How does God speak to us? Does the Bible or the Holy Spirit teach us everything we need to know about God? Does the Bible or the Holy Spirit lead us to an intimate relationship with the Father? Does the Bible or the Holy Spirit fill us with the power to obey and have the knowledge to please God? According to the Bible, the answer is “the Holy Spirit” to all of these questions.
What the Bible does claim, however, is that the Holy Spirit will speak through the Scriptures to teach us about God.
How Does God Speak to Us? The Holy Spirit Speaks Through the Bible
God the Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to guide, fill, and accomplish the Father’s will in the believer’s life.
Without the Spirit, the Bible will not be of any service to us. Notice that the Bible is our one weapon against Satan, but God refers to this weapon as “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Ephesians 6:17).
If we replace the Spirit’s presence with the Bible, we no longer have the sword of the Spirit, we have a human sword, as we will seek to use the word of God through the wisdom of man, which will not be enough to understand and apply the real truth the Bible contains. Satan himself knows the word of God better than we ever will, and he seeks to use it for his own evil agenda. Without the Holy Spirit making us holy, we can study the Scriptures but in our sinfulness we will use our knowledge for evil and not good, just like Satan.
Romans 8:13-14 states, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Without the Spirit we cannot understand the Spirit’s written words. And without the Spirit’s written words, we cannot be sure we are truly being led by the Spirit. But notice that the above verse does not say that those who are lead by the word of God are sons of God but rather “all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Many non-believers see some practical wisdom in the Bible, but only when the Spirit is in you does the word of God change your life.
How Does God Speak to Us? The Scriptures Confirm and Interpret the Spirits Personal Leading
To clarify, since the Holy Spirit is the one who used man to write the Scriptures, since the Holy Spirit is therefore the true author of the Bible (2 Peter 1:21), to be in communion with the Spirit and to know what the Spirit is speaking, we must be students of the Spirit’s Scriptures. Elevating the Spirit over the word should never diminish the word, but rather lift up the Spirit as God. The word helps us, but God and not the Bible is the real point.
To hear or feel the Spirits personal leading should never contradict, diminish, or make void the written word of God to us in our minds. God’s Scriptures always stand in judgment over our personal experiences in regards to hearing or feeling God’s individual leading of us because we are imperfect and God’s word is perfect. God will always use his word in personally leading us. Therefore seeking the Spirit’s counsel is not about God giving us extra-biblical information, but rather allowing the Spirit to apply biblical wisdom in a personal way to your life.
How Does God Speak to Us? The Holy Spirit (God) is Greater than the Bible, Which Does Not Diminish the Importance of the Bible
The Holy Spirit is greater than God’s Holy Scriptures. Again, this statement does not diminish the Scriptures but rather reminds us of the deity and Sovereignty of God the Holy Spirit. The Bible is living and active because the Holy Spirit wrote it through men. Without the Spirit the Scriptures would not exist. Without the Spirit no one can understand the Scriptures (2 Corinthians 2). Without the Holy Spirit we do not have the power to apply the Scriptures to our lives (Philippians 2:13).
“Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us” (1 John 3:24). Obeying God’s word confirms that you are being led by the Spirit. The Scriptures are the primary tool the Holy Spirit uses to speak, teach, and convict, but the Holy Scriptures are still a tool God uses and not a god to be worshiped in itself.
How Does God Speak to Us? The Holy Spirit’s Primary Means (not sole means) of Communication is the Bible
The Scriptures trump what you feel the Holy Spirit saying to you not because the Spirit does not speak to us individually but because the Spirit speaks to us individually what he has already spoken to us in his word.
Yes he applies the Bible to our unique circumstances and sometimes gives special leading on neutral situations not specifically stated in the Bible (Should I or should I not travel to visit my family for the holidays?). In addition to God’s word, God often speaks to us through the inner impression is Spirit puts our heart and also through our external circumstances.
But what God the Holy Spirit never does is contradict himself, which means God will never tell us to do something that contradicts his written and unchanging word. And what he primarily does is lead us through illuminating the truth in his Scriptures.
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I thought your article was excellent. I found it after being given this context which I would love to have your input on. Thank you.
