How can I recognize the guidance of the Holy Spirit?

In order for us to be led by the Holy Spirit in practice, we have to be willing to do the Lord’s will rather than ours, ask Him for guidance, read the Scriptures (Acts 8:28–29; 16:6-10), and judge the impulses of our flesh (Rom. 8:13). The Spirit’s guidance will never contradict the Bible (it was given by the same Spirit, see Q.10).

But there must be guards as to the operation of the Spirit of God, that is, the child of God must be guarded against all that would imitate the operation of the Spirit. Satan is extremely cunning, and his agents are abroad everywhere. We must remember that all that professes to be spiritual necessarily has a spirit behind it. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” The trying of the spirits therefore is testing the teachings of men by the pure Word of God. The Spirit of God can teach nothing contrary to the Word of God, and fundamental falsehood is the deliberate attack of Satanic wickedness, “the spirit of antichrist.” How urgent then is our own responsibility of learning the Word of God, to be preserved from the deceptions of evil spirits! If even while the apostle was still living, “many false prophets” had “gone out into the world,” their number today is increased beyond measure, comparative to the number of the prophets of Baal and of the groves in the days of Elijah, in contrast to the number of true men of God (1 Kings 18:19‑22). But these New Testament false prophets are of course those who assume a profession of Christianity which is hypocrisy, rather than the true knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Moreover, the Spirit abidingly indwells those who believe. He is the power by which they enter into, and do, those things in which the new nature delights. The truths of Scripture become living and real to them, for the same Spirit who inspired the one indwells the other. This explains the fact that such understand what the most educated students of Scripture, if unconverted, fail to grasp. Those who have the Spirit may be guided into all truth, but those who are in the flesh, still unsaved, cannot know these things. The normal way of the Spirit is to teach us through the inspired writings. He brings them home to us by ministry or by private reading of the Word of God.

Hence the all-importance of prayerfully using scripture, as we may read in Luke 10:39 - 11:4, and Acts 6:4. "Let my cry come near before thee, O Jehovah; give me understanding according to thy word." This is as necessary to glorify Him in our souls as in our service of His name. "Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path." Zeal and energy otherwise expose to habitual danger. As men of God, we ought to trust neither our own hearts nor the direction of others. We ought to obey God rather than men. It is due to Him that we thus honour Him; and, looking to the Lord, we are entitled to count on the Holy Spirit to join His help to our weakness. Is He not a spirit of power, of love, and of sobriety? He will not fail to guide sons of God who distrust themselves and cry to our God and Father in the Lord's name. But it is through His word, and not our feeling and ideas. "I have refrained my feet from every evil path, that I might keep thy word."

No babe in Christ need ever go wrong about the working of the Holy Spirit. What is not in accord with the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ may with safety and certainty be rejected. It is not of the Holy Spirit, and it cannot help you. But if a person is doing all he can to make you think better of the Lord Jesus Christ, you say, "He is right. I want a little more of this. It is the apostles' teaching, and will suit me very well." The doctrine of Christ is the test given us in scripture to decide what doctrine is of God, and what is of man.

Our Lord, when speaking of the scriptures, said, "They are they which testify of me;" and when the Spirit of truth is come, "He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." It is clear then that those who are led by the Holy Spirit into the true teaching of scripture, will have the Lord Jesus Christ ministered to them. How can it be otherwise, for is He not emphatically "THE TRUTH"? Is it possible, then, to overrate the value of such divinely-given landmarks?

So we thank God for the presence of the Holy Ghost. It is by Him that we are able to pray aright, for we are exhorted to be "praying in the Holy Ghost" (Jude 20). It is by Him that we are able to understand the Word of God, for, "the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God" (1 Cor. 2:11). It is by Him that we are able to enter intelligently and joyously into our relationship as children with the Father, for, "because ye are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba Father" (Gal. 4:6). It is also by the Spirit that we are led into the knowledge of Christ, for the Lord has said, "He, the Spirit of truth … will guide you into all truth … He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it to you" (John 16:13-14).

While, however, this widespread failure to recognize the gift of the Spirit is true to a deplorable extent and calls for confession and reformation, it is needful to learn from the scripture itself what are the true marks of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit. There are both the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error, and caution and discrimination are necessary. The apostle John wrote to the whole family of God, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). We are therefore warranted in making our test of this assumption of modern times. And we accordingly ask whether there is any just ground for believing that the full operation of the Holy Spirit is invariably accompanied by the gift of tongues, or for believing that speaking with tongues constitutes the sole, or even the principal, proof of His presence and unfettered action in an individual? We believe that on examination it will be found that there is no scriptural ground for such a conclusion. On the contrary, the Epistles of the New Testament combine to teach us that the operations of the Spirit of God in the midst of the church are directed to produce in the saints a moral and spiritual conformity to Christ. It is by the activity of the Spirit of the Lord that we are changed into the image of Christ from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18). His fruit in us is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; but in that list signs of outward power are not included (Gal. 5:22-23). We do not learn that the Spirit of God enables the saints generally to utter diverse kinds of tongues, but we do learn that He makes intercession for them with groanings which cannot be uttered (Rom. 8:26).

It is greatly to be feared that many mistake their own inclinations for the movings of the Spirit of God — a terrible mistake! It needs much brokenness, self-emptiness and singleness of eye to discern and follow the precious leadings of the Holy Spirit. As a general rule, we should say that where the glory of Christ is the exclusive object of any act to which we feel led, we may conclude that it is the Spirit who moves us. The Lord is so gracious that we can fully count upon Him to guide and keep and use us where the heart is simple. Back

No doubt, our Lord may and does, at times, intimate His mind, and indicate our path by His providence; but we must be sufficiently near to Him to be able to interpret the providence aright, else we may find that what is called "an opening of providence" may actually prove an opening by which we slip off the holy path of obedience. Surrounding circumstances, just like our inward impressions, must be weighed in the presence of God, and judged by the light of His word, else they may lead us into the most terrible mistakes. Jonah might have considered it a remarkable providence to find a ship going to Tarshish; but had he been in communion with God, he would not have needed a ship. In short, the word of God is the one grand test and perfect touchstone for everything — for outward circumstances and inward impressions — for feelings, imaginations and tendencies — all must be placed under the searching light of holy scripture and there calmly and seriously judged. This is the true path of safety, peace and blessedness for every child of God.