Sunday, September 9,
2012
THE SPIRIT AND THE WORD
I would
like to begin this morning by asking you some questions. You can answer them out loud, or you can just
ponder them in your mind. Here they are…
How does
the Christian know how to pray? How does
the believer learn about the deep things of God? How is a person born again -- by the Word of
God or by the Spirit of God? How is a
person sanctified -- by the Word of God or the Spirit of God? Now that you know we are considering very
specifically the Word of God and the Spirit of God, let’s go back to those
first two questions. How does the
Christian know how to pray -- from the Word of God or the Spirit of God? And how does the believer learn about the
deep things of God -- from the Word of God or the Spirit of God?
Now let’s
ask a more basic question: Is there a
relationship between the Spirit of God and the Word of God? When I speak of the Word of God, I am talking
specifically about the written Word of God, the Bible. If there is a relationship between the Spirit
and the Bible, what is that relationship?
How do we see it? What do you
think? Yes, there is a strong relationship
between the Spirit and the Word. Perhaps
there is no clearer way to see it than to begin with the basic question: Who is the author of the Bible? Who is it?
Yes, God is the author of the Bible, but more specifically, the author
is the Spirit of God.
Let’s look
at the two classic scriptures from the New Testament that bear on this
question. Let’s read II
Pet. 1:15-21…
Moreover I
will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after
my decease. 16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made
known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were
eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such
a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased." 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were
with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark
place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this
first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy
never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Peter,
James, and John received a great revelation when they were on the mountain with
Jesus. They heard the voice of God
Himself, saying of Jesus, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.” But that revelation served to
confirm the message that came through the prophets. Everything Jesus said and did was
confirmation of the scriptures that came through the prophets. But how were the prophets able to write down
the very message of God to His people?
The answer is in verses 20-21, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of
Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will
of man, but holy men of god spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” Literally, “But holy men of God spoke as they
were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
While it is true that men wrote the Bible, the unseen author behind them
was the Holy Spirit. Everything they
wrote down was given to them by the Spirit.
That doesn’t mean that the Spirit dictated everything to them, but it
does mean that every word they penned was given by the Spirit. Yes, the Spirit of God is the author of the
written Word of God.
Now come to
that other classic passage, II Tim. 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The words translated “given by inspiration of
God” is the rendering of one Greek word, which literally means
“God-breathed.” Every scripture is
God-breathed. On the surface, it would
seem that this verse says nothing about the Spirit, only that God is the author
of scripture. However, the second part
of that word -- breathed -- is vitally connected with the Spirit, because the
Greek word for “spirit” and “breath” are exactly the same. Every scripture is God-Spirited. How did God breathe out the scripture? By His Spirit.
So we never want to set the Spirit
and the written Word against one another.
They are not opposed to one another, but they work together to
accomplish God’s work in this world. The
Spirit reveals and glorifies the living Word, Jesus, through the written Word,
the Bible. That is a simple truth that
we must always keep before us.
I. The Strong
Relationship Between the Spirit and the Word
Now let’s look at some other
contacts between the Spirit and the Word.
Go back to that third question I asked you: How is a person born again -- by the Spirit
of God or by the Word of God? How did
you answer that question? The answer
isn’t an either/or, but a both/and.
Where does the Bible say that a person is born of the Spirit? That’s right, John 3. Let’s read John 3:5-7, “Jesus
answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and
the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to
you, 'You must be born again.'” That
which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
If you are a child of God, then you have been born of the Spirit.
But where does the Bible talk about
being born of the Word of God? James
1:18 reads, “Of His own
will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of
firstfruits of His creatures.” God
brought us forth by the word of truth.
It was the truth of the written Word that revealed to us the Son of God
and how He came to save us. Even more to
the point is I Pet. 1:22-23, “Since you have purified
your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love
of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born
again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which
lives and abides forever.” We were born
again through the Word of God. This word
translated “born again” is the word that Jesus used in John 3, when He spoke of
being born again and being born of the Spirit.
[John 3:3 -- gennhqh anwqen;
I Pet. 1:23 -- anagegennhmenoi]. So we see that in bringing people to
spiritual birth, God uses both His Spirit and His Word.
What about that other question I
asked: How is the believer sanctified --
by the Spirit or by the Word? Again, the
answer is both/and. As He was praying to His Father, Jesus spoke
these words, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but
that You should keep them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, just
as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I
also have sent them into the world” (John 17:15-18). Jesus prayed that we might be set apart (=
“sanctify”) by God’s truth, adding, “Your word is truth.” It is the truth of the Word that sets us
apart. But listen to what Peter says
about the Spirit in I Pet. 1:1-2…
Peter, an
apostle of Jesus Christ,To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia,
Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in
sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
God works through both His Spirit and His Word to set His
people apart to Himself. We see how the
two fit together in II Thes. 2:13-14, “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you,
brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for
salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our
gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Do you see it? “Sanctification by the Spirit and belief in
the truth.”
