Living for God in the midst of a godless world
Lesson 4
“You must have the Spirit of God”
Let’s begin with a review. What have we learned about living for God in the midst of a godless world from Daniel 1-3? First, you have to resolve not to defile yourself (Daniel 1:8). Second, you have to seek the compassion of the Lord (Daniel 2:18). Third, you need to believe and trust in God’s deliverance (Daniel 3:16-17). Our fourth lesson is found in Daniel 4:1-18.
I find the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s journey of faith to be one of the most interesting in Scripture. Of course, Daniel plays a key role in it. God reveals Himself over and over again to Nebuchadnezzar and, with each confession, his faith grows more and more. Through Daniel, God is making an impact on Nebuchadnezzar’s heart and Daniel 4 is a key to his transformation (more about that in Lesson 5). Listen to the king’s words in Daniel 4:2-3
“It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.
How great are His signs and how mighty are His wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and
His kingdom is from generation to generation.”
Suffice it to say (by virtue of what happens in chapter 4), Nebuchadnezzar is not fully there yet, but he is well on the way. Still, God has one more dream in store for him and it is from this that our fourth lesson is derived. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a great tree that was chopped down, stripped of its foliage, and banded at the stump. This tree then morphs into the vision of a man transforming into a beast. Initially, Nebuchadnezzar’s native magicians could not give him an interpretation. Upon their failure, he turns to Daniel because he knows that “a spirit of the holy gods” dwells in him (keep in mind that these words reflect the perspective, albeit changing, of an idolatrous king)—Daniel 4:8-9. In 4:18 we read,
This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar (Daniel), tell me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, because a spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
The New American Standard Version of the Bible offers this footnote back in v. 8, “Or possibly the Spirit of the holy God, and so throughout the chapter.” The translator’s choice for the text probably best reflects the heathen king’s understanding, but regardless of how accurately Nebuchadnezzar knows how to say it, we know exactly what is being said. Daniel, by virtue of his use as a prophet and interpreter of dreams, has been given the Holy Spirit and the gift of God’s Spirit has helped him to thrive in this heathen land. The Spirit of God makes Daniel able to do things others just could not do.
No one should understand the significance of this point more than Christians for whom the indwelling of the Spirit is one of the greatest blessings of our salvation (Acts 2:38). The essential truth of Romans 8:5-17 is that what we were completely unable to do in the flesh (namely, live for God) we are able to do in the Spirit! We are not obliged to live by the flesh any longer (v. 12). We must let the Spirit lead us (v. 13). That the Spirit of God will never lead us into sin is well-attested in Galatians 5:16-26. When we are led by the Spirit, walk by the Spirit and live by the Spirit (5:25) we will not carry out the desires of the flesh (v. 18). Instead, we will be filled with the righteous fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22-23), a fruit we could not bear when in the flesh. We don’t live for God by accident. It only occurs through a concerted and focused effort on our part to follow the Spirit’s lead. Romans 8:1-17 and Galatians 5:16-26 should be on our weekly, if not daily, reading list!
Living for God in the midst of a godless world requires that you receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in baptism and that you walk in the way He both describes and empowers us. You are able to do “in Christ” what you could never do when in the world.