Recently, a woman asked this question: “if there is no new revelation from God because the Bible is the complete work of God’s written word, then when I can feel like God is speaking to me guiding me in my life does that mean God speaks directly to believers through the Holy Spirit even though we have the Bible?”
I am grateful for the opportunity to address this very common misunderstanding of how the Holy Spirit guides the lives of believers. First, let me say this: God is sovereign and all-powerful. He can do whatever He wants and work in any means or environment He sees fit. Even with that said, we cannot lean on our own understanding to determine what a certain experience means and what is happening in moments that seem so tangible. This is why…
Colossians 2, among other sections of the Bible deal with the sufficiency of Scripture for all sanctification and all guidance in life. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is another passage of Scripture that is helpful:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
For the purposes of answering the question of “when I can feel like God is speaking to me guiding me in my life does that mean God speaks directly to believers” we can look at the above verse this way “All Scripture is profitable for training in righteousness” — righteousness being sanctification. If we know that sanctification is a life-long process sustained by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit then we also know, based on 2 Timothy 3:16-17, that the Holy Spirit guides our sanctification, thus our very lives, with ALL of Scripture. The Holy Spirit indwells us and guides us, but He will always point to and exalt the magnificence of Christ who is The Word made flesh (John 1:14). To support this truth, let us look at John 15:26, John 14:16, John 16:13-14
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” (John 15:26)
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.“ (John 14:16)
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.” (John 16:13-14)
Therefore, God’s “voice” is not an audible one nor is it a “feeling” that He is speaking. John 10:27 (“my sheep hear my voice”) is often confusing for those who think it is acceptable to believe in an audible voice or feeling of God’s direction in our thoughts. In context, that verse talks exclusively about salvation, not a direct “word” from God to you personally or to you for others.
The Word of God tells us that “our hearts are deceitful above all things, who can understand it?”. We often forget that our minds can be powerful things and convince ourselves that something is of God when it is actually our flesh. I certainly used to be in that camp of thinking certain experiences that felt and seemed powerful was God speaking to me directly, years ago. If we find ourselves thinking thoughts and mistaking that as “thus saith the Lord” we are deceiving ourselves. I will do a separate article about The Holy Spirit according to Scripture and sound doctrine.
One of my favorite quotes of R.C. Sproul is this (paraphrasing): “Experiencing the presence of God is intimately knowing His sovereignty.” Experiencing God’s presence and the workings in our lives is not marked by what we think we are hearing directly from Him. It is marked by a pure heart towards Jesus Christ leading to our obedience to His authority and bearing good fruit as a result of recognizing and submitting to His sovereignty, edified by His Word. The working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and hearts certainly can evoke strong emotions like confidence, joy, awe & wonder. Those emotions can cause our physical bodies to experience things as well. We can certainly appreciate when we have those experiences; they often benefit us personally or spur on good things like feeling compelled to pray for someone specifically. I still experience those things. But they are not in of themselves to be trusted as “from God” because they are perpetuated by fallen (albeit redeemed) beings, us. God is ACTUALLY speaking to us through His Word. Hebrews 4:12 says
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart“. (Hebrews 4:12)
This verse addresses all facets of a human being’s existence on earth – soul (mind), body, and heart – describing exactly how the living, active Word of God is superior to any human experience. When the verse talks about “division of soul and spirit”, it’s referring to influence/dominance of our flesh and The Spirit. The Word of God being living and active pierces that division when we submit to God’s authority in His Word. The Word of God being living and active pierces the body’s physical experience “joint and marrow”. And The living, active Word of God also discerns the intentions and thoughts of [our hearts]. The best guidance we can accept as rock solid is God’s Word. The more we are diligent in our reading and studying of the whole Bible in proper context, the more our thoughts conform more to Christ and we can use our free agency to make choices that honor Him.