Overview:

1) The Filling of the Holy Spirit is necessary for spiritual growth
2) Humility is necessary for learning about God's Word
3) A person with the spiritual gift of Pastor-Teacher is necessary for us to learn about God's Word
4) The appropriate means for interpreting the Bible is through ICE
5) Conclusion

The Filling of the Holy Spirit:

Spiritual growth requires that an individual have the Filling of the Holy Spirit. John 16:12-15, 1 John 2:27,

1 Corinthians 2:13- Which things [divine wisdom] also we speak [Paul's teaching], not in categories taught by human wisdom, but that taught by the Holy Spirit explaining spiritual phenomena to spirit filled persons.*

To receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, a person must first be a believer. Colossians 2:13,

1 Corinthians 2:12- Now we have not received the spirit of the world [world's frame of reference] but the [human] spirit from the source of God, that we might know the things that are freely given [Grace] to us by God.

That is, they must recognize the deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became human to pay the penalty for each and every personal sin committed by every member of the human race who ever lived. By paying this penalty, Christ, in His humanity, satisfied the perfect standard required by God to allow us to coexist with Him in eternity. A person must recognize that they can never be good enough to earn or deserve salvation because God's standards are perfect, and each of us falls short of this perfection. (Romans 3:23) As such, salvation must be a free gift from the grace of God. For more information on this, read our gospel presentation.

When a person is saved they receive both the filling of the Spirit and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Acts 5:32, Acts 10:44-47, Acts 11:15-17, John 7:37-39, Romans 4:4, Romans 8:9, Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 2:12, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 1 John 4:13, etc, etc.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is permanent and establishes our positional sanctification and eternal security. Romans 8:38,

1 Corinthians 12:13- For by the instrumentality of one Spirit [the Holy Spirit does this] are we all [all believers are included] once and for all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

The filling of the Holy Spirit, on the other hand is temporary and can be lost.

Ephesians 5:18- And stop being drunk with wine by which is dissipation [addiction], but keep on being filled [controlled] by the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-17- This I keep on saying then in conclusion, Walk by means of the Spirit [the Filling of the Holy Spirit], with the result that you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. [You cannot sin when filled with the Holy Spirit]. For the flesh is antagonistic against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are in open conflict. . . the one to the other with the result that, you cannot do these things if you desire to - maybe you do desire to do them maybe you don't.

This is saying that it is by our own decisions that we keep or lose the filling of the Holy Spirit. Every time we commit an act of sin, we lose the filling of the Holy Spirit, and quench and grieve the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19,

Ephesians 4:30- Furthermore stop [what you are already doing] grieving [offending, irritating, deliberate suppression; failure to learn and apply doctrine] the Holy Spirit [by being out of fellowship in perpetual carnality], the Holy One [the God] by Whom you have been sealed [2 Corinthians 1:22; eternal security, eternal life, signature guarantee of eternal security and irrevocable assets] to the day of redemption of the body [rapture].

When a person is in such a state of carnality, in order to regain the filling of the Holy Spirit and fellowship with God, they must acknowledge their sins to God. The issue is not how we feel about the sin, the only condition for forgiveness is our naming our sins to God. 1 Corinthians 11:31-32,

1 John 1:9- If we acknowledge [name, admit, confess] our sins, He [God the Father] is faithful and just so that He forgives us our sins [known sins] and also cleanses us from all unrighteousness [unknown sins].

Just as salvation is by grace (we can do nothing to earn or deserve it), our spiritual lives are also by grace (we can do nothing under our own power to earn or deserve the blessings we receive in time and eternity). The good works we do apart from the Holy Spirit's filling are worthless.

Isaiah 64:6b- . . . all our righteous deeds [human good] are like a filthy garment.

We can do nothing on our own power to live a spiritual life, or do anything that is acceptable to Him as good. Since God's standards are perfect, only what we accomplish through the power of the Filling of the Holy Spirit is acceptable to Him. God provides the resources, we only make the decision to submit to His will for us, which we call having positive volition.

So now that a person has the filling of the Holy Spirit, does this mean that he now automatically knows all the answers? Of course not, so how does a spiritual person grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ? 2 Peter 3:18

Humility:

Humility is a prerequisite for being receptive to truth and learning Bible doctrine. Once we presume that we already know the answers we are considering ourselves more highly than we ought and have already put ourselves out of fellowship.

Psalms 25:8-9- Good and honorable is the Lord. Therefore, He instructs sinners in the way. In justice He guides the humble. Consequently, He teaches the humble His way.

Ok, so how does a humble believer filled with the Holy Spirit grow spiritually?

Pastor-Teacher:

The Bible tells us that the proper protocol in this dispensation is to submit ourselves to the authority of a person who has the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher.

1 Peter 5:5a- In the same way, comparative novices [in the Christian life], be under the command authority of the pastors.

Ephesians 4:11-13- Then He gave some temporary unique spiritual gifts to . . . pastor-teachers for the purpose of equipping and indoctrination [perfecting] the saints, for the production of Christian service [gift, priesthood, ambassadorship, divine establishment] for the construction [edification] of the body of Christ until [potential] we all attain [arrive] the unity of doctrine [what is believed] and by means of epignosis knowledge related to the Son of God advancing in the mature winner, to attaining the stature [the measure of] maturity from the fullness [full blessings] of Christ.

This demonstrates that it is the function of a pastor-teacher to develop the maturity of the believer.

Not just any old pastor will benefit you, obviously as there are many different pastors each teaching different things, so how do we establish which is teaching the "truth?" First of all, the Holy Spirit will guide those who have humbled themselves and desire to know the truth. We must also recognize, though, the means by which God provided for us to learn His plan for us.

ICE:

The Bible as specific revelation from God is infallible (2 Tim 3:16), and is our sole guide for determining truth in the dispensation of the Church Age. Since it is of utmost importance that we accurately understand what God has given us in His grace, we need to ensure that the appropriate steps are being taken. The Bible needs to have 3 things taken into account when interpreting it, that we call "ICE" teaching:

Isagogical- Studying the Bible from it's historical perspective, interpreting its passages as its original audience would have interpreted it.

Categorical- Since the Bible is infallible and cannot contradict itself, the entire Bible must be viewed from each particular passage to clarify it's meaning.

Isaiah 28:10- For it is precept upon precept, line upon line, a little here a little there.

Exegetical- The Bible was inerrant in its original languages only, much information is lost in a translation. Having a full understanding of the huge complexities of the Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic is essential to be able to accurately divide the Word of Truth. Without a proper understanding of morphology, etymology and idiomatic uses of the words found in the original languages of the Bible (things that even the best concordances can not provide), a pastor is limited in his ability to communicate Truth. Exegesis also involves studying verse by verse to place it in its appropriate context.

Conclusion:

The only thing of lasting value that we can do is to inculcate ourselves with Bible doctrine every day. We want to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2)through consistent learning of doctrine.

This message board can not take the place of this inculcation done in a systematic manner by a prepared man with the gift of pastor-teacher. It can be used for developing friendships, clarifying misunderstandings and providing a witness and a testimony to unbelievers and encouragement to believers.

If you recognize the truth in this, or are curious to know more about what we believe, or where you can go for sound doctrinal teaching, we would be more than happy to discuss our understanding of the issues based on what we have been taught by such pastor-teachers. We look forward to hearing from you.

-The Bible Doctrine Study Group

*- All scripture is translated by R. B. Thieme, Jr. taken from class notes and "Christian Integrity"
He That is Spiritual by L. S. Chafer was also used in preparing this page