Reality #4 Part 7 God Speaks through the Bible
2 Timothy 3:16-17
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."
God speaks to you by the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways. Perhaps the questions people ask most about God's speaking are:
1. How does God speak to me?
2. How can I know when God is speaking?
3. How can God be more real and personal to me?
God speaks to individuals, and He can do it in any way He pleases. As you walk in an intimate love relationship with God, you will come to recognize His voice. You will know when God is speaking to you. He will see to it.
Knowing God's Voice
Jesus compared the relationship He has with His followers to the relationship a shepherd has with his sheep. He said, "But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep...The sheep hear his voice...and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice."
God is sovereign! He can do whatever He chooses to do. With the Scripture as our guide, we know God can speak in unique ways to individuals. His people will hear and recognize His voice.
In our time, God primarily speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church. These four means are difficult to separate. God uses prayer and the Bible together. Often circumstances and the church, or other believers, will help confirm what God is saying to you. Frequently, God uses circumstances and the church to help you know His timing.
Lets look at how God speaks through the Bible!
The Bible Is God's Word
The Bible describes God's complete revelation of Himself to humanity. It is a record of God's dealings with humanity. It is a record of God's dealings with humanity and His words to them. God speaks to you through the Bible. Have you ever been reading the Bible when suddenly you are gripped by a fresh new understanding of the passage? That was God speaking!
A person cannot understand spiritual truth unless the Spirit of God reveals it. In fact, the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:17). When you come to understand the spiritual meaning and application of a Scripture passage, God's Spirit has been at work. This does not lead you to an encounter with God; that IS the encounter with God. When God speaks to you through the Bible, He is relating to you in a personal and real way.
When the Holy Spirit reveals a spiritual truth from the Word of God, He is personally relating to your life. That is an encounter with God. The sequence is this:
1. You read the Word of God -- the Bible.
2. The Spirit of truth takes the Word of God and reveals truth.
3. You adjust your life to the truth of God.
4. You obey Him.
5. God works in and through you to accomplish His purposes.
The Spirit uses the Word of God (the sword of the Spirit -- Ephesians 6:17) to reveal God and His purposes. The Spirit uses the Word of God to instruct us in the ways of God. On our own we cannot understand the truths of God: "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one." (1 Corinthians 2:14-15)
Unaided by the Spirit of God, the ways and things of God will be foolishness to us (1 Corinthians 2:14). Aided by the Spirit, we can understand all things (1 Corinthians 2:15).
Understanding spiritual truth does not lead you to an encounter with God; it Is the encounter with God. You cannot understand the purposes and ways of God unless the Spirit of God teaches you. If God has revealed spiritual truth to you through this passage of Scripture, you have encountered God Himself working in you!
Responding to Truth
Reading the Scripture is an exciting time of anticipation for me. The Spirit of God knows the mind of God. He knows what God is ready to do in my life. The Spirit of God then begins to open my understanding about God and His purposes and His ways. I take that very seriously. Here is how I respond when God reveals truth to me in His Word.
I write down the passage of Scripture. Then I meditate on it. I try to immerse myself in the meaning of that verse of passage. I adjust my life to the truth and, thus, to God. I agree with God and take any actions necessary to allow God to work in the way He has revealed. Then I alert myself to watch for ways God may use that truth in my life during the day.
You may want to follow this same process as God reveals truth to you. When God leads you to a fresh understanding of Himself or His ways through Scripture:
1. Write down the verse(s) in a notebook, spiritual journal, or diary.
2. Meditate on the verse.
3. Study it to immerse yourself in the meaning of the verse. What is God revealing about Himself, His purpose, or His ways?
4. Identify the adjustments you need to make in your personal life, your family, your church, and you work so God can work that way with you.
5. Write a prayer response to God.
6. Make the necessary adjustments to God.
7. Watch to see how God may use that truth in your life during the day.
Adjust, Obey, and Experience
God speaks by the working of the Holy Spirit and through His Word. God wants you to have no hindrances to a love relationship with Him in your life. Once God has spoken to you through His Word, how you respond is crucial. You must adjust your life to the truth.
We need to:
1. Agree with the Truth in God's Word
2. Agree that the truth applies to our lives
This agreement with God is confession of sin. Confession means you agree with God about your sin. To agree with God, you must change your understanding to agree with His. This requires an adjustment. Is that all you must do? No! Agreeing with God is not enough. This is where obedience is required. To obey what God has said to you through the Bible, you must do what God is directing you to do.
Adjusting your mind to the truth God has revealed to you is one step short of completion. You must also respond to the truth in obedience. Then you are free to experience a more complete relationship with God. Always tie a revealed truth to your understanding of God and your relationship with Him.
As you spend time in a love relationship with God you will come to know His voice. But God has already given you many messages and commands in His Word, the Bible. As you read the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit will be at work to reveal truth about God, His purposes, and His ways. When He clearly speaks, you must adjust yourself to the truth revealed and obey God. When you obey Him, you will experience Him working in and through you to accomplish His work in His world!
In Christ,
David
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."
