LEADING AND ANOINTING OF THE SPIRIT

 This is an anxiety-laden topic. Many verses inform us that we are led or guided by the Spirit, like “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). Likewise, Psalm 23 promises that “He guides me in paths of righteousness.”  Although these promises are comforting, they also raise the uncomfortable question, “How can I be sure that I am being led by the Spirit?”

Most of us understand that He guides us through the Word:

·       Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2; Proverbs 3:5-6)

Others would add that in order to understand the Word, we must practice it:

·       But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)

However, there are many decisions that Scripture does not fully address:

·       What career or job should I pursue?

·       What ministry should I get involved in?

·       Who should I marry?

The list is endless and also stress-producing. It should not be surprising that views vary. Here are three:

1.    POPULAR: This view emphasizes that God has a plan for our lives, and we need to discover it through Bible study, circumstances, Spirit promptings, and sage advice. However, this view still leaves us with the uncertainty that perhaps we haven’t heart the Spirit correctly and are taking ourselves out of His will.

2.    CHARISMATIC/PENTECOSTAL: This view is very similar to the first. However, it also includes seeking God’s leading through supernatural leadings, gifts of the Spirit, words of knowledge, and even dream analysis.

3.    PROVIDENTIAL: This view is substantially different from the first two, even though it affirms many of the same truths. First, it emphasizes the fact that God has a detailed plan for our lives:

·       Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Matthew 10:28-30)

Jesus not only claimed that God knows the number of hairs on our head; He has even ordained them, along with the number of days we will live (Psalm 139:16). Consequently, even the deeds that we are to perform have been decided:

·       For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:10)

This Providential View also stresses the fact that we don’t have to discover God’s plan for our lives or His leading, since He seldom reveals it to us. Instead, we can have confidence that God is still able to guide us infallibly by His Spirit.

Admittedly, this doesn’t make complete sense. After all, how could God possibly be guiding us as we are making our freewill decisions! It seems impossible that the two could possibly go together. However, they do! God guides our footsteps all the time, even when we are unaware of it:

·       In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

·       A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way? (Proverbs 20:24)

Here is something even more amazing about our God. He is able to infallibly direct those who don’t even want His guidance:

·       The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. (Proverbs 21:1)

There are just so many examples of our Lord bringing heathen nations to just the right place and at just the right time to accomplish His will. If He can do this with those who don’t want Him, how much more can He guide those who are His friends and are seeking His guidance!

This is not only biblical, but this understanding also enables us to trust God and to get our attention off ourselves and our doubts about discerning the Spirit’s leading. Instead, knowing that God is fully able to lead us, even without our being aware of this, gives us peace.

Before, I understood this, I had been thoroughly obsessed with whether or not I was truly hearing God and following His leading. Now, through the truths of Scripture, I have found rest:

·       Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)

Meanwhile, there are others who are unbiblically confident about the leading or “anointing of the Spirit.” They claim that we if are led by the Spirit, we do not need Scripture, teachers, pastors, or any other assistance. Gnostic/New Age/Emergent “Christians” fall into this error, claiming that they have the truth within them and, therefore, do not need the Scriptures. They often appeal to this verse:

·       I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.  As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in him. (1 John 2:26-27)

Some mistakenly conclude that if we are anointed by the Spirit, we will not “need anyone to teach” us anything. Therefore, we do not need teachers, pastors, or even the Bible. However, if this were so, there would be absolutely no reason for John to write to those having this anointing. Instead, he wrote:

·       That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)

·       My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1)

·       I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

If their anointing teaches them “about all things,” why then would John even bother to write to them? Instead, he claimed that listening to the Apostles was a necessary indication that they are of the truth:

·       Whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1 John 4:6)

If the anointing of the Spirit alone was adequate, why then would there be any need to “listen to us!” Instead, some could retort, “I have the Spirit. I don’t need to listen to you!”

Instead, the entire New Testament has affirmed the need for teaching, even among the anointed. Therefore, new believers sat under the teachings of the Apostles:

• And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. (Acts 2:42-43)

Evidently, Christ believed that teachers were necessary:

·       So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Eph. 4:11-13)

If the anointing had been enough, there would have been no need for teachers. However, the Spirit has gifted us variably for the up-building of His Church.

Instead, the anointing worked in conjunction with Scripture and Apostolic teaching. Without this anointing by the Spirit, Scripture was useless. The natural man would remain hardened against it:

·       But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Cor. 2:14)

·       “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)

Without the work of the Spirit and His anointing, Israel continually resisted the Word of God. The Jews had Scripture. However, without the Spirit’s work, the things of God would remain foolishness to them:

·       But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains un-lifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:14-18)

Israel not only needed the Gospel; they also needed to have minds unveiled by the Spirit. Consequently, Paul wrote about the ministry of the Word as a twofold phenomenon. It is both the product of Apostolic writing/teaching and the Spirit:

·       You are our letter…clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. (2 Cor. 3:2-3)

As a result, the anointed became the epistle of two agents – the ministry of the Apostles and of the Spirit. Both agents were necessary. No one could therefore say, “Well, I have the anointing and, therefore, don’t need Paul and his writings.”

