Length: 4 minutes

When many Christians hear the term, “the leading of the Holy Spirit,” they associate this with the Lord telling them where to go and what to do. The funny thing is, mere instructions or guidance from the Lord is not what He means when He speaks of the “leading of the Holy Spirit.”

Think about this for a second, if God’s leading was Him simply telling us where to go and what to do, how is that any different than the Old Testament law? The law was God telling people where to go and what to do. They were simply told what to do and expected to perform what they were told, and no one could ever keep it (Acts 7:53). 

If the leading of the Holy Spirit is simply the Lord giving you instructions on what He wants you to do, then our New Testament isn’t an upgrade at all from the old one. But the New Testament is, in fact, a huge upgrade, and the leading of the Holy Spirit is very different from the Old Testament law.

Romans 7:6 (NKJV) …so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter [of the law].

People think of the leading of the Spirit as Him whispering in your ear the instructions that you need to carry out. But that’s actually how the oldness of the law worked. The law gave instructions for people to carry out, while the Spirit has been given to us to actually do the living. 

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…

Did you know that God actually defines the leading of the Holy Spirit as Him putting your deeds to rest, while He performs the task through you? God says this very clearly in Romans 8. So pay close attention. 

Romans 8:13 (NKJV) For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 

To understand this, you’re going to have to understand what the word “death” means. You can check out our glossary for the proof, but “death” means rest or inactivity. So, when it refers to the Holy Spirit putting to death the deeds of your body, that is quite literally saying that the Holy Spirit puts to rest the deeds of your body. 

So knowing now that this verse is speaking about the Holy Spirit putting our deeds to rest, let’s read that verse again, but also the following verse.

Romans 8:13-14 (NKJV) For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

He says that we need to allow the Spirit to put our deeds to rest, and then he says, “For as many as are led by the spirit of God…”, referring to that rest! The leading of the Holy Spirit is actually when He puts your deeds to rest and lives through you instead. 

It’s true the Lord gives instructions in the Bible, from other people, and even in our own heart, as to what He wants to see done in our life, but the instruction by itself is not the leading of the Holy Spirit, unless He’s living it out through you. God will certainly call you to things, but He will also do them through you. And it’s that whole package that is the leading of the Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NKJV) He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

Of course, none of this happens automatically. Galatians 2:20 tells us that we allow Christ to live through us as we put faith in the Son of God. But if we will keep our eyes on Jesus and get our mind renewed to what we have in Him, that allows the Spirit, to not only speak things into our heart, to not only give us guidance, but to desire and perform all of it through us as well. And it is those desires that the Holy Spirit feels through us, and the work that He performs through us, that God calls “the leading of the Holy Spirit.”

There’s more specific information to come in the next parts of this series, so keep reading. 

If this blessed you, share this with someone else. More people need to understand this awesome truth.