Taught by the Holy Spirit

(2 Timothy 1:13-14 – Taught by the Holy Spirit)

Who are you being taught by? Are you being taught by men or being taught by the Holy Spirit?

The words of men are nothing if they are not being led by the Holy Spirit. The reason why there are so many false and misleading doctrines in the church is because people are being taught the philosophies of men, rather than being taught by the Holy Spirit.

But how can you know? How can you be certain what you are hearing is truth? And how can you be sure you are being taught by the Holy Spirit?

The Spirit of Truth

Before continuing, first we must remember that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. When you are being taught by the Holy Spirit, you will never be taught lies. The Holy Spirit speaks the truth and nothing but the truth. This is what the scripture says of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of truth comes from God as we see in these words.

26 But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me (John 15:26)

The very source of the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of truth, comes from the Father Himself. It is the Father who sends you the Holy Spirit to teach and guide you and ensures you are being taught by the Holy Spirit, and that you are learning the truth.

But if you are following the philosophies of men and the false doctrines that have penetrated the church, you are not being taught by the Holy Spirit. The lies that are being passed off as “Christianity” have nothing to do with the truth. They are precepts of men and will not sustain you in the day of trouble.

Taught by the Holy Spirit

We must ensure we are being taught by the Holy Spirit. That is the role of the Holy Spirit in us. He is charged with teaching us and doing the work of transformation in us. It is the Holy Spirit who changes us from the likeness of sin, to the likeness of God in Jesus Christ.

But the teachings of truth and transformation are spiritual. They are not the philosophies of men, driven by the flesh. They are the words of God, given by the Father, through the Son and put into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. As the scripture says:

12 “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:12-15)

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. It is part of his role to guide us into all of the truth. There is no error or falsehood in the teachings of the Holy Spirit. So, when you are taught by the Holy Spirit, you are being taught the truth of God and Jesus Christ.

Guard the truth

We see these words also in the scripture under review today. We are told to guard the truth.

13 Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; 14 guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. (2 Timothy 1:13-14)

Again we find that the source of the truth within us is from the in-dwelling Holy Spirit. When you have been taught by the Holy Spirit, you will be taught the truth.

To guard the truth you cannot and must not fall prey to the false doctrines being taught in other places. False doctrines such as the prosperity gospel, divine health, once saved always saved, and any others are to be rejected.

There are also the many festivals that have the name of being Christian, but are not. Christmas, Easter, Lent, and so on have no basis in scripture at all. They are for the most part pagan rituals that were brought into the church under false pretences and have turned many away from the truth. They should be utterly rejected.

How can you be taught by the Holy Spirit?

If there is so much falsehood in the teachings of the modern church, how can you be sure you are hearing the truth? And how can you be certain you are being taught by the Holy Spirit?

Well, first you must receive the Holy Spirit. There are many strange and diverse teachings about receiving the Holy Spirit, and many are wrong. When you examine the scriptures there are just two ways in which people received the Holy Spirit.

1. The Lord just “gave” the Spirit as at Pentecost (see Acts chapter 2), or,
2. The Holy Spirit was received through the laying on of hands by an Elder, Apostle or someone who already has the Holy Spirit (See Acts 19:1-6)

The second method above is the most common, and even the Apostle Paul received the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands through Ananias (refer: Acts 9:17-18). Any other way you may have heard that a person receives the Holy Spirit is not backed up in the scriptures. The only other point I would add is that you also have to ask the Lord for the gift of the Holy Spirit (see Luke 11:13).

How do you know you have received the Holy Spirit?

Jesus explained how to know you have received the Holy Spirit. And His description has been shown by the evidence of those who received the Spirit by either of the two methods above.

The sign that a person has received the Holy Spirit is that you will “hear the sound of the Spirit.” Jesus mentioned this as He spoke to Nicodemus in John chapter 3. He referred to receiving the Holy Spirit as being born again of the Spirit.

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8)

In verse 8 we see Jesus liken those who receive the Holy Spirit to the wind. If you are inside of a house, you know the wind is blowing outside because you hear the sound of the wind. And Jesus said that you would know a person has received the Holy Spirit because you would hear the sound of the Spirit.

So, what is the “sound of the Spirit?” The answer to that can be seen in the examples where the Holy Spirit was received in the Bible. In Acts 2:4, Acts 10:45-46, Acts 19:6, the Holy Spirit was received by different groups. In every case the sign they received was to speak in tongues.

Speaking in tongues cannot be done except by the power of the Holy Spirit and it is clearly a “sound.” So, when Jesus spoke about the “sound” of the Spirit, He is talking about the gift of tongues. And He said above in John 3:8 that EVERYONE who is born of the Spirit will make/hear the sound of the Spirit.

This is how you will know you have received the Holy Spirit; by exercising the gift of tongues. Any other manifestations people may have, such as a feeling of peace or comfort coming over them, is not conclusive proof of receiving the Holy Spirit, and is not backed up in scripture. The ONLY evidence for receiving the Holy Spirit in scripture is by receiving the gift of tongues.

Now I know some will refer to 1 Corinthians 12:30, which says, “Do all speak with tongues?” Some people use that as evidence that not all do actually receive the gift of tongues when they receive the Holy Spirit. But they fail to read that verse in context. What Paul was writing about is the use of the gift of tongues in a church setting. Tongues are given for personal use, as Paul shows in 1 Corinthians 14, but only some people receive the gift of tongues for church use.

So, be certain to seek to receive the Holy Spirit so that you can be taught by the Holy Spirit.

Is there anything else to ensure you are being taught by the Holy Spirit?

Yes, there is. Every teaching you hear and every doctrine of the church needs to be tested against the scripture. You need to test what is taught against the WHOLE truth of the New Covenant. And if you are seeking the truth, the Holy Spirit will lead you into the truth and help discern right from wrong.

The scriptures are the words of God. Jesus said in John 17:17 of the words of God that, “Thy word is truth.” He also said for the Father to sanctify, which is to set apart and make holy in the truth, those who are following the truth.

When we focus on the word of God in the scripture, we are following the truth. Many men have twisted the scripture, but when we are taught by the Holy Spirit we will be led into the truth. So, seek to find the truth and to receive the Holy Spirit so that you can be taught by the Holy Spirit.

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