How The Holy Spirit Speaks

Introduction-Religious error abounds. The N.T. warns us of the
false teachers and the religious error they would promote. Jesus
warned, "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive
many" (Mt. 24:11). Peter reminded us, "But there were false
prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false
teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon
themselves swift destruction" (2 Pet. 2:1). Where there are false
teachers there are false doctrines. This is why John warns us,
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they
are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the
world" (1 Jn. 4:1).

One of the most common religious errors that we face is
the doctrine that the Holy Spirit speaks directly to individuals
today. This error permeates the very highest of denominational
religious authority from the Catholic pope, to the Mormon
"prophet" or president, to the TV preacher, down to the local
Pentecostal preachers. All of these claim that the Holy Spirit
speaks to them and guides them. But not only popes, presidents
and preachers make this claim. There are many religious folks who
make this claim that they are guided directly by the Holy Spirit.
Their religion is based upon what they profess the Holy Spirit tells
them. Many believe God directs, speaks and guides them in
virtually any and every decision in their lives. One woman
explained how the Holy Spirit guided her when she had lost
something in her house. She just closed her eyes and let the Spirit
speak to her and move her in the direction

I. Jesus Promised Direct Revelation from the Holy Spirit
to his Apostles at the Last Supper
A. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to all those who
believed on him.
1. "(38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture
hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water. (39) (But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive: for
the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that
Jesus was not yet glorified.)" (Jn. 7:38-39).
2. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost"(Acts 2:38).
3. The evidence of the Holy Spirit in a Christian's
life is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
4. Jesus did not promise all believers miraculous
power or direct revelation from the Holy Spirit.
B. Jesus promised direct revelation from the Holy Spirit
to his apostles at the "Last Supper"
1. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak
of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall
he speak: and he will shew you things to come"
(Jn. 16:13).
2. Jesus made this promise at the "Last supper."
3. Who was present? "(13) And they went, and
found as he had said unto them: and they made
ready the passover. (14) And when the hour was
come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with
him" (Lk. 22:13-14; Mk. 14:16-17; Mt. 26:19-20).
4. This promise was made to those present, Jesus'
apostles, not to every believer or "preacher."

II. The Holy Spirit Would Bring to Remembrance What
Jesus Had Told the Apostles
A. The Holy Spirit would bring to remembrance all
things Jesus had said to them.
1. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall
teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you"
(Jn. 14:26).
a. Jesus promised this to those he spoke to, the
apostles, not me or you.
b. Since Jesus did not speak to us directly, he did
not promise us the Holy Spirit to remind us of
what he told us!
c. A couple of Mormons used this verse to try to
prove that everyone would receive the Holy
Spirit to teach them the truth. I asked them if
Jesus had spoken to them. They said no. Then
the Holy Spirit could not be given to them to
remind them of what Jesus had said to them.
2. Because the Holy Spirit would guide the apostles,
remind them and give them words to speak, they
were not to prepare what they would say!
a. "(5) These twelve Jesus sent forth, and
commanded them, saying, Go not into the way
of the Gentiles, and into any city of the
Samaritans enter ye not (18) And ye shall be
brought before governors and kings for my
sake, for a testimony against them and the
Gentiles. (19) But when they deliver you up,
take no thought how or what ye shall speak:
for it shall be given you in that same hour
what ye shall speak. (20) For it is not ye that
speak, but the Spirit of your Father which
speaketh in you" (Mt. 10:5, 18-20).
B. But not so with us today.
1. We have to be taught from the Word.
a. "Whom we preach, warning every man, and
teaching every man in all wisdom; that we
may present every man perfect in Christ
Jesus" (Col. 1:28).
b. "If you instruct the brethren in these things,
you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ,
nourished in the words of faith and of the
good doctrine which you have carefully
followed" (1 Tim. 4:6).
2. We have to study.
a. "These were more noble than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word
with all readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures daily, whether those things were so"
(Acts 17:11).
b. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim.
2:15).
3. We have to be reminded by the written Word of
the apostles.
a. "(12) Wherefore I will not be negligent to put
you always in remembrance of these things,
though ye know them, and be established in
the present truth. (13) Yea, I think it meet, as
long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up
by putting you in remembrance; (14) Knowing
that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle,
even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
(15) Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be
able after my decease to have these things
always in remembrance" (2 Pet. 1:12-15).
b. "(1) This second epistle, beloved, I now write
unto you; in both which I stir up your pure
minds by way of remembrance: (2) That ye
may be mindful of the words which were
spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the
commandment of us the apostles of the Lord
and Saviour" (2 Pet. 3:2).
c. "But, beloved, remember ye the words which
were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord
Jesus Christ" (Jude 17).

