The Holy Spirit and the Word
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORD
No theory of the work of the Holy Spirit in revelation which modifies or alters the written word can be true. Paul, to Timothy, wrote: "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:14-17).
It will first be observed that Timothy "learned;" he "learned" what he was taught. We must learn of God and the way of salvation. Jesus, himself, declared: "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me" (John 6:45).
Timothy was taught the sacred scriptures from child-hood by his mother in order that he might become "wise unto salvation." The Holy Spirit did not intervene directly from heaven and guide him in his knowledge of God and salvation.
Holy Scriptures The Holy Scriptures are of Divine origin. They are: Profitable for teaching, Profitable for reproof, Profitable for correction, Profitable for instruction in righteousness that the Man of God is thoroughly furnished unto all good works. The power of God unto salvation (2 Timothy 3:14-17; Romans 1:16).
Divine Origin The word of God is of Divine origin. Peter, the inspired apostle, declared of the Old Testament, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:20-21). Of the New Testament scriptures it is said: "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written, in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:30-31).
The inspired men of God, chosen by Him, revealed God's word to man, as it was revealed unto them, not always understanding the full meaning of the word themselves. Peter declared, "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. To whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things angels desired to look into" (1 Peter 1:9-12 RSV).
No Other Gospel The Holy Spirit revealed one message of salvation through God's chosen ambassadors and there is no other message of the Holy Spirit to be received, notwithstanding the false claims of uninspired, modern men of today!
Of the Old Testament scriptures, Moses warned, "Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I commanded you" (Deuteronomy 4:1-2). Further-more, he declared, "What thing soever I command you , observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it" (Deuteronomy 12:32).
Curse Upon Any Perverter The inspired apostle Paul affirmed the gospel he preached to be of divine origin and he declared that the curse of God rests upon any man or angel who would pervert the re-vealed gospel of Christ, that of the New Testament scrip-tures. Hear the apostle: "For I make known unto you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12 RSV).
Cursed is the man who seeks to pervert the gospel, or claims revelation of another gospel from the Holy Spirit. "I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; which is not another gospel: only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema" (Galatians 1:6-9 RSV).
The inspired word of God closes with a final warning to those who might claim to receive new relations from God. "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city , and from the things which are written in this book" (Revelation 22:18-19).
The scriptures constitute the means of instruction, by the Holy Spirit, profitable for teaching, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. By the scriptures, the word of God, man is furnished completely unto every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Jesus, the Son of God, endorsed Moses and applied ap-propriate parts of his teaching unto himself. ". . . Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that pro-ceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4). To teach men of the Son of God is to preach the scriptures through which the Holy Spirit instructs the soul. "Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture , and preached unto him Jesus" (Acts 8:35).
Man must believe, but he can not know what to believe until he has been taught what to believe. To the Romans , Paul wrote: "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14). The apostle con-cluded in verse 17 of Romans 10, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Word Permanent and Enduring When the Lord commissioned the disciples to preach the word, he declared that their work would be permanent and enduring. ". . . lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). No other human beings since the apostles have been honored with the responsi-bility of revealing the mind of God to man, his creation upon the earth.
The inspired "apostles, whom he had chosen," were com-missioned to set upon thrones of judgment and authority, to accomplish the work for which they were set apart, this great mission of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit to be accomplished "through thy truth." "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (John 17:20-21). In verse 18 of John 17, Jesus declared, "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world."
The apostle Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, af-firmed that they, the apostles, were ambassadors of Christ, who "gave unto us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). Jude declared, "that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once" once and for all time, by the apostles, "delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3).
Holy Spirit Certified Gospel The gospel proclaimed by the apostles was a Holy Spirit revealed and certified gospel. "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;" (1 Corinthians 15:1-3).
"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:11-12). Claims of direct revelations from God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit today are absolute denials of the credibility and inspiration of the Bible. We repeat, the curse of God Al-mighty rests upon anyone who is so foolish to make such false claims! The apostles were the divinely chosen agents of God, with a divine message from the Holy Spirit to in-struct man in the way of salvation (Galatians 1:7-9).