How does a Christian know how to
pray? Surely we learn from the Bible,
especially when we read about Jesus’ disciples asking Him to teach them to
pray. Of course, Jesus responded with the
model prayer (see Luke 11:1-4). But
don’t rule out the work of the Spirit, for we read these words in Rom.
8:26-27, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do
not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts
knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the
saints according to the will of God.”
Let me suggest one other very strong
connection between the Spirit and the written Word. This connection is seen, as we compare Eph. 5
with Col. 3. Let’s read Eph.
5:18-21, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but
be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all
things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the
fear of God.” Keep those words in mind,
as we now read Col. 3:16-17, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in
all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or
deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through Him.” If we were to continue
reading each of these passages, we would find that in each of them Paul then
addresses wives, husbands, children, parents, and servants in the same
order. The context and content are
basically the same. Some of you are not
surprised, because you know that there is enough similarity between Ephesians
and Colossians that they are sometimes called “companion epistles.” However, there is one primary difference in
the passages we read. In Eph. 5:18 Paul
gives the command, “Be filled with the Spirit.”
But in Col. 3:16, where we would expect to find the same command, Paul
writes, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” We cannot fail to make a connection between
being filled with the Spirit and letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. [In addition, note the connection between
Col. 3:16 and John 15, especially 15:7, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide
in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” The word translated “dwell in Col. 3:16 is
the same word translated “abide” in John 15:7].
Some want to minimize this connection because they feel like it weakens
what it means to be filled with the Spirit, but that is not so if we take
seriously letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.
II. A Memorable Illustration -- Power and
Direction
At this
point I would like to call on my assistant, who is the official engineer of the
Young Tyson Railroad. Jude, can you help
me out? Some of you young ones have
already seen how this train runs. And
some of you adults have enjoyed watching it as well. This little demonstration is based on an
illustration I heard from Zac Poonen a few years ago; it stuck with me. Jude, why don’t you run it around the track
once… Now let me ask all of you a
question: What are the two basic
ingredients that allowed this train to do what it just did? That’s right -- it needed power and it needed
the tracks. Let’s see what happens, if
has no track. Jude, give it a test
run. As you can see, it goes wherever it
wants to go. We have no way of directing
where it will go. Jude, would you please
tell it to go in a circle? It doesn’t
seem to do any good. Jude, why don’t you
see if it will follow you. The tracks
are necessary to direct the path of the train.
Now let’s
see what happens, if the train has no power source. Jude, why don’t you go ahead and unplug
it. What happens? Nothing.
Jude, tell it to go. Maybe if you
change the layout of the track, then it will go. No, that doesn’t help either. As long as it has no power, it isn’t going
anywhere.
It’s fun to
play with trains, but you probably figured that we weren’t doing it just for
fun. There is a point, and what is
it? That engine is a picture of the
Christian. If this Christian is going to
be made like Jesus and bring glory to God, I must have power to energize me and
rails to guide me. That power is the
Holy Spirit. Those rails are the Word of
God.
Over and
over in the New Testament, we read about the Holy Spirit providing power. We see it first in the life of Jesus,
beginning with His birth. Luke
1:35, "And the angel
answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power
of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which
shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke 4:14, "And Jesus returned in the power of the
Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region
round about." Then we read about
that same Holy Spirit empowering the followers of Jesus. Luke 24:49, "And, behold, I send the promise of my
Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with
power from on high." We see that
promise repeated and fulfilled in the book of Acts. Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth." Though the word “power”
isn’t used in Acts 2, the story told there is all about the power of the Spirit
enabling them to speak the wonderful works of God in various languages
(2:11). After a powerful prayer meeting, Luke reports
the results in Acts 4:31,33, “And when they had prayed, the
place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness… 33 And with great power the
apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace
was upon them all.” We
continue with the same theme in Paul’s epistles. Rom. 1:4, "And declared to be the Son of God with
power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the
dead:" Rom. 15:13, "Now the God of hope fill you all joy
and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the
Holy Ghost." Rom. 15:18-19, " For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not
accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient-- 19 in mighty signs and wonders, by
the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to
Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ." I Cor. 2:4, "And my speech and my preaching was not
with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power:" I Th 1:5, "For our gospel came not unto you in
word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as
ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake." It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we
are born into the kingdom and it is by the same power of the Spirit that we advance
in the kingdom.
