Led by the Spirit

 In two of his letters, Paul spoke of life in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16—26, Romans 8:1—1:17). In both letters, he spoke of being led by the Spirit. Writing to the Romans, Paul wrote “all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (Romans 8:14). Writing to the Galatians, Paul said, “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law” (Galatians 5:18). He also spoke of being guided by the Spirit (Galatians 5: 25).

What does it mean to be led by the Spirit?

In last week’s blog (Keep in Step with the Spirit, June 6, 2021), I suggested four things that are involved in being led by the Spirit. (1) The Spirit teaches us spiritual truth—the nature of God along with the ways of God that Jesus taught. (2) The Spirit nudges us with that spiritual truth, leading us to live God’s ways of grace and forgiveness in specific situations and relationships. (3) The Spirit confronts those things within our hearts—attitudes, harbored hurt and anger, the lack of a teachable spirit that manifests as rigid thinking, fear, our default what’s-in-it-for-me self-serving nature, etc. — that block our ability to live God’s ways. The Spirit leads us to deal with these heart issues so that we might experience healing and spiritual growth. (4) The Spirit empowers us to do what we cannot do in our own strength.

Notice the destination to which the Spirit leads us. The Spirit leads us to live the ways of God that Jesus taught. The Spirit leads us to love as Jesus loved. The Spirit leads us to love those whom Jesus loved. To get us there, the Spirit leads us to God. The Spirit leads us on a journey of discovery, healing, and personal transformation.

The Spirit’s leading is evident in three primary areas of our lives: in our personal lives, in our relationships, and in our involvement in the world.

In our personal lives, the Spirit’s leading is evident in how we think. Paul spoke of the renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2). The writer of Ephesians spoke of being made new in the spirit of the mind (Ephesians 4:23; also see Colossians 3:10). Paul also spoke of putting on the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5—11) and of having the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) because we are taught by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:13). In this new way of thinking, the character of God and the ways of the kingdom begin to shape how we think. We set aside the ways of thinking we learned from the world—merit-based, if-then thinking, either-or, black-and-white thinking, us-them thinking, better than-less than thinking—and the old attitudes those ways of thinking produced.

This renewing of the mind leads to a transformed life (Romans 12:2). We learn a new way to live—God’s way of grace and forgiveness. We live with freedom (Galatians 5:1, 13). We move beyond the should’s and ought’s of rules and laws. We move beyond guilt and shame as we claim and rest in God’s grace and forgiveness (Romans 5:1—2). Peace and joy, coupled with a spirit of thanksgiving, become the inner disposition out of which we live (Galatians 5:22; Colossians 3:15). Old hurts and emotional wounds, along with the old shame-based messages that fueled them, are cleansed and healed. We begin to grow up emotionally-relationally-spiritually. We learn to deal with and manage the anxiety that so often drives our lives. We become less emotionally reactive as we live with self-awareness and self-control (Galatians 5:23). We live as the children of God (Romans 8:14).  

This personal, spiritual transformation changes how we relate to others. As we grow and change, our relationships change. As we grow up emotionally-relationally-spiritually, our relationships become healthier.

Whatever is in our hearts—anxiety and fear or peace, anger and negativity or joy, harbored hurt and bitterness or thanksgiving—is expressed in how we relate to others. Whatever pain we have not dealt with gets dumped on others in the form of anger, blame, criticalness, and judgment (Matthew 7:1—5). Paul said unaddressed and unresolved issues resulting in broken relationships is the normal pattern of our human condition (Galatians 5:19—20).

By contrast, the Spirit’s leading is evident in our relationships, specifically in unity and oneness (Ephesians 4:1—3). Such unity comes through the ability to work through issues (Ephesians 4:15; Matthew 18:15—20) coupled with the willingness to put up with and forgive (Matthew 18:21—35; Ephesians 4:31—32; Colossians 3:13). A spirit of compassion, rooted in humility that comes from doing our own inner work, governs how we treat others (Colossians 3:12). We become more patient and kind, understanding and forgiving. Only a Spirit-transformed heart and mind makes such things possible.

The third dimension in which the Spirit’s leading is evident is in how we live in the world. We invest ourselves in the lives of others to make a difference in Jesus’s name. We use our Spirit-given gifts in an area of passion (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11) as our contribution to the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12—13) that is doing the work of Christ in the world. We live out of a spirit of generosity, giving freely of who we are and what we have for the good of others (2 Corinthians 9:6—12). We live out of a servant spirit, using our power in its many forms to address the needs of others (Mark 10:42—45; Philippians 2:5—11). We love as Jesus loved (Galatians 5:22; Colossians 3:14). We work to bring the kingdom into reality on earth (Matthew 6:10).

The Spirit is leading us and guiding us—on a journey of personal transformation and growth that results in our being able to love as Jesus loved.

As many as are led by the Spirit will love as Jesus loved. They will loved those Jesus loved.