There have been a lot of controversies regarding the operation of the Holy Spirit amongst Christians.
While some Christians (mostly Charismatic) believe in the Holy Spirit, there are a lot others who argue that the working of the Holy Spirit was only operational in the Old Testament and did not extend to the New Testament.
This has often led to very contradictory interpretations of the bible by the various denominations and sects.
The Bible, which is the word of God, was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (II Timothy 3:16). The written word is known in Greek as the Logos whereas Rhema is the revelational knowledge behind the Logos.
So in order for a Christian to understand the written word (Logos), he /she would have to get the Rhema which is the revelational knowledge which comes from the Holy Spirit. This means that without the revelational knowledge, one would read the bible and interpret it as though he were reading a story book.
This is the much reason why there are a lot of doctrines and religious sects, whose activities seem to be in sharp contrast to the word of God. Although they spend time searching through the scriptures, they are unable to come to an understanding of the deeper meaning behind the letters they read.
Permit me to make a legal allusion here:
In law, whenever a matter of contention arises regarding any constitutional provision, the Supreme Court as the highest court of the land is vested with powers to interpret the provision under contention so as to reveal the intended meaning of the drafters of the constitution.
In doing this, the Judges employ the purposive rule of interpretation to unravel the spirit behind the letters of the Constitution.
This means that that it will be difficult for a lay person in matters of law to read the Constitution at first hand and fully grasp the meaning behind the letters.
In the same vein, for a Christian to fully understand the things of God, he/she would need to have a personal relationship with God. By so doing, their spirit man becomes sharpened and more in tune with the prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is after your spirit has been rekindled that your spirit can become alert to hear from God through the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20).
This is what will enable you to read the bible and understand what the words truly means.
I pray that from today, as you spend time to search through the scriptures, your spirit man would be rekindled so that the word you read would make meaning to you.
The author of this post is Ernest Nana Osei. Mr Osei is a journalist, real estate consultant, life coach, law student and very passionate about the things of God.
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