God speaks to you by the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways. Perhaps the questions people ask most about God's speaking are:
1. How does God speak to me?
2. How can I know when God is speaking?
3. How can God be more real and personal to me?
God speaks to individuals, and He can do it in any way He pleases. As you walk in an intimate love relationship with God, you will come to recognize His voice. You will know when God is speaking to you. He will see to it.
Knowing God's Voice
Jesus compared the relationship He has with His followers to the relationship a shepherd has with his sheep. He said, "But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep...The sheep hear his voice...and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice."
God is sovereign! He can do whatever He chooses to do. With the Scripture as our guide, we know God can speak in unique ways to individuals. His people will hear and recognize His voice.
In our time, God primarily speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church. These four means are difficult to separate. God uses prayer and the Bible together. Often circumstances and the church, or other believers, will help confirm what God is saying to you. Frequently, God uses circumstances and the church to help you know His timing.
Lets look at how God speaks through the Bible!
The Bible Is God's Word
The Bible describes God's complete revelation of Himself to humanity. It is a record of God's dealings with humanity. It is a record of God's dealings with humanity and His words to them. God speaks to you through the Bible. Have you ever been reading the Bible when suddenly you are gripped by a fresh new understanding of the passage? That was God speaking!
A person cannot understand spiritual truth unless the Spirit of God reveals it. In fact, the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:17). When you come to understand the spiritual meaning and application of a Scripture passage, God's Spirit has been at work. This does not lead you to an encounter with God; that IS the encounter with God. When God speaks to you through the Bible, He is relating to you in a personal and real way.
When the Holy Spirit reveals a spiritual truth from the Word of God, He is personally relating to your life. That is an encounter with God. The sequence is this:
1. You read the Word of God -- the Bible.
2. The Spirit of truth takes the Word of God and reveals truth.
3. You adjust your life to the truth of God.
4. You obey Him.
5. God works in and through you to accomplish His purposes.
The Spirit uses the Word of God (the sword of the Spirit -- Ephesians 6:17) to reveal God and His purposes. The Spirit uses the Word of God to instruct us in the ways of God. On our own we cannot understand the truths of God: "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one." (1 Corinthians 2:14-15)
Unaided by the Spirit of God, the ways and things of God will be foolishness to us (1 Corinthians 2:14). Aided by the Spirit, we can understand all things (1 Corinthians 2:15).
Understanding spiritual truth does not lead you to an encounter with God; it Is the encounter with God. You cannot understand the purposes and ways of God unless the Spirit of God teaches you. If God has revealed spiritual truth to you through this passage of Scripture, you have encountered God Himself working in you!
Responding to Truth
Reading the Scripture is an exciting time of anticipation for me. The Spirit of God knows the mind of God. He knows what God is ready to do in my life. The Spirit of God then begins to open my understanding about God and His purposes and His ways. I take that very seriously. Here is how I respond when God reveals truth to me in His Word.
I write down the passage of Scripture. Then I meditate on it. I try to immerse myself in the meaning of that verse of passage. I adjust my life to the truth and, thus, to God. I agree with God and take any actions necessary to allow God to work in the way He has revealed. Then I alert myself to watch for ways God may use that truth in my life during the day.
You may want to follow this same process as God reveals truth to you. When God leads you to a fresh understanding of Himself or His ways through Scripture:
1. Write down the verse(s) in a notebook, spiritual journal, or diary.
2. Meditate on the verse.
3. Study it to immerse yourself in the meaning of the verse. What is God revealing about Himself, His purpose, or His ways?
4. Identify the adjustments you need to make in your personal life, your family, your church, and you work so God can work that way with you.
5. Write a prayer response to God.
6. Make the necessary adjustments to God.
7. Watch to see how God may use that truth in your life during the day.
Adjust, Obey, and Experience
God speaks by the working of the Holy Spirit and through His Word. God wants you to have no hindrances to a love relationship with Him in your life. Once God has spoken to you through His Word, how you respond is crucial. You must adjust your life to the truth.
We need to:
1. Agree with the Truth in God's Word
2. Agree that the truth applies to our lives
This agreement with God is confession of sin. Confession means you agree with God about your sin. To agree with God, you must change your understanding to agree with His. This requires an adjustment. Is that all you must do? No! Agreeing with God is not enough. This is where obedience is required. To obey what God has said to you through the Bible, you must do what God is directing you to do.
Adjusting your mind to the truth God has revealed to you is one step short of completion. You must also respond to the truth in obedience. Then you are free to experience a more complete relationship with God. Always tie a revealed truth to your understanding of God and your relationship with Him.
As you spend time in a love relationship with God you will come to know His voice. But God has already given you many messages and commands in His Word, the Bible. As you read the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit will be at work to reveal truth about God, His purposes, and His ways. When He clearly speaks, you must adjust yourself to the truth revealed and obey God. When you obey Him, you will experience Him working in and through you to accomplish His work in His world!
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 3:25 PM
1 Comments:
Sounds great brother, keep it up! God's word is the final authority. Through it He makes known His will, and He transforms by the Holy Spirirt those who seek to do what the scripture tells them.
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