HOW DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT LEAD, GUIDE, AND DIRECT US TODAY?

The subject of the Holy Spirit and how He works today is controversial. Those of the Charismatic Movement (Neo-Pentecostalism) maintain that the Spirit dwells in believers personally and directly. As a result of this “indwelling,” they believe the Spirit gives the gift of working miracles to God’s people today just as He did to the first century Christians who had hands laid on them by the apostles. Others, such as Calvinists, believe the Spirit is sent by God into the hearts of the elect (those whom God chose before the foundation of the world to be saved) to instill faith miraculously so that they will confess Christ. In both the Charismatic and the Calvinistic viewpoints, they claim the Spirit is working directly in the child of God today.

That the Holy Spirit dwells in Christians is clearly affirmed in God’s Word. The apostle Paul wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Rom. 8:9-11). Further, the Bible clearly teaches: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14).

Christians generally agree today that the age of miraculous gifts is over. The argument is frequently and correctly made that only the apostles who had been baptized with the Spirit had the ability to confer miraculous gifts to others by the laying on of their hands (Acts 8:4-25; 19:1-7; Rom. 1:11; 2 Tim. 1:6). It logically follows that when the last apostle died, and the last of those upon whom an apostle had laid hands died, then the age of miraculous gifts ended. This is confirmed in 1 Corinthians 13:10. When that which was “perfect” (Greek: teleios: complete, mature: Vine’s), i.e. the completed written New Testament had come (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Jude 3; 2 Peter 1:3), then the various tongues (languages), prophesying, revelations, etc. were no longer needed and therefore ended.

How then does the Holy Spirit lead, guide, and direct us today? A fundamental and universally accepted rule of interpreting the Word of God is to allow one passage to interpret another. A difficult passage may be understood when a plain passage which addresses the same subject is laid alongside it. For example, the books of Ephesians and Colossians are sometimes called “twin epistles.” They were both written by the apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They were both written to churches in the Roman province of Asia. They also were written in the same time period while Paul was a prisoner in Rome awaiting a hearing before the emperor. Therefore, passages in them are similar and can be used to explain one another.

In Ephesians 5:18-19, Paul wrote: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess [rioting, reckless living, dissolute life]; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:18-20). A similar passage to this is Colossians 3:16-17: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Col. 3:16-17).

How, when, is one “filled with the Spirit?” One is filled with the Spirit when he “lets the Word of God dwell in him richly.” Does it not logically follow that one is led, guided, directed by the Spirit when he is led, guided, and directed by the Word of God? In Ephesians 6:10-17, the apostle Paul describes the armor that we as Christians must wear as we do battle against the forces of evil in the world. The description of the armor is that worn by Roman soldiers who had conquered much of the known world in Paul’s day. A Roman soldier wore armor to protect himself against the onslaught of his enemy. He usually carried an offensive weapon with which to do battle against his enemy —his sword.

Suppose a Roman soldier came in from battle at the close of the day and boasted “I killed ten soldiers of the enemy’s army today?” How did he kill them? With his bare hands? No! He used a weapon. The enemy soldiers were killed by a sword. The Roman soldier killed ten soldiers of the enemy’s army. He did not do it directly, but by a means (an instrument). In this case, the means (instrument) was a sword. In the same way, Christians are led, guided, and directed by the Holy Spirit, but it is not directly or personally, it is through a means. The means (instrument) is the Word of God!

Rod Rutherford