By: Thomas F. Booher, pastor of Heritage Reformed Presbyterian Church in Sanford, NC.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (Jn. 16:13), and Jesus prays to the Father that His 12 disciples, who would soon be sent out uniquely as His apostles, would be sanctified by the Truth, declaring God's Word is Truth (John 17:17). Christ then prays not only for those 12 Apostles, but all Christians, those who will believe in Jesus Christ through their (the 12 Apostles) word, John 17:20-21.
The word of the Apostles is found in Scripture, the Bible, and nowhere else. This alone is the Word of the Apostles, the Word by which Christians are sanctified, the word which the Holy Spirit of Truth and holiness (Rom. 1:4) uses to save and sanctify sinners. This is not pitting Christ's words against the Apostles' words, for the Apostles' words are Christ's words, for He gave them His words, John 17:14. This is not pitting Christ's/the Apostles' words against the Spirit's words either, because the Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, and the Word of God is the Truth, and Christ Himself is the Word made flesh, Jn. 1:14.
Jesus says He will send the Holy Spirit, who will guide the Apostles, and through their Spirit-inspired words as recorded in Scripture, all Christians "into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He [the Holy Spirit] will take of Mine and declare it to you" (Jn. 16:13-15).
Because Christ has all the Father has, and the Spirit takes of all that Christ has, we are guided into all Truth of our Triune God in Scripture alone. The canon is closed, and there is no need for further revelations, thus God does not give them.
But key to our discussion is that the Spirit doesn't speak on His own authority, He doesn't give "another word" or extra word beyond/outside of Scripture. He doesn't say something of or about Himself, but simply reveals and makes known, and warms our hearts to, God the Father and God the Son.
So the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Holiness, the Spirit of Truth, but not the Spirit of Emotion. Truth and holiness do, gladly, shape our emotions and affections. But that's the key, we need our emotions and affections shaped by the Truth to be oriented toward holiness! Only the Spirit of Truth and Holiness can do that, and He does that by taking God's Word in the Bible to conform us into the image of God we were created to be. The Spirit's work is to reveal and apply the truth of Scripture, to make known the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, and to conform us into His image through that knowledge of God found in His Word. That is how our affections and emotions are shaped.
Do not miss the essential point -- emotions do not shape emotions. The Truth shapes emotions, by the power of the Spirit of Truth. The Word/Truth without the Spirit of Truth has no power to shape/conform us into God's image, to mold and orient our emotions and affections toward holiness. But the Spirit cannot even be conceived of rightly apart from the Word/Truth. The Spirit's power and work is in the Truth of God's Word. Where the Truth of God's Word is absent, the Spirit of Truth is necessarily absent as well.
Warm affections of themselves mean nothing if they are not coming from the Truth of God's Word and "warming" us up toward lasting holiness. Emotions and affections do not shape us, but are shaped by the Truth. God's Word, by the Spirit's working, moves us, shapes us, rightly orients our emotions and affections towards holiness. The Spirit is the agent that uses the Truth of God's Word in the Bible to orient our minds and hearts toward holiness.
But the idea, whether explicitly stated or implicitly practiced, that the Holy Spirit is simply a "felt" presence that elevates your emotions and affections, is completely foreign and contrary to God the Holy Spirit as found in Scripture. This "felt presence" yields no lasting result, no true Spiritual fruit, because it is not of the Spirit, but was just an emotional high no different than what you might find at a concert. This reduces the Holy Spirit to the Spirit "of the Spirit" or more crassly, the Spirit "of emotions and feelings". The Spirit works through Truth to elevate emotions/affections toward holiness, He does not work through "emotions" to bring you toward holiness. But that's just the problem -- we think a strong feeling and tears and bodily reactions are equivalent to a work of the Spirit, as if "feeling" strongly is the lofty purpose of the Holy Spirit.
But these feelings will quickly fade because they were not rooted in the Truth of God's Word, but were anchored in nothing, in thin air, in a mistaken notion of the "Spirit". When the atmosphere/conditions that produced the feeling to begin with passes (loud and/or mood setting music coupled with repetitive lyrics, friends/peer pressure, a concentrated desire to really want the Spirit to move among a group of people, etc.) so does that good feeling, what is often called a "spiritual high". This leads to a major crash and burn, a return to your former sins and patterns of life, because it wasn't even a spiritual high, but a merely emotional and psychological high.
So then, how can we know a true work of the Spirit upon us that will bring lasting transformation of knowledge of God, love for God and neighbor, and a greater orientation toward holiness? When the Word of God as preached/taught/read from Scripture convicts you because you know it, understand it, are convicted by it, see God's glory more clearly from it, cherish it, and come to love it and submit to it, etc., then you know the Spirit has been "felt" because He has worked through His Word to bring you into conformity with God's Word. He has worked through the Word, and indeed the Word of God is the Spirit's Word.
It is no less wicked to present God the Holy Spirit falsely than it is to present God the Father or God the Son falsely. In fact, we read in the Bible specifically about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Why do we feel more comfortable slandering God the Spirit than we do the Father or Son? We worship and serve one God in three persons.
Our errors, heresies even, regarding the Holy Spirit are serious, often deadly. The reason emotionalism and revivalism is usually just that, another dastardly -ism rather than true emotions or true revival, is that it often stifles and starves the Spirit of what He needs/uses to work in us -- namely the sound preaching/teaching of God's Holy Word, which are the Spirit's own words!
Scripture is written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to do so. The Bible is the Spirit's words. To turn around and reject the Scriptures in favor of the "Spirit" is to show you know neither the Scriptures nor the Holy Spirit found in Scripture. The Spirit works through the Bible, the Scriptures, and the Bible is God's Word because it is the Spirit's words given for us to be equipped for every good work, as written down by men whom the Spirit chose to do so, 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21.
In short, Christians today desperately need to diligently study the Scriptures to hear from and be worked upon by the Holy Spirit, and discover the Spirit's intimate involvement with the Spirit-wrought words of the Bible. The Bible is the Spirit's work, the Spirit's words, The Spirit's breath. When you drive a wedge between the Bible and the Spirit, you divide the Holy Spirit against the Holy Spirit. You make the Spirit of Truth to be the Spirit of a forked tongue, a Spirit of Lies and Contradictions. That is a serious sin in need of immediate, heartfelt repentance, which is something of course only the Spirit can give!
The Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, John 16:8. The question is, how? By simply "feeling" that He does so, or through His own inspired words as found in Scripture? The answer is obvious. My emotions must be grounded in something outside of my emotions, else I will always be an unstable and foolish person. My emotions must be grounded in the Word of God, a true knowledge and love for Him and others. When my emotions are rooted in something, namely in God's Word, then they will be lasting, mature emotions and affections that yield holiness, righteous and obedient living, a true and lasting love for God and neighbor and hatred of sin and evil.
What is happening in Asbury must be measured by the Spirit's words as found in Scripture. This is the only possible way one can "test the spirits", 1 John 4:1. Anyone can say that the Spirit told them this or that, or they feel this or that at a given time. Whether or not it is of the Spirit depends on whether the Word of God in the Bible, which is the Spirit's words, is being preached, taught, believed, loved, and obeyed.
Here's a helpful, short article on the Holy Spirit: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/five-truths-about-holy-spirit
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