The reality of this joint ministry is reflected in many ways. Paul wrote:

·       Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. (2 Timothy 2:7)

What Paul had written was not enough. Instead, the Lord also played a necessary role to provide illumination or understanding (and even the inspiration of his writings). The Spirit’s anointing was necessary, but it didn’t work apart from Scripture.

Without the anointing of the Spirit, we remain blind to Scripture:

·       The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:4-6)

It is the anointing of the Spirit that illuminates Scripture for us, implanting it upon our hearts. In John’s church, all had the Hebrew Scriptures and the Apostolic teachings. However, all did not have the anointing:

·       They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. (1 John 2:19-20)

Without the anointing, we remain in darkness. With the anointing, we “have knowledge” through the Word of God. This is why we must continue to meditate on His Word both day and night (Psalm 1; Joshua 1:8).

Jesus’ Impossible Commands

Jesus’ commands are impossible to follow. Here is just one example from the Sermon on the Mount:

• "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. (Matthew 6:1-4) 

Of course, some of Jesus’ instructions are hyperbolic. There is no way that we cannot prevent the “left hand [from knowing] what your right hand is doing.” Instead, Jesus highlights the fact that our spiritual deeds should not be performed in order “to be seen by” others.

But can we ever be entirely unconcerned about what others think of us? We are social creatures and care profoundly about how we are seen. Even in the midst of my most unselfish act, I found that I was still concerned that people would see how spiritual I was. I saw an elderly woman fall down in the middle of a busy intersection. Immediately, I ran out to help her, but even before I was able to rescue her from the oncoming cars, I looked around to see how many were observing my “un-self-concerned” sacrificial act.

And I am not alone in this. We are self-absorbed with what others think of our appearance and everything about us. How then can we fulfill Jesus’ command to not perform our “acts of righteousness” to be seen by others?

We can’t! Well, if we can’t, why does Jesus command this? It will merely depress and discourage us, won’t it?

Perhaps that’s the point. Certainly, we should be guided by the right motives, but we also need to be humbled. Jesus told a parable about two men praying at the Temple. One thanked God that he was better than others; the other knew he wasn’t and humbled himself accordingly:

• "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14)

Those who humble themselves by admitting their spiritual unworthiness will be exalted. This means that the way up is the way down. When we humble ourselves by admitting that we are spiritual failures who cannot keep Jesus’ commands, He will lift us up. He already knows our frailties and failures.

Following Jesus is always a humbling experience, as it should be. Consequently, to follow is to be humbled and then to be exalted. However, this process requires obedience to His commands.

Instead, many of us believe that by following spiritual or physical disciplines, we directly exalt ourselves. However, Jesus warns us that this is impossible:

• Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:24-26)

While all things are possible with God, they are not with us, as Jesus taught:

• “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5) 

This should be comforting. It allows us to take the attention off of us and place it upon our Lord, where it belongs. Nevertheless, we must be obedient to His commands. We must follow.

Bible Interpretation: More than a Seminary Degree

For many reasons, Bible interpretation can be challenging. I was talking to bright lawyer about the Patriarchs. Although she doesn’t believe in the God of the Bible, she likes the Patriarchal accounts and appreciates the way that the Bible portrays Patriarchs and their wives as very morally flawed humans:

• Through revealing their moral lapses, the Bible is giving us permission to also cheat and lie. 

I protested, but she seemed to like this interpretation. She argued that through these accounts, God was also giving us the green light to act immorally.

I was horrified by this interpretation, but I could see that if we regard these Patriarchal accounts apart from the light of the rest of the Scriptures, it would be easy to make such a mistake. However, when we encounter the “thou shall nots” in Exodus through Deuteronomy, it becomes impossible to conclude that God is okay with cheating and lying.

What is the lesson here? Just as we have often heard it said – we must interpret Scripture by Scripture. This means that we have to have a command of the entire body of Scripture in order to be able to competently interpret. It helps us understand why God has given pastors and teachers to the church for its edification.

This doesn’t mean that we cannot understand a verse that tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. However, as we grow into the entirety of Scripture, we will also grow in our understanding of the nature of love.

There is also another challenge to interpretation that was illuminated by this exchange. We often see what we want to see. If we want to start a revolution, we see Jesus as a revolutionary. If we want freedom to live our lives that way we want, we emphasize the point that Jesus received everyone who came to Him and leave out the repentance part.

This is the way I too had been. I wanted to find in Scripture those verses which would make me feel good about myself, and I therefore would avoid the uncomfortable verses. What ultimately made the difference? The Spirit, and it required many years! Through many painful circumstances, He taught me to read His Words with a different eye. Now that I just want His Word and understanding, I can see what I had been unable to see.

