The Holy Spirit and the Word

Every act of the Holy Spirit upon Man is affirmed of the Truth – the Word of God.

Faith – Rom 10:17 8. Sanctified – Jn 17:17

Begotten – 1 Cor 4:15 9. Dwells – Col 3:16

Quickened – Psa 119:50 10. Leads – Psa 119:105

Born – 1 Pet 1:23 11. Comforts – 1 Thes 4:18

Saved – Jas 1:21 12. Resist – Heb 4:7

Cleansed – Jn 15:7 13. Witness – 1 Jn 5:6-8

Purified – 1 Pet 1:22 14. Raised – Jn 5:29

What the Holy Spirit does – the Word of God does.

“HOW DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT WORK TODAY?” That the Holy Spirit works in the hearts and lives of people, we certainly acknowledge. There's no real controversy over this. The controversy comes mainly over HOW the Spirit works. A careful reading and examination of scripture reveals He works exactly the same way in both the alien sinner and the Christian. HOW then does he work? He works BY and THROUGH his WORD, the Bible! Let us remember, we would not even know there is a Spirit unless it was revealed to us in the Bible.

There are only two possible ways in which the Holy Spirit can work in one's life: directly (exerting personal force upon us) or indirectly (working through an instrument, a means).

The answer to our question is that He does not work “directly,” instead, He works “indirectly” through the use of an instrument. The instrument he uses is the BIBLE. The Spirit's WORD abiding in one's heart and being obeyed in one's life brings about all that is needed to be pleasing to God. (Jn 8:31). It is the Spirit's WORD that is His sword (Eph. 6:17) and through which He exerts His power (Heb. 4:12). Let us illustrate: A man uses an axe to chop wood. The energy is inherent in the man; but, it is transmitted through the axe to the timber, and the axe is the means by which the energy of the man is applied to the wood. Similarly, the Holy Spirit, in both conversion and sanctification, operates on human hearts; but, He does so through the medium of the WORD which is His instrument. And, as there is no direct impact between the man and the wood, neither is there direct impact between the Spirit and the human heart. The Holy Spirit's influence is brought about by means of the WORD of God.

The Bible plainly teaches the Holy Spirit ALWAYS operated through WORDS in both conversion and sanctification and NOT by any DIRECT influence upon the human heart. The Gospel is all- sufficient (2 Pet 1:3; 2 Tim 3:16-17). The WORD has the power to convert (Rom. 1:16), save (Jas 1:21), purify (1 Pet 1:23), sanctify (Jn 17:17), and cleanse (Jn 15:3). If the Spirit operates today separate and apart from His Word as some claim, then He must supply something His inspired word does not supply. He must supply something that man cannot acquire by exercising his free-moral agency in obedience to the Truth. If this is true, then the Bible is not all sufficient!

The Holy Spirit operates or works then, through the means of His inspired word; so that when we read of the WORD doing a particular thing, we understand it is the Spirit doing it through the MEANS of HIS WORD.

According to some, the Spirit works in a special way other than the Scriptures; if so, my question is, “What does he do and how does he do it?”

He CANNOT deliver unto us MORE REVELATION, for He has already given all that is needed in the inspired Word (Jude 3; 2 Pet 1:3; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).

He CANNOT lead us contrary to HIS WORD, for if He did, He would contradict Himself (Gal. 1:6-9).

He CANNOT cause one to OBEY THE GOSPEL, for such would contradict the free-moral agency of man (2 Cor. 5:10).

What DOES He do or CAN he do that is not provided by his Word, the Bible? And, if someone claims that He does/can, then by what means will he use to prove it?! The “better felt (experienced) than told” idea is a figment of man's imagination.

We are told to “test the spirits” (1 Jn 4:1) and “prove all things” (1 Thess 5:21). If a doctrine cannot be found in the Bible, then it matters not what one may “see with their own eyes” or “experience in their own life.” The WORD says, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). Faith comes by hearing God's word (Rom 10:17). If God's word does not teach it, then it's not true. Faith is real, it is not just a “feeling” or a “belief.” It is based upon evidence (Heb. 11:1).

Note what the Holy Spirit provides for us THROUGH his WORD: He produces faith (Rom. 10:17; Jn 20:30-31), gives understanding (Psa 119:104), converts (1 Pet 1:23), saves (1 Cor 15:1-2), sanctifies (Jn 17:17), cleanses (Jn 15:3), purifies (1 Pet 1:22), quickens (Jn 6:63; Psa 119:50), enlightens (Psa 119:130), leads (Psa 73:24; 119:105), comforts (Rom. 15:4), produces spiritual growth (2 Pet 3:18), produces fruit (Col 1:5-6), strengthens (Rev 12:11), regulates our lives (1 Tim 3:14-15), warns (admonishes, 1 Cor. 4:14), guards and makes wise (2 Tim. 3:13-15), stirs up (2 Pet 1:12-13), and exhorts (1 Pet 5:12).

