of a verbs or whether a noun is singular or plural.  It’s working to see how this bit of Scripture uses that bit of Scripture and drawing conclusions from that. Meditation. It’s an indispensable habit for all who want to be guided by the Spirit.

When it comes to being able to be guided by the Spirit, knowing these layers of the Bible, and other things about it, is so very important. I hope that that is clear. However, in establishing this I have not fully answered our question about how the Spirit uses the Word to guide us through life. Knowing the Scriptures is critical, but it is only part of the answer to our question, the objective part of the answer. There is also a subjective part to the answer. We also need to know the Spirit. And that is the part that is too often missing in Reformed circles.

So now, for the second part of my answer.

What does this subjective part look like? Listen to something from Hebrews.

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5.11-14

This is an exhortation to become mature. And what’s the result of being mature, of being able to digest solid food, of being skilled in the word of righteousness, that is, the Bible? Hebrews tells us. It’s discernment. It’s the ability to distinguish good from evil. Don’t limit that to figuring out some critical doctrine of the Bible. It’s also about making all those little decisions of daily life.

But what makes that happen? What are the inner workings that result in this discernment? Is it simply the results of a mental process of figuring things out, deciding on which verse to apply? Too many think that it is. No, true discernment is the result of the voice of the Spirit. Listen to how Isaiah describes this.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it…” Isaiah 30.21

Am I saying that you will hear an audible voice telling you what to choose? Is that what Isaiah is saying? No. But the discernment that the author of Hebrews writes about will be the result of the Spirit’s work within you. He will guide you away from evil and into good. And to do that He will use what you know about the commands and principles of the Bible. He will use what you know about how to apply the Bible logically. He will use what you have noticed about its grammar. He will use these things about the Word to give you the discernment you need. And it is as you develop your communion with Him that you’ll be able to tell when He’s the one guiding you and when it’s someone else whispering his lies in your ear.

So, what is this being led by the Spirit, this walking by the Spirit? It really is the Spirit using the Word. But He uses all of the layers of the Word. So, getting to know all those layers really is important.

Now for the practical question. What are you to do with what I’ve said? First, you need to take it seriously. I’ve explained to you an important aspect of what it means for you to live as becomes a follower of Christ. And I’m confident that you will take it seriously.

I suspect, however, that some of you will be tempted to feel overwhelmed. Don’t fall for that trick. It’s from Satan. Yes, there is work to be done. We all need to know the Bible better and that will take effort. But the Spirit always gives more than enough grace for us to do the work He calls us to. So, believe that part of the Gospel and not Satan’s lies about how this is simply too much for you. Then, continue to work at getting to know the Bible. And bear in mind that progress is always a matter of lots of little steps. So, just keep chipping away at this. As you do that the Spirit will give you the ability to hear His voice and to know that it’s Him.

This is where the teaching ministry of the Church becomes so important. How does a Christian get to know the Bible better? To be sure, reading the Bible is important so that you can meditate on it. But it’s just a fact that there are some things about the Bible that you need to be taught. That’s why Jesus established His Church. There are important things about the Bible that are taught in sermons and Bible studies and other venues, things that you won’t come to know on your own. The goal of a pastor is to teach about the Bible’s commands and principles, how to apply logic to those commands and principles, and how to notice the apparently little things like its grammar. And pastors are able to do this not because we are so very smart. Remember, I’m a two-talent guy just like you. No, it’s because the Spirit gives grace to do the work He calls us to. Pastors are those who have been given gifts by the Spirit to teach the Word. That’s why we all need pastors to be deeply involved in our lives.

So, along with taking advantage of the teaching ministry of the Church, pray for it. It’s not too early to be praying for your next pastor, even though no one knows who he will be. Pray that he will be able to teach you about all the different layers of the Bible so that you will get to know the Bible well and thus be guided by the Spirit.

And bear in mind why all of this is important. It’s not about you and your best life now. It’s about the honor of God. It’s about having a striking witness to the power of the Gospel. Having the discernment that is one fruit of all of this, being guided by the Spirit, will mean that your life will be working while the lives of so many around you won’t be. The time will come when people will come to you and ask, ‘How do you do it?’ You will then have an eager audience, people who are ready to listen to how a Savior has come to change the world.