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Announcer (00:00:00): Think about the Bible like you never have before. You are listening to Christian Questions. Experience more episodes, videos, and Bible study resources at ChristianQuestions.com. Our topic is: "Does God's Holy Spirit Speak to Us?" The Bible plainly states that God's holy spirit is to be given to any and all true disciples of Christ. Accepting this truth is easy enough, but understanding it is an entirely different story. Christians believe very differently regarding how God's spirit functions in real life. Who's right? Here's Rick, Jonathan, and Julie.

Rick (00:00:36): Welcome everyone. I'm Rick. I'm joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over 25 years. Julie, longtime contributor, is also with us. Jonathan, what's our theme scripture for this episode?

Jonathan (00:00:48): 1 Corinthians 6:19: "Have ye not known that your body is a sanctuary of the holy spirit in you, which ye have from God? And ye are not your own."

Rick (00:00:59): Every serious Christian knows about God's holy spirit. We not only know about it, but we also often talk about what we believe to be its effects upon our lives. Christians speak of being provoked, directed, protected, and guided by the spirit. Some of us claim that the spirit speaks to us or perhaps to our pastor for the purpose of giving us not only instruction, but prophetic utterances regarding our lives as well. In short, our brand of Christianity or denomination has much to do with how we believe the holy spirit works. So how does it work? Who's right and who may be mistaken when it comes to understanding and following this mighty power of God in our lives? Surprisingly, I should say, not surprisingly, the Bible says a lot about this subject. It also doesn't say things about God's spirit that we might assume to be true.

Jonathan (00:02:00): Let's begin with a brief overview of God's spirit according to scripture. At the very beginning of the Bible, God is introduced as the source of all creation, and His spirit is introduced as the power that drove that creation. Genesis 1:1-3: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light."

Julie (00:02:32): The spirit of God is already introduced in only the second line of the Bible.

Jonathan (00:02:37): The Hebrew word for spirit here is "ruach," meaning "wind; by resemblance breath, that is a sensible (or even violent) exhalation." The King James version translates this word elsewhere as "blast," "breath," "mind," "smell," "wind" and "windy." In every instance, the thought behind the word is an invisible power or influence. This power is always going to be in accordance with justice and love, so it is a holy power.

Julie (00:03:05): What do we know so far from just the first three lines of the Bible? God's spirit, as His unseen wind or power is moving over the waters, rendering them fruitful. God Himself is speaking, "Let there be light."

Rick (00:03:19): God's spirit is the first thing in the Bible. It's pretty amazing when you think about that, and we see how that power and influence just drops in all kinds of places and grows and grows as the scriptures unfold. The Old Testament doesn't show us God's spirit speaking, as you mentioned. God spoke to humanity through angels and signs, and sometimes, some individuals heard God's voice. There are several examples of God's spirit and His power and influence working in individuals. We just want to touch on one. We could spend three or four podcasts just going through different individuals with God's spirit working through them. Here's one example; God set His spirit to work in a specific craftsman regarding the construction of many aspects of the tabernacle. Jonathan, let's go to Exodus chapter 31:1-5:

Jonathan (00:04:15): "Now, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship."

Julie (00:04:42): In other words, skilled workmen, under Moses, selected to prepare the parts of the tabernacle, were brought under the influence of this divine power, energizing their natural talents just like the spirit did with the waters of the deep.

Rick (00:04:54): I used to be a woodworker. I've read this scripture many times and think what would it have felt like to have God's...

Julie (00:05:02): If only!

Rick (00:05:02): Yeah, God's spirit driving that capacity to create. That is one quick example from the Old Testament. In the New Testament, God's spirit, His power and influence, was placed first within John the Baptist, as he would be the prophet who would pave the way for Jesus. Let's look at Luke 1:15:

Jonathan (00:05:22): "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the holy spirit while yet in his mother's womb."

Julie (00:05:30): Now, we've moved over to the New Testament. The Greek word for "spirit" here is "pneuma," and just like the Old Testament, it means "an unseen wind." We get our word "pneumatic" from this word. God's power began to operate upon John even before his birth because his prenatal influences were such that his heart from birth was already inclined towards God and holiness.

Jonathan (00:05:52): He continued under the special guidance of God to be a very special prophet because he was the one who was to introduce Jesus.

Rick (00:05:59): He had a very important role to play, and God's spirit drove that role. That is a very, very important aspect of this whole thing. The holy spirit in the New Testament was next exhibited in Mary and the miraculous conception of Jesus. That is in Matthew 1:18:

Jonathan (00:06:19): "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the holy spirit." Talk about God's invisible power!

