Direction and light for the greatest journey
Christian tours are quite common in our day, and perhaps the countries most visited are Middle Eastern countries. As you listen to stories from those who were part of these tours, you find that one person is referred to often: the tour guide. The tour guide is the one you follow. You depend on him to lead you and explain to you things that you would otherwise not know or see. Imagine what that tour would be like without a guide! Think of the things you would miss because there was no one there to point them out to you. Think of the things you would see and hear but not understand because you had no one to explain what they meant.
A divine Guide
Every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is also on a journey. The Lord Jesus said, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (Jn. 17:16). Therefore, we are pilgrims and strangers traveling home to glory. We travel through enemy territory, and we are engaged in spiritual warfare on unfamiliar pathways. Our new life in Christ is a spiritual life (1 Pet. 1:23). We are spiritual beings and we enjoy a spiritual relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). While on tour, we need a Guide, Someone who knows the way. We need Someone to walk with us and talk with us; Someone whose attention is centered on us; Someone who is committed to guide and teach us. The Lord Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (Jn. 14:26). The Father and Son have provided such a Guide: a personal Guide; One who was promised to be in us and with us forever; One who knows the way; One to lead us safely home. He is the Holy Spirit. What a wonderful provision!
An advantage
Jesus told His disciples, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (Jn. 16:7). They couldn’t have it both ways. They couldn’t have Him in the flesh and enjoy the indwelling of the Spirit, too. The departure of the Lord Jesus (bodily) and arrival of the Spirit (spiritually) meant that the Spirit’s indwelling presence would empower them, give them courage, teach them, and make Christ more real to them than ever before.
Guidance into truth
Jesus went on to say, “When He the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth” (Jn. 16:13). Not just some truth or some things that are true, but “all truth.” He continued with, “He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
It’s been said that to glorify is to manifest the hidden excellence and worth of an object. This is what the Holy Spirit does relative to the Lord Jesus in every true believer.
In John 16:14, Jesus said, “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” The Lord Jesus would come and speak personally to every true believer through the Spirit in a new relationship. No longer would the Spirit be known only as the Holy Spirit, as in the Old Testament when He came upon men and women in power for a time, but now He would be known as the promise of the Father and the representative of the Son. No longer was He to be upon them temporarily, but He would be in them and with them forever.
When did the promised Holy Spirit come? At Pentecost—all that Jesus taught in the upper room started to unfold at Pentecost. The Spirit came in power, and the apostles spoke as He gave them utterance. Peter’s first message (Acts 2) was with power and boldness under the guiding of the Spirit. Under the same guidance and power there was also conviction. The passage also tells us that about 3000 souls were saved at Pentecost and others were added daily.
God’s plan and purpose for all true believers in our Lord Jesus Christ is for us to be led by the Spirit. We see this in Romans 8:14: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” As the Spirit leads, He continually reminds us of our identity: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:16).
It is important to remember that the Spirit indwells every true believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. However, not everyone submits to His guidance. But such guidance in our lives is not an option for us to consider; it is a ministry that is essential to our spiritual development. It requires a deliberate, obedient response on our part to the sovereignty of God through His Spirit. It involves our entire inner person being yielded to Him. Being guided by the Spirit is a spiritual walk. We are on a tour, and He alone knows the way. As He leads us into all truth, He reminds us that, “no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:9-11).
For those who desire to be guided by the Spirit
What is required of us?
• Acknowledge continually His indwelling presence. “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and you are not your own” (1 Cor. 6:19f).
• Deal with sin moment by moment and act accordingly. Walk a holy walk. “As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Pet. 1:15).
• Be obedient to His guidance. “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2).
What is involved in being guided?
• Surrendering to the will of God with your entire inner being (Eph. 3:16-21).
• Allowing the Word of Christ to dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16).
• Growing closer to the Lord in your daily walk (Jn. 14:23).
• Focusing on things above, not on things on the earth (Col. 3:2).
• Keeping the flesh in the place of death (Gal. 5:16).
• Acknowledging the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit (Gal. 5:17).
• Realizing victory over the flesh and freedom from the Law (Gal. 5:16, 18).
• Recognizing the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22f).
Examples of guidance
Phillip
• “Go near and overtake this chariot” (Ac. 8:29)
• “The Spirit of the Lord caught Phillip away” (Ac. 8:39)
The Church at Antioch
• “…the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate for Me Barnabas and Saul…’” (Ac. 13:2)
Paul and those with him
• “…were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the Word in Asia” (Ac. 16:6)
• “…tried to go into Bythinia, but the Holy Spirit did not permit them” (Ac. 16:7)
Andrew Murray, The Spirit of Christ (Ft. Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1963).
Lewis Sperry Chafer, He That is Spiritual (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1982).