Generally speaking there is much interest in the Holy Spirit and His works within many churches and various religious groups in our day. This is quite understandable as it is a reaction against liberal intellectualism on the one hand and dead orthodoxy on the other hand. Both streams of thought have been predominant in the church for many years, especially since the second half of the last century. As many people became increasingly dissatisfied with the outward, cold and sterile forms of religion, they looked for something that appealed to their emotions instead, something more "spiritual". For this reason at the beginning of this century the Pentecostal movement began to rise and more recently the Charismatic movement with its emphasis on the so-called "second blessing" and the gifts of the Spirit has made many inroads in various churches and has gained considerable influence. When so much emphasis is placed on the Holy Spirit and His works, there is the perennial danger of falling into the trap of spiritualism. Spiritualism stresses the work of "the Spirit", particularly in various outward demonstrations, without doing justice to the fact that the Holy Spirit works through the Word! John Calvin wrote about the spiritualists of his days: "For of late certain giddy men have arisen, who, with great haughtiness exalting the teaching office of the Holy Spirit, despise all reading and laugh at the simplicity of those who, as they express it, still follow the dead and killing letter (sc. of Scripture)" (Inst. I-9­-1). Spiritualists of the past and of the present tend to sever the bond between Word and Spirit, a bond which according to Scripture should never be broken. Calvin stressed this in the following words: "For by a kind of mutual bond the Lord has joined together the certainty of His Word and of His Spirit so that the perfect religion of the Word may abide in our minds when the Spirit who causes us to contemplate God's face, shines; and that we in turn may embrace the Spirit with no fear of being deceived when we recognize Him in His own image, namely, in the Word" (Inst. I-9-3). Therefore, also of this mutual bond between Word and Spirit it must be said: "What therefore God hath joined together let not man put asunder" (Cf. Matt. 19:6).

The Inspiration of the Word⤒🔗

The close relationship between Word and Spirit comes especially to the fore in the crucial doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture. The Bible testifies of its divine character, as being not simply a book written by men, not even by godly men, but by the special inspiration of the Holy Ghost. We think of texts such as 2 Tim. 3:16,

All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

The first words of the text may also be translated as: "All Scripture is God-breathed". This indicates that it owes its origin and contents to the divine breath, the Spirit of God. The human authors were powerfully guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. The same thought is expressed in 2 Peter 1:21: "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost". Now it is sometimes stated that these texts speak only about the Scripture as far as it was completed in that time, i.e. the books of the Old Testament. Hence the question may come up: How do we know that the New Testament is of the same nature and also inspired by the Spirit of God? It is obvious that in the New Testament the writings of the apostles are placed on the same level with the Old Testament Scriptures (Cf. e.g. 2 Peter 3:16). Therefore it is not surprising that the New Testament explicitly states that the apostles were fully aware that they were writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. In 1 Corinthians 7:40, Paul stresses that he has written this letter through the Spirit of God. And the apostle John stresses again and again that through his written words the Holy Spirit Himself spoke to the churches (Cf. Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Hence, we may draw the conclusion that the entire Scripture is God-breathed, i.e., inspired by the Holy Ghost.

Now everyone will realize that this doctrine of the divine inspiration of Scripture has become increasingly controversial. Within many churches the orthodox view on the inspiration has been abandoned and been replaced by various theories that are supposed to be more agreeable for modern man. It will be understood that I cannot presently deal with all these different views. Let me just point to a theory on the inspiration that has become quite prevalent. This view maintains that we hear indeed the voice of God in the Bible, but we hear it indirectly. The Bible is the human reaction to the voice of God and as such it is fallible and subject to the limitations of humanness. However, in these human, fallible words – it is said – we hear the echo of the voice of the living God. Most likely we have realized already that this viewpoint leads to the conclusion that the Word of God is in the Bible, but the Bible is not the Word of God!

We can only say that this theory in essence robs the Scripture of its divine character. For although it is claimed that we hear the voice of God in the Scripture, the verbal inspiration of the Bible is denied. This has caused widespread confusion, for if we do not adhere to the verbal inspiration of the Scripture, the Bible as such has lost its authority. Man has to determine for himself which is the authoritative message of the voice of God and which is the human, fallible reaction to this message and therefore has no real significance for us today. The result is that the Bible is explained in a confusing variety of ways. To mention only a few examples: One says that the biblical account of creation has to be taken literally, while many others maintain that it is told in a mythical form, which was understood by the people for whom it was originally written. However, these mythical forms have no value for us, who know so much more. Another example is that some churches maintain that homosexuality is acceptable in the light of the Bible; it is just a different way of expressing love. Others, on the contrary, condemn this practice as sin and point to the Bible as the basis for their point of view (e.g. Romans 1:26ff). In the light of all this it is not surprising that many people ask the question: What does the Bible really say? They become confused when they hear the contradicting answers that are given to this question and they turn away from the Bible and from the Church. However, we should be clear on this: Most of today's confusion is not simply because of differences in the inter­pretation of Scripture, as is commonly believed. On the contrary, most often the real issue is a totally different view on the divine inspiration of the Bible. The denial that "all Scripture" is inspired by God is the great cause of many different interpretations and of the wide-spread confusion. It robs the Word of God of its authority and makes the Scriptures of no effect (Cf. Mark 7:13). Hence it is imperative that we emphasize the close bond between Spirit and Word, when we speak about the inspiration of Scripture: All Scripture is divinely inspired and therefore the supreme rule for faith and life. As the inspired Word it is in its entirety "quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword" (Heb. 4:12).

