{"id":9303,"date":"2007-09-09T16:37:14","date_gmt":"2007-09-09T21:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=9303"},"modified":"2019-09-09T16:40:07","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T21:40:07","slug":"does-god-speak-directly-to-mankind-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-speak-directly-to-mankind-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Does God Speak Directly to Mankind Today?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\tby Abraham Smith\n

Earlier, we studied Scriptures that show we have an obligation to read the whole Bible.\u00a0 In order to do so, we must eliminate whatever might hinder our doing so.\u00a0 Even so, some of us have false beliefs that reject this obligation.<\/p>\n

There are those who believe that God still speaks directly to us as He did in the first century as the New Testament was being written. Some believing this see no need to study His communication to us through the Scriptures \u2013 and, so, they do not read the entire Bible or feel that the Scriptures do not cover all modern-day situations.<\/p>\n

Friends, there was a reason God communicated directly to men in the first century.\u00a0 The information He intended for us was not previously known (Romans 7:7;\u00a0Ephesians 3:5;\u00a0I Corinthians 2:9-11;\u00a0Nehemiah 9:14), and He wanted to ensure that it was provided accurately (Matthew 24:35;\u00a0II Peter 1:15).\u00a0 In the Scriptures, we are assured that we have the\u00a0complete<\/strong>\u00a0will of God for man today. His apostles were promised that the Holy Spirit would be given to \u201cguide them into all truth.\u201d (John 16:13) Unless He lied, they\u00a0had<\/strong>\u00a0all truth in the first century!<\/p>\n

Paul tells us in\u00a0II Timothy 3:16-17, \u201call scripture was given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, completely furnished unto all good works.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 If we have\u00a0in Scripture\u00a0<\/strong>the instruction for\u00a0all<\/strong>\u00a0good works, what else can we possibly need? In\u00a0Ephesians 3:3-5, Paul tells us\u00a0he<\/strong>\u00a0received his message by revelation from God, and that it can be understood by its readers.\u00a0 If we have\u00a0all<\/strong>\u00a0truth in the writings of the apostles; if the scriptures furnish to \u201call good works\u201d and make the man of God \u201ccomplete\u201d, and it is written so we\u00a0can<\/strong>\u00a0understand it, there is no need for God to continue to reveal to mankind over and over again that which He provided completely.\u00a0 In fact,\u00a0Jude 3\u00a0tells us the \u201cfaith\u201d was\u00a0once for all\u00a0<\/strong>delivered unto the saints.\u00a0 Peter was able to say that God\u00a0\u201chath given to us\u00a0all<\/strong>\u00a0things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us by glory and virtue…<\/em>\u201d (II Peter 1:3).<\/p>\n

There are some who believe that God must speak to guide us in daily choices.\u00a0 Such a view ignores the scriptural process which develops maturity with the growing spiritual person that provides the ability to \u201cdiscern good and evil<\/em>\u201d (Hebrews 5:12-14).<\/p>\n

Others point out that the Scriptures themselves teach that the Spirit must lead and guide the Christian.\u00a0 While they do so, it is important to understand HOW the Spirit does so.\u00a0 In\u00a0Ephesians 6:17, Paul tells us to take \u201cthe sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…<\/em>\u201d As the instrument through which a soldier does battle is the \u201csword\u201d, so the instrument through which the Spirit operates is the word of God.<\/p>\n

How did this happen?\u00a0 The Bible says the Spirit was to convict the world of sin (John 16:8<\/a>).\u00a0 On the day of Pentecost, in carrying out this promise, the\u00a0words<\/strong> of the Spirit pricked men in the heart and led them to seek salvation (Acts 2:36-38). See also\u00a0Acts 24:25.<\/p>\n

John 3:3-5\u00a0says we are \u201cborn again\u201d of the Spirit.\u00a0 But,\u00a0I Peter 1:22-25\u00a0shows that we are born of the \u201cincorruptible seed\u201d of the word of God.\u00a0 Again, the Spirit providing the \u201csword\u201d to be used in bringing about the new birth.<\/p>\n

