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The Holy Spirit: How Does He Teach Us?

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

Have you ever read a book which was of such interest to you that you couldn’t put it down? You were challenged by what you read as you gained new insights, and truths already known were reinforced. But then you came to a section that you couldn’t understand. You didn’t know exactly what the author meant by what he wrote. Have you ever wished that you could meet the author and have him explain what he meant? Then you would fully understand what was being communicated! Rarely do we have the opportunity to ask the author what he meant. 

When you think about the Book of all books—the Bible, the Word of God—it is far different. Not only do you as a believer know the Author, but you also have the privilege of Him being your resident Teacher! This is a blessing that we must not take for granted. It should motivate us to study His Word and to depend on Him to instruct us. It is through the inspiration of the Spirit that we have the Word of God. It is through His ministry that we are able to understand His Word. In the past thirteen articles, we have been studying the Holy Spirit, our Divine Comforter. We are currently looking at the Spirit’s work in the believer’s life. In our last study, we focused on the filling of the Spirit. Now we come to another ministry of the Spirit to the believer: His teaching. We will answer the question: “The Holy Spirit: How Does He Teach Us?” 

What is meant by the Spirit’s work of teaching? 

  • The Spirit’s teaching defined
    This ministry of the Holy Spirit is that ministry by which He reveals truth from the Word of God to the believer. 

  • The Spirit’s teaching described

    • When would this teaching ministry occur? It was still future on the night before Christ’s death (John 14:26; 16:12-15). 

      • Believers in the Old Testament or during the earthly life of Christ evidently did not enjoy the personal instruction of the Spirit in their hearts, even though His instruction and guidance were not totally absent (cp. Neh. 9:19-20).

      • The time when the Spirit’s teaching began occurred when the Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost (John 16:14). The verbs relating to His teaching ministry are future in the Upper Room Discourse (John 14:26; 16:12-15).

    • What would be taught by the Spirit?
      The Lord Jesus taught them while on earth with them (John 14:25). There were many more things that He had to teach them, but they were not able to bear them then (John 16:12). When He left the earth, the Spirit would come and teach them these things (John 16:13). He would guide the apostles in the realm of all truth (John 16:13). This is truth concerning... 

      • Jesus Christ (John 15:26; 16:14)—the primary goal of His teaching is to testify of Christ (John 15:26) and glorify Him
        (John 16:14). He reveals the things of Christ and the Father to believers. He draws attention to Christ, not to Himself.

      • History (John 14:25-26)—this refers to what Christ taught them while He was with them. It involves the accurate recording of the Gospels. Though their memories were faulty, the Spirit would bring to their remembrance all things.

      • Doctrine (John 14:26)—this refers to what Christ had taught His apostles.

      • Prophecy (John 16:13)—the Spirit would announce the things that were coming in the future.

      In the verses above, the Lord Jesus was in essence giving the apostles authority to record the New Testament, covering history (John 14:25-26)—the Gospels/Acts; doctrine (John 14:26)—the Epistles; and prophecy (John 16:13)—the Revelation.

    • Why would this teaching be necessary? 

      • It was necessary for the accurate recording of Scripture—the inspiration of Scripture (I Cor. 2:9-13; II Pet. 1:21).
        Divine truth could be revealed to the writers of Scripture only by the Spirit. They needed His teaching ministry because:

        • Their memories were faulty (John 14:26). They would not remember everything. . . they would forget certain details, but the Spirit would direct them in recording His truth.

        • Their understanding was limited (John 2:22; 12:16; 16:12-13; cp. I Pet. 1:10-12)—in certain cases they did not understand what Christ said or did until much later, even after the resurrection of Christ.

      • It was necessary for the accurate understanding of Scripture—the illumination of Scripture (I Cor. 2:14-3:4; I John 2:20, 27). Divine truth can be understood by the hearers and readers of Scripture only by the Holy Spirit.

        • Four kinds of men are described in I Corinthians (2:14-3:4), each having a certain reception of God’s truth.

          • The natural man (I Cor. 2:14)—this is the unsaved man, the “soulish” man (operating only in the realm of the soul), spiritually dead, not having the Spirit. He has NO reception of God’s Word.

          • The spiritual man (I Cor. 2:15-16)—this is the believer who has a high level of spiritual maturity, being controlled by the Spirit, in close communion with God. He has FULL reception of the Word.

          • The carnal-weak man (I Cor. 3:1)—this is the believer who is a babe in Christ, recently saved, in
            early stages of spiritual development (perfectly normal). He has PARTIAL reception of the Word.

          • The carnal-willful man (I Cor. 3:2-4)—this is also a babe in Christ, who has remained immature when he should have grown(Heb. 5:12)(not normal). He too has a PARTIAL reception of the Word.

        • There are several factors which will determine our understanding of Scripture.

          • Salvation (I Cor. 2:14)—we must be saved before we can understand spiritual truths of Scripture.

          • Spiritual maturity (I Cor. 2:15-3:2)—maturity determines level of understanding of biblical truth.

          • Sin (I Cor. 3:3-4; Jas. 1:21; I Pet. 2:1-2)—unconfessed sin hinders our reception of God’s truth.

          • Spirit-yieldedness (IJohn 2:20,27)—the Spirit has anointed us so that we might understand truth.

          • Study (I Tim. 5:17; II Tim. 2:15; Acts 17:11)—we must be diligent in our study of the Word.

(Sources to Consult: Class notes—Soteriology, Otis Stone, Calvary Bible College, 1978; The Holy Spirit, C. C. Ryrie, pp.104-105; The Divine Comforter, J. D. Pentecost, pp.31-34) The Holy Spirit, who gave you the Word, desires to teach you. Are you depending on Him to teach you as you hear, read, and study His Word?

Because of His Grace—Pastor Charlie