Being Led by the Holy Spirit

Have you ever heard someone refer to be “being led by the Holy Spirit?” As we have dived into 1 John over these past few weeks we have seen that John consistently emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of individual believers, as well his role in the corporate life of the church. Specifically, John emphasizes over and over again that a key role of the Holy Spirit is to keep us grounded in truth by continually pointing us back to who God is and what he has accomplished for us through the person and work of Christ. So, how does this relate to the idea of “being led by the Spirit?”

 My guess is that when most of us hear the phrase “being led by the Spirit” we think about moments of inner promptings when we are especially in need of divine guidance. And certainly the Holy Spirit can and does “lead” in these ways. However, we should also understand the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives in more broad and general ways as well. For instance, in two instances where the Bible refers to us being led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14 and Galatians 5:18), both of these passages emphasize forsaking sin and living a new life as those who have a new identity in Christ. In other words, a major way we experience the leading of the Holy Spirit all the time happens as he continually points us back to what Christ has done for us, who we are in him, and how that empowers us to live differently.

Whether you feel it or not today, if your faith is in the death and resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, then you can trust that you are being led by the Sprit. You are being led away from sin and into the truth of your new identity in Christ that leads to the fruit of the Spirit in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.