Long ago the
prophet Jeremiah declared, “O
Lord, I know that the way of men
is not in himself: it is
not in man that walketh to direct
his steps.” Jeremiah
10:23. Though man thinks highly
of himself, he still needs
guidance.
Our Lord was
preeminently a teacher “a
teacher come from God,” as
Nicodemus addressed Him. (John
3:2.) Jesus, Himself the Truth,
was the teacher of truth. On one
occasion Jesus said, “Ye
shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free.”
John 8:32.
However, Jesus was
not to be with His disciples
long. He knew, moreover, that
they would be in need of guidance
to the end of time. Therefore,
before the departure He spoke
about His successor,
“another Comforter”
(John 14:16), “the Spirit of
truth.” One who would guide
His followers “unto all
truth” (John 16:13). By
Christ’s own arrangement,
every member of His body, the
church, may have the indwelling
presence of His Spirit. Through
this great and measureless gift,
the prophecy of Isaiah finds
fulfillment: “All thy
children shall be taught of the
Lord.” Isaiah 54:13.
Do these promises
apply to the unconverted? Will
the worldling have the Holy
Spirit as an indwelling teacher?
No, the Holy Spirit’s work
for the unconverted is to convict
them of sin and to lead them to
accept the righteousness of
Jesus. Only those who have had
their sins pardoned through the
merits of the shed blood of Jesus
can know the indwelling presence
of the Holy Spirit. A heart that
has not been cleansed of its sins
cannot be host to the Holy Guest.
(John 14:17; Psalm 51:2,10.
Many both in and
out of the church think they know
Jesus, because they know so much
about Him. However, without the
Holy Spirit no one can really
know Jesus: “No man can say
that Jesus is the Lord, but by
the Holy Ghost.” 1
Corinthians 12:3. For instance,
to Peter’s confession,
“Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God,”
Christ replied, “Flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in
heaven.” Matthew 16:16,17.
No man can confess that Jesus is
the Christ unless he receives
this knowledge as a supernatural
revelation. The eyes of our
understanding must be enlightened
by “the spirit of wisdom and
revelation.”
(Ephesians 1:17,18.)
In fact the entire
Bible reveals or unveils Jesus
Christ, and the Bible itself can
be understood only as we welcome
“the spirit of …
revelation” into our hears.
Only the Spirit can make
God’s Word clear and plain.
God has promised, “I will
pour out my spirit unto you, I
will make known my words unto
you.” Proverbs 1:23. By His
Spirit God makes His words known.
Only the Spirit of God can
rightly interpret their true
meaning, because the Holy Spirit
knows better than anyone else
what He meant when He inspired
the Bible writers to write.
Why can’t the
unconverted understand the Bible?
Because the love of sin
constitutes a mental block that
inhibits the grasping of
spiritual truths.
Paul said,
“Which things also we speak,
not in the words which man’s
wisdom teacheth, but which the
Holy Ghost teacheth: comparing
spiritual things with spiritual.
But the natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto
him: neither can he know the,
because they are spiritually
discerned.” 1 Corinthians
2:13,14.
Divine guidance
calls for obedience. In the very
process of obeying, the Holy
Spirit purifies the soul. Peter
remarked to one group, “Ye
have purified your souls in
obeying the truth through the
Spirit.” 1 Peter 1:22. The
very purpose of the Spirit’s
presence is
“sanctification… unto
obedience.” (1 Peter 1:2.)
Memory Verse:
1 Peter 1:
10-12.
“Concerning this salvation,
the prophets, who spoke of the
grace that was to come to you,
searched intently and with
greatest care, trying to find out
the time and circumstances to
which the Spirit of Christ in
them was pointing when he
predicted the sufferings of
Christ and the glories that would
follow. It was revealed to them
that they were not serving
themselves but you, when they
spoke of things that have been
told you by those who have
preached the gospel to you by the
Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into
these things.
