The Lifestyle of the Spirit-filled Believer
By Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam
All of us are born
with sinful natures. However, when we accept Jesus as our personal Savior, we
become new creations because we are born again. The Word of God testifies to
this in II Cor
There are only two kinds of lifestyles-a lifestyle that
gratifies the sinful nature and a lifestyle that is led by the Holy Spirit of
God. Those who believe and put their trust in Jesus is assured of guidance from
Him to lead a Spirit-filled lifestyle. In John 16:13-14, Jesus Himself tells us
about the work of the Holy-Spirit: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he
will guide you into all truth. He will not speak of his own, he will speak only
what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to
me by asking from what is mine and making it known to you.”
If we want to lead successful and victorious Christian
lives, we need to be led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit not only abides in
us but also teachers us and reveals the Father’s plans to us.
What is the Spirit-led
life?
The apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:1-2 describes to us what a
spirit-led life is like: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live
a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and
gentle; be patient, bearing one another in love.”
Paul describes himself as “a prisoner for the Lord” because
his experience for the Lord’s love and grace has been so rich and so full that
he willingly surrendered his whole life to Him. Likewise, we as believers
should surrender our lives and come under the Lordship of Jesus. When we do so,
our lives become His agenda. He will give us His strength, His power and His
wisdom to accomplish all that He wants us to do. We will be led by His Spirit.
Paul urges us who are putting our faith in the Lord Jesus to
live that are worthy of the calling we have received from God. He urges us to:
Be Completely Humble
If we want to know what it means to be completely humble, we
need to look at the example set by Jesus Himself. In Philippians 2:5-8, we are
urged to put on the same attitude as that Christ Jesus who, being in very
nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but
made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made human
likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became
obedient to death-even death on a cross! Therefore, being completely humble
means that there is absolutely no rights in ourselves when it comes to what God
wants to do in our lives. We have become totally and absolutely His. God is the
Lord and Master of our lives.
In 1 Peter 5:5, 6 we are exhorted to humble ourselves: “All
of you, clothe yourself with humility towards one another, because, ‘God
opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” There is no lack
of grace for those who humble themselves. God Himself draws near to those who
are humble.
Be Gentle
To be gentle is not being weak. To be gentle is to know that
we have the strength and ability and being able to put them under control. To
be strong and yet able to hold and discipline ourselves. To have the power to
perform and yet able to withhold it. That, is the exercise of gentleness. “Blessed
are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” Matthew 5:5.
Be Patient
Patience is longsuffering. The ability to stay under
pressure and being there yet keeping the testimony. That is the meaning of
being patient. Paul in Romans
We cannot be completely humble, humble and patient on our
own. They are the outcomes of a life that is led by a totally yielded to the
Spirit of God. The Spirit-led life needs to be developed in us. The natural man
cannot understand it, produce it, or tolerate it. They are fruit of the Spirit
produced in lives that are yielding to the working of the Spirit. “The fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control” Galatians 5:22-23.
The Holy Spirit dwells within us and when we allow Him to
work in us, He will give us grace and strength to be humble, patient, gentle
and loving. That is the way we should live our spirit-led life. But, why do we
need to live Spirit-led lives?
Why Do We Need to
Live Spirit-led Lives?
“Make every effort to
keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” Ephesians 4:3
Unity cannot be created by us. Where the Spirit of God is,
there is unity. Paul told the Ephesians to “make every effort to keep the
unity.” This means with God there is unity. Our part is to keep the unity. It
is not easy to keep and maintain unity. Our character traits sometimes hinder
us from doing it. Circumstances sometimes bring disaster. However, we who live
by the Spirit are led by the Spirit and are led by the Spirit are able to do
so. Paul talks about it in Romans 8:6, “The mind of a sinful man is death, but
the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” Unity is produced when we
live and walk in the Spirit and that means obeying the Lord. God comes first,
others second and ourself last. God’s Spirit will enable and empower us when we
put in effort to maintain unity. “I can do everything through him who gives me
strength” Phil 4:13. Why do we need to keep this unity?
The Bases for the
Spirit-led Life
“There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called
to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God
and Father of all, who is over all and in all” Eph 4:4-6.
These are the seven bases for us to make every effort to
keep the unity of the Spirit – one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one
faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. We can only live one life-one
that glorifies, honours and gives pleasure to God.
In the book of Judges chapter 13 to 16, we are told the
story of Samson, one of the judges raised up by God to lead His people. When
the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, he would rise up with tremendous power
and perform miraculous feats (Judges 14:6, 19;
Therefore, seek and strive to live a Spirit-led life.
Issue 33, May-June 1995