The Holy Spirit’s Role in Man’s Understanding of the Bible
Glenn B. Ramsey

In his book, Lectures on the Holy Spirit, Brother Gus Nichols wrote on page 14,

The Spirit does not operate directly upon the sinner. But the Holy Spirit uses the gospel, or word of God, and the sinner is begotten by the word. He uses the moral and persuasive power, the power of the gospel, to bring about the birth of the Spirit. Men are converted by the powerful facts, commands, threats, and promises of the gospel, which includes the whole story of Jesus and His life—the sweetest story ever told or heard!

As long as I have been a Christian, and during some forty-four years of preaching the Gospel, the above paragraph has properly described my convictions about the Spirit’s work in helping men understand the Scriptures. These convictions came by a study of what the Spirit says about Himself in His revelation, the Bible!

However, especially in today’s religious world, the role the Holy Spirit plays in helping men understand the Word of God is misunderstood the vast majority of the time. We have all heard denominational preachers claim that they would just say what the "Spirit laid on their hearts." We have heard preachers encourage their listeners to just "let the Spirit lead them. . ."

Indeed the Holy Spirit has been unjustly blamed for many, many things that He has never done! I remember being at the bedside of a very sick man. I had been invited there by one of his daughters to study the Bible with him. When I arrived at his home another daughter, a member of a "Pentecostal, holy-roller group," was also present.

After about twenty minutes of our study it became quite obvious that the old man was very interested in the Bible’s teachings. He began to ask questions concerning what he should do to be saved. Before answers could be given to his questions a spectacular and disturbing event took place. The "holy-roller" daughter "got under the Spirit," as they say. She rolled on the floor, gasping for air and making deep guttural sounds as froth came from her mouth. Her sister, a member of the church of the Lord who had come with me to the father’s home, took a bed sheet and covered up the nakedness of her sister as she rolled on the floor. I remember thinking that this woman was having an epileptic seizure. But in about five minutes the woman (on the floor) calmed down, sat up and then said, "I’m sorry if I disturbed you. When the Holy Ghost gets hold of me, I just can’t help it!"

My response was, "I’m also sorry that you disturbed the Bible study with your father. But I know that, whatever else may have happened, the Holy Spirit was not the cause of the ‘spell’ that you just had. You see the Holy Spirit never does things that are foolish, without purpose, or that would cause one to be immodest or indecent in behavior."

Sadly, I was never able to go back to help the old man who had, initially, been so interested in his duty to the Bible. He said he would have me back, but he never did.

Most Gospel preachers and Christians who try to teach anyone they can could report similar situations. Truly, the Holy Spirit has not been fairly treated. He has been blamed for just about everything that man conjures up in his own mind, but which is not according to the Bible. Folks will say things like, "I don't care what the Bible says, the Spirit has told me thus and thus." What if such persons said, "I don’t care what the Spirit says, the Spirit has told me thus and thus." These two statements are the same! The Holy Spirit has instructed man by the revealed Word, the Bible! So what the Bible says, the Spirit says; what the Bible does not say, the Spirit does not say!

Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit (the Comforter) would come and guide them into all truth. He would speak to them the things He had heard from the Lord (John 16:13). Thus, even for the apostles of Christ, the Holy Spirit directed them through the Word!

Today, Christians receive the Holy Spirit by the "hearing of faith" (Gal. 3:2). The Holy Spirit helps Christians understand God’s Will today by instructing them through His Word, the Bible. To insist that the Holy Spirit interferes with man’s mind, except by the instruction of the Word, the Bible (which is not an interference, but a willing acceptance on the part of a man who would learn the Word) is to insist on something that not only is wrong according to God’s Word, but which places an obligation on the Holy Spirit for man’s salvation apart from man’s freewill choices! Such was the basis upon which the Calvinistic doctrine was formulated. Remember, all we know about the Holy Spirit is what He has revealed about Himself in His Word. Let’s be satisfied with that and receive His instructions about how to follow God’s Will.

Editorial
Malcolm L. Hill

I read with interest the material by Dennis Jones, President of International Bible College, about the direction of that school. Much of what he said is not what he practices as the President of that institution. I want to notice some points he made and shed some light on them.