But power
is not the only thing we need; we also need direction. Without the guiding rails, the train either
gets bogged down or goes astray. So it
is with the child of God. But praise God
that He has given us His Word for direction.
Psalm 119:105 (say it with me), “Thy Word is a lamp unto my
feet and a light unto my path.” As we
walk through this life, God’s Word provides the direction we need. Jesus spoke of the broad way which leads to
destruction and the narrow way which leads to life (Matt. 7:13-14). But how can we be sure we are on the narrow
way? The Word of God shows us the narrow
way.
So what
happens if we have power, but we don’t have direction? Suppose the Spirit empowers a believer to
speak boldly in a church meeting like this.
He stands to his feet and begins to shout, “Listen, you bunch of
snakes. Because of your sins, God can’t
stand the sight of you, and He is about to cast you into the lake that burns
with fire and brimstone.” Perhaps that
isn’t a great example, but it makes the point.
He had power, but he didn’t have direction. The truth is that many of the people to whom
he was speaking were believers, whom the Lord had saved and delivered from all
condemnation.
On the
other hand, what happens, when we have direction but no power? I read I John 2:6, “He who says he abides in
Him [Jesus] ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” There
is the direction I need -- I am called to live like Jesus lived. But where do I get the power to live like
that? The Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit doesn’t provide the power,
I can never live like Jesus lived. It’s
an impossibility.
Brothers
and sisters, the Spirit and the Word are what we need in order to be conformed
to the image of Christ and bring glory to God.
One without the other will never be effective. The Spirit and the Word must have a vital
connection in our lives.
So which is more important -- the
Word or the Spirit? They are of equal
importance. If we don’t avail ourselves
to the power of the Spirit, we can go nowhere.
If we don’t avail ourselves of the Word, we will not be able to move in
the right direction and may cause great damage, just as a runaway train can
do. We must have both. But just because they are of equal
importance, that doesn’t mean that we must always place the same emphasis on
the Word and the Spirit. Let me explain what I mean. I remember Fred being in the hospital years
ago. To put it mildly, he was acting
rather strange. Bluntly, he was out of
his head. He was able to talk just fine,
but what he said either made no sense or was so funny that I had to restrain
myself from laughing. What was Fred’s
problem? They said his potassium was
low. The body needs potassium, but it
also needs other minerals such as calcium.
When the doctor ordered them to give Fred potassium, did he make sure
that Fred also got more calcium? No, but
why not. After all, the body needs
both. Though Fred’s body needed both
potassium and calcium, it already had plenty of calcium. Knowing that fact, the doctor gave Fred lots
of extra potassium. This extra potassium
was necessary at that time because Fred’s chemicals were out of balance.
Just like
Fred’s chemicals were out of balance, Christians and churches can become out of
balance, when either the Spirit or the Word is emphasized to the neglect of the
other. Let me give you an example. Back forty or fifty years we experienced a
phenomenon known as the charismatic movement.
It was widespread and swept through most all denominations. The charismatic movement emphasized the Holy
Spirit. Perhaps there were a number of
causes for that movement, but at the head of the list is the fact that it was a
reaction to what its adherents saw as a dead fundamentalist Christianity. They saw a church that was ready to run on
the rails of God’s Word, but there was no power to propel it. So they emphasized greatly the power of the
Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, much of the
charismatic movement became unbalanced in the other direction. While it emphasized the Spirit and His power,
the Word of God was neglected and there was little biblical direction.
Do you see
where I am headed. Though the Spirit and
the Word are of equal importance in our lives, we may need to emphasize one
more than the other, if we are out of balance.
So let’s ask the question: Are we
out of balance? Are we doing better in
availing ourselves to one than the other?
Is it possible that we tend to emphasize either the Word or the Spirit,
while neglecting the other? It is very
possible. Which way do you think you
lean? Which way do you think we lean as
a church? Let me give you a little hint
as to what I think. We are spending a
lot of time and effort looking at the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I would say that 95% of us have a much better
handle upon the importance of the Word in our lives than upon the ministry of
the Spirit in our lives. Would you
agree?
If that is
true, why is it? Why does it seem that
we have emphasized the Word to the neglect of the Spirit? Let me give you a few reasons. You may have some others which are even more
important, but consider these…
1. This emphasis on the Word and neglect of the
Spirit is typical of American evangelicalism.
In other words, this is a common problem in the kind of churches with
which we identify ourselves.
2. Many of us have seen abuses concerning the
ministry of the Spirit. In other words,
there are those who do some very unbiblical things in the name of following the
Spirit.