John 6:63\u00a0tells us the Spirit gives life, but Christ says \u201c...the words that I speak to you\u00a0are<\/strong>\u00a0spirit, and they are life…<\/em>\u201d\u00a0Psalms 119:50,\u00a093\u00a0shows that thru \u201cwords\u201d we are given life.<\/p>\n

We are commanded to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).\u00a0 We accomplish this when we walk in truth (II John 4;\u00a0Psalms 26:3).\u00a0 Jesus says \u201cthy word is truth\u201d (John 17:17).<\/p>\n

The damage of these false ideas can not only hinder us from more Bible reading, but it will even lead us to reject what we read<\/strong>\u00a0in the Bible in favor of an imagined message we claim to be from God.<\/p>\n

As an example, the\u00a0Bible<\/strong>\u00a0says that a bishop must be \u201cthe husband of one wife<\/em>\u201d (I Timothy 3:2;\u00a0Titus 1:5-7).\u00a0 Some of those who are\u00a0not<\/strong>\u00a0the husband of one wife (female \u201cbishops\u201d, single men, etc.) claim that God \u201cled me to be a bishop.\u201d\u00a0 This overrules the Scripture which actually comes from God!<\/p>\n

Claiming a personal \u201cleading\u201d from the Spirit will inevitably lead to division, which is in itself contrary to the will of God (I Corinthians 1:10).\u00a0 Let us put aside these false notions and depend upon the Bible as the means whereby we are led by the Spirit.\u00a0 As Paul teaches in\u00a0II Corinthians 10:5, let us \u201ccast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Abraham Smith Earlier, we studied Scriptures that show we have an obligation to read the whole Bible.\u00a0 In order to do so, we must eliminate whatever might hinder our doing so.\u00a0 Even so, some of us have false beliefs that reject this obligation. There are those who believe that God still speaks directly to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[225,169],"class_list":["post-9303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-inspiration","tag-prophecy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":69020,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-whole-counsel-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":9303,"position":0},"title":"The Whole Counsel of God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Paul said he had preached \"the whole counsel of God\" (Acts 20:27) but never the Quran or the Book of Mormon. Therefore, neither of those is part of God's counsel, and we need not pretend or believe they are. Jesus promised that His eye-witnessing apostles would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28518,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-your-own-thinking\/","url_meta":{"origin":9303,"position":1},"title":"Do Your Own Thinking","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bob Buchanon via\u00a0The Eastside Edifier Not many of us think for ourselves when it comes to matters of religion. Most of us are what we are religiously because of the way our parents reared us and have never questioned whether we were right or wrong. We prefer to leave\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/thinking3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":59514,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-scriptures-and-context\/","url_meta":{"origin":9303,"position":2},"title":"The Scriptures and Context","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ethan R. Longhenry \"Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work\" (II Timothy 3:16-17). As Christians seeking to serve Jesus Christ according to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85263,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-scriptures-are-for-correction\/","url_meta":{"origin":9303,"position":3},"title":"The Scriptures Are for Correction","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0by Terry Wane Benton A few years ago, a gospel preacher said the Bible was not written to correct denominationalism. He thought he had some big point he was making. I pointed out that the Bible was not written to correct Muslims or Mormons in any direct way either, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19395,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-our-bible-text-reliable\/","url_meta":{"origin":9303,"position":4},"title":"Is Our Bible Text Reliable?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Abraham Smith \u201cThe Judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward\u201d (Psalms 19:9-11).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/person-holding-blue-ballpoint-pen-writing-in-notebook-210661-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":89530,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/skeptic-reexamining-isaiah-and-other-biblical-texts\/","url_meta":{"origin":9303,"position":5},"title":"Skeptic: Reexamining Isaiah and Other Biblical Texts","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Quote: \"Likewise, Isaiah is not a solitary author crafting messianic predictions. 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