1. He points out that those who support International Bible College have a right to know about its future. He is right about this. In fact, all schools supported by individual Christians and churches of Christ have the right to know what is going on at the present and what the goals for the future are. I have invited all Presidents of "Christian" schools to have a forum with all those presidents present and let the audience ask questions and let the Presidents answer them. This invitation was sent out several years back and not one college or university President responded. Yes, this includes Dennis Jones, President of International Bible College. If he is so ready for Christian people to know about the religious stance of International Bible College, why did he not respond? That invitation is still open to him. I am ready to meet and answer for Tennessee Bible College. Is he ready to meet and answer for International Bible College? I am ready to go to Florence, Alabama and have such a forum on the Campus of International Bible College or we will host it at Tennessee Bible College in Cookeville, Tennessee. Now brother Jones, it is your move. When will this meeting take place? Your readers and supporters are waiting for your response. It is easy to write behind the typewriter where you can dodge and say what you wish, but it is altogether another thing to have to face the facts!
2. He says: "Our passion is for world evangelism." This is the passion of the Baptists, the Mormons, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. But the denominational world wants to do it their way and not the Lord’s way. They want to preach and practice their doctrine and not the Lord’s. How much better off is the world when colleges teach false doctrine and the students of those institutions graduate and go out and teach false doctrine as well as compromise the Bible? We have met false teachers out of Harding University, Freed-Hardeman University, David Lipscomb University, Abilene Christian University, Harding Graduate School (more than any), International Bible College, and others that I will not mention on the Mission field as well as in the United States. They are a thorn in the flesh of those trying to teach the unadulterated Gospel of Christ to lost men and women. International Bible College contributes its share of this kind I must say. Now we all know that there are going to be some who do not represent the institutions from which they graduated but when it is the general run that false teachers come out of an institution of higher learning there is something wrong with that institution. Has Brother Jones checked what is being taught at International Bible College? If he has, then he either does not care for the truth of the Gospel or he does not know Bible truth. Let Brother Dennis Jones tell us which is true. Maybe it is a little of both.
3. Brother Jones said in his statement about International Bible College: "The ‘line of demarcation,’ we believe, is the doctrine of baptism for the forgiveness of sins." In other words he is saying that the line of fellowship with those at International Bible College is water baptism for the remission of sins. This means that he could fellowship the Mormons since they say they baptize for the remission of sins. This means that those at International Bible College could fellowship the Christian Church since they say they baptize for the remission of sins. This is no surprise to many of us since Brother Dennis Jones has invited many false teachers to appear on the lectureship at International Bible College. Basil Overton is with him in this matter. If they deny this, I am ready to meet either or both of them in a public discussion and prove such to be true. Are they ready to do such? I am.
4. Dennis Jones is like some others I know. He does not know the difference in some cases between false doctrine and Bible truth. He talks about extremism. Is it extremism to teach that the Lord’s Supper must be taken on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7)? Is it extremism to teach that one must be a member of the Lord’s church to be saved (Acts 2:47; Eph. 5:23)? Is it extremism to teach that we must not intentionally and knowingly fellowship false teachers in and out of the church of Christ (Rom. 16:17-18: II John 9-11)? I wish Brother Jones would have the courage to tell us who he is talking about. He would do so if he had the courage. He does not call names in public because he is afraid to do so. You may rest assured he calls names in private because it is easier to get away with it. There are a number of people out there like Dennis Jones when it comes to name calling. There is more I would like to say but I must stop.

Brother Dennis Jones’ statement about International Bible College reminds me of what Paul warned about in Romans 16:18 when he said false teachers would by "good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." I thought of this statement as I read all the way through Dennis Jones’ article. You see, some of us know about Dennis Jones.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Ronald D. Gilbert

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant" (I Cor. 12:1). There is widespread ignorance today on any aspect of the topic concerning the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 12 lists the spiritual gifts. I Corinthians 13 shows their duration. I Corinthians 14 shows the regulation of some of these gifts. The apostles did many signs and wonders. "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people" (Acts 5:12). "Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men" (Eph. 4:8). "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 2:4). These confirmed they were from God. Other than the isolated event of Acts 10 with Cornelius, these miraculous gifts were given by the laying on of the apostles’ hands. "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost" (Acts 8:14-19). "He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them: and they spake with tongues, and prophesied" (Acts 19:2-3, 5-6).

