“Did You Hear That?”
Many Christians believe that God speaks through our inner being, and that if a believer learns to tune in on the Spirit’s voice, he can, in effect, gain extra insight into God’s will for his life. This is usually described as being led by the Spirit. Similar to the Jedi calming their minds so that they can find the will of the Force, many Christians try to hear the Spirit speaking to their hearts. Afterwards, they may say, “God spoke to me.” In their defense, they usually don’t mean that God spoke audibly to them, but the result is the same, and they perceive the message they received as just as valid.
If God really does communicate by this means, then we all need to learn to listen to what he says in order to obey. But if the Bible does not teach that he does this, then we need to abandon this practice as unprofitable.
The Knowable and Unknowable Wills of God
If there’s anything we should strive to do right, it’s God’s will. In fact, the Bible commands us to understand the Lord’s will. “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (Ephesians 5: 17). So, it’s actually disobedience not to understand God’s will. But before we can understand something, we have to at least know it, and therein lies the challenge.
When Darth Vader approaches the Emperor, he asks, “What is thy bidding, my Master?” Immediately, the Emperor starts a conversation. If only it were that easy! What if God would just tell us his will for our lives? There’s good news. He has! Remember, 2 Timothy 3: 16– 17 says that Scripture provides all the knowledge we need to do every good work God has planned for us.
But there’s a catch. The key to understanding God’s will for your life is to know that God has two wills. One is knowable and the other is not. The “knowable will” can be described as his “ethical will.” Whenever the Bible speaks of knowing and doing God’s will, it refers to that “will” disclosed in Scripture. This will makes a clear distinction between sin and obedience. For example, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5: 18). It’s not a mystery what God’s will is for you in this area of gratitude. You don’t have to pray for hours on end to figure out if he wants you to be grateful or ungrateful. He has already told you to be thankful in every situation.
God’s other will can be described as his “controlling will.” Whatever God wants to happen, it happens, because he controls all things. He planned from eternity past that you would be reading this sentence right now! Right after you finished reading it, you were smack dab in God’s will. Congratulations! Pretty easy, huh? It’s actually impossible for anyone to avoid being in God’s controlling will. Just as Anakin and Luke have destinies that are impossible to escape, we cannot miss our destinies. The encouraging thing for believers versus the Jedi is that we have a loving, rational, wise Father who has already perfectly crafted our past, present, and future for our good.
Led by the Spirit
Along with the filling of the Holy Spirit, the Bible teaches a concept of being “led by the Spirit.” Understanding what it means to be led by the Spirit is crucial in so many areas of the Christian life. Is being led by the Spirit like R2-D2’ s compulsion to search out Obi-Wan Kenobi? Is it comparable to Qui-Gon telling Jar Jar that the Force will guide them? Does it encompass warning signs like Luke feeling cold and death from the cave on Dagobah? Before we answer these questions, let’s start by examining a time when the Holy Spirit’s leading was associated with an unusual event in history. Doing so will help us understand the typical way we are led, which is described in the next section.
When Jesus started his ministry, the Holy Spirit led him out into the wilderness to be tempted (Matthew 4: 1). The Bible doesn’t say exactly what this involved, but the whole experience was quite out of the ordinary. Satan has a conversation with Jesus, and after the devil leaves him, angels come to minister to Jesus. We have no indication that Jesus went into the wilderness because he had some sort of feeling or notion. Even if it did work this way, remember that historical accounts like those found in the Gospels are not meant to be commands for us or examples of how we should expect God to act now. This account is similar to Obi-Wan telling Luke to go to Dagobah. Luke doesn’t just feel a strong emotional pull to fly to that system. Instead, Obi-Wan tells Luke specific details of where he is to go and who he is to find.
Paul was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to take certain directions in his missionary journeys.
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. (Acts 16: 6– 7)
Again, the Spirit must have told Paul to refrain from preaching Christ in Asia. Beforehand, Paul used his mind to make decisions and create plans, but the Spirit intervened and changed how events unfolded.
