HOW
DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT LEAD US TODAY?
Yes, just how does the Holy Spirit lead a
person in this present age? Many mistakenly think that their own
subjective feelings are a supernatural action of the Holy
Spirit. If this were so, how would a person distinguish between
their natural inner feelings and those brought on
supernaturally? Solomon warns, “He that trusteth in his
own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be
delivered” (Proverb 28:26). Again, “There is a way
that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways
of death” (Proverb 16:25). These two passages reveal
that our inner feelings are not a reliable source in determining
right from wrong. This is especially true in respect to morals
and learning what the Lord would have us to do. Our outlook on
life philosophically is determined by how we were raised,
experiences in life, knowledge obtained by observation and by
what we were taught. From these sources we develop a philosophy
to guide us in life. This internal understanding of right and
wrong may not coincide with the inspired Word of God. It is the
reason why different people who rely upon their inner feelings
as being divinely guided by the Holy Spirit derive at opposite
concepts with one another and with what the Bible actually
teaches. These conflicting claims of being guided by the Holy
Spirit cannot be blamed upon the Lord. The Apostle Paul informs
us that, “…God is not the author of confusion…” (1
Corinthians 14:33).
In reality, how does the third person in the
Godhead communicate unto mankind? From the beginning of time
Devine messages were always delivered in a language understood
by the recipients of those messages. A person has never received
communication from Heaven by way of their inner feeling. How did
Adam and Eve come to knowledge of the will of God for them in
the Garden of Eden? It was with WORDS!!! “The Lord God
commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou
mayest freely eat: but, of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).
Several passages of scripture reveal that the
Holy Spirit used words to communicate. David declared,
“The spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my
tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2). The Apostle Peter said,
“Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been
fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake
before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took
Jesus” (Acts 1:16). The Apostle Paul wrote, “Now
the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith…” (1 Timothy 4:1).
The Holy Spirit did not communicate heavenly
messages to every person, but rather inspired certain men as
spokesmen. Moses received the Decalogue (The Ten Commandments)
for the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. The Apostle John
pointed out that “…the law was given by Moses, but grace
and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). During the
Mosaic dispensation God chose certain men as prophets to deliver
His Word to the Israelites. The Apostle Peter, in referring to
the writers of the Old Testament, said, “holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter
1:21). At Hebrews 1:1, the scripture states, “God, who as
sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the
fathers by the prophets.” For the New Testament
dispensation Jesus Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit unto
the apostles to guide them unto all truth (John 14:26; 16:13).
Not only did the apostles and the New Testament prophets speak
by inspiration, but they also wrote as guided unto all truth (2
Timothy 3:16-17). At First Corinthians 2:10-13, the Apostle Paul
pointed out that the very words in which he wrote were the words
of the Holy Spirit. The days of miracles and the receiving a
message from heaven supernaturally ceased at the close of the
first century (1 Corinthians 13:8-10; Jude 3; Revelation
22:18-19). The Bible is the complete revelation of the Heavenly
Father for mankind’s eternal redemption. Those who claim to have
been lead by the Holy Spirit today is either deceived or a false
prophet (Matthew 7:15; 1 John 4:1).
--Dub Mowery