The Proclamation of the Word←⤒🔗

At this point the question may come up: If we reject these modern views and adhere to the truth that the Bible is the infallible, inspired Word of God, is this a guarantee that the Word is powerful among us? In other words: Is it true that when the Word is preached in its entirety and in its purity among us there must be spiritual blessings? We know that this is not necessarily and certainly not automatically true. In order to become effectual the inspired Word needs to be read and to be proclaimed, and in order that the Word is proclaimed aright, it is necessary that the preacher is led and guided by the Holy Spirit. In the book of Acts we read repeatedly that the apostles proclaimed the Word filled with the Holy Spirit (Cf. e.g. Acts 4:8). The Apostle Paul emphasized the same regarding his own preaching, when he stated: "And my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor. 2:4). The same is expressed, in different words, in 1 Thess. 1:5, "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost". The underlying thought of these verses clearly indicates that it is possible to preach the gospel in words only. The truths that are expounded may be orthodox, the delivery of the message may be eloquent, but one thing is lacking: The unction of the Holy Spirit!

This is really one of the greatest disasters for the church, when pastors proclaim the Word in their midst without the guidance and unction of the Spirit of the Lord. They may explain the Scriptures, but do not really comprehend its depths themselves. Consequently they do not understand the true needs of the souls entrusted to their care. They do not know how to speak "a word in season to him that is weary" (Cf. Isa. 50:4), neither are they truly able to edify the church. How necessary is it that every minister of the Word constantly realizes this and wrestles much in prayer for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in his ministry, especially when he proclaims the Word.

On the other hand, the congregation also should pray that the pastor may be exercised and led by the Spirit of God. The Apostle Paul urged the congregations "to pray also for him that God would open unto him a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ" (Col. 4:3, Cf. Eph. 6:19). If Paul coveted these prayers of the churches, how much more do the ministers need them in our day in which there is so much cold, stale and Spirit-less preaching! An age old Latin prayer beautifully puts into words the urgency of pleading that pastors may be taught and led by the Holy Spirit:

Come thou Holy Spirit,
Pastor to the pastor,
Instruct the instructor,
Explain to him who will explain,
Proclaim to him who will proclaim.

If pastors are so guided by the Spirit they will speak the Word with power and it will bear fruit.

The Application of the Word←⤒🔗

However, the question may still occupy our minds: If the Word is proclaimed faithfully and with the unction of the Spirit, will there be blessings automatically? Will the hearts of all the hearers be broken? Sad to say, this is not the case, for the heart of man is so hard that it may resist the most powerful preaching of the Word. A special work of the Holy Spirit is needed to bring the message home, to apply the Word to heart. To quote John Calvin again:

"Indeed the Word of God is like the sun, shining upon all those to whom it is proclaimed, but with no effect among the blind. Now all of us are blind by nature in this respect. Accordingly, it cannot penetrate into our minds unless the Spirit is the inner teacher, through His illumination makes entry for it." Institute III-2-34

What does the Spirit do in thus applying the Word? To mention only a few things: The Spirit opens the heart unto the Word, so that it is received and understood. A touching example of this is the great change that look place in the life of Lydia, of whom we read that the Lord opened her heart so that "she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul" (Acts 16:14). Another aspect is that the Spirit enflames the heart for the Word. The words of the two men travelling to Emmaus are an eloquent testimony of this. When they recalled the instruction that the Lord had given to them, they said: "Did not our hearts burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures?" Thus, the Holy Spirit lead sinners to embrace the Word. They confess from the heart: Thy Word is truth (Cf. John 17:17). That implies that they bow for the entire truth of Scripture, not only for the promises, but also for the searching and accusing words of the Bible. This is beautifully underscored in a statement of the Westminster Confession (XIV-2):

"By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein; and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come"

Finally, to sum it all up, the Spirit extols Christ as He reveals Himself in Scripture and brings Him to the heart of God's people. The Lord Jesus Himself expresses this in the following words: "He (i.e. the Spirit) shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (John 16:14). The last words literally say: He will proclaim it unto you. This implies that the Holy Spirit will glorify the Lord Jesus Christ through the Word and He will become precious to the heart when His Word is applied by the Spirit.

In conclusion we should stress again that there is an unbreakable bond between Word and Spirit. The Holy Spirit has given the Word by inspiration, He will guide the preacher in its proclamation and He seeks to gladden the heart by its application. Yet the saving blessings of the Holy Spirit are not automatically conferred upon reading or hearing the Word. It pleases the Spirit to use the Word, but He is also sovereign (Cf. John 3:8). Hence we are urged to use the means of the Word, but we should use it prayerfully:

Come, O Holy Spirit, come!