Steve Flatt, now president of David Lipscomb University, made some interesting statements concerning spiritual gifts. For Flatt’s full lesson, the reader is invited to read Amazing Grace Bible Class, program #1037, The Holy Spirit, December 15, 1991, and the transcript from program #1038 on December 22, 1991. Brother Flatt says that there are sixteen spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament. He further said, "spiritual gifts you are not born with, but you receive when you are re-born." In defining spiritual gifts Steve Flatt said, "someone has written that a spiritual gift is an ability or skill that enables the recipient to perform a function in the body of Christ with ease and success. Now listen to that again. I think that’s right on target." In The Plumbline, March 1996, brother Wayne Coats in an article entitled "Don’t Rock the Sycamore Boat" lists the following quotes from Steve Flatt. "The Holy Spirit literally offers us things we can’t hear, we can’t understand, but makes sure that God the Father knows every need we have. "He leads us but not exclusively through the Word." "We are led by the Word but He goes beyond that." Evidently there is widespread ignorance even in the church concerning spiritual gifts.

The nine spiritual gifts of I Corinthians 12 were miraculous gifts and they were temporary. "Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away" (I Cor. 13:8).

The first two of these gifts were wisdom and knowledge. The apostles were told in Matthew 10:19-20 that when they were delivered up to "take no thought how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak." Faith was also listed as a gift. Jesus spoke of miraculous faith. "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matt. 17:20). This miraculous faith is also seen in I Corinthians 13:2 ". . . and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."

Next, gifts of healing are mentioned. Passages showing this gift can be seen in Acts 3:1-9, 14:8-10, 28:8-9 and in I Corithians 12:28. Working of miracles is mentioned next. Many miracles are recorded in the New Testament: Acts 8:13; 36-42; 14:3; 15:12; 19:11-12. Not all miracles were constructive; in Acts 13:11 Paul struck Elymas blind.

The gift of prophecy is discussed next. From Romans 12:6, I Corinthians 14:1, and Ephesians 3:5 one can see the value of this gift. Discerning of spirits would come in very handy in determining false brethren. In Acts 5 Peter knew Ananias and Sapphira had lied about the money they gave.

The last two gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12 were tongues and the interpretation of tongues. On the Day of Pentecost the apostles spoke with tongues (Acts 2:4-8). In I Corinthians 14 Paul gave regulations for speaking in tongues. In I Corinthians 14:28 he declared, "If there be no interpreter let him keep silence in the church."

The spiritual gifts of I Corinthians 12 were miraculous. They were a part of the miraculous age. They are not available for men today.

Miracles
Holger Neubauer

Miracles are set forth as the ultimate proof that the claims of Scripture are true. If the miracles of Scripture can be disproved, the basis for which inspiration is believed crumbles and all other claims of the Bible are immediately held suspect. Knowing that the miracles of the Bible are true and then defending them to the world are fundamental to the lives of individual Christians. Listen to Peter’s claim on the birthday of the church: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know" (Acts 2:22). This statement became the basis for convicting the Jews of their sin in crucifying Christ and for demanding repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38). There are several characteristics of real, bona fide miracles that need to be set forth.

First, real and bona fide miracles cannot be explained by natural means. A miracle is an event which takes place during the suspension of natural law. This event then becomes so powerfully manifest that there is no other conclusion that honest men can draw other than that a true miracle has taken place. The enemies of Jesus could not deny the miracles He performed but suggested they were accomplished by the devil’s power (Matt. 12:24). Jesus refuted this claim by demonstrating that Satan could not mount an attack against himself (Matt. 12:26). One need not be a dietician to know that five loaves and two fish cannot feed five thousand. At the same time the miracles of Christ cannot now be duplicated by modern science. This is why Jesus did not travel through Palestine on a horseless chariot at forty miles per hour. Someone would no doubt suggest that Henry Ford did the same thing. No natural explanations can be attributed to the miracles of Christ.

Second, the results of the miracles could only be accomplished through miracles themselves. Since the miracles of Scripture are set forth as the bottom line proof that the record itself is true, we would then expect those miracles to motivate men and women to accept these claims. What else could possibly explain the establishment of the church other than the resurrection of Jesus from the dead? Those Jews on Pentecost believed any departure from the law was sinful. They were raised under the law of the Sabbath but gladly accepted a new day of worship (Acts 20:7). Those Jews believed any addition to law was sinful (Heb. 7:14) but eagerly obeyed the new commandment of baptism (Acts 2:38). These same Jews immediately began honoring a risen Lord by the establishment of a memorial feast (Matt. 26:26-28) and accepting death rather than recant the message of Christ (Acts 5:29). Though men sometimes die for a mistaken cause, no one dies for what he knows is wrong. The early disciples, especially the apostles, knew whether or not the cause they so readily suffered for was true or not.

