Life on earth can be extremely challenging at times, and Jesus Christ never promised that it would be easy. What he did promise, though, is that he will always be with us. John 3:16(NLT) says, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth on a mission. That mission was to save the world so that those who love God could be reconciled to Him and be with Him forever. Jesus Christ reversed the damage that Adam and Eve caused through their sin and made it possible for us to be saved from eternal death. Because of what God accomplished through Christ, we can receive God’s salvation and the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not a mere influence, he is a person, more of a person than any of us could ever be. When Jesus Christ commissioned the disciples in Matthew 28:19(NLT), he told them, “19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” From this verse, we can see that the Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead. He is God’s Spirit and through God’s infinite mercy and grace, He has given the Spirit to us as a gift. Jesus Christ said in Luke 11:13(NLT), “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
The Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside us when we become born again, and through him, God has provided us with spiritual power. In John 16:13(NLT), Jesus Christ teaches that “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” In this verse, Jesus Christ refers to the Holy Spirit as the ‘Spirit of Truth’. This is one of the Spirit’s titles, and leading, guiding, and directing us into all truth is one of the Holy Spirit’s occupations. The Spirit knows God’s plan and purpose for our lives. In terms of our spiritual growth and well-being, he knows where we are supposed to be and when we are supposed to be there. The Spirit speaks to us. He tells us what he hears from Jesus Christ and about the future. This is more valuable and beneficial to our lives than we can measure.
Humble ourselves under the Spirit’s guidance
God commands in Galatians 5:16(NLT), “Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.” There can only be one leader, so you and the Spirit can’t both lead your life. God is making it clear to us that our lives must be guided by His Spirit, and we must therefore humble ourselves under His Spirit, and be obedient to the Spirit’s leadership. Jesus Christ said in John 6:38(NLT), “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.” Our powerful Lord and Savior always, without exception, did the Father’s Will, and there was never a time that he didn’t do God’s Will.
Jesus Christ had free-will choice just like us. He had a will and could have made his own choices and decisions, but he laid that down for the Will of God. He put God’s Will ahead of his Will, and we must do the same. To humble ourselves the way that Christ did, we must recognize that God is the leader, and we are the followers. God leads us through His Holy Spirit that indwells us, and we must learn to listen to the Spirit’s voice and recognize his promptings.
Listening to the Spirit
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one central reality in which we all must be anchored is faith in God and faith in God’s Word. God’s Word is true, and we must trust it with our whole being. The psalmist said in Psalm 138:2(NKJV), “I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” This verse is all we need to know about how God views His own Word. He has elevated His Word above His name. Therefore, we must trust it at the level He does.
The Spirit will only lead us according to the truth. The Word of God leads us to our destiny in Christ, for how can we travel on route to destiny without reading the map to its location? So, to get on board with the Spirit, we must be interested in knowing the truth and taking the steps to learn more about it. Sometimes, we make the mistake of only wanting to know what we want to know, and only hearing what we want to hear. When that’s the case, we will need to change our thinking so that our minds and heart line up with what God says in His Word. He tells us that we are to know His truth because only His truth can set us free.
There are lots of voices out there, and we must learn to discern the truth from a lie. The truth of God’s Word is the Spirit’s language. We discern the Spirit’s promptings, guidance, and voice by reading and studying God’s Word, because the Spirit only guides us according to God’s truth. When we read God’s Word, the Spirit speaks to us, and as we continue in God’s Word, the Spirit downloads greater revelation to us so that our hearts and minds are aligned with what God says. 2Timothy 1:7(NLT) tells us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” Fear is not a part of the Spirit, and he will never lead us there. The spirit of power, love, and self-discipline are part of the inner empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and they are necessary to carry forth the ministry that Christ began and to be the bold believers that God has called us to be.
In partnership with the Spirit
To live by the Spirit is to be in partnership with him in every area and aspect of our lives. This partnership is founded on the truth that the Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit, and God has given us the Holy Spirit as a gift through salvation. The Gift of Holy Spirit abides within every born-again believer, and he is our Comforter, Friend, and Guide. He is the same Spirit that was in Jesus Christ as he carried forth his ministry on earth and it was the Spirit who helped and strengthened Jesus when he sacrificed his life on the cross. The Holy Spirit resurrected our Lord and Savior from the dead, and this same Spirit is working within us to do God’s Will. Romans 8:11(NLT) tells us, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
Jesus Christ saved us from sin, and we are free from its bondage. Living in the Holy Spirit means that we are committed to walk in the liberty Christ has given us and to give the Holy Spirit total control over our lives as he helps us to do this. Living by the Holy Spirit means that we don’t make a decision without involving him and yielding to his direction. Just as we first believed in God’s resurrection power, we must believe that He has empowered us through the Holy Spirit because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
It was the Holy Spirit who led us to salvation, and he didn’t stop there. Now he is in us, helping us to live a successful Christian life because we have been saved by God’s grace. As we continue our studies in God’s Word, we will receive greater revelation and understanding because the Spirit teaches us and helps our faith to grow. As he guides us to greater truths, he will also comfort us when we need it. He is indeed our friend, and God has commanded us in Galatians 5:16 to let the Spirit guide our lives. We are to remain patient and dedicated to the example of Christ, and to be committed to the Lord Jesus Christ to follow whatever the Spirit leads. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“How Do I Live in the Spirit?”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.