Jesus claimed that before we judge another, we first have to judge ourselves and remove the plank (blindness) from our eyes:

• "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (Matthew 7:3-5)

What is this plank? It is our self-imposed blind spots. We can’t judge others, since we refuse to see, let alone judge, ourselves. And if we are so blind in regards to ourselves and others, we are also blind in regards to Scripture. We only see what we want to see, what fits into our purposes.

Well, what do we do about our all-controlling blindness? After admonishing us to not throw our wisdom before those who have no regard for it, Jesus then returns us to the Spirit:

• "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Sound interpretation requires far more than a seminary degree. It requires the work of the Spirit. Without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:4-5)! Let our continual prayer be, “Lord, you teach me!”

Hating Church

I am more convinced than ever that everything we need is found in Christ. Let me give you just one example. Sundays had been my hardest day. Going to church was not only dissatisfying; it was also an emotional obstacle course.

I compared it with going to a singles dance, only to watch all the young ladies chasing the other guys. It was also like going to a gourmet restaurant. The waiter would bring all of his appetizing plates to my nose before placing it down in front of someone else. Frustration! Anger – absolutely the last time!

That was my church experience. I tried many churches, hoping to be asked to teach only to see the dishes pass me by to be placed down in front of others. I was angry! What the matter with me that I was consistently passed over? Silence was the only answer I ever received. How then was I to enjoy church – the very place where I was consistently rejected?

However, in the midst of this painful set of experiences, I was granted something far better – the assured and ever-present awareness that Jesus died for me!  I now love the hymns of His mercy and the price He paid for me. The confession of sins and the accompanying assurance of forgiveness have become more valuable to me than teaching 20 classes and rejoice that my name is written in the Lamb’s book! Confidence in His recognition has become more meaningful than any human recognition. In short, I now look forward to corporate worship!

How did this slow and necessary transformation occur? Let me try to explain it. However, it might not be as easy as I would like. I can’t give you three easy transformational steps. It comes from above as do all good things. However, I think that I can put my finger on the critical element behind this change – a growing awareness of the depth of my sin and my utter hopelessness before it.

Although I knew that I was a sinner, I had minimized its depth – its extent and ugliness. Self-righteousness is the human default. When we humans elevate ourselves, we diminish the Lord and His gift of righteousness. In order to do this, we cover our sins with rationalizations – good deeds, attainments, popularity, and even money. Adam and Eve foolishly attempted to cover their sins with fig leaves.

Our coverings are no less foolish. I attempted to cover mine with positive affirmations about my surpassing value as a person. But I was paying a tremendous price for this fix. For positive affirmations to work, they must be believed. However, when we believe them, we lie to ourselves and distort the way we see reality, even the way we regard our Savior! It also takes time to root out this blindness and to clearly see ourselves (Rom. 12:3).

Self-righteousness – the belief that we are worthy - prevents us from appreciating the extent of the mercy of Christ. After all, if we are worthy, we will not highly esteem Christ’s gift. Jesus’ disciples had asked Him to increase their faith. Instead, He instructed them to regard themselves as unworthy servants (Luke 17:10). As long as we regard ourselves as worthy, we will not appreciate the fullness of Christ’s worthiness and love for us. As long as we regard ourselves as deserving, Christ will not receive the glory and honor He deserves. The higher we value ourselves, the less we will value our Savior and the less we will rejoice in Him.

What has Christ taught me? This may sound strange, but, mercifully, He taught me that I am among the worst sinners – totally unworthy of anything that is His, even a smile or a “thank you!”

Oddly, this realization, as painful as it had been, liberated me from church-angst. Before, the hymns and other forms of worship had left me feeling that I didn’t fit. In my heart, I wasn’t adoring Christ as I ought. In this vacuum, my life was more about me and less about Him. However, as I began to see my unworthiness in 3-D, I grew in gratefulness of Him. My eyes therefore turned to Him and away from the bondage to self-obsessions.

As the Apostle Paul had stated, dying to self-esteem and self-trust is a critical element of the Christian life:

• But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything [I had trusted in] a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.  (Phil. 3:7-9)

Gaining Christ - our confidence in Him - is a matter of investing all of our trust in Him and not in our own pedigree or attainments. It is a matter of regarding our own “righteousness” for what it is – garbage!

Over time, this realization made a great difference in my life. I no longer have to prove myself. Instead, my entire identity and personhood are buried in Christ (Gal. 2:20). However, there are also other essentials. Professor of systematic theology, Joel Beeke, wrote:

• Obedience increases assurance… William Ames wrote, “He that doth rightly understand the promise of the covenant cannot be sure of his salvation unless he perceives in himself true faith and repentance.”

This means that we are not going to have the confidence, joy, and gratefulness that we ought unless we are devoted to the Lord. In line with this, Paul assured would-be deacons that devotion to this work (among many other forms of service) would produce “great confidence in the faith” (1 Tim. 3:13).

In short, as we grow in faith and obedience, we will also grow in gratefulness to our Lord and in joy of worship, while we decrease in our own esteem. He must grow greater!