Rick (00:06:32): Absolutely. You have the inception of the holy spirit in the New Testament through John the Baptist and through the conception of Jesus himself. Let's fast forward now. You've got John the Baptist as an adult. Baptism of the spirit was introduced by him, by John the Baptist. His audience was a wide cross-section of the Jewish population. As he addressed those who would be open to follow Jesus, he described their potential experiences in a very, very specific way in Luke 33:16-17, and yes, once again, it's about the holy spirit.

Jonathan (00:07:11): "John answered and said to them all, As for me, I baptize you with water; but one is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of his sandals; he will baptize you with the holy spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to thoroughly clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Julie (00:07:35): We're going to talk soon about that baptism of the holy spirit because it happened at Pentecost. That is when the faithful would be called by God and they would answer the call and the spirit would be given.

Jonathan (00:07:46): We know that from the holy spirit working in John, he could also discern the hearts of the religious leaders like in Matthew 3:7-10. The majority of them were not right with God.

Rick (00:07:57): You have the concept of the holy spirit being prophesied by John to come in a much bigger way. It's much--you have individual small circumstances, and he's saying there's something much, much larger here coming very, very soon. Jesus was the first to be given God's spirit. His power and influence was by way of begettal. He was outwardly identified as having God's spirit when he began his ministry. Now, the idea of begettal is different than the things that we have seen before. Let's just take a moment on that.

Jonathan (00:08:38): The operation of a spirit with a Tabernacle craftsman and the holy prophets was different from the spirit of adoption to be sons of God. Once Jesus was baptized, the operation of the holy spirit was different, Rick.

Julie (00:08:49): Right, because up to this point, God's spirit was mechanical. It was like, you play a piano, you strike the keys, sounds are made, the piano doesn't know what you're doing, it just responds to you. That is how the prophets spoke and wrote. They didn't necessarily even know what they were talking about. That would be revealed later through the holy spirit.

Rick (00:09:08): The difference is, you've got this mechanical setup versus begettal, which essentially is the indwelling of the spirit. We see that defined later on in the New Testament, but that was very much the way it was with Jesus, and that is what we see happening at his baptism. Matthew 3:16-17:

Jonathan (00:09:29): "After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on him, and behold a voice out of the heavens said, This is My beloved son, in whom I am well-pleased."

Rick (00:09:46): There is a very strong outward appearance of what's happening--"This is my beloved son." But what we don't see is the inward transformation that showed us. You look at that and you say, "Okay, well what do you mean by that?" Well, let's follow through and look at what happens to Jesus, because he immediately, right after that, and always, followed the spirit's leadings. Interesting scripture now in Mark 1:12-13:

Jonathan (00:10:21): "Immediately the spirit impelled him to go out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to him." Well, "impelled" means "to drive or urge." In other words, Jesus was provoked. He didn't hear a voice talking to him. He sensed what he was supposed to do and was always obedient to God's influence. The Spirit provoked Jesus to go to the wilderness.

Rick (00:10:49): When we look at the spirit descending on him like a dove, we often stop there and say, "What a beautiful picture. Now God's spirit is with him." But the next thing that happens is it presses him to go to the wilderness, to be by himself, to fast and pray so that he can really, really understand his mission. You can see that nice beautiful outward picture was just a little bit of what was happening on the inside. It changed him. That is what we mean by being begotten of the spirit. It changes who we are and what we're supposed to do. Moving forward, Jesus, because of that change, relied upon this power of God's spirit to show the people the message of the gospel. Let's look at Luke 5:17:

Jonathan (00:11:41): "One day he was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for him to perform healing."

Rick (00:11:55): Let's pause here for a second because now we've had the Old Testament, we've had the spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters. We had Bezelel the craftsman. We had the spirit working through prophets as we briefly mentioned. You see that the spirit has always been present with God's people and with God's plan. It's always there. But now it's a very, very different thing. Did prophets heal in the Old Testament? Yeah, they did, but not like this. See, there was a difference between the way Jesus was doing things because the spirit was within him, and the way the prophets were doing because they were given the spirit as a tool. This is an important distinction. To this point, Jesus was the only human to ever have God's spirit dwell within him.

Julie (00:12:42): That is a really good point that you made, Rick, because it says that in John 3:34 God gave the spirit "without limit" to Jesus. King James says "without measure," so only Jesus as a perfect man, in full harmony with God, had this in conjunction with this spirit of holiness. There were these, again, wonderful faithful prophets, but they only got this mechanical, temporary, tiny measure of God's spirit to do what they needed to do for a specific purpose.

Rick (00:13:11): We're going through all of this and putting all of these pieces in place, so that we can understand the impact of God's spirit on true followers of Jesus afterwards. That is where we're getting to now. As Jesus' ministry ended, he told all of his disciples what would be coming to them from God to aid their spiritual growth. Think about this. He's saying something to them that he has already experienced. Let's look at John 14:16-17:

Jonathan (00:13:42): "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another helper (referring to God's holy spirit, also called the comforter in some translations) that he may be with you forever; that is the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see him or know him, but you know him because he abides with you and will be in you."

