Led by the Spirit

What does it mean for the Christian to be led by the Spirit?

 

Romans 8:14, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

Context: After having contrasted those who walk in the flesh [unsaved] with those who walk in the Spirit [saved], Paul now states that believers (those who walk after the Spirit), have the marvelous privilege and responsibility of being a child of God and adopted as an adult Son in God’s family.

Exposition: “Are being lead” is in the present passive indicative which means “those that are being led.” This means that the believer’s life is characterized by righteousness, but also the Spirit’s leading, guiding, and directing. “Those who walk after the Spirit.”

One of the assurances of our salvation is to ask ourselves, “Do I feel God’s leading in my life?” Leading authenticates Christianity.

Doubts come from neglect of Bible study, prayer, fellowship with the church, and disobedience. Doubts can be placed in our mind in times of weakness.

We know that those who see their sinful desires and practices decreasing see evidence of the Spirit’s convicting work in leading their lives.

How does God lead his children?

1. He leads by giving us understanding of His Word. We have the “Anointed one” in us to teach us.

John 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I

have said unto you.”

Eph. 1:17-18a, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.”

2. He leads us to obey His Word. It is thru our faithful obedience that that we experience the working of the Spirit in our lives.

 

The Rapture and the Return

The Difference Between the Rapture and the Return

The rapture [John 14:3; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:16-17], the return [Matt 24:27-31 and Rev. 19:11].

 

At the rapture we ascend in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, at the second coming the Son of Man comes on the clouds and touches earth.

At the rapture he comes himself for his bride before the tribulation to take us to the Father’s house, at the second coming we come with Him as the angels gather his elect Israel after the tribulation to enter the millennial kingdom.

At the rapture there is a resurrection, at the second coming in Matt. 24; Rev. 19 it says nothing about a resurrection.

At the rapture he comes 7 years before the tribulation to rescue His bride, while at the second coming he comes after the tribulation to the earth with his saints to reign in the millennial kingdom.

At the rapture he comes as a bridegroom, and at the second coming He comes as “the wrath of the Lamb.”

At the rapture his people witness his return while the world sleeps in darkness. At the second coming every eye shall see him and mourn over the one they pierced.

At the rapture we go to the Judgment Seat of Christ to be rewarded, at the second coming we are arrayed in fine linen having been rewarded.

Did Jesus go to hell when he died

1 Peter 3:18-20, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:  (19)  By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;  (20)  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."

A common teaching is that Jesus was in hell between the time He died on the cross and when He was resurrected. The Apostles' Creed (which is not part of the Bible). The creed states, "He descended into hell." Did Jesus really go to the place of suffering and torment called "hell"?

Some think 1 Peter 3:18-20 refers to Jesus speaking to human beings in hell after His death on the cross. Others think it refers to Christ's spirit speaking in the days of Noah to warn of impending judgment and offer salvation to Noah and his family. But it is more likely that it refers to Christ pronouncing His victory over the demonic spirits who are bound in the abyss.

Luke 8:31, And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep [abyss].

Jude 1:6, And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

 

Revelation 9:11, And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

 
On the cross, Jesus cried out, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). His suffering was over; there was no more payment needed for salvation. Also just before His death, Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46). Upon death, His spirit went to the Father, not to hell. Also, Jesus promised the thief on the cross that they would be together today in paradise (Luke 23:43). This could not have happened if Jesus had spent three days in hell.

The clause "He descended into hell" in the Apostles' Creed may have been well intended, but is so controversial that some denominations consider it optional or even exclude that portion of the creed. Jesus' body was in the grave for three days and His Spirit was with the Father, but He did not go to hell.