Gospel of John [Joh 16:8]. The Doctrine of the HS, part 9. Rom 8:12-17; Php 3:15-16; .

Title: Gospel of John [JOH 16:8]. The Doctrine of the HS, part 9. ROM 8:12-17; Php 3:15-16; .

 

The Spirit of Adoption (ROM 8:15) has reference to His revelation of our adoption as mature sons.

 

ROM 8:12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation [bound to a duty], not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — 

 

ROM 8:13 for if you are living [present - habitual 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.

 

As the Spirit glorifies the Son, He enables us to execute the will of the Father as Christ did in His humanity.

 

ROM 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

 

On Sunday we saw that we are sons of God by legal adoption and all the benefits that come with that position and this it is a reality and not some type of allegory or indiscernible spiritual thing. We also noted that a son of God desires to imitate his Father and that is manifested in agape love.

 

Being a son of God means being the beneficiary of the leading ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

 

One of the most frequent questions asked by believer concerns this very verse. How can I know what God wants me to do? How do I find out God's plan for my life? When I have a choice and both options seemingly look good, how do I know which one to take?

 

We are shown here that, as sons of God, the leading is the job of God the Holy Spirit. At least we know that. But being unseen, unfelt, and not being audible or even sending a letter in the mail or a text on my phone, how do I follow His leading?

 

Think of a captain of a ship navigating his vessel through unknown waters. If he has an up to date and accurate chart and the experience to know how to read a chart then he will get through safely. However, if he goes by his own intuition, not knowing the depths of the water at all locations, he is much more likely to ground his ship on a sandbar or crash it on a rock or reef.

 

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On 17 January, 1950, the battleship Missouri [the very ship upon which the Empire of Japan surrendered on 2 September 1945] ran up on a sandbar in the Chesapeake Bay because the captain went on instinct rather than listening to his navigator. Where it ran aground, 2,500 ft. in the shoal of the channel, she had come to rest on an almost even keel on the sandbar within plain sight of a number of admirals of the United States Navy stationed at Hampton Roads, and similar number of high-ranking officers of the United States Army stationed at Fort Monroe. This ended his navy career.

 

Many Christians have known, to their sorrow, what it is to be perched on some reef while the tides of life passed them by. Often they wonder how in the world they got there and how can they get back into the channel. God will refloat any man's life when he is ready to acknowledge his error or transgression and take up the leading of the Spirit again.

 

So our answer to the leading ministry is in a few parts.

 

First, he must desire to be led by the Spirit. It is no use to chart a path of your own will and ask GHS to guide you. We must be constantly seeking the will of God in the word of God.

 

Nothing can be the will of God if it is contrary to the word of God. The word of God has been graciously given to us as the only infallible rule of faith and practice, and if we depart from it in any respect, we will find ourselves in troubled waters. We must be constantly seeking the will of God in the word of God.

 

Secondly, he must surrender his will to the word and will of God. Most of knowing the will of God is being willing to do it before he knows what it is.

 

All of us know the difference between the attitude which accepts, willingly, the will of another, and that which comes grudgingly to a place of consideration whether or not the matter shall be accepted.

 

We must be convinced that it is the superior way to go.

 

God will reveal His will supernaturally to the believer through the word of God and the Spirit of God. We must be listening to both. One is on a written page and demands faith, the other is ministering from within, in an unseen, unfelt way, to make the word understandable and applicable to you personally and your own unique circumstances and this also demands faith.

 

With decisions between right and wrong there is generally no confusion other than submitting to the flesh or the Spirit's will. When it comes to something like a decision between two things that are seemingly good, a consultation in the mind with the word of God, trust in the Spirit's desire to never lead you wrong, and prayer will give the believer to take a step in one direction. The next step and the next step will be supernaturally labeled with markers. Turn around now, you're headed for a cliff, or green lights and open doors, as long as we keep our minds on the things of the Spirit, the word and will of God, and not our own desires.

 

Php 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude [pressing on in God the Father's election of us in Christ Jesus]; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;

 

Php 3:16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

 

Every science has its own instruments. In some sciences there is one main instrument. An astronomer needs a telescope. A biologist needs a microscope. It won't do you much good to look at the stars through a microscope or cells with a telescope. A geologist uses a hammer a lot, but not either of the other two. In the science of God, which is theology, one might think the instrument is the word of God, but the word of God is what is studied. It is the stars, the cells, and the rocks. The instrument that is best used for its study is surrender of the will.

 

The instrument in the science of God is reverence towards Him or the surrender of the will.

 

ISA 11:2

And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,

The spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The spirit of counsel and strength,

The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

 

Reverence leads to true knowledge and that leads to counsel, or the ability to make great decisions in life.

 

Reverence comes before true knowledge. Superficial knowledge is common to all.

JOH 7:17

"If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.

 

What does this say of those who enter into the study of the word of God for another reason? What of the person who attends Bible classes for selfish reasons?

 

God's word will fairly quickly show them that the plan of God is not about them and about their lives but about Him who saved them. Yet in that teaching is the promise of a life for them that is designed by God, beyond dreams, and God has predestined them for, if they lose their own self life for His sake.

 

LUK 9:24

"For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.

 

Life is in the soul, as psuche is the word used here, and a soul fixed on self worships self and idols, while a soul, regenerated at salvation and coming to a slight understanding of the will of God through Christ always comes to a crossroad where they must either lay down the conscience of self and take up God's will, or the opposite. Know that an attempt to save both wills simultaneously will only result in choosing one or the other. One cannot serve two masters.

 

Third, he must be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding him into all truth and application on a daily basis.

 

He is leading in the small, insignificant things and the bigger things. He is leading in the home, on the job, in the family, and in the marriage as well as in the church. He is leading when you are functioning in your spiritual gift, when witnessing, when giving, when praying, when serving, and in all other areas of life where decisions matter.