A New Way to Be Human - Life in the SpiritSample

How to Live Like This

What does it look like to live a life that is full of and led by the Spirit?

Holy distinction marked the moment that the Holy Spirit came down to dwell with and fill the early church in the book of Acts. As members of the 21st-century, western, postmodern church, we are invited to enter this kind of distinction – marked by power, authority, and wisdom.

In his first letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul claims that the Holy Spirit is imperative to understanding God’s wisdom because it cannot be perceived through our limited human nature alone. Paul wanted the Corinthians to recognize their need for true wisdom available only from God’s spirit, and God has that same desire for us today.

The wisdom that is rooted in the Holy Spirit is eternal and never failing. It transcends time, space, and culture. It transplants the wisdom and understanding of the Lord into our own hearts and minds: “For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11). The Spirit of God that knows His thoughts and desires is alive inside of us. Because of the indwelling of the Spirit, we are no longer of the world but are rather marked for eternal paradise. This wisdom or knowledge that seems so mysterious and distant is made tangible to us, and we are meant to pursue it by being obedient to the authority of the Spirit.

Proverbs, the book of wisdom, tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). We are able to pursue holy wisdom when we are able to clearly see the character of God. Fear of the Lord, or immense reverence for His holiness, comes from increased revelation: revelation made known from His indwelling Spirit, the authority of His Word, and the personhood of Jesus.

It is up to us to pray for eyes to see and ears to hear. God isn’t hiding from us, he wants us to pursue Him. A life full of and led by the Holy Spirit is marked by the relentless pursuit of the infinite character of God and His wisdom.

How are you pursuing wisdom? What would it look like for you to ask for increased revelation of God’s character? Do you want to walk in the wisdom of the Spirit or the world? Why?

Because of the Holy Spirit, we have the mind of Christ: “Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?” (Isaiah 40:13-14).