God has given us His word and the Holy Spirit to guide us. This goes for us as individuals and for our church. The same follows for the greater Church. The Spirit and the word work together to move Gods purpose forward. There are many Old and New Testament Scriptures to back this up. Today we’ll look at some of them.
“The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me; his words are upon my tongue. 2 Samuel 23:2
Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and he told me to say, “This is what the Lord says to the people of Israel: I know what you are saying, for I know every thought that comes into your minds. Ezekiel 11:5
Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Sometimes we look at things differently, or God presents things to us in a different manner, but The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures are always in agreement.
There have been times in history where the Church has suffered because one of these elements have been emphasized at the expense of the other. Where the Spirit alone is emphasized, there will tend to be fanaticism and a very subjective approach based on people’s feelings and personal experiences.
Where only the Word is emphasized, there will tend to be what man people call “Dead Orthodoxy”.
This is where there may be strict adherence to correct doctrine, but there is no vibrant spiritual life to go along with it.
There should be a balance. There should be an intimate and complimentary relationship between The Holy Spirit and the Word in our lives.
This morning I’ll list out 4 areas in our walk that the Spirit and the Word should work together. This list is NOT comprehensive, but the first area is:
1. Revelation
Because we’re born into a fallen, sinful state we’re unable to come to a sure knowledge of God on our own. We can’t come to know God on our OWN INITIATIVE! We have to have his help. God REVEALS himself to us through his word and the Holy Spirit. 18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 1 Corinthians 1:18-21
But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. 1 Corinthians 2:10-12
2. Inspiration
In the same way that the writers of the scriptures were inspired by the Holy Spirit, we’re inspired by the Spirit and the Word.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, 21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. 2 Peter 1:20-21
3. Illumination
Illumination is different from inspiration in that it works in the mind, heart, and spirit of believers helping us to understand spiritual truths
Apart from God, we, as people are spiritually blind. If you remember from last week Jesus said in
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3
Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4
4. Preaching and Teaching
We know, dear brothers and sisters that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. 5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you. 6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia. Thessalonians 1:4-7 That’s my hope and prayer for us this morning: That we’ll become this example to all the believers. In order for us to do that we need to know Gods word, and we need the Power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. We need these two balanced in our lives to be effective in our walk.
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