Sunday, 7/13/2025

THE SPIRIT AND THE WORD 

Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer”.

In the beginning, Christian doctrine was transmitted orally since there wasn’t a written New Testament. 

Believers have a hunger to hear, read, study, and in particular, understand more about the Word of God.

The Holy Spirit was the one who inspired the Bible. 

Spirit-controlled Christians don’t usually have to force themselves to read the Bible; the Spirit gives them a holy appetite for it.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, so he will always direct us toward God’s truth. 

When we wander away from the Word, thinking we can live without it we cease to grow spiritually and open ourselves to spiritual deception. 

1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation”. 

A holy appetite grows inside of us through the work of the Holy Spirit that causes us to crave truth.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Only the Holy Spirit can teach us from the inside out.

John 16:12–14 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you”.

The truth of God can be understood and appropriated into our lives only when it is revealed to our innermost being; that is where its life-changing power works.

Holy Spirit teaching is so important because Satan uses all kinds of things to deceive and lead believers and churches away from the truth. 

1 John 2:26-27 “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you”.

But even when teachers do their best, the only way for us to be ultimately blessed by the Word is through the inner teaching of the Holy Spirit. 

The Spirit is faithful to help us know truth from error and keep us from satanic distortions. 

Luke 10:21, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children”.

But we also need to pray for pastors and teachers to preach and teach with the help of the Spirit and for God to give us listening hearts so that the Word will build us up. 

We must have the Spirit’s help, and if we ask in faith, he will help us.

Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law”. 

He was talking about the eyes of his heart.

We all have two sets of eyes. We have the eyes in our head, and we have the eyes of the heart: see Eph. 1:18. 

The process of seeing spiritual things through the eyes of the heart, not merely the mind, is called “revelation.” 

Psalm 119:12 “Praise be to you, LORD; teach me your decrees”. 

If we repeatedly read the Bible without the help of the Holy Spirit, it tends to reinforce our own prejudices and rock-hard doctrinal positions. 

John 5:39–40 “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life”. 

Without the help of the Holy Spirit to understand the meaning of what we read, we’re susceptible to reading our own biases into God’s Holy Word. 

We will never understand God’s purpose for the church and us individually unless we humble ourselves and pray, “Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me!”

1 Cor. 2:9–10 “ ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God”.