Forward:
First, no one denies that we are led of the Spirit. Indeed, all Christians are so led (Gal. 5:16-26). However, this leading is through the word revealed by the Spirit in the Bible (1 Cor. 14:37; 1 Tim. 4:1; Cf. Heb. 3:7; 4:7; Rev. 1:19; 2:1 — “write….hear what Spirit saith” — Rev. 2:7). When we read the Bible, we hear the Spirit. When we are obedient to what we read, we are led by him, that is, by the Spirit.
Second, the Holy Spirit witnesses to us through the Scriptures; the Hebrew writer said so (Heb. 10:15-17).
Third, not everyone who claims to be led by the Spirit is actually led by him (1 Jn. 4:1). If every claimant were led by the Spirit, why would the Spirit tell us not to believe every spirit? Why would the Spirit commend those who tested the spirits and found some to be “liars” if all are led by him (Rev. 2:2)?
Common Errors of Spirit Led Claimants
(1) Some, though not all, claim they “cannot resist the Spirit’s leading.” When they cause difficulty or stir family trouble, they say their problems are caused by the Spirit’s leading in ways they do not understand, and that they are unable to ignore that leading. Paul received a “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). However, he said, “I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.” But, he could have been! He could have chosen not to do the bidding of God. Too, “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (1 Cor. 14:32). Thus, one can control himself (and is expected to do so) while under the influence of the Spirit (1 Cor. 14:27, 28, 32, 33, 40).
(2) They claim God is leading them to do his work in ways they never imagined! If that be so, 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, cannot be true. In that text, the Holy Spirit said the Scriptures completely equip the man of God “unto every good work.” Did the Spirit tell the truth? Or, are claimants of direct Spirit guidance telling the truth? One of them is lying. “Let God be true, but every man a liar,” especially if that man contradicts the witness of the Spirit in the Bible!
(3) They cease to work and worship as the Spirit-led disciples of the New Testament did. We know first century Christians were led by the Spirit to “sing,” break bread “upon the first day of the week,” and to oppose all human traditions (Acts 2:42; Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor. 4:6, 17; 11:2; 2 Thess. 2:15; 1 Tim. 1:3; 4:16; 6:3-5; 2 Tim. 1:13). The “Spirit of truth” does not lead men to worship in ways he severely condemned in his revealed word (Col. 2:8, 18-23; 2 Jn. 9; Rev. 22:18, 19).
(4) Charismatic Catholic claimants “feel led by the Spirit” to sprinkle water on infants. Certain Protestant claimants “don’t feel it is right” for them to do so. Does the Spirit tell one group one thing and another something else? Which “Spirit” shall we believe? What of the babies of the Protestant claimants who die without “baptism”? If both are “OK,” then it appears that God indeed is “the author of confusion” (1 Cor. 14:33)! Does the Spirit’s word in the Bible on this, and other topics, not matter at all (Jn. 12:48)?
(5) They claim a special joy others cannot know or appreciate. The apostles never claimed such an exclusive privilege. John said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 Jn. 4). Is it possible for every Christian to have such joy as John had? Yes! Since John, too, could have “no greater joy,” then those who say they have a joy above that of others are in error on that point.
What the apostles had, others could share, if they were but obedient to the gospel (Phil. 4:9; 1 Jn. 1:3, 4; 2:3-5). If God gives them a select, restricted bliss, he is a respecter of persons, for he gives them something he does not give to other obedient children (Acts 10:34, 35).
(6) They say their leading by the Spirit tells them not to discuss the Scriptures with those who disagree with them. If so, this reverses the order given those led by the Spirit in the New Testament (1 Pet. 3:15; Jude 3). It condemns the practice of the apostles (Acts 17:2, 3, 16, 17). The apostle Paul allowed and encouraged others to search the Scriptures to see whether or not he was teaching the truth (Acts 17:11, 12).
However, if the Spirit now forbids such discussions, what shall Bible students do with Proverbs 28:4 and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, which urge us to “earnestly contend” with those with whom we disagree? Ironically, and inconsistently, those who say it is wrong to “argue” often will argue at great length that it is wrong to argue! Will one who claims to be led by the Spirit today dare to challenge the charges made in this essay? If not, by what Spirit is he being led (2 Tim. 4:2-4; Titus 2:1, 15; 1 Jn. 4:1; Jude 3; Rev. 2:2-5, 12-16)?
Hi Starla,
Thank you so much for your comments. The forwarded message you sent has a lot of intriguing topics.
