LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Guided by the Spirit
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14).
In the original Greek we find two words to define a child of God: teknós and huiós. The teknós are all the newborn sons, the infants or children in Christ, and the huiós are the mature sons.
When we are born again we already have the Spirit, but we do not yet learn to be led by the Spirit. Our faculties are not yet exercised. In the beginning, we are often led by the flesh, bringing many problems to ourselves and to others: "Therefore, brethren, I could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, and not meat; for you were not yet able, neither are you yet able" (1 Cor. 3:1-2).
The Lord's purpose is that we grow up spiritually, and not remain as fickle children. For this, he provided for his children all sufficiency through the Spirit, through the ministry of the Word and the mature saints (Eph. 4:11-14).
To understand this, we have to go to the book of Acts, where the Spirit highlights two of them: Stephen and Philip. These two brothers were chosen along with five others to be in charge of serving tables. These were huiós, men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom; men who served the church, but not only this: they were guided by the Holy Spirit.
Stephen was the first martyr of the church. He performed great signs and wonders among the people, when some Jews seized him and took him to the Sanhedrin to later stone him (Acts 7). Chapter 8 speaks of Philip preaching the word in Samaria and then going to Gaza to meet an Ethiopian eunuch, preaching Christ to him.
They were Spirit-filled men. Every mature son is led by the Spirit, and is not inclined to the things of the flesh, but to the things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:5). Every mature son becomes useful, both to the church and to the Lord, both to men and to God.
That is why an huiós son cannot be established or controlled by men. The church has a head, Christ, and everything comes from Him. The huiós sons are guided by the Spirit; therefore, they obey the Spirit, and the One who is the head. But this does not make them negligent towards men. They help the teknós sons to grow so that they too may be guided by the Spirit, and thus serve, like Jesus, before God and before men.