Is it possible
for the Spirit of God to teach us something different from the Bible’s
statements? Must I choose between Bible knowledge and spiritual power? Is it
pleasing to God to base my beliefs on my feelings and experiences? Should I
discard a belief if it does not match the Bible’s statements? These are real
questions sincere Believers grapple with on a regular basis. This is largely
because “Christianity” in the modern world is extremely diverse in its
practices. This is not only true when considering the entire country, but also
within the average size city. In addition, there are a number of methods employed
by Christians to interpret the Bible. Different groups have come to different
conclusions based on their system of interpreting the Bible. Some movements
emphasize Bible content, others the fundamentals of the faith, while yet others
place more stock in experiences and feelings. As a result worship styles vary
vastly across the land. My point here is not to debate worship styles, but to
look at something more foundational to our spiritual formation. What is that
you ask? Well…how we view the ministry of the Spirit of truth and His usages of
the Word of truth to develop and mature disciples for the Lord Jesus. More
specifically, should we be satisfied with any beliefs that do not match the
Bible’s teachings? Is what we believe the same as what God believes? Such
considerations focus our attention on the Author and the best Teacher of the Bible.
Yes, God wants to teach us the Bible to establish how we view all of life.
THE INSPIRER OF
SCRIPTURE
Think with me
about the thoughts of Paul beginning in 1Corinthians 2:13, where we discover the
Spirit inspires the truths He teaches to believers. So the Spirit is the
Revealer, Investigator, and Inspirer of Truth! That is correct; the Spirit is
the divine Author of the Holy Scriptures (2Pet. 1:19-21). Consider carefully
Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 2:13, “Which things also we speak, not in the
words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing
spiritual things with spiritual.” Recall how the Lord Jesus promised that the
Spirit would faithfully teach His followers (John 14:26) and skillfully guide us
into all facets of God’s eternal truth (John 16:13). It is also important to
note carefully the sequence here: the Spirit taught Paul from the Word, and
Paul then taught the believers. The truth of God is found in the Word of God
because of inspiration. The Word is truth! Being taught by the Spirit is not a
subjective intra-personal subliminal mental exercise! No, it is attention to
objective inspired truth! The words of a self-proclaimed prophet may not
be true at all, and the words and comments of a sincere pastor may be entirely
wrong as well. Truth is always found in
God’s written Word. You may not be able to trust what well intentioned men say,
but you can trust the Word of God.
Specifically, I trust my King James Bible.
In addition, it
is very important to note that these spiritual truths Paul is referring to are
given in specific “words.” Yes, like other faithful Bible students, I
believe in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures. In the Bible, we Christians
have much more than inspired thoughts; we have inspired words—words from the
heart of God. Read carefully and thoughtfully what the Lord Jesus says, “For I
have given unto them the words which Thou gavest” (John 17:8). Jesus was
referring to the verbal units that comprise thoughts and concepts; Beloved, He
recognizes them as having belonged to God. By Verbal Inspiration is meant the
very words of Scripture are God’s words. Inspiration goes beyond the concepts
and message to the actual words. It is through specific words that we convey
our exact meaning and message. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 4:4,
“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Again Christ places
extraordinary weight on the actual wording of a sentence of Scripture and not
merely the general concepts. In this light it is utterly consistent to conclude
the Bible is actually God’s Word. Yes, the Bible’s content testifies to the
fact that God is its actual Author. Like anything God communicates, His words
and message to us Christians is absolutely reliable and free of any error
because of the Great Inspirer—The Holy Spirit.
THE INSTRUCTOR
OF SCRIPTURE
Still how does
the Spirit teach the believer? First of all Paul employed the word “teacheth”
(1Cor. 2:13) to describe the Spirit’s work. The Spirit is the Teacher; He
desires to instruct and guide every genuine child of God through the wealth of
the Scriptures. Robertson (1931, Volume 4, p. 88,) in Word
Pictures in the New Testament viewed this word as a reference to the
teaching ministry of the Spirit. Note his comment, “Paul claims the help
of the Holy Spirit in the utterance … of the words, which the Spirit teacheth…
in words taught by the Spirit”. Therefore one taught by God would be
considered ‘instructed’ from a subjective standpoint, but objectively they were
given spiritual insights ‘communicated by teaching.’ Thus the apostles were
Spirit taught. The Spirit of God taught them objective spiritual truth.
The Complete
Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Zodhiates 1993) says this Greek word
means “to teach” and states,
In 1 Cor. 2:13 it refers to things or lessons taught or imparted or suggested by the Holy Spirit as contrasted to the things taught by words of human wisdom. There are things that are not taught by human wisdom but by God's Spirit, and the possibility of that learning is with everybody as the word "all" makes clear in John 6:45.
One natural
implication is that all believers are taught by the Spirit as they yield to
Him. One more comment here will suffice to communicate most conclusively the
teaching ministry of the Spirit directly and through human instrumentality. Paul
emphasized that the intellectuals of this world could not teach the knowledge
he was giving to the Corinthian believers. It has been further suggested (Nelson
Study Bible 1997) that the Spirit did not simply dictate
words to Paul and the other apostles; He taught them. The apostles related with
their own vocabulary and style what they had learned from the Spirit. Thus in
many regards they wrote and taught Scripture from highly developed
understandings of the material.
