CHAPTER SIX - THE SPIRIT GUIDES THE BELIEVER

[BaptistBibleBeliever]

THE HOLY SPIRIT AT WORK

BY

S. Franklin Logsdon

"It is expedient for you that I go away . . . I will send him unto you"

Copyright @ 1960

CHAPTER SIX

THE SPIRIT GUIDES THE BELIEVER

"He will guide you into all truth"

THE HOLY SPIRIT came to transmit and translate divine Truth. He searches the deep things of God where wisdom is absolute. His work as the Guide is to direct the mind of destitute man into the decrees of God.

THE SOURCE AND SOUNDNESS OF TRUTH

No one can experience the spiritual impact of Scripture or enjoy its life-giving qualities until the divine Teacher introduces one to its unfathomable depths and incalculable worth. It is, therefore, the contact of God's Spirit with man's which paves the way for an intelligent appreciation and an effectual appropriation of the abiding Word which has come down from above. It behooves man to grant Him the opportunity. But how is this ministration accomplished by the Spirit of God?

First of all, He corroborates the authority, the authorship and the advantages of the Bible. He declares: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16). Thus, He emphasizes its uniqueness, its utility and its completeness. He moved upon the men who recorded it; He moves within the men who receive it.

[BaptistBibleBeliever]

THE SEARCH OF THE STUDENT

We have not only the Spirit's commendation of the soundness of Truth, but His command for the study of the text: "Study to show thyself approved unto God" (II Timothy 2:15). And there is indication of an examination to follow: "The word that I have spoken," Jesus warned, "the same shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). Jesus also said: "Search the scriptures . . . they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39).

The student is the searcher. To search is to study. To study means to "delve into" with the purpose of grasping, of knowing.

Of the writing of books there is no end.

The pen of man has produced an almost interminable expression:

- Of his impressions of Me in all its intricacies,
- Of nature in all its exquisiteness,
- Of creeds in their distinguishing diversities,
- Of philosophy in its studied deductions,
- Of science in its manifold technicalities,
- Of moral principles in their several fields,
- Of behavior in its displayed variations,
- Of facts and fancies in every conceivable form.

But the Book of God transcends all. It is to be desired above all.

THE FOCUS OF DIVINE REVELATION

God wrote only one Book of which we have knowledge. He took for His theme the Person of His only begotten Son.

In this Book He:

- Extols His virtues,
- Unfolds His perfections,
- Reveals His accomplishments,
- Presents His claims.

Here is the divine summation, "Christ is all"! (Colossians 3:11).

That is:

- He is the sum total of all worthfulness.
- He is the sum total of all loveliness, for "he is altogether lovely."
- He is the sum total of all power, for "all power in heaven and earth is given unto him."
- He is the sum total of all peace, for "he is our peace . . . having made peace by the blood of his cross."
- He is the sum total of salvation, for "neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."

From the first book of the Bible, in which Christ is the seed of the woman, to the last book in which He is exalted on the throne, Christ is all!

- He is all in creation, for "all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3).
- He is all in life, for He "is our life" (Colossians 3:4).
- He is all in knowledge, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3).
- He is all in strength, for "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).
- He is all in joy, for "whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (I Peter 1:8).
- He is all in comfort, for He promised, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:18).
- He is all in hope, for "Christ in you, [is] the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
- He is all in everlasting pleasure, for at His right hand "there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalm 16:11).

This is something of the green pastures into which the Spirit leads the willing, believing heart and mind. Search the Scriptures!

[BaptistBibleBeliever]

THE WAY-POINTER

The Holy Spirit points out the way. "He will guide you into all truth."

He is the One who knows the way—the Conductor. A guide is necessary when the way is not known, or when immensity or complexity (or both) characterizes the objective to be surveyed. And where can the human mind discover a broader, more profound field of investigation? The Book of books is a mine of wealth incomputable, an ocean of wisdom unfathomable, and a sphere of wonder incomparable. The life it gives; the light it shares; the love it reveals—all challenge the heart with an overwhelming sense of blessedness.

