There is a dimension of the Christian life that intellectual knowledge, religious activities, or physical strength alone cannot access. It is the life of the Spirit, a life governed by God, empowered by His presence, directed by His instructions, and sustained by fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
One of the greatest needs of the believer is to pay closer attention to the operation of the Holy Spirit in his or her life. Many of the troubles we encounter could be avoided if we learned to spend more time in fellowship with God, listening to His voice and responding to His leading.
This does not mean that a lack of spiritual fellowship causes every difficulty.
Rather, it means that fellowship with the Holy Spirit equips us to discern God’s direction, receive strength for difficult seasons, and respond to life’s challenges with spiritual understanding.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would guide believers into all truth (John 16:13). The question, therefore, is not merely whether we have received the Holy Spirit, but whether we are learning to walk in partnership with Him.
Living in the Spirit: A life under divine government
To live in the Spirit is to live a life powered by the Spirit of God, governed by God, directed by His instructions, and influenced by the burdens and leading of the Holy Spirit.
The Christian life is not designed to be lived by human reasoning alone. We need the wisdom of God to make decisions, the strength of God to overcome temptation, and the direction of God to fulfil our purpose.
Proverbs 3:5–6 instructs us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, not to lean entirely on our own understanding, and to acknowledge Him in all our ways. The promise is that He will direct our paths.
This is the essence of a Spirit-led life: God is not merely consulted when we face emergencies; He is given the rightful place of authority in our daily decisions.
Romans 8:14 declares, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
Being led by the Spirit is therefore an essential feature of spiritual maturity. The believer must learn to recognise the difference between the impulses of the flesh, the pressures of circumstances, personal desires, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The power of fellowship with God
Consider the intimacy Abraham enjoyed with God. In Genesis 18, the Lord appeared to Abraham as he sat at the entrance of his tent. Abraham welcomed the visitors, showed them hospitality, and engaged in a conversation in which God’s purposes were revealed to him.
The account demonstrates the remarkable fellowship Abraham enjoyed with God. He was not living in spiritual indifference; he was attentive to the divine visitation and responsive to it.
There is a depth of relationship with God in which we become increasingly attentive to His voice, His character, and His purposes. Such intimacy is cultivated through prayer, meditation on Scripture, worship, obedience, and a life of consecration.
Many believers want to hear God clearly but give little time to fellowship with Him. We cannot expect to develop spiritual sensitivity while continually neglecting the things that nourish our relationship with God.
The more consistently we fellowship with the Holy Spirit, the better positioned we are to discern His leading and respond in obedience.
Life must be directed by spiritual understanding
The Bible teaches that the visible world was framed by the Word of God, so that visible things were made of invisible things. (Hebrews 11:3)
Second Corinthians 4:18 says that the things which are seen are temporal, while the things which are not seen are eternal.
Ephesians 6:12 further reminds us that our struggle is not merely against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil. These passages reveal why the believer must not interpret every situation solely through physical appearances.
However, spiritual understanding does not mean ignoring practical realities, sound judgement, or responsible action. Rather, it means recognising that our decisions must be shaped by the wisdom, truth, and purposes of God.
A believer should seek to be spiritually discerning, not spiritually blind. We must learn to perceive situations through the lens of Scripture, recognise the convictions and warnings of the Holy Spirit, and respond with faith and wisdom.
You cannot navigate your God-given assignment effectively if you lack sight in the spirit, and you consistently ignore the spiritual principles and divine instructions that should guide your decisions.
The Christian life: An exchange and a journey of transformation
The Christian life begins with an exchange. We surrender our old life to Christ and receive the new life He offers through His death and resurrection.
Second Corinthians 5:17 declares that if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation; old things have passed away, and all things have become new.
Yet salvation is not the end of the journey. It is the beginning of a lifelong process of transformation.
Romans 12:2 commands believers not to conform to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. As we walk with God, our thoughts, desires, attitudes, habits, and responses should increasingly reflect the character of Christ.
The Holy Spirit works within us to produce this transformation. He convicts us of sin, strengthens us against temptation, teaches us the truth, and develops Christlike character in us.
You must live and walk in the Spirit
Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
To live in the Spirit is to receive life from the Spirit; to walk in the Spirit is to conduct our daily lives in submission to His leading.
The two must go together. It is inconsistent to profess life in the Spirit while continually making decisions in rebellion against God’s Word.
