David said, “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue.” -2 Samuel 23:2
So, if David, teaching by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, helped someone to understand a divine truth that she didn’t understand before, who should be given the credit? David, the Holy Spirit or both?
Both, right? David is the instrument used by the Holy Spirit to explain divine truth so that she could understand and respond.
Now, here is the question I want you to consider. In addition to inspiring David to clearly communicate divine truth in her language does the Holy Spirit need to do some kind of supernatural inner working on her in order to cause her to understand that clearly communicated truth brought by inspiration?
If so, why? Are people naturally (from birth) unable to understand and accept all truth statements or just certain types of truth statements?
Since people can accept some basic historical truth statements (like who was the first President), is it just truths related to God’s nature and provision that people are naturally unable to understand and accept as true? Can people accept “secular truth” but not “inspired truth”? If so, why?
Further, people can accept false spiritual truths in the form of the doctrines of false religions. A person can read a religious text that is teaching them false truth statements and believe those falsehoods. Someone can believe a lie so much that they willingly die for it but people cannot believe true spiritual truth statements from a true religious text? Why?
We all agree the Holy Spirit must do something to help people understand and accept divine truth. I believe He helps by inspiring people like David to write clear truth for us to read/hear and respond. Some insist the Holy Spirit must do something more than this and I’d like to understand what specifically that is and why it’s necessary and why that is unnecessary in every other walk of life.
NOTICE: I am not meaning to imply that the Holy Spirit doesn’t ever move or work or communicate by other means, He certainly does. I’m simply exploring the sufficiency of all the means He does employ. I believe the means of inspiration is sufficient. Do you agree?
–Dr. Leighton Flowers