God Speaks Through His Holy Spirit • 1 Corinthians 2:6-16
By Don Hicks
Our first priority in preparing for this Bible lesson is to identify God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus first called the Holy Spirit “another Counselor” in the Gospel of John chapter 14. Read John 14 to see how Jesus described God’s Holy Spirit. Pay special attention to verses 25 and 26: “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach all things and remind you everything I have told you” (John 14:25-26 CSB).
We read in Acts 1:8, Jesus’ words: “But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth” (AMP). Jesus is instructing the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian to be able to share His truths at home and around the world.
The Southern Baptist evangelist, Billy Graham, taught that the moment we receive Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts. Dr. Graham thought we would understand this better if we talked about the Trinity. The Trinity, as taught in the Bible, is three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Christians do not worship multiple gods! The Old Testament strongly and clearly taught, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.(Deuteronomy 6:4-6 KJV).
God speaks through His Holy Spirit in a very real way that connects, summarizes and climaxes His speaking to His People and His speaking through the Bible. Look with me first at some of the ways God uses His Holy Spirit to speak to us through the Bible.
Consider this question: Could you read our text for this lesson if someone handed you an original copy of Paul’s letter to the first century Corinthian Christians?
Don’t panic!
There are no so-called “autographs” (the originals) of I Corinthians or any other book of the New or Old Testament still in existence. Not even the stone tablets God handed to Moses, where He (God, Himself) had originally written the Ten Commandments with His own fingers, that still exist.
How would you do at reading and understanding Paul’s letters if I could give you an accurate, well-preserved copy of his Greek text? They do exist because God’s Holy Spirit has preserved them. Unfortunately, I do not have enough seminary Greek skills left to begin to read or translate these good accurate Greek texts. There are pastors, Biblical scholars, and Greek seminary professors who accurately translate and print good English translations. The Holy Spirit works in preserving these accurate English translations of the Hebrew and the Greek texts, making them readily available to us in Mississippi, anywhere in our beloved United States of America and anywhere in the developed world. We certainly don’t want to forget the exciting news about God that has called missionaries all over the world following the Holy Spirit’s leadership and making God’s Word available for evangelism and Bible study.
I have some even better news for you when you read one of these translations — God’s Holy Spirit WILL help you understand and apply it, if you ask Him! Remember Jesus promised in John’s Gospel chapter 14 to be with us by sending God’s Holy Spirit when He would no longer remain (bodily) with us on earth. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach all things and remind you everything I have told you” (John 14:25-26 CSB).
Remember earlier in our lesson preview, we took note of Billy Graham’s teaching that the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit moves into our hearts. You can share this encouraging truth with all of your class by finding a willing, mature member of you class or church to share how God moved into their heart and life when they accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
It would certainly be okay (even great) if you felt God leading you to give this personal testimony.
Hicks is a member of Park Place Baptist Church, Pearl.
Comments are closed.