3. It is easier for us to handle the Word than
the Spirit. While it is not right for us
to do it, we can make the Word an outward thing over which we have
control. The Spirit, on the other hand,
is a person, God Himself. When we walk in
the Spirit, we don’t control Him; He controls us.
III. A Timely Passage for Our Understanding -- I
Cor. 2:6-16
Now let’s
come to a specific passage that is especially applicable for people who might
have a tendency to neglect the Spirit.
Let’s read I Cor 2: 6-16…
However, we
speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of
this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we
speak the wisdom of God
in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our
glory, 8 which none
of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have
crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for
those who love Him." 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the
Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what
man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?
Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have
received, not the spirit
of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been
freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges
all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For
"who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
Notice the
many contrasts within this passage…
…
the wisdom of this age / the wisdom of God (6,7)
…
the spirit of the world / the Spirit who is from God (12)
…
in words which man’s wisdom teaches / which the Holy Spirit teaches
…
the natural man / he who is spiritual
The wisdom
of this age is what is available to the natural man. But who is the natural man? This word that is translated “natural” is
related closely to the word “soul” (yuch). It is used six times in the New Testament
(four in I Corinthians). We find a
definition of the word in Jude 19, “These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.” Here our word is translated “sensual.” These sensual, or natural, men are defined as
“not having the Spirit.”
The natural man, the soulish man, does not have the
Spirit of God. Jude’s definition fits
perfectly into what Paul says about the natural man, that he does not received
the things of the Spirit of God. We know
that the Spirit does indeed speak through the Word, for He is the author of the
Word, but the natural man does not receive what He says. Why not?
Paul then says that he cannot know these things from the Spirit, because
they are spiritually discerned. In other
words, only the person who has the Spirit can understand the things that are
communicated by the Spirit. God has
given us the Spirit so that we can know the things that are freely given to us
by God. We can know those things
intellectually through the Word, but only by the Spirit can we know them in our
own experience.
This raises
a very serious question. Does this mean
that the Christian, who does indeed have the Spirit, will automatically know by
experience the things which have been freely given to us by God? Think about that for a moment. The natural man is the man who does not have
the Spirit and therefore cannot receive the things of the Spirit.
But the natural man is
contrasted with “he who is spiritual” (vs. 15).
Ultimately, he who is spiritual has the mind of Christ (vs. 16). But here’s the problem. Sometimes we don’t live up to who we
are. We are spiritual, because we
possess the Spirit, and we do indeed have the mind of Christ, but we don’t
always live like that is true. Sometimes
we don’t believe it’s true. And when
that is the case, we function like a natural man. When we rely upon our own resources instead
of relying upon the Spirit of God, how can we receive the things of the Spirit?
Let me give you a very practical example which involves
the Word of God. We all read the written
Word, some more than others. Some of us
have studied it in some depth and continue to do so. Through that Word the Spirit holds out great
spiritual truths which can indeed show us the things which have been freely
given to us by God. Because we read
those truths, do we necessarily understand what God has given us? No. I
can testify to that fact. I spent three
years in a seminary, where I was constantly studying parts of the Bible, the
Christian life, the church and its history, but I must confess that those were
the worst three years of my life as a Christian. Why?
Because I was relying on my own intelligence and experience to digest
those truths, rather than relying upon the Spirit within me.
Brothers and sisters, I am not the only one tempted to do
that. Whenever you come to the Word of
God, you will either rely upon your own resources to understand and apply it,
or you will rely upon the Spirit of God.
I am not saying that it is wrong to use Bible study tools, nor am I
saying you should turn off your brain.
God commands us to love Him not only with all our heart, but also with
all our mind. I’m talking about an
attitude of the heart. Do we come to him
with this attitude? “Lord, I have your
precious Word in my hands. Thank you
that you gave me this Word and that you gave me the ability to read it. I acknowledge that apart from your Spirit
working in me, I cannot properly understand it and apply it to my life. So as I read it and think about it, lead and
guide me by your Spirit. Use your Word
to convict me of sin, to ground me in your truth, and to encourage a deep trust
in you. As the Psalmist said, ‘Open me
eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.’” Yes, I’m talking about an attitude which
longs for the Spirit to bring the Word to life.
Conclusion
I confess
that in my life the Word has been emphasized to the neglect of the Spirit. Regardless of the exact causes, it’s a
fact. I want to acknowledge before God
and before you that I desperately need the ministry of the Spirit in my life. I long for the Spirit to glorify Jesus in my
life, as Jesus Himself promised. Yes, He
is doing that to some degree, but I know that I have only a glimpse of that
ministry.
Is there
anyone else here in that boat? I invite
you to join me in praying that the Spirit of God would work mightily in you, in
me, in the people of God for the glory of the Father and the Son.
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