(Section 3 His Will)
III. ELEMENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO GUIDANCE
A. THE INSPIRED WORD
God does not want to guide us magically, He wants us to know His mind. He
wants us to grasp His very heart. We need to be soaked in the content of Scripture, so
imbued with biblical outlooks and principles, so sensitive to the Spirit's prompting, that
we will know instinctively the upright step to take in any circumstances small or great.
Through the study of Scriptures, we may become acquainted with the ways and thoughts
of God. --John White (pg 65)
1. The Impregnable Rock of Scripture
If God Himself is the chief factor and actor in guidance--and He is--then
His holy Word comes second in order of importance. It must be given
precedence over every other element in the guidance process.
a. There have been many who tried to destroy the Bible. However, the Word is everlasting, "though the heavens and earth pass away, my Word shall
not pass away."
b. Our Basic Guide
The teachings of Scripture form our basic guide, and in them most of
God's will for daily living is already revealed.
[Departure from this guide by our society has produced many social, economic, and moral dilemmas.]
c. Foundation of Church Principles
II Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:”
2. Interpret Scripture in Context
a. In our interpretation we must take account of the context, the problem
discussed, the historical and cultural setting. pg 67
Ex: "Greet the brethren with a holy kiss." Not now!!!
A hand shake will do.
Clean and unclean eating in the O. T. Now everything is acceptable
when we give thanks. I Timothy 4:3 “Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.”
Words such as corn (grain), and communication (supporting by
tangible means).
b. There is a wrong use of Scripture
(1) It is not to be used as a sort of horoscope or crystal ball.
(2) It can be used as a conversation topic effectively, but we
should study to show ourselves approved, and to win souls,
not for the sake of winning an argument.
B. THE INSPIRING SPIRIT
1. Involved in Guidance
Romans 8:26-27 “ Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (v. 27) And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
There are times when things are so bad and mixed up in our lives that we don’t know how to pray. He does, and He prays for us in accordance with God’s will for us. He also at times leads us to pray for certain things at certain times. He directs our prayer life to those things that are needed at the time.
(DERICKSON’S NOTES ON THEOLOGY Rev. Stanley L. Derickson Ph.D.)
John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
In His office as Christ's Vice-regent on earth, the Holy Spirit is necessarily deeply
involved in the guidance process. Because He is both inspirer and illuminator of the
Word of God, we can count on His help in understanding the guidelines laid down that
lead to insight into the will of God.
Every part of your life will be better if the Spirit is able to control your life. You may find trials and problems, yet you will know that God is in control and doing what He wants to in your life. (Stanley L. Derickson)
2. Helps us understand Ephesians 5:15-18
5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
understanding = to put together (mentally), to comprehend, consider,
understand, be wise.
5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Three things are emphasized in these verses:
a. Knowing the will of God is not so much a matter of the emotions as of
the understanding, the mind.
b. Understanding what God's will is makes one wise.
c. Being filled with the Spirit enables one to know the will of God.
3. "Led by the Spirit"
Galalations 5:18 “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God.”
The leading of the Spirit is very much determined by our proximity to the Lord. In other words if we aren’t filled with the Spirit then we cannot really look for guidance from Him. (Stanley L. Derickson )
Then what is meant by being led by the Spirit in the guidance process? pg 72
a. As we "walk in the Spirit," He will progressively develop in us
"the mind of Christ" and enable us to adopt His lifestyle. It is an accepted
fact that persons who live together for a long time, grow increasingly like
each other. Christ dwells in us by His Spirit, and to the degree we allow
Him to control our lives, He will form the mind of Christ in us. pg 72
b. He will give us insight into the guidelines laid down in Scripture for us.
c. He will throw light on the biblical models we ought to emulate and, equally,
give warning about those we should abhor.
d. He will make the will of God a joy and a delight, instead of a burden to be
accepted reluctantly.
e. He will aid us in selecting a goal toward which we should direct our energy--
a goal that will bring glory to God and blessing to others. The achieving
of this goal will be a source of great joy and profit to us.
f. He will sometimes exercise His negative authority and veto projected plans
that He sees will, in the long run, not contribute to His glory or to our
highest interests.
g. While the Holy Spirit is versatile in the methods He adopts in working with men and women, those methods generally conform to the laws and
structures of the human mind. Occasionally, we are the subject of an
instinctive movement, but usually man's powers of perception and
judgment form the basis of human action.
h. The Spirit will urge us gently when we are moving in the direction of the
will of God. [Channeling]
C. PREVAILING PRAYER
1. Prayer and Guidance are to be regarded as Siamese twins. Phil. 4:6
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
2. Why the need of prayer?
a. God's method of choice.
