Being Led By The Spirit

1 Corinthians 2:9. But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’’

10. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

11. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

12. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

13. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

16. For "Who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’’ But we have the mind of Christ.

I believe every Christian has the privilege of hearing and being led by God. I also believe that many Christians would balk if you told them that God actually spoke to you. They might think you have an over active imagination or that you are just plain crazy. First of all we have to understand how God speaks to us and then learn how to listen. In order to be effective listeners we have to understand how we hear from God. We have to know the difference between our mind and our spirit.

God always speaks to our spirit not our mind or intellect. Our spirit has to be developed just like our mind has to be developed. How do we do this?

Let’s first look at the triune nature of man…

1 Corinthians 10:32 Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God.

The Apostle Paul was not talking about spiritual hearing, but he did say something very enlightening here in this verse.

He talked about three separate groups of men. Jews, Greeks, and the Church of God. We the church of God, are new creatures in Christ Jesus. We are unique in the whole universe. We are the body of Christ. There is no one else like us.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

There are three distinct types of man. 1. The natural man is spiritually dead, he has not passed from death unto life. 2. The carnal man is alive unto God but a baby Christian or not grown or developed in the Lord. 3. The Spiritual man is alive and has developed into a mature believer capable of discerning divine truth.

We have to be able to separate our carnal or we might say natural man from the spiritual man. Let me explain, the Apostle Paul said…

1 Corinthians 2:14-16. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For "Who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’’ But we have the mind of Christ.

God governs this spiritual man by His Word. We don’t listen to God the same way we listen to the radio! The things of God are spiritually discerned. Our own natural man or we might say our own intellect can not receive spiritual things like it does natural or worldly things. We have to learn to tune in with our spirit unto the Holy Spirit of God.

Romans 8:5-8. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

The mind of the flesh is enmity against God. This is talking about the man who lives and is guided by his five physical senses and not by his spirit. This is the sense led man. The sense led man is never led by his spirit, or probably never even considered that he has a spirit.