THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORD OF GOD
There is another thing that the Holy Spirit does and this concerns the Word of God. Many people do not see the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Hence, they do not treasure the words of the Bible that much. How can man receive the work of the Lord’s cross? Many are bewildered about this. Many sinners even pray, "Lord Jesus, be merciful to me and die for me." They do not know what redemption is at all. Here we see the preciousness of God’s Word. After God has accomplished His work through His Son, He declares it to us and shows us through the words of the Bible. In other words, God has placed the grace that the Lord accomplished for us in His own Word and has sent this Word to us.
If we subtracted the work of the Lord Jesus from the Word of God, what would we have? If we took away the work of the Lord Jesus from the Word of God, God’s Word would become zero; nothing would be left. The reason that God’s Word is God’s Word is that in it there is the fact of the Lord’s work. What is a word? A word is a recorded fact. Without facts, words become lies. With the facts, the words become real. If the Lord’s work for us is not real, the Word of God is not trustworthy. But if the work of the Lord Jesus is a fact, if God has accomplished His righteousness through the Lord Jesus, and if God has accepted us in the Lord Jesus, God’s Word must be trustworthy. Hence, we have to remember that the work of the Lord Jesus is contained in the Word of God. Here we see the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
The Holy Spirit is the doorkeeper of God’s Word. I like my English name, Watchman. It means one that guards and keeps watch. God has put the accomplished work of the Lord in the Holy Spirit. Today the Holy Spirit is carefully watching. He is like a doorkeeper. As soon as a person receives the Lord, immediately He opens up the matters in God’s Word to him.
A few days ago a brother sent me a box of candy. The box was very big and had flowers printed on it. It was wrapped in peach-colored paper with a letter attached, saying that the candy was a gift for me. I can say that what I received was a paper box. I did not receive the candy itself. I did not even taste the candy. What was in my hand was a paper box. But what I had actually received was the candy because the candy was in the box. What I took home was the box. But at the same time, I took the candy that came with the box. What we receive today is the Word of God. But what we receive into us is the work of the Lord Jesus. When we receive the Word of God, we get the work of the Lord, for the Lord’s work is in God’s Word. When one believes today, he is not believing that the Lord has done something for him. He is believing in the Word of God. But when one believes in the Word of God, the Lord’s work is automatically applied to him. Hence, if you say that you are not very smart and that you cannot understand the work of the Lord, I will say to you that God does not require you to believe in the work of the Lord. He only requires you to believe in God’s Word. When you believe in God’s Word, you will obtain His work in the Word. Apparently, what I took home was the paper box. How do I know that it contained candy? When I went home, I removed the colored paper and opened the box and took out the candy. Thank the Lord. This is how the Holy Spirit works. We receive God’s Word by faith, and the Holy Spirit opens up the work of the Lord that is contained in God’s Word. Therefore, we must realize that the work of the Holy Spirit is fellowship. The Holy Spirit conveys the work of the Lord contained in God’s Word to us. Without the Holy Spirit’s conveying, God’s Word remains only the Word. But when the Holy Spirit comes, the Word is opened up. Hence, God has prepared the Lord Jesus. He has also prepared the Holy Spirit for this work of fellowship.
(Gospel of God, The (2 volume set), Chapter 8, by Watchman Nee)
