The Word and the Spirit
The Spirit gives inspiration. The Word gives information. Together, they become revelation, and revelation brings transformation.
That’s the way it’s been since the beginning - the Spirit and the Word working together. Think of the creation narrative in the very first chapter of Genesis. The Holy Spirit hovered above the face of the deep when God spoke all things into existence. God the Father gave the command, the Word was released, and the power of the Holy Spirit partnered with that Word to bring about creation.
You need the Holy Spirit to teach you the Word.
But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. (1 Corinthians 2:14, NLT)
And you need the Word to be properly taught by the Holy Spirit.
But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. (John 14:26, NLT)
If you don’t have the Word, with what will the Spirit teach you? If you don’t listen to the Holy Spirit, how will you truly understand the Word?
There are two kinds of believers.
The free spirit has trouble with developing and with seeing the need for a disciplined devotion to the Word.
The analytical mind has trouble with surrendering to the Holy Spirit.
In each and every one of us, there’s a change that needs to take place in order for us to experience the fullness of what God offers. For every kind of believer, there is a side to God that will confront that believer.
On one hand, we have those who imagine that being a disciple of Christ is aimless wandering - they think that spirituality demands no discipline or structure. These believers despise the Biblical structure of the Church, have issues with accountability, are uncomfortable with the idea of spiritual authority, and often mishandle the Scriptures. They wander into Christian superstitions and develop weird, unbiblical ideas. They applaud when their teachers toss aside the Word in order to “flow with the Spirit.” They know the gifts but not the glory.
On the other hand, we have those who pride themselves in their knowledge of Biblical texts. These believers tend to be judgmental and unnecessarily critical. Hiding behind phrases like “Defending the Faith” and “Exposing False Teachers”, they become bitter and religious - rarely ever actually accomplishing anything for the sake of the gospel themselves. They applaud when their leaders hurl mean-spirited insults at fellow preachers of the gospel. Claiming “Christ Alone”, what they actually mean is “Chirst” plus believe every doctrine exactly as they believe it.
In this hour, neither extreme will do. God is raising a people of both Word and Spirit. This is the new move of the Holy Spirit. You can have both power and truth, joy and holiness, supernatural manifestation and Biblical postulation. We need both Word and Spirit. The Word of God is the building material of the Spirit. It is with the Word that the Holy Spirit creates. The Word is the substance, the actualizing material used by the Spirit to bring forth something real and lasting.
The two streams are coming together to make one river - the people of the Word are uniting with the people of the Spirit. The result will be a move of God that is free but not chaotic, energized but not disorderly. The clear, true gospel of salvation will be presented with miraculous demonstration. The miraculous will not be neglected, but neither will miracles become the focus. There will be a depth of the Word, and a surrender to the Spirit. It’s happening now - a beautiful balanced move of God is upon us. A move of both the Word and the Spirit.