Because the Holy Spirit searches the deep things of God, and is Himself omniscient, this gracious Guide can direct us into the highways of prophecy, into the boulevards of doctrine, into the avenues of inspiration, and into the bypaths of biography. The follower has the unsurpassed privilege of ascending the mountain-climbs to view panoramas of revealed grandeur. With His assistance, the hungry eat of the manna of Heaven and the thirsty drink of the water of life. He knows where the table is set; He knows where the crystal water flows. Until He leads, we are not led. We stand abjectly in the midst of our pitiful destitution on the outside of the rich territory of Truth.

THE FACILITATED PERCEPTION

The Guide who furnishes direction into the realms of Revelation also provides ability for its appreciation and appropriation.

"The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you" (I John 2:27).

What is this perpetual possession which the believer has received? It is the "anointing of the spirit" —a holy endowment to furnish one with qualities to grasp the Truth, the faculties which facilitate an appropriation of Scripture. In fact, the anointing is the Spirit Himself. Therefore, no excuse exists for lack of Bible knowledge. With the ability invested, and the availability evident, and the Author present, just the reach of desire is required. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine" (John 7:17).

- Willingness is the prerequisite;
- Concentration is the procedure;
- Enlightenment is the product.

There is a quickening, constraining, commanding force to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit desires to bring us into the pervasive refreshment and the practical potency of its living qualities.

Many seem passively content with just a smattering of Truth, just a vague idea of what the Bible teaches. This is an affront to the Holy Spirit; indeed, a rejection of His purpose and plan. He, upon whom we are dependent for knowledge, says in effect: "Come, I will take you to the storehouse where you will find treasures both new and old" (Matthew 13:52). He leads into all Truth —into every part of the Holy Scriptures.

[BaptistBibleBeliever]

THE PREREQUISITE TO DISCERNMENT

The Bible is "spiritually discerned" (I Corinthians 2:14).

The language of Heaven must be translated to the human heart.

Without the Holy Spirit's enablement:

- We may see its words but miss its wonders;
- We may glimpse its statements, without grasping its substance;
- We may notice its grammar without noting its greatness;
- We may peruse its paragraphs without possessing its power.

We should desire more than its grammatical and theoretical aspects, its narratives and its moral precepts. His words are spirit and His words are life (John 6:63). Until we see this fact, we do not have clear perception.

Since the "natural man" cannot receive the things of God, then regeneration or the new birth must be experienced as the first requirement for perception. Then the guidance of the Holy Spirit must be welcomed, else our eyes will remain unopened; our minds will be unaffected; our hearts will continue unstirred; and our feet will not be led, allowing us to drift like a ship without a rudder and float with the current of our own imperfect impressions and desires.

THE REALITY OF ENRICHING TRUTH

When the Lord Jesus opened the understanding of the Emmaus sojourners (Luke 24:45), perhaps He was giving a preview of this enlightening ministry of the Spirit. Only hallowed illumination dissipates the darkness of ignorance. "The entrance of thy [its] words giveth light" (Psalm 119:130). If His Word gains entrance, it will give light. That is its inherent nature and its designed agency. With the psalmist, this discovery was learned only after his personal petition for it.

"Open thou mine eyes," he pleaded earlier, "that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law" (Psalm 119:18). Desire precedes experience. The Spirit waits to make the properties of His glorious truth the possession of each heart—the glad reality of an enriched soul.

Do you not desire to submit yourself to the leadership of this faithful Guide? Do you not want to know the Truth as He teaches it, as God intended it to be known? He will erase all the fingerprints of preconceived ideas from the showcase of Holy Writ, allowing its oracles to shine forth in all their exactness and intended clarity. No one is so well taught as the one who is Spirit taught. He provides the facilities; He promotes the understanding; He guides into all truth.

~ end of chapter 6 ~

CHAPTER 05. THE SPIRIT WORKS IN PEOPLE

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