"God could have chosen to do His work in any fashion He wanted, but
He chose to do it (in part) in response to prayer." C. S. Lewis
It would be presumptuous to expect God to reveal His will to us if we
expressed no desire to know and do it. If we are in deep earnest about
finding His will for our lives, we will be willing to make the sacrifices to
spend time in His presence so as to gain His perspective on things. It is in
sincere and sensitive prayer that God imparts wisdom and insight or guides
us to appropriate passages of Scripture. pg 74
b. If we are genuine in our purpose to know God's will and do it, our prayer
may result in a redirection of desire and strengthening of purpose.
Sometimes we may not honestly be able to say I am willing to go/do.
If we pray, "Lord, at the moment I am not willing to do this, but I
am willing to be made willing.," the Lord will perform the miracle, redirect our will, and with our consent, merge it with His own. pg 76
Don't even attempt to lie to God. Be honest. Pray and be transformed.
D. THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE INTELLECT
1. John Wesley said, "God generally guides me by presenting reasons to my mind for
for acting in a certain way."
Notice he did not say “by presenting feelings to my heart.” Emotion has its place but should never be allowed to be a paramount factor in guidance. pg 77
2. There are some anti-intellectual and ultraspiritual persons who consider that the use of reason and the full exercise of the intellect in such matters are unspiritual. But God does not intend His promised guidance to be a mechanical substitute for our mental effort. He has endowed us with brains, and He expects us to use them--but always in subjection to the principles of His Word and under the control of the Holy Spirit. He can guide only a submissive mind and will. pg 77
Thoughts proceeding from a sanctified and biblically-oriented mind are likely to be the will of God for us. But even sanctification does not render our minds infallible. Our conclusions should be checked by the Scriptures. pg 77
3. If we saturate our minds in the Scriptures, our decisions will be the product of
Spirit-illumined and Spirit-guided mind.
II Cor 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
4. On rare occasions, God may ask us to do something that seems contrary to
common sense, we can expect some special indication from Him. pg 80
Ex: Noah built a big boat on dry land.
5. Some Scriptures on the Mind
a. A Right Mind. Mark 5:15
“And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.”
b. A Reprobate Mind Romans 1:28
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”
96 adokimos {ad-ok'-ee-mos} from 1 (as a negative particle) and 1384; TDNT - 2:255,181; adj
AV - reprobate 6, castaway 1, rejected 1; 8
1) not standing the test, not approved
1a) properly used of metals and coins
2) that which does not prove itself such as it ought
2a) unfit for, unproved, spurious, reprobate
c. A Carnal Mind Romans 8:7
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
4561 sarx {sarx} probably from the base of 4563; TDNT - 7:98,1000; n f
AV - flesh 147, carnal 2, carnally minded + 5427 1, fleshly 1; 151
1) flesh (the soft substance of the living body, which covers the bones and is permeated with blood) of both man and beasts
2) the body
2a) the body of a man
2b) used of natural or physical origin, generation or relationship
2b1) born of natural generation
*2c) the sensuous nature of man, "the animal nature"
2c1) without any suggestion of depravity
2c2) the animal nature with cravings which incite to sin
2c3) the physical nature of man as subject to suffering
3) a living creature (because possessed of a body of flesh) whether man or beast
4) the flesh, denotes mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God
d. A Shaken Mind. II Thes 2:2
“That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”
4531 saleuo {sal-yoo'-o} from 4535; TDNT - 7:65,996; v
AV - shake 10, move 1, shake together 1, that are shaken 1, which cannot be shaken + 3361 1, stir up 1; 15
1) a motion produced by winds, storms, waves, etc
1a) to agitate or shake
1b) to cause to totter
1c) to shake thoroughly, of a measure filled by shaking its contents together
2) to shake down, overthrow
2a) to cast down from one's (secure and happy) state
2b) to move, agitate the mind, to disturb one
e. A Renewed Mind Romans 12:2
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
342 anakainosis {an-ak-ah'-ee-no-sis} from 341; TDNT - 3:453,388; n f
AV - renewing 2; 2
1) a renewal, renovation, complete change for the better
f. A Willing Mind II Cor 8:12
“For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”
g. A Ready Mind. II Cor 8:19
“And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind:”
h. A Sound Mind. II Tim 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
i. This Mind. Php 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”
E. THE CONSCIENCE
1. Defined -- A special activity of intellect and emotion that enables one not only
to perceive moral distinctions, but also to discriminate between good and evil.
