"Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."
1Cor 12:3
The Holy Spirit has power to reveal Jesus Christ and His glory to man. When Jesus spoke of the Spirit's coming He said: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me" (Jn. 15:26), and it is only as He does testify of Christ that men will ever come to a true knowledge of Christ. You send men to the Word to get a knowledge of Christ; but it is only as the Holy Spirit takes the word and illuminates it, that men ever get a real living knowledge of Christ. "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost." 1Cor 12:3. If you wish men to get a true knowledge of Jesus Christ, such a view that they will believe on Him and be saved, you must seek for them the testimony of the Holy Spirit. Neither your testimony nor that of the Word alone, will suffice, though it is your testimony, or that of the Word, which the Spirit uses. But unless your testimony is taken up by the Holy Spirit, and He himself testifies, they will not believe.
It was not merely Peter's words about Christ that convinced the Jews at Pentecost. (Act 2:1-4,14-24) It was the Spirit himself bearing witness. If you wish men to see the truth about Jesus, do not depend upon your own powers of exposition and persuasion, but cast yourself upon the Holy Ghost and seek His testimony. If you wish yourself to know Jesus with a true and living knowledge, seek the witness of the Spirit through the Word.
Many a man has a correct doctrinal conception of Christ, through a study of the Word, long before he has a true personal knowledge of Christ through the testimony of the living Spirit.
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July 7, 2026 — edited version This article is part of the "Vitalize" pack , also part of the "Our Living Word" collection. Teaching and learning is not a lecture. Is there a way back to the informal? In the tapestry of a believer's life, teaching and learning are threads woven closely together, yet profoundly distinct from mere lectures and rote memorization. In the teaching of Jesus Christ, the process of imparting knowledge transcends the mundane and becomes a sacred endeavor — or, more accurately, a sacred challenge. One Way, or Peer to Peer? Our postmodern life often emphasizes one-way communication: entertainers perform, audiences consume. This "lecture culture" — TED talks and the like — keeps us in passive, unilateral exchanges rather than the mutual, peer-to-peer dialogue that is essential to genuine teaching and to relationship. Unfortunately, this pulls our hearts toward a unilateral communication that is far fro...
Two Covenants, One Promise A methodical construction supporting a seven-point teaching [Outline] I. The Root: Promise, Not Ethnicity Central Claim Christianity did not grow out of Judaism as its institutional predecessor. This popular assumption ( "Woozle effect" ) is contradicted by apostolic teaching. Key Argument The promises were given to Abraham and to his seed (Gal 3:16) — referring to Christ, not to a nation. The heir did not come by human effort (Ishmael / flesh) but by divine promise: Isaac. "We are children of promise, not children of flesh." (Gal 4:28) The Abrahamic line leads to the Messiah — not merely to Israel's national identity. Transition The human, family line is mainly Israelite, yes — but the covenant source and "logic" is Messianic, far before / far beyond the Mosaic period and that is what matters for what follows. II. The Two Covenants: Their Order and Purpose Central Claim Apostolic th...
A sermon by Martyn Lloyd-Jones Now, we continue this evening... with our consideration of the biblical doctrine of Redemption, (or the biblical doctrine of Salvation). We reminded one another last week that man, having failed to keep God's Law and Commandment, had fallen and had become the slave of Satan, and dead in trespasses and in sins. And that had he been left to himself, his condition would have been entirely hopeless. But God, in his infinite grace and love and mercy, had looked upon man in pity, and had informed him of this great plan and purpose of salvation and of redemption. And last Friday evening, we considered the characters and characteristics of this great plan of redemption in general. I ended by saying that God had revealed this plan of redemption and of salvation to men, in the form of a covenant that he had made with men. And this is commonly called the Covenant of Redemption, or the Covenant of Salvation. And that is to be our special theme th...