III. The Holy Spirit Would Testify of Christ So the
Apostles Could Witness
A. The Spirit testified of Jesus as the Christ by the
miracles.
1. "(26) But when the Comforter is come, whom I
will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit
of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he
shall testify of me: (27) And ye also shall bear
witness, because ye have been with me from the
beginning" (Jn. 15:26-27).
2. Jesus promised the Spirit to those who had been
with him from the beginning of his ministry.
3. Jesus promised the Spirit to the apostles so they
could witness of Christ.
4. The Spirit was sent to testify of Jesus by
confirming the testimony of the apostles by
miracles (Mk. 16:20; Heb. 2:3-4)
B. The Holy Spirit would Testify of Christ So the
Apostles could Witness
1. Jesus reminded his apostles that they would
receive the Holy Spirit to empower them to be his
witnesses. "(1) The former treatise have I made, O
Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and
teach, (2) Until the day in which he was taken up,
after that he through the Holy Ghost had given
commandments unto the apostles whom he had
chosen: (3) To whom also he shewed himself
alive after his passion by many infallible proofs,
being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the
things pertaining to the kingdom of God: (4) And,
being assembled together with them, commanded
them that they should not depart from
Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father,
which, saith he, ye have heard of me. (5) For John
truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized
with the Holy Ghost not many days hence (8)
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth" (Acts 1:1-5, 8).
a. The apostles were to be baptized with the
Holy Spirit.
b. The apostles were to receive power after
receiving the Holy Spirit.
c. The apostles were to be witnesses of Jesus.
C. The Holy Spirit has testified & the apostles witnessed
of Christ, We are not
1. The apostles were with Jesus from the beginning
and were eyewitnesses of his resurrection.
a. Out of the 120 disciples who meet together,
Peter said the Lord would chose only one to
take the place of Judas in the apostleship to be
a witness of Jesus.
b. "(21) Wherefore of these men which have
companied with us all the time that the Lord
Jesus went in and out among us, (22)
Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that
same day that he was taken up from us, must
one be ordained to be a witness with us of his
resurrection" (Acts 1:21-22).
c. "(1) That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked upon,
and our hands have handled, of the Word of
life; (2) (For the life was manifested, and we
have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto
you that eternal life, which was with the
Father, and was manifested unto us;) (3) That
which we have seen and heard declare we unto
you, that ye also may have fellowship with us:
and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and
with his Son Jesus Christ. (4) And these things
write we unto you, that your joy may be full"
(1 Jn. 1:1-4).
1) The apostles heard, saw and handled the
resurrected Lord.
2) They witnessed to us of what they saw.
2. The testimony of the Holy Spirit and the apostles
is complete.
a. We are not witnesses of the resurrected Lord,
but the recipients of their testimony. "(1)
Therefore we ought to give the more earnest
heed to the things which we have heard, lest at
any time we should let them slip. (2) For if the
word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just
recompence of reward; (3) How shall we
escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which
at the first began to be spoken by the Lord,
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard
him; (4) God also bearing them witness, both
with signs and wonders, and with divers
miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost,
according to his own will?" (Heb. 2:1-4).
1) Notice the different groups that are spoken
of here. Those who "heard him (The
Lord)" and "we" who heard the word they
preached.
2) Those who "heard him" were witnesses of
his salvation.
3) God by the Holy Spirit bore them witness
by the miracles of the Holy Spirit.
4) Paul speaks of these miracles as "signs of
an apostle" (2 Cor. 12:12).
5) Notice the past tense: "confirmed"
"bearing them (those who hear him)
witness." The testimony was given by
those who heard the Lord, that testimony
was confirmed to us by God's miraculous
witness by the Holy Spirit.