It is the faculty within us that decides about the moral quality of our thoughts,
words, and acts. pg 81
2. Function -- It has no power to make us do right or to keep us from doing wrong.
Its sole responsibility is to deliver its verdict according to its own standards and
produce the appropriate emotion. pg 81
John 8:9 “And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience,
went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”
4893 suneidesis {soon-i'-day-sis} from a prolonged form of 4894; TDNT - 7:898,1120; n f
AV - conscience 32; 32
1) the consciousness of anything
2) the soul as distinguishing between what is morally good and bad, prompting to do the former and shun the latter, commending one, condemning the other
2a) the conscience
3. The Conscience is not infallible, for it can react only to the standards it knows. It is a safe guide only when it has been instructed by the Word of God. pg 81
4. A Commending Conscience
a. A clear conscience. Acts 24:16 “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void to offense toward God, and toward men.”
you must strive -- It is not automatic.
b. A good conscience. I Tim 1:19
“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:”
“A good conscience is that which is well informed in regard to what is right, and
where its dictates are honestly followed.” Barnes’ Notes
“a conscience cleared from guilt by the effect of sound faith in Christ” JFB
c. A cleansed conscience. Heb 9:14
“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
2511 katharizo {kath-ar-id'-zo} from 2513; TDNT - 3:413,381; v
AV - cleanse 16, make clean 5, be clean 3, purge 3, purify 3; 30
1) to make clean, cleanse
1a) from physical stains and dirt
1a1) utensils, food
1a2) a leper, to cleanse by curing
1a3) to remove by cleansing
1b) in a moral sense
1b1) to free from defilement of sin and from faults
1b2) to purify from wickedness
1b3) to free from guilt of sin, to purify
1b4) to consecrate by cleansing or purifying
1b5) to consecrate, dedicate
2) to pronounce clean in a levitical sense
5. A Condemning Conscience
a. A Weak Conscience. I Cor 8:7
“Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.”
b. A Evil Conscience. Heb 10:22
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
A guilty conscience results from the habitual disregard of the warnings
of conscience. It results in its possessor having values so warped that
he calls evil good and good, evil. pg 83
c. Defiled Conscience and Mind
Titus 1:15 “Unto the pure all things [are] pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving [is] nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”
3392 miaino {me-ah'-ee-no} perhaps a primary verb; TDNT - 4:644,593; v
AV - defile 5; 5
1) to dye with another color, to stain
2) to defile, pollute, sully, contaminate, soil
2a) to defile with sins
If we willfully persist in engaging in some activity against which conscience has protested, we thereby defile it and hinder its faithful functioning, just as dust in the mechanism of a watch will cause it to register the wrong time. pg 83
d. A Seared Conscience. I Tim. 4:2
“Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;”
2743 kauteriazo {kow-tay-ree-ad'-zo} from a derivative of 2545; TDNT - 3:644, ; v
AV - sear with a hot iron 1; 1
1) to mark by branding, to brand, branded with their own consciences
1a) whose souls are branded with the marks of sin
1b) who carry about with them the perpetual consciousness of sin
2) seared
3) in a medical sense, to cauterise, remover by cautery
As heat destroys the feeling in any part that is burned, so sinning dulls the conscience about God and His Word. (A Dictionary of Bible Types -- AGES Dig.)
As the soul can see, taste, hear, and smell, so it hath the sense of feeling, as quick and as sensible as the body. He knows nothing that knows not this; he whose soul is ‘past feeling,’ has his ‘conscience seared with a hot iron.’ (Bunyan’s Practical Works -- AGES Dig)
Truly, thus, as it is to be feared, it is with many poor souls, they are so senseless, so hard, so seared in their conscience that they are very ignorant of their state; and when death comes, it strikes them, as it were, into a swoon (especially if they die suddenly), and so they are hurried away, and scarce know where they are, till in hell they lift up their eyes. (Bunyan’s Practical Works -- AGES Dig)
SUMMARY
Scripture is one of the most important factors in guidance.
Being filled with the Holy Ghost is essential to living in the will of God.
Prayer directed by the Spirit is the main channel of guidance.
Our intellects have been given us to use, but in subjection to the Spirit.
Conscience fills an important role, but it is not infallible, and its verdicts should be checked by the standards of Scripture.