Not only
does the Spirit teach directly and indirectly, but He combines and compares
“spiritual things with spiritual” realities (1Cor. 2:13). He habitually shows
the relationship between concepts and truths. The Spirit repeats and reminds
the student of the insights, messages, and truths He has taught us previously
(John 14:26). He relates the formerly learned truth to something new he desires
to educate and edify with. Then the Spirit wisely leads the child of God into
new discoveries, new insights, and new applications of old truth. The grandness
of this privilege cannot be overstated—believers are taught by God! What a
blessing it is to research, compare passages, cross reference verses, and grasp
Bible terms as the Spirit of the Living God reveals truths about the Father,
the Lord Jesus, Himself, redemption, sanctification and on and on the wonderful
list goes. One of the joys of Bible study is suddenly seeing a concept in
broader biblical usages. Another blessing is realizing that I have been brought
to a certain conclusion by the Spirit’s teaching ministry in my life. Beloved,
how cool is that!
What a wonder
to witness the Spirit combining, connecting, and linking spiritual realities to
other truths. With awesome skill He carefully synchronizes, blends, inculcates,
compares, distinguish, contrasts, and harmonizes God’s truths to the benefit of
the believer’s comprehension of God and His will. The tragedy of all tragedies
is many Christians are too busy or too distracted by the entertainment world
for this kind of research and quiet meditation before the Word. The
priorities of worldliness, materialism, and personal achievement have
effectively crowd out any faint ambitions to know God intimately. The result is
a spiritually bankrupt brand of Christianity where all types of maladies
further and hasten its deterioration. This is why Christians are so
impoverished, weakened, and ignorant of God. It is not that Christianity is
irrelevant, or inconsequential. No Christians are attempting to live without a
Spirit-taught knowledge of God. What enrichment they forfeit, what peace they
forego, and what principles they live without! Warren Wiersbe (1989, Vol. 1, p.
576) in The Bible Exposition Commentary said further,
The Holy Spirit is like a householder who “bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old” (Matt 13:52). The new always comes out of the old and helps us better understand the old. God gives us new insights into old truths as we compare one part of Scripture with another. Jesus based His teaching on the Old Testament, yet people were amazed at what He taught because it was so fresh and exciting. I suggest that you make time every day to read the Word and meditate on it. Follow a regular schedule in your reading and give yourself time to pray, think, and meditate. Let the Spirit of God search the Word and teach you. The study and application of basic Bible doctrine can transform your life.
Beloved, life
was designed to be experienced with God; God created us for Himself. We are
grossly incomplete without Him. The Holy Spirit’s teaching and instruction
ministry in our lives brings us into some realizations of this original design
of God. Mentoring and coaching are intimate interactions among people. The same
is true of the Spirit’s mentoring and teaching ministry in our lives. Some
lessons we will enjoy more than other. There will be occasions when the Spirit
confronts our sin and seeks restoration with God. While this may feel
uncomfortable it is so vital to our spiritual formation. We can count on the
Spirit to always be timely and relevant in what He teaches us because He knows
us far better than we know ourselves. Trust His guidance from one subject to
the next knowing He always has our highest good in mind.
Lastly, prepare
yourself for a few surprises. The Spirit will correct our misconception about
God more than once. You and I do not know yet what we presently know wrongly. Again
trust the Spirit of God to carefully guide you through the applicable Bible
passages to help you come to the correct conclusions. Honestly, all of us
without any exception have some misconceptions about God that requires tweaking.
Just be honest with God and submissive to the Scriptures.
Remember, what
the Spirit of God teaches will always be consistent with what is taught in the
body of Scripture. The Holy Spirit is not confused. He does not impress us with
ideas or concepts that contradict His own statements in the Bible. The Spirit
teaches from the Bible. If we think or believe something and it does not align
with the Scriptures, then we have believed a lie. The Spirit of God is the
Author and Teacher of the Bible. He will not lead you and me to contradictory
conclusions. He always agrees with the Bible He wrote. I have heard sincere
Christians say, “I do not care what the Bible says…I know what the Spirit of
God told me!” I have also witnessed Christians saying, “I just go with it…I
cannot explain it from the Bible, but I believe it is of the Spirit of God.”
May I say with all humility of heart, that the Bible’s statements matter most
to the Spirit of God, and He will not show us or teach us anything that is not
consistent with His Bible. Our experiences do not establish truth; the Bible is
truth. Our conclusions do not establish truth; the Bible is truth according to
the Lord Jesus (Jn. 17:17). The Spirit of
Truth (Jn. 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1Jn. 4:6) will only communicate truth from
the Word of Truth (2Cor. 6:7; Eph.
1:13; 2Tim. 2:15; Js. 1:18) as written in the Bible. Beloved, when we believe
something claiming it is from the Spirit of Truth, but cannot substantiate that
conclusion from the Word of Truth, it is quite likely we have believed a lie.
Listen carefully…have the faith and holy courage to take what the Bible clearly
says when correctly interpreted over what you feel, have experienced, or think.
Submit yourself to the teaching and instructing ministry of the Spirit of God
on that subject with the hope of emerging from that study with a correct
perception of God and His Word. Whenever you open your Bible, ask the Spirit of
Truth to teach and guide you into all truth. He will teach you wondrous things
out of His holy Book. May you know wonderful blessings as you chose to be a
disciple of the Lord Jesus and a student of the Spirit in the Word of God.