IV. The Holy Spirit Would Guide the Apostles into All
Truth
A. The Holy Spirit would guide the apostles into all
truth, not partial truth.
1. "(12) I have yet many things to say unto you, but
ye cannot bear them now. (13) Howbeit when he,
the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into
all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and
he will shew you things to come. (14) He shall
glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall
shew it unto you. (15) All things that the Father
hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take
of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (Jn. 16:12-
15).
2. The things Jesus could not tell his apostles, the
Holy Spirit would.
a. This denies the apostles received only partial
revelation.
b. This denies ongoing (progressive) revelation.
B. The Holy Spirit guided the Apostles into all truth
1. Jesus kept his promise according to the apostles
and revealed unto them "all truth". "According as
his divine power hath given unto us all things that
pertain unto life and godliness, through the
knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and
virtue" (2 Peter 1:3).
2. "(10) But God hath revealed them unto us by his
Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the
deep things of God. (11) For what man knoweth
the things of a man, save the spirit of man which
is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no
man, but the Spirit of God. (12) Now we have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit
which is of God; that we might know the things
that are freely given to us of God. (13) 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" (1 Cor. 2:10-13).
3. "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto
you of the common salvation, it was needful for
me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye
should earnestly contend for the faith which was
once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).
4. Paul emphasized that their would not be any more
revelation. "(6) I marvel that ye are so soon
removed from him that called you into the grace
of Christ unto another gospel: (7) Which is not
another; but there be some that trouble you, and
would pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But though
we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed. (9) As we said
before, so say I now again, If any man preach any
other gospel unto you than that ye have received,
let him be accursed" (Gal. 1:6-9).
C. The Apostles & Prophets Wrote Down What the Holy
Spirit Spoke
1. How do we know what the Holy Spirit revealed to
the apostles?
2. They wrote it down for us to read and understand.
3. "(1) For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus
Christ for you Gentiles, (2) If ye have heard of the
dispensation of the grace of God which is given
me to you-ward: (3) How that by revelation he
made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote
afore in few words, (4) Whereby, when ye read, ye
may understand my knowledge in the mystery of
Christ) (5) Which in other ages was not made
known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed
unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit"
(Eph. 3:1-5).
4. "(3) That which we have seen and heard declare
we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship
with us: and truly our fellowship is with the
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. (4) And
these things write we unto you, that your joy may
be full" (1 Jn. 1:3-4).

V. The Holy Spirit Speaks to Us Today Through the
Word of God
A. Jesus described how God spoke to the Jews by what
was written
1. "(31) But as touching the resurrection of the dead,
have ye not read that which was spoken unto you
by God, saying, (32) 'I am the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' God
is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Mt.
22:31-32).
B. The Holy Spirit spoke to us in the OT scripture
1. "Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have
been fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit by the mouth
of David spake before concerning Judas, which
was guide to them that took Jesus" (Acts 1:16)
2. "(7) Wherefore (as the Holy Spirit saith, To day if
ye will hear his voice, (8) Harden not your hearts,
as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in
the wilderness: (9) When your fathers tempted
me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
(10) Wherefore I was grieved with that generation,
and said, They do alway err in their heart; and
they have not known my ways. (11) So I sware in
my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)"
(Heb. 3:7-11).
C. The Holy Spirit speaks expressly to us by the NT
scripture
1. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the
latter times some shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils" (1 Tim. 4:1).
2. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches" (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6,
13, 22).

Conclusion-The Holy Spirit speaks to us by direct revelation
today, but through the revealed Word of God. We are to read, study
and apply what the Holy Spirit says. "Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15).

Jesus told of the rich man who died and was in torments
in Hades. The rich man asked Abraham to allow him to go back
and warn his five brothers so they would not come to the same
place of torment. "(29) Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses
and the prophets; let them hear them. (30) And he said, Nay, father
Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will
repent. (31) And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the
dead" (Luke 16:29-31).

Many want the Holy Spirit to speak directly to them to guide and
reveal to them and tell them what to. But if they won't listen to
Jesus and his apostles and prophets in the Scriptures, then they are
not listening to the Holy Spirit. Read and study the Word and hear
what the Spirit says today!

By Wayne Greeson

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