Right before Luke leaves Hoth in Episode V, Wedge says, “See you at the rendezvous.” That’s the plan, but soon after, Luke turns his X-wing towards a new destination. Artoo beeps his concern, and Luke says, “There’s nothing wrong, Artoo. I’m just setting a new course . . . we’re not going to regroup with the others… we’re going to the Dagobah system.” Luke continues to keep the starfighter on manual control rather than let Artoo pilot it. This helps us picture what happened to Paul. Artoo assumes they are going to meet up with the other Rebels, but Luke has a different purpose in mind. Artoo can’t do much to stay the course when his master prevents him from doing so.
For us, God is still the pilot in the sense that he has the power to override our control. Sometimes in life, job struggles, relationship conflicts, or health problems can feel like things are knocked off course, leaving us plotting desperately to get back to our previous path. But we can trust our Father in heaven knowing that he places us on each and every course in life to make us more like Christ while we also take part in his unfolding plan.
We’ve reviewed a couple of historical examples of when the Spirit intervened in an unusual way. But these situations in the Gospels and Acts don’t apply to us. They were just experiences that other people had. We can’t obey or strive for an experience like theirs hoping to receive what wasn’t intended for us. So, how should we interpret what the Bible means when it says the Spirit leads you and me?
For our application, there are only two places in the teaching passages that refer to being led by the Spirit: Romans 8 and Galatians 5. In the first section of Romans 8, Paul explains that there are only two ways to live. Someone lives with his mind set on either what the flesh desires or what the Spirit desires. The mind is governed either by the flesh or by the Spirit. The person is either in Christ or he is not. Paul equates living for Christ as being “led by the Spirit,” since it’s the Spirit who works in the life of every believer.
So, being led by the Spirit, in the context of this passage, refers to the Spirit leading you into a life that is different from how you were before Christ. Being sanctified is a lifelong process. You aren’t set free of sin immediately. You are, however, free from its bondage. God accepts you immediately and promises that the Holy Spirit will help change your behavior as you mature in Christ. Your new life is characterized by the fact that sin no longer controls you (as Romans 7 describes). “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8: 14). In this verse, Paul means that the sanctified life (the led-by-the-Spirit life) is the evidence that you really are a believer.
To help understand this concept, think of Anakin and Luke. Anakin is being led by the dark side into a life characterized by fear, anger, and hate, while Luke is being led by the light side into a life characterized by courage, patience, and love. They still make decisions, but the Force acts as a power that seduces Anakin away from living for peace and justice and moves Luke towards it. Even though the Jedi and Sith have clairvoyant powers that can, in a sense, lead them, I use the word “led” in a different manner. I don’t mean how Vader is led to the rebel’s hidden base or how Luke is led to Cloud City by the Force. I use “led” like Paul uses it in these passages, which relates to leading one into a transformed life.
The other passage that uses the phrase “led by the Spirit” is Galatians 5. Paul makes the same sort of argument as he does in Romans. He contrasts living for God with not living for God. Some other phrases he uses here to describe the Christian’s obedience are “walk by the Spirit,” “live by the Spirit,” and “keep in step with the Spirit.” All of these mean the same thing. Basically, this passage commands us to refrain from committing sinful acts of the flesh, such as sexual immorality, hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, and selfish ambition. We are told to put these off and obey God’s commands, which produce attributes like love, joy, peace, kindness, and self-control. Like Romans 8, when Galatians 5 talks about being led by the Spirit, it refers only to being led into a more holy life, one in which the believer is being changed by the Holy Spirit to want to live for his or her Lord in a more God-honoring way.
Like the phrase “led by the Spirit” means something different than its ostensible definition, the phrase “May the Force be with you” implies a different concept once we learn more about the seduction of the dark side. It’s interesting how only the Jedi, not the Sith, say this phrase to each other. It wouldn’t make sense for the Jedi to wish a ubiquitous energy to be with someone. Instead, the Jedi say this phrase as an encouragement to their friends to keep faith in the light side and reject the dark. Just as with this illustration, many of us need to redefine our terminology. If you are a believer, it’s impossible for you not to be led by the Spirit.
If you enjoyed this and want to study more theology using the backdrop of Star Wars, check out my book, Star Wars Redeemed: Your Life-Transforming Journey with Jesus and the Jedi on sale at amazon.com. Thanks for reading!
