John 16: 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
Word Commentary states the content of v 13 concisely: “Jesus brings the truth, and makes it present through his coming into the world; the Spirit-opens up this truth and creates the entrance into it for the believers”.[1]
The truth is given by Jesus, but it’s the Holy Spirit who opens up this truth, so we can understand not only with our minds, but with our hearts. And then the Spirit creates an entrance into the believers lives or hearts. The intersection between the Spirit and the Word, or the intersection of theology and experience. Charismatics are big and rich in experience, but somehow lacks the depth of the Word, while the Reformed the other way around on the realm of spiritual gifts. You see how important doctrine is in our Christian life?
That’s the dynamic relationship between the Holy Spirit and the truth or the Bible we have now in relationship to Jesus. I believe there is no disagreement on this between Reformed and Charismatics. However, there is a difference between them in that the Reformed interpretation is really opening up the truth or the Word of God into our hearts, while charismatics will have that as well as the hearing the voice of the Spirit, and prophetic. The opening up of the word of God to believers by the Spirit, is what is called Rhema, the quickened word of God, per charismatics. So that is common for both. However, charismatics also attribute to this verse also based on:
John 10: 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. That’s a really important line from Jesus. We hear Jesus’ voice as His sheep, and He knows us, and we follow him. The thing is, how can you follow the shepherd, if you don’t hear his voice? I am looking at this literal model, not just from the bible. But in real life, real sheep has to hear the shepherd calling them, before they act. That’s the truth. Sheep don’t respond to voices that are different from their master or shepherd. They hear the voice they recognize and respond, walking towards him. That’s the real life, also spiritually. We recognize the voice of the Lord in our lives. So I believe there is room for actual ‘hearing’ voice from the Lord, and that will be a prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 16: 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
This is a clear incidence of the Holy Spirit speaking to Paul in a vision. This is a major direction of the Lord to Paul in his global church planting preaching the gospel and the Kingdom of God. It’s not like a petty stuff we think in our lives expecting God to talk to us. We need to have deep reverence to God in our attitude.
Romans 8 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Amen, be led by the Spirit.
[1] WBC62 Vol Gospel of John
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