The same Spirit that hovered over the surface of the deep in the second verse of the Bible is the same Spirit that fully indwelt Jesus Christ. (John 3:34) In John 14 Jesus speaks of Him as the Spirit of truth, (John 14:17) because He always works through the truth, which is incarnate in Christ and written in the Scriptures. (2 Pet. 1:21) He is also referred to as the Counselor because He gives wisdom, direction for living, and understanding of the truth. (John 14:16) And He is called the Holy Spirit because He is totally separate from sin. (John 14:26)
This wonderful Spirit of God is available to live within you when you repent of your sin and, by faith, invite Jesus Christ to come into your life as your Lord and Savior. (John 14:17) In fact, without the “seal” of His Presence in your life, you have no eternal credibility with the Father. (Eph. 1:13) But with the “seal” of His Presence you have the guarantee of a heavenly home and all the blessings of God.
One of the primary reasons we need to be in a disciplined study of the Scriptures is so we can saturate ourselves in the truth. When we know the truth and we are presented with that which is false, we will instinctively recognize it. Measuring philosophies or theologies or opinions or sermons or books or doctrines or counsel by the Word of God is like exposing the crookedness of a stick by placing a straight stick beside it. The ultimate compliment an audience can pay me is to bring their Bibles and follow along as I speak so they can double-check what I say against what God says. I am authentic as a Bible teacher only in proportion to my faithfulness to God’s Word.
And in order to give God’s Word out so that others can hear His voice in their ears, I must – it’s not an option – I must read it, study it, understand it, and live by it. And when I do, His Word makes a lasting impact and bears eternal fruit, because it’s powerful.
The first seventeen verses of Genesis 9 are a direct quotation in God’s own words giving principles for you and me and the entire human race to live by. If we want to live a life that works, overcoming the weakness that resides in all of us, we must heed these principles. If we do not want to heed these principles, we have that freedom, but we will never live a life that works as it was created to work in the beginning. It would be similar to having a new computer with the most cutting edge technology, but using it only as a typewriter. It would do the job, but it wouldn’t even come close to fulfilling its potential. If we do not heed God’s principles for our lives, you and I can exist on this planet yet not even come close to fulfilling our potential or experiencing the abundant life God intended for us.
One primary reason for the collapse of society all around us is due to indifference and outright rejection of God’s principles. Our human weaknesses have become dominant, and life just does not work. So . . . for your own good, read God’s Word and live by God’s principles and enjoy a life that works!
The Holy Spirit is so identified with the Bible, one of His names is Truth! In fact, Peter reveals that the Holy Spirit is the inspirational Author of the Old Testament Scriptures. (2 Pet. 1:20-21) And Paul wrote to Timothy, encouraging him to stay in the Scriptures because, “all Scripture is God-breathed,” referring once again to the Spirit-inspired Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16, NIV).
Have you been trying to work up some kind of emotional feeling? If you lack “it,” have you felt you didn’t have the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, which means He always works according to and through the Word of God whether you feel Him or not. Have you been seeking some ecstatic experience, thinking that would be the Holy Spirit? Remember that He never acts independently; He always works through the Truth – the living Word of God, Who is Jesus, and the written Word of God, which is your Bible. He is never spooky or silly or superficial or self-promoting. He is the Spirit of Truth.
In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul held the entire human race accountable for basic knowledge of God, which he declared “is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Rom. 1:19-20, NIV). Even tribal people isolated in jungle huts or desert tents have the fundamental testimony of creation. Through the faithfulness of the sun to rise and set, through the orderly pattern of the stars in the sky, through the miracle of reproduction and birth, and through a myriad of other silent witnesses, the human race has been confronted with the truth. And unless we deliberately repress what we instinctively recognize in the silent witness, we would acknowledge and come to the truth.
The real reason many people reject Jesus, at least in the Western Hemisphere, is repression and rejection of what they instinctively know to be the truth – that there is one, true, living God who created us all and has revealed Himself through the Person of Jesus Christ.
