HOW DOES GOD SPEAK TO BELIEVERS?

HOW DO WE INTERPRET THE SCRIPTURE?

part two

In this series I will address

1A General introduction to this subject: I Corinthians 13:12, John 16:13, John 14:17

2A The Holy Spirit in the Ministry of the Word.

3A The role of the Holy Spirit in relation to the interpretation of Scripture.

4A True understanding of the Word of God is found.......?

5A How the Holy Spirit is to lead Believers into "all truth."

John 14:17 "[even] the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you."

"whom the world cannot receive; the men of the world, who are as they came into the world, carnal and natural men, can neither receive the Spirit nor the things of the Spirit, the truths and doctrines of the Gospel; they can neither receive them into their understandings, nor into their affections; and indeed, because they cannot understand them, therefore they do not love them, but despise and hate them:"

• " because it see him not, neither know him; the world, and the men of it, can neither see him with their bodily eyes, because he is a "spirit"; nor know him with their understandings, because he is the "Spirit of truth", which they are ignorant of, for want of a spiritual discerning."

But you know him; as a spirit of illumination, regeneration, and conversion:

"for he dwelleth with you; he is an inhabitant in your hearts, he has taken up his residence in you as his temples"

The understanding that the Holy Spirit gives is the understanding of regeneration and conversion. The Spirit opens the mind so the mind can understand the Scriptures.

But this does not mean that the Holy Spirit gives us private interpretation of the meaning of Scripture. The understanding of the Scripture comes as the Holy Spirit opens our minds to enable us to understand what we are learning about the Scripture. At least in my case, strictly speaking, it’s not until the Holy Spirit opens my mind to what I am reading, studying, and researching that I get the meaning of what the text says.

I would say the Holy Spirit affirms, or validates what we are learning about the text of Scripture. I would say I trust the Scripture's teaching as to what it is saying, rather than what I think my own mind is saying about the text.

Watchman Nee said most Christians would not know if it’s their spirt that is speaking or if the Holy Spirit is speaking.

How often have we heard people say, "I believe the Holy Spirit is telling me." And they are 100% Biblically wrong.

I agree in general with what you are saying. I am not in disagreement with the thought, I am just thinking this through again.

We can't understand God at any level in our mind, unless the Lord opens our mind to that knowledge of Himself.

Drafted by Charles E. Whisnant 02 01 07 Proof Read by Charity Whisnant 02 01 07