The Bible describes first-century Christians as being led by the Spirit. What this means is different among professed Christians, today. Some believe that God gives us strong impressions, unctions, or stirrings to either direct or confirm personal decisions in each individual life. These gifts from God are usually believed to be given only when a personal relationship is established, and the individual is in the word and in prayer. Others believe that being led by the Spirit is accomplished only through the Word. Still, others would admit that the Spirit leads us in addition to the Word but only through natural means instead of a manifestation of the supernatural. Many who believe this use the expression, ”I felt led” and believe that the Spirit is inside of us encouraging, prompting, and challenging us each day. This type of leading requires more confirmation but in some cases, the individual just acknowledges that the Spirit does lead us and we just need to trust Him whether we know how he accomplishes it or not.
In addition, some believe that the leading is set in the context of spiritual gifts that not only described specific miraculous gifts of the Spirit but confirmed the identification of the gifted as being God’s children. Two major camps are divided among those who take this view. The first are those who believe that the Spirit is still with us and that Christians are still given the spiritual gifts of the Spirit. The second view is that these spiritual gifts that existed in the first century for a limited time and purpose, were only given until that purpose was fulfilled, and propose that their purpose was fulfilled before the close of the first century.
Romans 8:14 reads, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” Galatians 5:18 reads, “But if you are led by the Sprit, you are not under the Law.”
The Romans passage uses all three persons in the Godhead interchangeably. Verses 9-10 state that all sons of God have the Holy Spirit because they are in the Spirit rather than the flesh and that anyone who doesn’t have Him does not belong to Him. Then, he adds that if Christ is in you, the spirit is alive because of righteousness while the body is dead because of sin. Finally, if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead (the Father) dwells in you, He will give life to their mortal bodies through His Spirit that indwells you.
Consequently, we are under an obligation to live according to the Spirit, not the flesh. This means that we must put to death the deeds of the body to live. THIS IS WHEN HE ADDS, “FOR ALL WHO ARE BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THESE ARE THE SONS OF GOD.” In other words, being led by the Spirit, which identifies you as the Sons of God, is the same as living according to the Spirit and putting to death the deeds of the body. Paul is not talking about the Spirit whispering instructions to us or giving us signs to read to determine the daily decisions of our day. If you are led by the Spirit, you are living according to the Spirit’s will.
Now, whether this continues today is not the focus of this article, but if the Spirit is with us as He was with them, then, we should have the same spiritual gifts today that they had then. If this includes the gifted men like the evangelists and pastors, then why limit the Spirit when the same Word describes the work and role of apostles and prophets? If evangelists and prophets exist today, then so should apostles and prophets. They are listed together for the same purpose and duration. Thus, they stand or fall together. The most difficult challenge for proponents of this view is the obvious lack of miraculous power on display, today. It is an embarrassing fact that such power is missing. But, the proponents of this view continue to claim the Spirit’s leading when someone jerks their body, speaks in some gibberish unintelligible syllables, falls to the ground, or runs around the outside of the pews to show the Spirit’s indwelling.
Whatever the passage quoted above means, the meaning of chosen phrases in it cannot be taken in isolation from the text and made to support whatever we wish. We must understand the phrases in the context in which they were given. Galatians 5:18 is similar to the context of Romans 1-8 – the Christian’s relationship to the old Law. Those seeking to be justified by law, are fallen from grace and are estranged from Christ (5:2-6). The contrast between the flesh and spirit in Galatians 5:13-18 exists in Romans 8. Those led by the Spirit will not serve the desires of the flesh but are putting it to death. In addition, Paul describes the deeds of the flesh (5:19-21) and the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-24) in this context. Romans 8 teaches that we are servants to whomever we obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness. One is after the flesh, while the other is after the Spirit.
Today, we have the Spirit in the sense that we are the product of the Spirit’s work and have continual access to the living Word of God that is effective and efficient to make the man of God complete, thoroughly furnished, or equipped unto every good work. If God has granted everything that pertains to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that has called us to his own glory and virtue (2 Peter 1:2), then we further have great promises through which we may become partakers of the divine nature. The connection between Peter’s statement and Paul’s teaching is that the divine nature is walking after the Spirit rather than after the flesh. The “virtues” that follow compare to Paul’s “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5. There is no condemnation of those in Christ because they follow or walk after the Spirit (Rom. 8:1). One produces death while the other produces life and peace.