Third, since the miracles of Scripture were for the purpose of confirming the revelation of God (Heb. 2:1-4), we would expect the miracles to cease when the special inspired revelation was completed. This is exactly what we find in Scripture. Micah predicted, "According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, I will show unto him marvelous things" (Micah 7:15). Here, in type, Micah predicts a time when marvelous or miraculous events would take place. These miraculous events would transpire according to the time that Israel came out of the land of Egypt. Psalm 95:10-11 places that time as a generation of forty years. The public ministry of Christ, coupled with the establishment of the church and completion of the New Testament, was accomplished in one generation or about forty years. Miracles were performed by one of two ways in New Testament days: (1) baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5); (2) laying on of the apostles’ hands (Acts 8:18; Rom. 1:11). Since there now is only one baptism (Eph. 4:5) and that baptism must be performed by men (Matt. 28:19-20), we can rightly conclude that Holy Spirit baptism is no longer in effect. Too, because no one now living has the right to be called an apostle (Acts 1:22-23), we know that no one can perform a miracle. The Bible teaches when the perfect or complete revelation of God had come to the world that the incomplete means of revelation that came intermittently through miraculous spiritual gifts would cease (I Cor. 13:8-10). Therefore, no one can perform a miracle today. God has declared they have come to an end and He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). The complete revelation was given during New Testament times (Acts 20:27); therefore, those miracles which confirmed that message are now come to an end.

The Holy Spirit
Kerry Duke

Large crowds gathered at the Cane Ridge revival of 1801. As the meeting progressed, strange activities occurred. Some fell flat on the ground. Others jerked violently. Some laughed uncontrollably. Several barked like dogs. All of these occurrences, of course, were attributed to the Holy Spirit. Though we might consider these events odd, we really don’t have to look far to find similar claims of a mysterious operation of the Spirit. "Holy laughter" was popular a few years ago. Pentecostals jump, shout, sway, and dance in worship today. A Pentecostal church in Canada used blasphemous ways to supposedly impart the Spirit such as pounding the Holy Spirit into another person’s head with overhead blows and grasping the air with a cupped hand, forming a ball like one would pack a snowball, then throwing the Holy Spirit at someone. While most charismatic television shows are not this wild, they constantly talk about the Holy Spirit moving in the auditorium. One preacher on the Trinity Broadcasting Network said, "I can feel the Holy Spirit all over this place." His statement was applauded by the audience.

Many of the claimed manifestations of the Spirit today, with the exception of speaking in tongues, are not even activities that were actually wrought by the Holy Spirit in Bible times. And though modern Pentecostals deny the Jehovah’s Witness doctrine that the Holy Spirit is not a person but rather God’s "invisible active force," the direction of Pentecostal language and activity is clear: they tend to reduce the Holy Spirit to a mysterious physical force. They border on blasphemy by speaking of the Holy Spirit moving in an auditorium. Why do they never speak of God the Father or Christ the Son "moving" in an auditorium? Their language more resembles the movement of fog or electricity that comes upon people without notice and produces unpredictable physical manifestations.

Perhaps some people have the wrong idea of "Ghost" when hearing of "the Holy Ghost." The mere mention of the word ghost, particularly in our age of make believe, causes some to immediately think of something mysterious or even weird. But the King James word ghost is just another word for spirit; the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit is a spirit, not a physical thing or force. A pure spirit being cannot be touched or seen with the physical senses, much less be felt to move across an auditorium. Though Pentecostals would never admit it, their actions treat the Holy Spirit as more of a physical force than a spirit being. Why else do they constantly display such outward "signs" and "workings" of the Holy Spirit?

The question is not "What is the Holy Spirit?" but "Who is the Holy Spirit?" If charismatics would consider this question long enough they would give up some of their ideas and practices. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a personal being and a member of the Trinity just the same as the Father and the Son are. The Spirit has characteristics of a personal being. In Scripture He makes intercession (Rom. 8:27), He has a mind (Rom. 8:27), and He knows and searches (I Cor. 2:10-11). He can be grieved (Eph. 4:30), He speaks (I Tim. 4:1), and He forbids (Acts 16:6-7). He is referred to by the masculine pronouns "He" and "Him" rather than a neuter "it." Notice John 16:13: "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." An exception would be Romans 8:16 ("the Spirit itself"), but this case no more discounts the fact that the Spirit is a person, not a force or a thing, than Luke 1:35 ("that holy thing") means that Jesus was a thing and not a person.

