Recently in my personal studies I’ve come across one of the verses that has been, for many years, one of the most important verses in my life. So I’m pretty glad to have a chance to share it with all of you.
John 14:24-27
“He who does not love Me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all the things that I said to you.”
Remember what I wrote to you last time – the counselor is with us always. This fascinates me, that this counselor is ever present, not matter how I live, where I go, or how confused my life becomes; he is here to guide me according to the word of God.
I’ve sometimes heard the accusation that some Christians worship “God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Bible,” eliminating the role of the Holy Spirit. The belief, and perhaps it is not entirely misleading, is that some Christians have no use of the Holy Spirit. It’s like the resist him, resist his leading, and, perhaps, don’t even know how to listen to him, listening instead to the scriptures alone. I’ll be honest, I think I probably, according to some of these people, fall into that category.
I trust the word of God; I trust it is what God has said; I also trust what God says regarding the role of the Holy Spirit in my life.
I believe the saddest reality is not when people “resist” the Spirit and cling to the Word of God (since the Word of God explicitly directs people towards Spiritual living) but when people reject the word of God for what they believe is the Spirit. It is worst when a Christian clings to what he or she believes is the Spirit when this leads to particular actions, directions, or beliefs that are contrary to the word of God.
Here’s the reality – the Bible is NOT a member of the trinity. Rather, all the members of the Trinity communicate to you and me THROUGH the Bible. ALL of them use the Bible to instruct us about them, to guide us in living and loving, to let us know how to test for what is THEM and what is NOT them.
Remember verse 24? Everything Christ says is not his own, it’s from the Father, but Christ says to follow it. Guess what happens next. He says he’ll send the Spirit who’s first and primary role will be to “bring to your remembrance all the things” that Christ (and therefore, The Father) have said. The first time Jesus gives any detailed instruction as to the Holy Spirit and his role, he first says that the Holy Spirit will remind you of the Word. We cannot divorce the Word of God from our relationship of God – it is intimately interwoven with each member of the Trinity.
So the Bible is not a replacement for anyone in the trinity; rather, it is the instruction that all the members of the Trinity guide us towards. Why would they want that? Because when we know the word and when we obey the word, that’s when we are truly loving God (John 14:24).
My recommendation? Get into the word, pray through it, study it, and worship. This is exactly where the Spirit wants you to go.
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May 9, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Peter
Thanks for another thoughtful meditation Ben. I find it easier to relate to v.24 in the context of it’s introduction:
20″In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
21″He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened (AK)that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. ”
When Jesus says that “We will come” to those who love Him and keep His word leading in to v.24 then it is super-clear to me that the “We” means the triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus affirms His own divinity and that of the Spirt, and that all are one with the Father. The Bible clearly is a message from all three and any inspiration or revelation that contradicts the Word of God is not from Him (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
May 27, 2009 at 12:51 am
Matty
Good word…
Maybe the people who struggle with this struggle with what they percieve to be super-rationalism taking away from the truely supernatural workings of the Holy Spirit. They might wonder if 1 Thes 5:19-20 which says, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.” has been marginalized to mean “do not stop reading the Bible…do not stop listening to sermons”
I cannot speak for everyone, but only from my own experience when I say that I do know people who worship the Bible and do not have any type of active relationship with the Holy Spirit – and this is sad to say the least. Yes, the other side can and must be argued too – and you have done a fine job at that. But if there is truth to some deify the scriptures, could you also address the why and how they do that, and how that might affect the local body and her influence on the world, lost, etc.? Just a thought!