As we read through Jude’s letter to the church, he begins to show us the differences that need to separate us from the false teachers. It’s a very important concept.
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
Jude 17-19 NIV
This is an age-old problem that we’ve faced in the church. It’s the difference between serving God in the natural versus serving Him in the spirit.
It’s important for us to understand the phrase, natural instincts, in this context. Jude uses the Greek word from which we get words like psychology. It speaks of the mind.
When you only use your mind in the worship and service of Christ, you end up getting only the results that mankind can do. If you want to see supernatural results, then you must minister in the spirit.
The Apostle Paul understood this intimately.
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV
The phrase, without the Spirit, in the above verse is the same Greek word that Jude uses for natural instinct. It should really be translated as the soulish man. It’s just living for Christ with what you can figure out on your own.
You need to be able to tap into the Holy Spirit if you want to fully understand God’s will. That will require you to spend some time praying in the spirit.
However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” — but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIV
There are so many who just don’t want to come to grips with this verse. The fact is that you can read the whole Bible from cover to cover (and you should!) and you can hear every sermon ever preached. You can brainstorm for the next ten years and you still won’t know God’s total plan for your life.
The only way to know what God has prepared for us to accomplish is time spent with the Holy Spirit. That’s where He can reveal to us His heart.
The Galatian church was struggling with this truth.
I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Galatians 3:2-3 NIV
So much of what we see in the church today is the result of human effort. Don’t let that be your legacy. Live and minister by the spirit. Spend time with the Holy Spirit and don’t follow your own human natural instinct.
Question: How much time do you spend in the presence of the Lord?
© 2026 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 