The Mighty Revealer of Secrets

The apostle John emphasized in two places in the Epistle of 1 John the teaching ministry of the Spirit.  Notice in 1 John 2:20, he said, “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” This “Unction” is a reference to the Holy One, the Spirit of God, as the Teacher of the believer. This Professor dwells within. Then John later emphasized this same truth in 1 John 2:27, which says, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”  The “Anointing” in this passage is none other than the blessed sweet Spirit of God in the ministry of teaching believers the things of the Lord.  He remains in believers to teach and affirm the truth of the Word. Praise the Lord, the believer is not left to figure it out alone!  The Spirit will diligently teach the children of God.

THE REVEALER 

The Apostle Paul taught how believers can know God’s thoughts and plans through the study of the Scriptures. Revelation is what Paul emphasized in 1 Corinthians 2:9-12. He illustrated the futility of human wisdom, compared with the power and wisdom of God (1Cor. 2:1-8). The apostle reminded the Corinthians of his ministry among them and how he sought to glorify God and not himself.  Complete dependence and submission to God’s authority marked Paul’s ministry (Eph. 6:5; Phil. 2:12). He came to Corinth proclaiming the testimony of God, but not with excellent oratory or human wisdom. He was not at all interested in showing himself off as a gifted speaker or astute philosopher. His style of preaching was unimpressive from a human point of view (2 Cor. 10:10). Paul’s unembellished message was Jesus Christ, and Him crucified as the only means of salvation.

MacDonald and Farstad (1995, p. 1751) affirmed that the Apostle Paul recognized the difference between ministry that is soulish and that which is spiritual. By soulish ministry, he means that which amuses, entertains, or generally appeals to man’s emotions. Spiritual ministry, on the other hand, presents the truth of God’s Word in such a way as to glorify Christ and to reach the heart and conscience of the hearers. This is clearly the aim of the Holy Spirit as He open to believers the Scriptures. Therefore, as Paul preached the Gospel, dynamic faith was induced by a “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1Cor. 2:4) and was not a product of human ingenuity or rhetorical excellence. Paul wanted to be sure their “faith” would not rest “in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1Cor. 2:5). Then Paul is lead by the Spirit to unveil the wisdom of God’s great plan of salvation. The result is insight into God’s thoughts and plans!

Never-the-less, I am reminded that people do not understand everything with respect to God’s Word and will!  This is why revelation is necessary. In 1 Corinthians 2:9, Paul said, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” This wonderful passage communicates how believers often are not ready to comprehend everything in reality as God knows it. Some things Christians may consider “hidden wisdom” (2:7) that are not understandable to them at the moment. The Spirit must lead believers into the deeper truths of God. Also a part of living by faith is trusting God with those things we do not, as of yet, understand. God did not promise to answer all of our questions. Everything consistent with salvation and spiritual growth needful for our, the child of God’s, current experience the Spirit will help us learn.

Through what the Spirit reveals to Christians, we can know the plans and thoughts of God through the Scriptures. In 1 Corinthians 2:10, Paul says “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” Clearly the primary Teacher of Christians is the Spirit of God!  The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wiersbe 1989, p. 575) affords some helpful insight into Paul’s emphasis.

We have considered two fundamental truths of the Gospel: this message centers in the death of Christ and it is part of the Father's vast eternal plan. The believers at Corinth had forgotten the cost of their salvation; they had gotten their eyes off of the cross. They … had lost the wonder of the greatness of God's plan for them. They needed to return to the ministry of the Holy Spirit…. 

The Holy Spirit then is the ‘Revealer’ of the mind of God.  The blessings of salvation were prepared by the Father, carried out by the Son, and applied by the Spirit (Eph. 1:3-14) to all believers. “God hath revealed them unto us by [through] His Spirit” (1Cor. 2:10)—these truths foretold in the Old Testament were made known to the apostles of the New Testament era. It was by the Spirit of God that the apostles and prophets were enlightened, because “the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1Cor. 2:10). In other words, the Spirit of God, a member of the Godhead, is infinite in wisdom and understands all the truths of God. He is able to impart such insight to Christians who are willing to learn. The only way the Corinthians could know God’s redemptive plan was by the Spirit, who knows and reveals these “deep things of God” about salvation. Certainly every believer should turn to Him for a spiritual education.  While it is good to listen and learn from gifted Bible preachers and teachers, the Christian must not overlook or ignore this ministry of the Spirit in their Bible study life.

Now that the Spirit is understood to be the Revealer, what is “revelation?” Revelation is the unveiling of something previously hidden so that it may be seen for what it is. “Revealed” in 1Corinthians 2:10 expresses how God has made known to men truths and realities that men could not discover for themselves (Deut. 29:29; 1Cor. 2:7-10). The Holy Spirit, as God, reveals God to people. He ministers to them and makes the Father real to them. Without revelation, people would not know anything about God or even that there is a God. Thus it is vital to accept the premise that God desires to make Himself known to man, and has in fact revealed Himself at various times and in different ways (Heb. 1:1-2). This automatically eliminates mere imagination, reason, philosophy, intuition, speculations, Aristotle, Plato, and any other love of knowledge as equals with the revelation of God in the Bible.  Only the Apostles and Prophets knew the mind of God; Christians have it today in the written Word of God.  God has revealed Himself to man and the Scriptures are the single authoritative disclosure of Him to modern humanity.  If believers really want to know God they must turn to the Scriptures.  No other writings should be placed on the same level with them. They are Spirit-given—His revelation of God to man—and He skillfully uses them to teach believers.