Foolishness of Preaching The Almighty, our Creator, must of necessity be greater in wisdom than the created. Therefore, man, the creature of God, can not comprehend God without divine aid, through the divine instruction of the gospel of Christ. "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (1 Corinthians 1:21).
Holy Spirit, Seed, Kingdom The Holy Spirit is the life regenerating power of the word of God. In 1 John 5:6, we are informed, ". . . And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth." Our Lord, in prayer to the Father, said, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17).
To His disciples, He explained, "The seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:11). From these divine declarations we learn that the "Spirit" operates through the "truth," the "word" of God, which is the "seed" of the kingdom.
The Spirit gives life to the word, the truth, by which man is regenerated, begotten as a child of God. "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (Jim 6:63). "I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel (1 Corinthians 4:14-15)
Peter declared, to the born-again elect of God, "Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth. . . Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of in-corruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Peter 1:22-23).
The "seed" is the "word," the "word" is the "truth," and the "truth" is the "spirit"; therefore, those who were begotten by the seed, the word, were begotten by the Spirit through the seed, God's word. The regenerating power of the Spirit of God is to be found only in the word of God, the seed of the kingdom of God. Any theory concerning direct operation of the Holy Spirit, separate and apart from the word of God, is false.
Born of Spirit--Life Seed Word The farmer plants the seed of corn with expectation of reproduction, because there is the regenerating life that God put in the seed. Corn can not be produced without the seed because the reproductive life is in the seed. The reproductive life in the God-made grain of corn is the same thing to the seed of corn that the Holy Spirit is to the word of God, the seed of God's Kingdom! The Holy Spirit gives life, regenerating and reproductive power to the word of God. No wonder Jesus declared, "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). The Holy Spirit does not operate independent, separate and apart from the word of God!
The fantastic claims of direct revelations from the Holy Spirit by men, since the close of the apostolic age, are false claims. No such revelations have been received, regardless of all the claims of men combined. We would say with Paul: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, trans-forming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:13-14).
Let us observe these characteristics of the word of God, through which the Holy Spirit operates, and ask ourselves can the Holy Spirit do more separate and apart from the word?
1. The word is that which furnishes the man of God completely (2 Timothy 3:16).
2. The word is that which enlightens man's soul, Psalms 19:8.
3. The word makes one wise unto salvation, Psalms 19:7; 2 Timothy 3:15. Does the Holy Spirit, apart from the word, do more than that?
4. The word is perfect converting the soul, Psalms 19:7. If the word is perfect converting the soul, then why the theory of the direct operation of the Holy Spirit?
5. The soul is begotten by the seed, the word, the truth. The spirit is the truth (1 Peter 1:22-23; 1 John 5:6). If born of the Spirit through the seed, the word, then what part could the Holy Spirit, in a direct way, have to do with the new birth?
6. The word produces faith in the heart (Romans 10:17). "Faith," the apostle declared, "comes by hearing and hear-ing by the word of God." Does the Holy Spirit instill faith, apart from the word? The heart is purified by the word, 1 Peter 1:22, "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth." If the soul is purified by obedience to the word, the truth, then what would be the work of the Holy Spirit separate and apart from the word of God in conversion?
Ladies and gentlemen, hear me! Are you listening? There is not one thing man can name that the Holy Spirit is said to do in conversion, separate and independent of the word of God, but what it may be definitely known that the same thing is accomplished by the Spirit, through the word of God!
Direct Operation of Holy Spirit Voids the Gospel
If God should today convert a soul by direct operation of the Holy Spirit, through miraculous intervention, He would set aside the whole scheme of redemption, revealed by the Holy Spirit through the apostles in the New Testament. This false theory would mean that God made a tragic mistake. After four thousand years of planning, and requisitioning prophets, angels, His own Son, the apostles, and thousands of disciples, in providing the scheme of redemption, God decided to set it all aside and dispatch the Holy Spirit, directly from heaven, and operate directly upon the sinners heart. Truly, a false conception of almighty God. Who would accuse God of such blunders!
