[Biblemat] S) ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my
recent files.  Use to the glory of God.

ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

     Many people in the religious world speak of "the enlighten-
ment of the Holy Spirit."  By this they usually meand some kind of direct 
communication from the Holy Spirit, quite often
coming from a "special feeling," or an urge to act in a certain
way.  And, because such "instruction" is on a personal basis,
it is not subject to objective proof.  We must just take their
word for whatever it is the Holy Spirit has led them to believe
and do.  But is our faith subjective or objective?  Or, in other
words, does God speak to all of us in the same way?

     Listen to Jesus: "No man can come to Me, except the Fat-
her that sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last
day.  It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught
of God.  Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath
learned, cometh unti Me" (Jno. 6:44,45).  No one can be saved while separated 
from God.  And no one can come to
God without being "drawn" to Him.  And no one can be drawn
to God without being "taught of God."  But this does not mean being taught 
about God, it means learning from God, as
He is our Teacher.

The Holy Spirit Speaks To Us: -- The Holy Spirit teaches us by using words to 
communicate the ideas of God.  He doesn't
simply influence us with feelings or urges.  He speaks.  Hear
the Lord Jesus, as He speaks to His apostles: "But when they
deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak for
it whall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak.  For it
is nto ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speak-
eth in you" (Matt. 10:19,20).  Here Jesus anticipated the time
when the apostles would be preaching His gospel under the
commission, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature" (Mk. 16:15).  They were thus assured that,
in the face of persecution and all manner of opposition, the
Holy Spirit would give them the words they needed to speak
for God.

     While the apostles were waiting in the city of Jerusalem,
Jesus told them: "For John indeed baptized with water; but
ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence...
Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall 
be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the
earth" (Acts 1:5-8).

     This was not the first time that God would control the ton-
gues of men to instruct others in His Will: "Brethren, it was
needful that the Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy
Spirit spake before by the mouth of David concerning Judas,
who was guide to them that took Jesus" (Acts 1:16).  Now
these apostles, being "filled with the Holy Spirit...Spake as the Spirit gave 
them utterance" (Acts 2:4).  The apostles often referred to the "speaking" of 
the Holy Spirit through
inspired men: "Well spake the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the
prophet unto your fathers, saying, Go thou unto this people,
and say, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise under-
stand; And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive"
(Acts 28:25,26).  We can know what the Holy Spirit said throu-
gh Isaiah, simply by reading the prophecies of Isaiah (Isa. 6:9,
10).

How We Can Know The Mind Of God: -- The only possible
way we can know the mind of God is by hearing what has
been revealed by the Holy Spirit.  As the apostle Paul wrote,
"For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the
spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the things of God
none knoweth, save the Spirit of God.  But we received, not
the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God; that
we might know the things that were freely given to us of God.
Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but 
which the Spirit teacheth; combining
spiritual things with spiritual words" (1 Cor. 2:11-13).  I have
heard people say, "Well, I know God will be pleased with this,
even if I can't find it in the Bible."  But, friend, the only way you can 
know the "mind of God" is by the words which the
Holy Spirit has given.  Read that passage again.  That is exact-
ly what the Bible says!

     In Acts 8 we read of a man from Ethiopia, on his way home
from Jerusalem, reading from the prophet Isaiah.  The Holy
Spirit instructed Philip to go to him, and he asked him, "Do
you understand what you read?"  The man replied, "How can
I, except some one shall guide me?"  And the Scripture then
says, "And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this
Scripture, preached unto him Jesus" (Acts 8:35).  Notice that
carefully.  The Ethiopian needed instruction, but the Holy
Spirit did not reveal God's truth to him directly.  Nor did the
Holy Spirit reveal God's will in some mysterious "better felt
than told" way.  The Holy Spirit guided Philip, and then Philip
instructed the man in "words which the Holy Spirit" revealed
(1 Cor. 2:13).

The Holy Spirit May Be Resisted: -- Because the Holy Spirit
instructs by words given to man, He may be resisted.  Step-
hen was arrested by the Jewish council, and said to that Aug-ust body of 
religious leaders, "Ye stiffnecked and uncircum-
cised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as
your fathers did, so do ye.  Which of the prophets did not
your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed be-
fore of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have 
now become betrayers and murderers" (Acts 7:51,52).  When
they rejected the word of God, as revealed by the Holy Spirit,
they were guilty of resisting the Holy Spirit.