Walking in the Spirit involves daily choices. It means allowing the Holy Spirit to govern how we speak, how we treat people, how we respond to provocation, how we handle money, how we conduct our relationships, and how we fulfil our responsibilities.
It means refusing to allow the desires of the flesh to dictate our conduct. Galatians 5:16 gives this instruction: “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
The mystery of the Spirit-led believer
One remarkable advantage of walking in the Spirit is that the believer becomes responsive to God’s direction rather than being controlled by human expectations or circumstances. In other words, a Spirit-led believer is often unpredictable.
In John 3:8, Jesus compares the work of the Spirit to the wind: “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
The wind cannot be controlled by human beings, and its movements cannot always be predicted. In a similar way, the work of the Spirit cannot be confined to human expectations.
A person led by the Holy Spirit may take a step of faith that others do not immediately understand, obey an instruction that requires courage, or pursue an assignment that does not fit conventional expectations.
This does not mean that believers should become irrational, irresponsible, or deliberately mysterious. The leading of the Holy Spirit does not contradict the written Word of God. Spiritual impressions must be tested against Scripture, and decisions should be made with wisdom and godly counsel where appropriate.
Wax strong in Spirit
Luke 1:80 gives us an important picture of spiritual development. Speaking about John the Baptist, the Bible says, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.”
John did not merely grow physically; he also became strong in spirit.
This reminds us that spiritual growth requires attention. Just as the body needs nourishment, rest, and exercise, our spiritual lives require prayer, the Word of God, worship, obedience, and fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
A believer may grow older, acquire academic qualifications, develop professional expertise, and accumulate material possessions while remaining spiritually immature.
Ephesians 3:16 records Paul’s prayer that believers would be strengthened with might by God’s Spirit in the inner person.
We must therefore pay attention to the condition of our inner lives. Are we growing in discernment, obedience to God, spiritual discipline, and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit?
Feed your Spirit with the word of God
The spiritual life must be nourished by spiritual food. Information and intellectual knowledge have their place, but they cannot replace fellowship with God and the spiritual nourishment that comes from His Word.
In John 6:63, Jesus said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” This means that the menu of your spirit is Spirit.
The Word of God is essential to spiritual growth. Through Scripture, we learn God’s character, understand His will, receive correction, and develop the discernment required to walk faithfully with Him.
When last were you moved by the Holy Spirit?
This is a question every believer should consider seriously.
When last did the Holy Spirit correct your attitude? When last did the Word of God challenge a decision you were about to make? When last were you moved to pray for someone, show compassion to a person in need, forgive an offender, or take a step of obedience that required faith?
Many people are moved primarily by circumstances, emotions, personal ambitions, and the opinions of others. While circumstances and emotions are part of human experience, they must not become the ultimate authorities governing our lives.
The Holy Spirit produces convictions that align with God’s Word and leads us towards God’s purposes. He may prompt us to act with compassion, exercise restraint, speak the truth, make restitution, or abandon a course of action that would dishonour God.
We must therefore cultivate a heart that is willing to listen and obey.
First Thessalonians 5:19 warns, “Quench not the Spirit.” We must not continually resist His work in our lives or ignore the truth He brings to our attention through Scripture and godly conviction.
Live from the realm of the Spirit
The advantages of living and walking in the Spirit are many. We enjoy deeper fellowship with God, greater spiritual discernment, guidance in decision-making, strength to resist temptation, and the ability to fulfil our God-given assignments with greater faithfulness.
God has called us to walk by faith, to be led by His Spirit, and to allow His Word to shape our understanding of life.
Therefore, make room for the Holy Spirit in your daily life. Spend time in prayer, meditate on the Word, cultivate a heart of worship, and obey God’s instructions. Test spiritual impressions against Scripture, and remain sensitive to His correction and direction.
It is time to stop living merely at the level of circumstances and to learn to live under the government of the Holy Spirit.
. Reverend Ukporhe is the Point Man (Senior Pastor) at Remnant Christian Network, Lagos. Raised in Sokoto, northern Nigeria, he was trained in peculiar firebrand evangelism and was ordained as a pastor in 2001. He has experienced countless and diverse workings of the faithfulness of God over two decades and has developed a passion to see God’s will for Nigeria become a reality. He can be reached on +2348060255604.
