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We spend a good bit of time on this forum discussing how we regard the Bible. Some comments are positive, to a point. Some say that the Bible can be helpful, but at the same time we should not consider it to be the Word of God. Others prefer to give it even less of a place of prominence, opting, rather, to be guided by the "Spirit", rather than by words in a book.
But I believe wholeheartedly that we may not separate the Spirit from the Bible, as the Bible is God's Word. We read in 2 Peter 1:19-21 (for example):
19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
There is just so much reference to what the Scripture "saith", or the Scripture being fulfilled, that we would be careless to simply ignore or minimize its importance. We can look at the passage below:
John 2:18-22
18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" 19 Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 20 Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
We might be surprised to see the following verse stated this way:
"If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well;" (James 2:8).
All the comments we read on this forum regarding the importance of love are spot on. It was God's amazing love whereby He sent His Son to be our Savior. And we are instructed to love our neighbor as ourselves. But is this not also found in the Bible?
Please note the connection between the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit in the following passage:
Acts 1:16-20
16 Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; 17 for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry." 18(Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. 19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 For it is written in the book of Psalms:
'Let his dwelling place be desolate,
And let no one live in it'; and, 'Let another take his office.'
Daniel 10:21 begins by saying,"But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth..."
I don't wish to make this post any longer. I will post some more verses that I pray will at least give us reason to further consider this matter. Many of us see Christ as being truly precious. What better place to find this truth, and the reason why, but in the Scriptures.
I would like to share some additional verses/passages which I believe might be helpful in this discussion. I would like to look at some other passages that, again, equate the Scriptures with the Holy Spirit:
Heb 3:7-11
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
In the day of trial in the wilderness,
9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
And saw My works forty years.
10 Therefore I was angry with that generation,
And said, 'They always go astray in their heart,
And they have not known My ways.'
11 So I swore in My wrath,
'They shall not enter My rest.' "
This passage quotes Psalm 95:7-11, and states that the Holy Spirit is saying these things.
Please note also Acts 28:25-27:
25 So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,
26 saying, 'Go to this people and say:
"Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them." '
Another important passage is found in Luke 24:
Luke 24:44-47
44 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
There are so many places in Scripture where we read, "It is written", and other Scriptures are often quoted. I believe that we see something important in Romans 15:4:
"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."
Contained within the Scriptures is that glorious Gospel of out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, through which we "might have hope". This is referenced in 1 Peter 1:24-25:
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Jesus speaks to our subject here, as well:
Luke 4:14-21
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
I present all this because I believe that it should cause us to consider the Bible in a much different light than what has been suggested by some of us here. I believe with all my heart that anything we might claim to believe about Christ must be confirmed through the Scriptures.
The Bible tells us some things that we do not wish to hear. I've said before that I, also, would prefer not to believe the Bible. I want a gospel that tells me I'm not so bad. But the Gospel of the Bible will not afford me that convenience. It tells me I am in serious trouble with God because of my sins, and that I am under the wrath of God because of this.
But God brings us "good tidings of great joy", in that he has sent to us a Savior, that "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life". Our believing on Christ involves a repentance of our sins, and a turning to God with a new love for Him, and a desire to serve Him and keep His commandments because of this love.
May God give us ears to hear His Word, and may we not perceive the preaching of the cross as foolishness.
May our Lord richly bless you.
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I don't know what that means, but I do know prophecy has one meaning, revealed by the Holy Spirit.
