The Work of the Holy Spirit In Revealing The WordWhat is Holy Spirit role in the revelation of God’s will to man? Is there any connection between the Holy Spirit and the revealed word of God?
THREE KEY WORDS ABOUT THE BIBLE.
1. Revelation—an uncovering, unveiling. The miraculous process by which God imparted his word to man to enlighten him concerning divine truth which he otherwise could not know. Left to himself, man is in the dark about his origin, purpose and destiny. Jer. 10:23, Proverbs 16:25,
“Man cannot direct his own steps. Through nature (Rom. 1:20) we can see the work of a supreme being, but we can find nothing of his nature or of his will for man. So it was necessary for God to draw back the veil and shed light on Divine truth to show man who he is, where he came from, why he is here, what his moral and spiritual obligations are and what his eternal destiny is. We can know and understand. Romans 16:25, 26.
2. Inspiration—God breathed. II Tim. 3:16, “all scripture is given by the inspiration of God”. The miraculous process in which God used a human being to convey his Word to other people, either by speaking or writing. I Cor. 2:13, II Peter 1:21. “For prophecy never came by the will of men, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”. These passages teach that God’s Word came thru divine Wisdom. It is not of human origin.
3. Preservation—to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction. To protect. God who revealed and inspired his Word also preserved it. Matthew 24:35, I Peter 1:25 states, “The word of the Lord endures forever. This preservation is not miraculous but providential. We can be confident that in the Bible we have everything we need to know and do to please God.
WHY THE NEED FOR DIVINE REVELATION?
1. Jer. 10:23 and Proverbs 16:25, we are told “man cannot direct his own steps. Without revelation from God, man is left alone in the world with no chart or compass, not knowing why he is here or what he is to do with himself. Without revelation, man would be like those in Judges 21:25, “everyone did what was right in his own his. They became they own source of authority and determined themselves what was right or wrong by their standards.
2. Romans 11:33, 34. Teach us God’s wisdom and knowledge are unsearchable and undiscoverable to man unless God chose to reveal his ways to man. God eternal purpose or plans were a “mystery” though they have been foreordained before the foundations of the world. I Cor. 2:10, “God revealed them (the mystery) to us through his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE REVELATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
1. I Peter 1:10-12—OT prophets revealed things concerning our salvation and Christ whether they understood or not. The prophets spoke and wrote down words that were revealed by HS to them. They studied these words and tried to comprehend them.
WORK OF HOLY SPIRIT IN THE REVELATION OF NEW TESTAMENT.
1. John 14:26, “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach (apostles) all things and bring to your remembrance all things I have said to you”.
2. Eph. 3:3,4, Paul said, “ that by revelation ( By HS) he made known to me the mystery. And I have written it down so you can read my words and understand my knowledge concerning the mystery.
3. Jude tells us in verse 3 the words of the “mystery” have been delivered “once “for all times. There will be no more revelation. God has delivered all that we need to know concerning the mystery that will make us perfect and complete in him and equipped for every good work. II Tim. 3:17. This mystery is to be studied in order to understand. II Tim. 2:15. It’s not something you will stumble upon and understand. It was not design or written that you may understand it this way. It was revealed in such a way that it required one must devote time and prayer to grasp and truly understand how great this mystery is. Paul states in I Tim. 3:16, “without controversy great is the mystery of godliness.
4. John in the Revelations chapters 2 and 3 uses the phrase, “he that hath an ear let him hear. No new revelation has been revealed after the first century by God. It is complete. Anything people claim today as being revealed will be from man, not God.
The HS took the deep things of God and revealed them to man. The HS was in complete control of the speaking and writing of the apostles and prophets, so that they spoke and wrote was not of their own minds, but were the very words supplied them by the HS. It has been “once delivered” and the HS has finished his revealing work. We have been furnished with all things “that pertain to life and godliness. II Peter 1:3
- CL Bruner
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