The false theory of the direct operation of the Holy Spirit in conversion would dispense with the gospel. Yet, Jesus said the word is the seed of the kingdom (Luke 8:10-11), and Paul declared that the gospel is the power of God to save the believer. Hear him! "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16).
The direct operation theory would dispense with the preacher of the gospel. Yet, Paul, by the Holy Spirit, emphasised: "How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" . . . (Romans 10:14). To the Corinthians he concluded:
"For after that in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." (1 Corinthians 1:21).
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit commanded: "And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of the quick and the dead" (Acts 10:42).
The theory of direct operation of the Holy Spirit in conviction and conversion would nullify the cross and all it means to salvation. The apostle Paul declared that the way of salvation is the way of the cross revealed in the gospel. Hear the apostle:
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have be-lieved in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). It is very evident that the Corinthians learned of Christ, the glory of the cross, and the power of His resurrection through the gospel preached by Paul and not by some di-rect operation of the Holy Spirit.
My friends, no theory of direct operation of the Holy Spirit's work in conversion that eliminates the parties of the new covenant, with their respective responsibilities to the contract, can be accepted. This new covenant includes the divine mind of God, in written contract, between God and man, with Christ Jesus, the mediator or surety. The apostle wrote: "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament" (Hebrews 7:22). Also read Hebrews 8:1-13.
The Holy Spirit does not operate independent of the word of God, but reveals the word, giving power and life to it. When God, through the Holy Spirit, spoke to Moses and the prophets, He directed the mind of Israel. When God spoke through Christ, his Son, and by the Holy Spirit, He moved and directed the minds of the apostles, giving to the world one message of salvation; the heaven-born, spirit-filled message of the cross, offering conditions of pardon and promises of salvation. The Holy Spirit moves the mind and convicts the soul today, but not independent of the word. When man hears the gospel, he hears the word of the spirit; when he obeys the gospel, he obeys the word of the Spirit.
The word of God has always been the revelation of the Spirit to which man is obligated to hear and obey. Hear the word of the Lord to Joshua: "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written here-in: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success (Joshua 1:7-8).
Word Perfect In Conversion
Hear David: "The law of the Lord is. perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlighten-ing the eyes" (Psalms 19:7-8).
To affirm the necessity of direct operation of the Holy Spirit in conversion is to deny the divine statement, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul"! If the "law of the Lord" is perfect, converting the sinner, then there is no need for the direct operation of the Holy Spirit in converting the sinner. The apostle Paul, Romans 1:16 , declared the gospel of Christ is "the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth . . ." The spirit directed gospel is God's power to save the believer. There is no other power that can do more. If the Holy Spirit operates directly from Heaven, separate and apart from the word of God, then why the necessity of sending missionaries to foreign countries to preach the gospel to those who know not God? Why does not the Holy Spirit convert the heathens, without the preaching of the gospel, if the Spirit operates independently of the word? The gospel is God's power to save the believer!
Jesus, our Lord, said, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and Jigged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great" (Luke 6:46-49).
Cleansing from sin is the result of obedience to the word of God, not a direct operation of the Holy Spirit. Hear Christ: "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you" (John 15:3).
QUESTIONS FOR MEDITATION 1. What is the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the word of God?
2. Did the Holy Spirit guide the apostles unto all truth?
3. What are the consequences of perverting Holy Spirit revealed gospel?
4. Does the Holy Spirit give life to the seed of the kingdom , the word of God?
5. Does the Holy Spirit reveal word of God directly from heaven to men today?
6. If the Holy Spirit operates separate and apart from the word of God, then is the "law of the Lord perfect, con-verting the soul"?
7. If the gospel of Christ is the power of God to save the believer, what power could the Holy Spirit exercise that the gospel does not have?