Has The Holy Spirit Led Us Into All The Truth As Jesus Promised?

If the Holy Spirit is the one Jesus said would lead us into all the truth, then why do we need the Bible?

Maybe the Bible is the Spirit’s method to lead us into all the truth. Pretend I wanted to start a church. Would I pray and ask God how to design my church (meaning the spiritual things, not the building)? Would I wait for the Spirit to speak to me? I ask this because there are those who say the Spirit “only” speaks through the Bible. And there are those who say the Spirit is to lead us by His personal “voice.” But as I read the New Testament, I find “instructions” throughout. Instructions for living daily life, for marriage, for work, for relationships, and for worship. And to find out my answer regarding “how to do church” all I must do is read 1 Timothy and Titus and I’ll find Paul’s “instructions” written to his two disciples. But why didn’t Paul just say, “Pray about it, and the Spirit will lead you,” and leave it at that? The thing is, though many in the Pentecostal/charismatic movement may disagree, God explains in Acts, Ephesians, and 1 Corinthians, that God “gave us” (meaning the Body-of-Christ) the Apostles like Paul, Peter, John, James etc., and Prophets like Silas, Agabus, Simeon, Lucius to lead the New Testament church. Paul explains that “we” (meaning all Christians) are “built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets (meaning their teachings)” (Eph 2:20). And he explains that “they” (the Apostles and Prophets) have the authority over all of us. This is because Jesus gave them the gifts and calling to “teach us.” So, I must conclude that I am under the authority of what these Apostles and Prophets have written down in the Bible. So then, what is our authority, the Bible or the Spirit? Who “leads” us? I believe the Spirit leads us by the Bible. And the more we know the Bible, the more we know the Spirit’s voice. YET, the Spirit lives in each of us, addresses our circumstances, moves us, impresses on us, speaks to us, and motivates us constantly as we obey the words of Jesus and the Apostles found in the Bible. So though the Spirit still “speaks,” He has “first spoken and continues to speak” through the Bible.

So now that we see that it is the Spirit that leads us into all the truth through the Bible, I am curious how willing we are to honestly submit to its authority over our lives. I am about to INTENTIONALLY provoke you with some verses, only for the purpose of making a point. REMEMBER, it is only for the purpose of making a point. Here they are. Suppose I shared with you that the Bible says: “As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized” (1 Cor 14:33-38). First, please don’t get stuck on the statement that women are not permitted to “speak in church,” because “speak” here is in reference to “submission” not about speaking in general. So, Paul is making the point that women are not to exercise authority over men in the church, also they’re not to yell out their questions and disrupt the service. And here is a verse that makes that clearer: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor” (1 Tim 2:12-14). I’m already aware these are difficult verses. And that is WHY I chose these to make one simple point: All I want to ask you is “if” these verses were taken at face value, would you say “okay, I agree with these”? As I already pointed out, the quote from 1 Corinthians does not mean that women cannot “speak” in church. But my point here is WHAT IF it did mean that? Would you accept it and obey it because an Apostle said it? I hope some of you get why I have written this post. We may “say” we believe the Bible is from God, but do we really? Do we “really” submit to its authority in every area of our lives, even regarding the verses we disagree with? If we are going to live our lives through the lens of a “Biblical Worldview” meaning the Bible is our standard for all things, then we’re going to have to resolve our differences with it and trust that God knew what He was doing when He, by the Spirit, moved the Apostles and Prophets to speak and write what they spoke and wrote. Now may we ALL (both men and women of God) submit our wills, egos, opinions, biases, and ideas to the authority of the Word of God. Btw, the only reason I did not include verses concerning a man’s role or about husbands loving their wives like Christ loves the church, is because those types of verses are promoted, repeated, and fully accepted today. But the ones I wrote above are “unspoken and unaccepted” today. But I pray we will honor the Word of God as the Word from God in every area. Also, if you are interested in diving deeper into the subject of “submission vs authority” in the Church please consider checking out some of the messages posted by pastor Mike Winger at “Bible Thinker” on YouTube. His messages are thorough and answer every question, not only on this subject, but on many subjects, and from a Biblical perspective.