"The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple."
Psalm 119:130 (NKJV)
As a Christian I have been blessed by the teaching and preaching of many wonderful men and women of God. But, while I am very thankful for all these people and their ministries I am even more thankful for the Bible and the Holy Spirit, this is where I get most of my spiritual development. Psalm 119:130 tells us that the entrance of God's Word brings us light; we need to walk in the light of God's Word. What I have found is that a lot of Christians are not walking in the light of God's Word but rather in a reflection of light from God's Word that has come to them through some other man or woman of God.
Often when I am talking to Christians they will share what their favorite minister has said or something they learned through this one or that one. Some people quote a man or woman of God as though that person is the source of truth. While we can see that God has placed spiritual leaders in the Church to teach and equip Christians (Ephesians 4:11, 12) our focus should not be on any man or woman above God and His Word. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach us (John 14:26), that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth (John 16:13) and 1 John 2:27 tells us that we do not need to rely on any person to teach us because the anointing, the work of the Holy Spirit, is what teaches us.
Don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that it is wrong to be taught by people that God Himself has gifted and graced, but we need to know God's Word for ourselves. What I see in God's Word and learn for myself is more important than what anyone else sees in God's Word. I can't just live my life trying to walk in the light of God's Word that others have given to me because that is really like walking in a reflection of the actual light. If we want to have true spiritual success we have to walk in the light of God's Word that we see for ourselves and not just rely on a reflection we receive through someone else.
Psalm 119:130 (NKJV)
As a Christian I have been blessed by the teaching and preaching of many wonderful men and women of God. But, while I am very thankful for all these people and their ministries I am even more thankful for the Bible and the Holy Spirit, this is where I get most of my spiritual development. Psalm 119:130 tells us that the entrance of God's Word brings us light; we need to walk in the light of God's Word. What I have found is that a lot of Christians are not walking in the light of God's Word but rather in a reflection of light from God's Word that has come to them through some other man or woman of God.
Often when I am talking to Christians they will share what their favorite minister has said or something they learned through this one or that one. Some people quote a man or woman of God as though that person is the source of truth. While we can see that God has placed spiritual leaders in the Church to teach and equip Christians (Ephesians 4:11, 12) our focus should not be on any man or woman above God and His Word. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach us (John 14:26), that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth (John 16:13) and 1 John 2:27 tells us that we do not need to rely on any person to teach us because the anointing, the work of the Holy Spirit, is what teaches us.
Don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that it is wrong to be taught by people that God Himself has gifted and graced, but we need to know God's Word for ourselves. What I see in God's Word and learn for myself is more important than what anyone else sees in God's Word. I can't just live my life trying to walk in the light of God's Word that others have given to me because that is really like walking in a reflection of the actual light. If we want to have true spiritual success we have to walk in the light of God's Word that we see for ourselves and not just rely on a reflection we receive through someone else.
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