It is very interesting that throughout the Bible when you read of the Spirit doing a thing, it is said that the WORD OF GOD does it. In Ephesians 6:17 we read that the “sword of the Spirit” is the “word of God.” A sword is simply a tool used to accomplish a task. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb 4:12).

The Bible Clearly Teaches That The Holy Spirit Dwells in the Christian (John 7:38, 39; Acts 5:32; Rom. 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 1 Thess. 4:8)

How Does The Holy Spirit Dwell In Us?

According to scripture, God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit all dwell in the Christian.

The Scriptures declare that God dwells in us (1 John 4:12; 1 John 4:15, 16).

The Scriptures also declare that Christ dwells in us (Col. 1:27; Eph. 3:17).

How does faith come? (Rom. 10:17).

Thus, it’s not personally, but through faith that Christ dwells in the Christian’s heart.

2 John 9 states, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.”

Just as God and Christ dwell in us representatively through the Word, so does the Holy Spirit.

Notice two parallel passages: Eph. 5:18-19 and Col. 3:16.

The Lord’s church in Ephesus did not receive one thing and the Colossians something else.

We simply have two ways of saying the same thing:

To be filled with the Word is to be filled with the Spirit.

The rich indwelling of the Spirit is the indwelling of the Word.

The Word has every influence upon us and in us that the Spirit has:

Faith: Spirit (Gal. 5:22) Word (Rom. 10:17)

Begotten (Being Born): Spirit (John 3:8) Word (1 Peter 1:23)

Saved: Spirit (Titus 3:5) Word (James 1:21)

Cleansed: Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11) Word (John 15:3)

Sanctified: Spirit (Rom. 15:16) Word (John 17:17)

Leads: Spirit (Rom. 8:14) Word (Psa. 119:105)

Dwells: Spirit (Eph. 5:18,19) Word (Col. 3:16)

What does the Christian have by the personal indwelling of the Spirit in his heart that he does not have by the acceptance of the Word of God in his heart?

The answer is nothing; therefore, the Holy Spirit dwells in us through the Holy Word.

Consider the meaning of Acts 2:38.

People often want to know what Peter meant on the Day of Pentecost when he promised the “gift of the Holy Spirit” to all who would repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins.

We must decide if Peter was saying that the people who were baptized would receive the Holy Spirit in person as a gift, or if he was saying they would receive a gift which the Holy Spirit had to offer.

We can find the answer when we compare: Acts 2:38 with Acts 3:19. What can we learn from these two passages?

Both passages call for repentance.

Acts 2:38 says “be baptized” whereas Acts 3:19 says “be converted”; through just a casual study of the Scriptures, we can determine that this means one & the same thing.

Acts 2:38 says “remission of sins” and Acts 3:19 says “sins may be blotted out”; again, any honest student of the scriptures would conclude that these refer to the same thing.

Finally, then, Acts 2:38 says “gift of the Holy Spirit” whereas Acts 3:19 says “times of refreshing”; since honesty demands the previous to be identical, then if follows that these too must be identical.

Now then compare these passages with 1 Cor. 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free - and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”

By the teaching of the Spirit through the Word, we are baptized into one body.

As a result, we receive what the Holy Spirit gives: all spiritual blessings in Christ.

According to this view, how does the Holy Spirit lead us?

Rom. 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

Rev. 2:11, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

How are Christians led by the Holy Spirit? -- through the Word.

This is done by the words written by inspired men (2 Peter 1:20-21).

When we follow the Word of God, we are led by the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit leads men into the kingdom by teaching us - in words we can understand - what to believe and obey. (John 6:45).

He then leads, directs and guides people in the kingdom in the same way.

How does the Holy Spirit bear witness with our spirit?

Rom. 8:16 states, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

How does the Holy Spirit do this?

The Spirit commands through the Word that man hear, believe, repent, confess and be baptized.

When man obeys the Word (inspired by the Holy Spirit), then man’s spirit bears witness

with the Holy Spirit that he has done what the Lord requires and that he is indeed a child of God.

In other words, when I do what the Holy Spirit teaches - in the Bible - then both the Holy Spirit and my spirit witness to the fact that I am in a saved condition.

The same procedure is followed in perfecting Christian character and in working for the Lord -- it is all through the Word. (2 Tim 3:16-17).