SCRIPTURE AND THE ANOINTING OF THE SPIRIT

Scripture is attacked from so many different quarters, even from within the Church. Some claim that we don’t need the Word because Jesus is the only Word of God. Others claim that because we now have the indwelling Spirit and His anointing, we no longer need the Scriptures, citing:

·       But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. (1 John 2:20; ESV)

Undoubtedly, understanding the Scriptures is more than simply a matter of study. The Spirit also has to open our heart to receive and understand it. Ordinarily, we are closed to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:14). This had been the condition of Israel. They had the Scriptures, but their minds were closed to it. The Spirit had to first remove the blockage (2 Corinthians 3).

God must also illuminate the Scriptures for us as Jesus had done for His disciples after His resurrection:

·       Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24:44-45)

While the Spirit can open our minds without the Word, He does so in accordance with the Word. Jesus had promised His Apostles that the Spirit would bring all His teachings (Scripture) back into their remembrance (John 14:26).

Similarly, Paul instructed Timothy to meditate on what Paul had written him, and God would give Timothy understanding in conjunction with Paul’s words, not in isolation of them:

·       It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. (2 Timothy 2:6-7)

Paul also likens Timothy’s reflections on Paul’s writings to the “hard-working farmer.” This suggests that we shouldn’t take the Spirit’s work for granted. We too must do our part by diligently studying Scripture, laboring over it, meditating on it both night and day (Psalm 1:1-3; Joshua 1:9; Deuteronomy 6:4-6).

It is this labor that is transformational:

·       Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Although hard work is involved, we must never forget that it is all for naught without the anointing of the Spirit.