This post is written by Katie Orr as a companion for Unit 32, Session 2 of The Gospel Project for Adults, Volume 11: From One Nation to All Nations (Spring 2024).
Have you ever wondered or asked any of the following questions?
How do I know if God is speaking to me?
What does His leading look like?
How do I know what God’s will is for my life?
How do I apply the Bible to the particulars in my situation?
The Bible provides us with many stories of God’s interactions with humankind. There are awe-filled burning bush experiences, miraculous stories of healings and deliverance from evil, as well as many records of symbolic visions that carry a vital message for God’s people. From each of these portraits, we can learn much about God and His ways. However, we don’t typically see God work in these same ways today, so it may feel as if God is no longer speaking. Or perhaps He is, and we’re just missing it.
God desires for us to know Him intimately, follow Him fully, and glorify Him with our lives. The world we now live in is very different from the world of the Old Testament. But the God of ages past is the same God we serve today. His character has not changed. Yet with the dawn of the new covenant, there are three gifts of grace God has given us through which God primarily works out His plans. As we depend on these provisions, we can know God’s will, hear His voice, and live a life filled with fruit, joy, peace, and more—all for the glory of God.
God’s Perfect Word
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We possess something God’s people in the Old Testament did not have: the Word of God, completed. God certainly brought His words to people, but in a progressive revelation. Noah received more of God’s plan than Adam; Abraham more than Noah; Moses more than Abraham; the disciples more than Moses; etc. Though there are still details of His plan that God has yet to reveal (like the timing of Christ’s second coming), His special revelation to humankind has been accomplished. We are not in want of additional messages from God to follow His will. His Word is sufficient.
When it comes to hearing God’s voice and understanding God’s will, the best place to start is to study His Word. As we know and understand God’s will that is already plainly communicated in God’s Word and obey those clear directions God has given, it becomes easier to discern His best plan for our specific situations.
God’s Empowering Spirit
“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3).
Christ has provided many gifts of grace through the new covenant: forgiveness, redemption, righteousness, adoption, spiritual gifts, and so much more. The seal of the covenant is the Holy Spirit—the very presence of God—who permanently dwells within us. He is with us in both an individual and corporate sense, and He is the fuel to the fire of following God’s will.
As individuals, we receive the Spirit as our helper, guide, and source for all we need for living a godly life. We can obey the commands in Scripture through the grace and enabling power of the Holy Spirit. As we pray and work toward the end of glorifying God in our everyday moments, He will be faithful to provide the help, direction, and grace to live out our God-given callings. The Spirit brings forth God-glorifying fruit in our lives.
But the Spirit is not with us in merely an individual sense, He dwells in the midst of us—the bride of Christ, the church—and He accomplishes all those same works in a corporate sense as well. So many of the commands in Scripture are plural commands. Their context is community. We must depend on the gift of the Holy Spirit to become a unified church body who glorifies God through our interactions with one another and with the lost and dying world around us.
God’s Imperfect People
“We exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:14-18).
God has given us each other as a gift of grace. We do not walk this journey alone. Beyond the guiding truth of the Bible and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, we have a spiritual family that exists to edify us. Every Christian has been given spiritual gifts to serve one another. So much of all God has promised us, He delivers to us through His church.
Yes, through His imperfect people.
There is no perfect church, no perfect pastor, no perfect church member. Yet God in all His wisdom and grace has chosen to use the local church as a vehicle for carrying out His will.
God has spoken definitively to His church. His will for the bride of Christ is clearly communicated throughout Scripture. We frequently discover divine direction for our lives as we serve alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ. The specifics we want uncovered, regarding our calling, are found as we fulfill our duties to the local church.
If we desire to know God’s will and live a life that follows God’s plan, we must stay connected to these three gifts of grace: God’s Word, God’s Spirit, and God’s people. They are the vehicle, fuel, and guardrails given to us that we may glorify God with all our days.
Katie Orr is the author of Secrets of the Happy Soul, seven FOCUSed15 Bible studies, and is the creator of the Bible Study Hub community, where women can receive training, encouragement, and accountability to enjoy God’s Word. Katie holds an MA in Discipleship from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She and her husband, Chris, along with their three children, live in Central Florida.
