Led by the Spirit

We often read into the expression "led by the Spirit" something that is not there. e.g. Some interpret not being "led by the Spirit" to mean we are out of 1God's will. And in one sense this is true. It is not God's will for us to operate in the flesh but in the Spirit. But being lead or 2directed by God's Spirit is not what we might think.

What does it mean to operate "in the Spirit?" Is it something we must do or will to happen? Yes and no. 

To "walk in the Spirit" simply means to operate knowing (believing) we are under the perfect care and love of the Father. We could simply substitute Spirit with love and we have the idea. 

And we are under God's infinite care because this has been earned/secured for us by the efforts of Christ, not ours i.e. this is only possible by grace.

To be lead by the Spirit is not something we do, per se. It is only possible because of something that has been done for us i.e. it is possible only due to the status gained by another (Christ) on our behalf and given to us solely as a gift.

Because of Christ we can operate knowing - if we believe - we are fully loved no matter 3what we are feeling, experiencing or doing. This is the fixed status of anyone who is in Christ.

So what is our role? What is it we are to do? 

We do play a part but our "work" or "walking" is simply choosing to believe we are under his perfect love as we go about living our lives for God's honor i.e. acting by faith in this status of being perfectly and infinitely loved, secured for us by another (Christ). As scripture says, "the just shall live by faith..." 

The call or admonition to ⁵"walk in the spirit" is a calling to believe -- and never stop (remain/abide in) believing we are constantly under the care of God and fully loved by him  3 no matter what we encounter or how badly we fail. The only thing we are to 4"do" - i.e. our "work" - is believe this is true regardless of what we are experiencing or feeling. 

Faith, however, is not passive. When we truly believe it moves us to act - to action. We are compelled by the love of God to faithfully pursue Him. If we are not compelled we do not yet comprehend - believe - in the love God has for us. It is in our believing we experience the power and influence of the Spirit. The greater our faith in Him and His perfect love for us the greater our freedom in Christ and the greater the fruit it produces in and through us. 

For a discussion on all things working for good click here.

For a further discussion on operating in the spirit click here

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 1 many interpret being "out of God's will" as being off track and therefore never reaching the destiny God has set out for us. Because we "missed it" it is now lost to us forever. 

However, God's will is not "vocational" but developmental. It is not to take us to a specific place but to make us like a specific person i.e. his Son. To do so he uses all things i.e. all the good and bad choices, experiences and circumstances we encounter in life.

For a further discussion on "being in the will of God" click here

2 Being led or directed by his Spirit simply means operating in and under the influence of his love. God is love and is Spirit. Though God's love and Spirit are not exactly synonymous this is not an incidental comparison. Our call to operate this way is simply a call to believe his love set upon is fixed,  relentless, nonstop i.e. endless and without interruption, as indicated by his coming to take up his abode within us.   

For a further discussion on the definition of terms click here

 3 Even when we are sinning we are still under his love and care for God uses all things to make us more like his Son i.e. He's constantly increasing our humility which increases our capacity to experience more of his love; he's always working in and through all things for our good.

  4 For a discussion on why faith is hard "work" click here.

⁵Why doesn't it say "walk in good deeds?" Because good deeds are the fruit of the Spirit (love) not of our will power.