Before Jesus left Earth and returned to Heaven, He promised His followers that He would not leave them alone in John 16. In this chapter, He promised that He would send His Holy Spirit to come and live life alongside us. Scripture reveals that the Holy Spirit is a helper, advocate, counselor, and so much more. Part of living a lifestyle of worship is living a life according to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and direction.
In Ephesians 1, the apostle Paul calls believers to live according to the Holy Spirit. In this passage, he writes to followers of Christ, "When you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago” (verse 13). When we place our faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live life alongside us, guide us, instruct us, and help us.
In Galatians 5, Paul gives more clarity on what it looks like to live according to the Holy Spirit. He writes, "Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite of what the sinful nature desires” (verses 16-17). Instead of living according to our sinful nature, when we follow the Spirit’s leading, “the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (verse 22). This is the kind of fruit we produce when we follow the Holy Spirit’s leading. Concluding his message about the Holy Spirit’s guiding, Paul wrote, “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (verse 25). Because we have the gift of the Holy Spirit, we must obey the Holy Spirit and follow His leadership and guidance. This, my friends, is one way we worship God with our lives.
Take some time now to brainstorm what it means to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit based on the Scripture you studied today. How can you practically take steps every day to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Commit to living life in a way that honors God.
1So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. 6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
7 You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? 8 It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. 9 This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! 10 I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.
11 Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. 12 I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.
13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