     When anyone today refuses to obey the gospel, he is guilty of resisting 
the Holy Spirit.  There are many today who
reject the simple teaching of the Lord on how to be saved.
Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved"
(Mk. 16:16).  The apostles later taught the necessity of bapti-
sm, answering the question on Pentecost, "What shall we do?
by saying, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in 
the name of Jesus Christ, unto the remission of your sins"
(Acts 2:38).  And then we read, "They then that received his
word were baptized: and there were added to them in that day
about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).

     How many were baptized?  "As many as received his word.
There was no quibbling, no argument, no protests.  Those
three thousand simply did what they Lord, by the Holy Spirit,
instructed them to do.  That principle hasn't changed.   When
the Lord Jesus sent Ananias to Saul of Tarsus to tell him what he was to do, 
the instructions were: "And now why tarri-
est thou? arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, call-
ing on His name" (Acts 22:16).  When anyone rejects that, then he "resists 
the Holy Spirit," just as the Jewish council 
did in the case of Stephen.

The Time Of Our Salvation: -- Many are anxiously waiting for
the time of their salvation, but God has revealed that through
the Holy Spirit: "Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, To-
day if ye shall hear His voice, Harden not your hearts, as in
the provocation" (Heb. 3:7,8).  Listen again as the apostle Paul quotes the 
Holy Spirit, from Isa. 49:8, "For he saith, At
an acceptable time I hearkened unto thee, And in a day of sal-
vation did I succor thee: behold, now is the acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2).

     Now is God's time to save sinners, and we are admonish-
ed to hear His Word and respond to its demands.  Note also
that He warns against hardening our hearts against His Will
for us.  So many are waiting "for God's own good time to 
save them."  But if they would simply turn to the words given
by the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures, they would know that, 
"Today is the day of salvation."  That which God saw good to
reveal to us has been written in the Scriptures.  How many
are led astray by false doctrines, because they will not read
the Scriptures to find His Will for them?

How The Spirit Reveals The Mind Of God: -- "As it is written,
Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which ent-ered not into the 
heart of man, Whatsoever things God pre-
pared for them that love Him" (1 Cor. 2:9).  This clearly shows
that it is not in the power of man to know the mind of God by
his own wisdom.  Then how can we know?  The Holy Spirit
answers: "But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit;
for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 
2:10).  But we can only know the mind of God as
the Holy Spirit reveals Him to us "in words which the Spirit
teacheth" (1 Cor. 2:13).  Notice that; the Holy spirit reveals
God to us in WORDS which are given to us.  Not in "feelings"
or in "special visions" nor "dreams."  But God reveals Himself
to us in words.

     As Paul explained, "For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save 
the spirit of the man, which is in him?
even so the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of
God" (1 Cor. 2:11).  We can only know the mind of man as
that man's spirit reveals it -- either by words of by action.  So
Paul declares that we can know the mind of God only as the
Holy Spirit reveals His mind to us.  And that is done "in words
which the Holy Spirit teacheth" (vs. 13).

     Many lament that they cannot read the Bible and really
understand God and His Will.  But listen to what the apostle
says about that.  "If so be that ye have heard of the dispensat-
ion of that grace of God which was given me to you-ward; how that by 
revelation was made known unto me the mystery
as I wrote before in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my 
understanding in the mystery of Christ" (Eph. 3:2-4).  We are told to read and 
study (1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 2:15), and when we do (as Paul wrote), we will be 
able to
understand what God wants us to know.  When we do that, as Paul says, "Ye can 
perceive my understanding" (Eph. 3:4).

     Thus it is clear that when the Holy Spirit would make known to men the 
things of God, He did it so that we could
understand all those things which God wanted us to know.
Jesus had told the apostles: "These things have I spoken unto you, while yet 
abiding  with you.  But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father 
will send in My name,
He shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance
all that I said unto you" (Jno. 14:25,26).  When we read the 
words of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we can be assured
that they were not dependant on their own memory or resear-
ch.  The Spirit was to "bring to their remembrance" all that 
Jesus had taught and what He had done.

     Finally, the promise of the Lord to these apostles: "Howbe-
it when He, the Holy Spirit of truth, is come, He shall guide
you into all the truth: for He shall not speak from Himself; but
what things soever He shall hear, these shall He speak: and He shall declare 
unto you the things that are to come" (Jno.
16:13).  Nothing was omitted from what God wanted us to 
know, for the Holy Spirit was to guide the apostles "into all
the truth."  That has been revealed in the Scriptures. We are
always safe when we confine ourselves to what the Lord has
revealed in His Word.  For God reveals Himself and His Will
to us in no other way than through that written Word.  Nothing can be right 
when it is not revealed in the Scriptures
which the Holy Spirit has given.   ----- Clem Thurman in Gospel Minutes, Vol. 
57, No. 15, April 11, 2008.
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