The book of Acts relates several accounts of men who were directed by the Holy Spirit to say certain things, do something, or go somewhere. Is this direction of the Holy Spirit supposed to continue in today’s church? Or did it stop back in the days of the apostles in the first century?
It seems that being led by the Spirit is to be a defining characteristic of the born-again life. In John 3:8, Jesus told Nicodemas an important facet of the Holy Spirit’s leading by using an illustration of the wind to give a characteristic of the life that is “born” of the Spirit: we can hear the wind blowing, but we don’t know where it’s coming from or where it’s going. So when the Spirit “births” something in us, this is what it looks like. There is an unexpectedness in the life; the life is directed not by the circumstances, by ongoing routine, or the natural impulses and plans of the individual. Rather, they are led by the Spirit in unexpected ways.
For example, when Paul wanted to preach the gospel in a certain land, he was stopped and redirected by the Spirit (Acts 16:6-10). When Peter refused to eat certain foods because of cultural taboos, God said not to call unclean what He has cleansed (Acts 10:9-15). They aimed for the natural and reasonable, but like the unpredictable wind, were blown in entirely new directions.
When someone is born of the Spirit, is this what the life is supposed to look like today, or does it look like something else? I don’t believe Jesus changed the definition after the Bible was written. It still stands.
In Romans 8:14 we find, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” We have two ways to be led, by the Spirit or by the flesh. If we do not believe we can be led by the Spirit in unexpected ways, then we have no other option but to be driven by the flesh, which is living our life based on our own understanding, expectations, limitations, culture, and habits. We live out our beliefs according to our own strength. Surely that isn’t the work of the Spirit.
The entire book of Galatians shows us that there are only two courses of life open to us: either the law or faith; trusting in the flesh or the Spirit. We will either be tied to following firm rules for living or be free to follow the changing breezes of the Spirit. “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3). The Galatian church turned from following God to following rules and lost the life of faith, which is all about trusting God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 still stands true today: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” When we trust in our own hearts and lean on our own understanding, we react according to the events around and inside us. I believe this passage is talking about the Spirit-led life in which we look to God to direct us. We make time to still our hearts and empty ourselves of our selfish ambitions so that we can hear Him and respond freely, as they did in the book of Acts.
Let’s read the Word of God with a listening ear to His direction. “Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:10). Let’s pray, throwing our troubles on Him, and trusting that He has something to say about them. God has not stopped leading His people; rather too many of His people have stopped listening.
“Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear” (Matthew 13:16).