The Holy Spirit is God or deity. Peter asked Ananias, "Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost. . .thou has not lied unto men, but unto God" (Acts 5:3-4). The Spirit is all-knowing: "The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (I Cor. 2:10). He is eternal ("the eternal Spirit," Heb. 9:14). He is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and Christ the Son, being joined with them in such a way in Scripture that it is evident He is on an equal plane with them (Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; II Cor. 13:14).

The Holy Spirit is a personal, pure spirit being, a member of the Trinity and thus deity. If we are to honor Him as we should, we must recognize who He is rather than what He is, and we must attribute to Him only those activities the Bible ascribes to Him.

Conversion to Christ
Dan Jones

"For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them" (Matt. 13:15). "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:3). "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19).

These verses clearly set forth the necessity of conversion. They also indicate the personal obligation of each individual to be converted. Far too many people desire to make conversion solely an act of the Holy Spirit, making it something mystical and miraculous that is done to them rather than something in which they have a personal obligation. They want something special, something direct. They want some emotional experience that removes any and all responsibility from their own shoulders. They fail to understand the role that each has in his own conversion. This is not to say that the Holy Spirit is inactive in the conversion process. Truly, without the work of the Holy Spirit no one could be converted. The question is, "What is the Holy Spirit’s work in man’s conversion?"

Some claim that one cannot even believe God’s Word until the Holy Spirit operates upon his heart. But if one needs a direct operation of the Spirit upon his heart before he can know the truth, believe the truth, and be converted, then why is the Bible needed at all? What purpose does the written Word serve if it cannot be understood without direct aid from the Holy Spirit? Also, if this direct operation is essential to conversion, why doesn’t the Holy Spirit operate upon all and convert everyone?

The Holy Spirit was promised to the apostles by Christ Himself for the express purpose of guiding them into all truth (John 16:13-15; cf. John 14:26). Jesus instructed the apostles to wait in Jerusalem until this promise was fulfilled (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8) and it was fulfilled on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). The Holy Spirit, then, is the Great Revealer of God’s Word (I Cor. 2:9-13); He is the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. The apostles, and other men chosen of God, were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write Scripture (II Pet. 1:20-21). In so doing, they delivered to the world everything that is needed to accomplish man’s salvation and to equip him completely for a lifetime of faithful service to God (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:3). Jude tells us that "the faith. . .was once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). The Gospel is God’s power unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). Nothing else from God is needed for conversion. To desire something more or something else is to show dissatisfaction and disdain for the all-sufficient message of Truth that God has already revealed by the Holy Spirit in His Word. To expect some direct influence and guidance by the Holy Spirit is to show a lack of respect for the guidance and influence the Spirit provides through the Word.

What is needed is not a direct operation of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, but a belief in and obedience to the commands of God revealed by the Spirit in the Word. The Holy Spirit has done His part. It is now up to man to fulfill his obligation to be converted. Jesus said that conversion occurs when man hears, sees and understands (Matt. 13:15). Man must humble himself to be converted (Matt. 18:3-4).

Peter told those to whom he spoke in Acts 3:19 to repent and be converted. Could they do this or not? If they could understand the Gospel as they heard it preached, and respond to it obediently of their own free will, then no direct operation of the Holy Spirit was (or is) needed. If they could not do what Peter told them to do, his words are nonsensical. Indeed, one must humbly submit to the doctrine of Christ as revealed through the Spirit inspired Scriptures. This is the role of the Holy Spirit. It is then up to man to save himself (Acts 2:40) by doing what is commanded in Scripture (Heb. 5:8-9; Rev. 22:14).

Conversion to Christ takes place when one hears the Gospel (John 6:44-45; Rom. 10:17), believes (John 8:24; Heb. 11:6), repents of sin (Acts 17:30; II Pet. 3:9), confesses faith in Christ (Acts 8:37; Rom. 10:9-10) and is baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16; I Pet. 3:21). One who obeys these commands from the heart (Rom. 6:16-18) is converted by the Holy Spirit—not miraculously, but by doing exactly what the Spirit teaches in the inspired, infallible, inerrant, authoritative, all-sufficient Word of God.