When being “led by the Spirit” we must first of all rely on what God has already communicated in the Bible. The Holy Spirit wrote the words of Scripture through the hands of men, so the Holy Spirit will never say something different than what he has already proclaimed in the Bible. However, the Holy Spirit does apply the message of the Bible to our lives in personal ways. Dallas Willard states that there are three biblical ways to be led by the Spirit:
1. Through God’s Word, 2. through the Spirit’s internal impression on hearts, and 3. through our external circumstances.
For example: If Dave felt like God was leading him to marry Amy, he could go to Scripture and see that marriage is good and believers should be united to believers, and est. If nothing in Scripture disqualifies his desire to marry Amy, then he should pray about it and see if the Holy Spirit is leading him to ask Amy. If he feels confirmation through an internal impression, he then moves forward. But then if he asks Amy and she says, “No”, Dave gives his best go at it, and after giving Amy plenty of time to consider it, she still says “No”, clearly God is not leading Dave to marry Amy. God may have led Dave to ask, but God is not leading Dave to marry her because God is speaking through the external circumstances.
In summary, the Bible trumps everything when talking about being led by the Spirit. But God also leads through personal, internal impressions on the heart (like conviction of sin, leading to witness, discernment), and also through external circumstances.
For more on this, I recommend Dallas Willard’s book “Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God”
Hope this helps, God bless!
Mark
Thank you for your insight. Can you also help with the wording in this sentence, maybe a word missing? I just want to understand your point fully. Thank you
In addition to God’s word, God often speaks to us through the inner impression is Spirit puts our heart and also through our external circumstances.”
Sure thing Starla. Yup, I had a typo there 🙂
Corrected:
“In addition to God’s word, God often speaks to us through the inner impression His Spirit puts on our heart and also through our external circumstances.”
PS: by “inner impression” I mean Biblical feelings like “discernment” or “conviction.”
Hope that helps, God bless,
Mark
I really appreciate your comments. One reason the Bible is essential is because the New Testament was written by apostles. One of the requirements for being an apostle was to have been an eye witness to Jesus in the flesh. Therefore the Holy Spirit cannot speak to us in the same way that he spoke to the apostles, meaning that the cannon of Scripture is closed. Certainly we can have the same intimacy with the Spirit as these men. But we will never be used to write more Scripture.
Additionally, since the Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible, and the Bible states that the word of God is truth (John 17:17), the Holy Spirit himself instructs us to use the Bible. The Holy Spirit is not bound to the Bible. The Holy Spirit is bound to himself, and since the Bible is the Spirit’s words, he will never contradict the Bible.
None of this means the Holy Spirit can’t give us personal instructions. The Bible doesn’t say specific things like, “You should marry Susan.” So the Holy Spirit will have to lead you in that decision. But, for example, if you are a man and you feel the Holy Spirit tell you that you should marry Frank, since homosexuality is clearly condemned in Scripture, you can be sure God is not saying that.
The Holy Spirit cannot give us personal words that contradict the Bible. Therefore, to know whether the Holy Spirit is really talking to you, it should be confirmed in Scripture. The Holy Spirit applies the truth of God’s word to our lives in personal ways.
Prophesy and dreaming dreams are very different than Scripture. Christians today can have these gifts/blessings, but no one can add to the canon of Scripture.
Just to be clear, do you believe the Holy Spirit can speak to you and then you could write new Bible verses? Do you believe God’s personal words to you has the same authority as the Bible?
I want to affirm that the Holy Spirit does speak to us individually and personally. But when he does, it will never contradict Scripture.
1 Corinthians 15:8-9, “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles…”
1 Corinthians 15:8-9, “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles…”
2 Peter 3:15-16 “And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.”
“as they do the other Scriptures” means Peter considers Paul’s letters to be Scriptures.
1 John 4:2-3, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.”
Luke 24:45, “Then [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…”
1 Corinthians 2:12-13, “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”
2 Peter 2:20-21, “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit used men to write the Bible. And only the Holy Spirit can reveal the truth of the Scriptures to man.
You said, “The isrealites followed scripture for hundreds of years, what does the bible do now, that it didnt do then?” See Romans 8:2-4, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you[b] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,[c] he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
People could not obey the Bible because they lacked the Spirit within them. The Spirit doesn’t replace the Bible. The Spirit helps us obey it. Without the law we would not know what to do. Without the Spirit we would not have the power to obey.
Matthew 5:17-20, “17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
I think this last comment of yours is the closest we will get to agreeing. God bless!
Mark