What Does It Mean to Be Led By The Spirit?

I have often heard Christians talk of “being led by the Spirit”, and what they mean is that the Spirit tells them to talk to this person about Christ, or take this particular job, or buy that home, or say a particular thing at a particular moment. In other words, it seems that the generally held view of “being led by the Spirit” is that a believer receives supernatural or mystical revelation to make correct decisions in life.

Is that what Paul meant by being “led by the Spirit”? I don’t think so.

Let’s take a look at Paul’s use of that phrase. Paul uses it in Romans 8:14, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”  Now, the most important rule of Biblical interpretation is context! What is the context of this verse? What has Paul just said, leading up to it?

Well, let’s go back to 8:12-13, “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh – for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For all who are being led by the Spirit…”

Paul says in these verses that we are not under obligation to live according to the flesh, and at that point he doesn’t finish his thought, but veers off on a slight tangent. I believe what he would have written if he hadn’t got sidetracked, is “We are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, but we are under obligation to the Spirit, to live according to the Spirit.”

“For if you are living according to the flesh you must die.”  What does Paul mean by a person who is living according to the flesh?  Well, in Romans 7:5 Paul speaks of the unregenerate man as being “in the flesh.” Later, in Romans 7:14 he speaks again of the unregenerate man (in my view) as being “of the flesh.”  In Romans 8:5 he speaks of unregenerate people as “those who are according to the flesh.” Thus, when Paul writes “if you are living according to the flesh,” I believe he is saying, if you are living as an unregenerate person, you will die and face judgment and be separated from God from all eternity in hell.

“But if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”  But if by the Spirit refers to living by the Spirit, as contrast to living according to the flesh. Thus, living by the Spirit refers to a regenerate person. So, what does the life of a regenerate person look like? He is putting to death the deeds of the body. In other words the Spirit of God is sanctifying him, purging him of sin and conforming him to the likeness of Christ.  What is the result?  He will live. He will live in the presence of God and His glory for all eternity.

The very next verse is “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”  Do you see that to be “led by the Spirit of God” is exactly the same thing as “to put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit”? And all who do so are sons of God. All sons of God are involved in putting to death the deeds of the body by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is what their life looks like. If this process of sanctification is not going on, they are not sons of God.

So, to get back to our original question, “What does it mean to be led by the Spirit?”  According to Paul’s use of that phrase in Romans 8:12-14, it means to have the Spirit of God working in you so that you are involved in putting to death the sinful deeds of the body. In other words, to be led by the Spirit, means you are growing in holiness. In Paul’s understanding, it has nothing to do with supernatural or mystical revelation, but everything to do with personal holiness.

The only other place in the New Testament where the expression “led by the Spirit” occurs is in Galatians 5:18, where Paul writes “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.” To not be under the Law, means that we have been regenerated, and united to Christ in His death and resurrection (compare Romans 7:1-6), so that we pass out of the realm where the Law has jurisdiction, and rather are now united to Christ and His life.  In the context of Galatians 5:16-23, to be led by the Spirit, means “to walk by the Spirit” (Gal.5:16), and it refers to not committing the deeds of the flesh (Gal.5:19-21), but rather bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22).

Now, it may be true that the Holy Spirit guides and directs believers to make certain choices rather than others, but that is not what Paul meant by being led by the Spirit.