Following the Spirit
Back to Pressing toward the Mark
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:13,14)
What does it mean to be "led by the Spirit of God"? Are the Christian churches being led by the Spirit of God? Are the individual Christians being led by the Spirit of God? Does being led by the Spirit refer to the average kind of Christian experience most of us have?
Some Christians say, "The Lord told me this; the Lord told me that." Are they the ones who are being led by the Spirit?
The experience of being led by the Holy Spirit of God is an important one, according to the eighth chapter of Romans, and is part of the working out of the redemption that is in Christ. A study of Romans 8:1-8 will indicate that our appropriation of the righteousness that flows from the shed blood of Christ depends on living each day in disciplined obedience to the Spirit of God.
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:4)
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13)
To live in the Spirit, to walk in the Spirit, to be led of the Spirit require that we be disciplined, Scripture-reading, praying Christians. Much experience is needed if we are to learn to distinguish between the many false voices and impulses with which we are besieged each day, and the guiding and prompting of the Holy Spirit.
We must begin to give time to cultivating our spiritual life. Learning to live and walk in the Spirit of God is a lifelong program and makes increasing demands on our devotion as we grow in the Lord. The final result—that which the Spirit is seeking—is that we be conformed to the image of God and that we come into perfect oneness with the Father and the Son.
Oneness with God is not brought about in a moment, although we can be "perfect" each day if we will be obedient and cooperative with the lessons that are presented to us one at a time.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)
Each true child of God is learning to be led by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God guides and empowers us in three areas of personality and activity:
. The ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
. Internal conquest.
. External conquest.
The ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit are distributed among all the members of the Body of Christ. The result of the operation of the ministries and gifts of the Spirit is the creation of Christ in the believers and the eventual assembling of the perfected saints into the unified, fully mature Body of Christ, the Body of the Servant of the Lord who is to bring the blessing of Abraham to the peoples of the earth.
Internal conquest has to do with victory over sin in the life of the Christian. The result of internal conquest is complete release from the power that causes us to act, speak, and think in a manner displeasing to God. It is victory over the devil, over the spirit of the age in which we live, and over the impulses of our fleshly nature.
External conquest has to do with breaking the yoke of sin in the area of responsibility assigned to the Christian, whether it be his home or the nations of the earth. Eventually, sin and sinners will be destroyed out of the heavens and the earth. In order to be saved from the wrath that will be exercised through the sons of God, every creature must bow the knee and confess that Jesus is Lord.
Each Christian will be free from sin and his environment will be free from sin.
To be led of the Spirit of God is to be guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit in service (gifts and ministries), in living a godly life (internal conquest), and in rulership (external conquest). The last area, rulership, will be more fully expressed when the Lord comes.
Ministry and conquest are not synonymous but they influence each other. The Christian life of victorious faith requires that we follow the Holy Spirit both in ministry and in conquest.
Conquest has to do with the formation of Christian character and with the development of the ability of the Christian to follow Christ into the land of promise, into his inheritance, into the rest of God, into the subjugation of the earth. The Christian learns and becomes able, by means of many graces and experiences, to express the will of Christ in each situation in which he is placed.
Conquest is the process of redemption, moving us from chaos of spirit, soul, and body, all the way to the image of Christ and perfect union with God. Conquest includes the total destruction of the guilt, tendencies, and effects of sin. Every trace of satanic influence is to be removed from our personality.
Conquest is the move from the bondage of "Pharaoh" to the liberty of the law of the Spirit of life, and finally to rest in the land of promise. Conquest proceeds in terms of a permanent change in the image and behavior of the Christian, commencing with the subjection of his will to the will of Christ and continuing through dominion over all the works of Satan to eventual rulership over God’s creation.
Conquest is an eternal transformation of the entire personality of the Christian, making him fit to rule with God in the restoring of what was lost in Eden; bringing him to perfect fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham (Genesis 22:17).
Ministry, on the other hand, is a gift from the Holy Spirit. Ministry is temporary (I Corinthians 13:8-10) whereas the formation of the conquering personality is eternal. The Holy Spirit does not give a Christian instant, actual dominion over God’s works except in the legal, visionary, potential sense. Rather, God guides and enables the Christian as he fights his way into his land of promise. The gaining of our inheritance in Christ takes a while to accomplish.
But the gifts of ministry are given by the Spirit as "talents" to each member of the Body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:11). The gifts come as impartations, although it may require a period of time before the Christian learns to develop and operate his ministry in an edifying and fruitful manner.
Perhaps the difference between conquest and ministry can be seen clearly by looking at the purpose of each. The purpose of conquest is to set the Christian eternally free from all things, spirits, people, circumstances, motives, temptations, and every other hindrance and bondage that would prevent him from ruling with Christ, from abiding in Christ, from resting in God, from flowing with the life of the Godhead.
Ministries and gifts from the Holy Spirit assist in guiding and enabling the Christian as he moves toward the position of total conquest, of dominion in Christ over all things. Ministry helps form the conquering personality. Ministry is a method while conquest is the final result.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Thessalonians 5:23)
Back to Pressing toward the Mark