Rick (00:14:03): With this, Jesus is essentially saying, look, he's speaking from experience. He knows what God's spirit does and how it works and the comfort and direction it's given him. He knows factually because God, through the spirit, has let him know, that this was going to come to his followers. You will be part of this and this is going to change everything about your lives. This is very, very different than what we have seen before with the prophets.

Jonathan (00:14:34): Some say the use of the masculine pronouns "he" or "him" prove the holy spirit is its own person, but here are some points to consider. God is a spirit being without gender, but is designated as masculine; the source of life. It's not improper that His power and His every influence and characteristic should be similarly designated in the masculine form.

Julie (00:14:56): One other thing to note is that Greek grammar here. The Greek language assigns masculine and feminine pronouns to inanimate objects. We see that in a lot of languages like French and Spanish. So here in John 14, "comforter" or "helper" is the Greek word "parakletos." That is arbitrarily masculine, so you have a masculine pronoun that identifies it. We're going to add a lot more in this week's CQ Rewind Show Notes that you can get for free at christianquestions.com or on the Christian Questions app.

Jonathan (00:15:27): The Greek word "pneuma" is neuter, neither masculine or feminine. Like in 1 John 1:32, for example, in the King James Version, it reads: "and John bare record, saying, I saw the spirit (pneuma) descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him."

Rick (00:15:44): We have a lot to consider and we're just introducing the subject. We're just getting up to speed as to where the spirit will have an effect on the followers of Christ. Up to this point, it's all been what's been happening before, what's been happening before. Let's push ourselves now to that point. Just before his ascension to heaven -- Jesus had been crucified, he's been raised, he's been on the earth for forty days -- just before his ascension to heaven, Jesus instructed his followers, that they would soon be in a new and entirely unique position to receive God's spirit. Acts 1:4-5:

Jonathan (00:16:23): "Gathering them together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, which, he said, You heard of from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the holy spirit not many days from now."

Rick (00:16:37): He is telling them very specifically that there is something coming. He tells them you need to stay in Jerusalem, okay? Stay here because just in a few days, your life is going to change in a way that will be unmistakable. Everybody will see it, everybody will know it. It all has to do with God's power and influence coming upon you. Perceiving the presence of God's spirit: Jonathan, what do we have so far by way of essentially introduction?

Jonathan (00:17:08): Up to the point of Jesus's ascension, we have seen God's spirit manifest as an extraordinary power and a guiding influence. There is one simple commonality that is in all of the applications of God's spirit we have seen thus far. We have never heard it speak. It creates, changes things, prods, heals and gives the ability to prophesy, but it is NOT shown to have a voice.

Rick (00:17:35): We haven't seen that. Now, we've obviously rushed through a big chunk of the Bible, but we haven't seen a voice, and that was our original question. Does God's holy spirit actually speak to us? We need to unfold this further. While this is an interesting conclusion, we need to realize that we're only just beginning to uncover the depth of how God's influence works.

Jonathan (00:18:03): The next event where God's spirit is obvious is at Pentecost. What does the spirit do there and how does it do it?

Rick (00:18:12): The arrival of the holy spirit into the daily lives of Christians did begin at Pentecost. This event is incredibly significant for many reasons. First, it defined God's blessing upon true Christianity. Second, it gave Christians ways to begin the expansion of the gospel message through enlightenment and through the gift of tongues. Third, and often very much hidden from view, the experience of Pentecost showed us the template of how God's spirit would work. Let's move forward and let's uncover this. Why did God see fit to use the day of Pentecost to mark Christianity's beginnings?

Jonathan (00:19:02): The Jewish people of that day had three major pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of Booths in the fall. "Pentecost" was the Greek name meaning "fiftieth" for a Jewish feast celebrating the wheat harvest 50 days after the first day of the feast of Passover. In the Law, it was called the "Feast of Harvest," "the first fruits of thy labors." Also, from being seven weeks after the Passover, it was named the Feast of Weeks.

Julie (00:19:31): In Exodus 34:26, the Israelites were instructed to bring "the best of the first fruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God." This was to be done at Passover and at Pentecost, so we have first fruits and more first fruits. Let's have a quick quote from the biblical commentary by Albert Barnes. He said this: "This feast was reckoned from the sixteenth day... or (what is our month) April, or the second day of the Passover. The pascal lamb was slain on the fourteenth of the month at (twilight)...on the sixteenth was the offering of the first-fruits of harvest, and from that day they were to reckon seven weeks, forty-nine days to the feast called the feast of Pentecost, so that it occurred fifty days after the first day of the feast of the Passover."

Rick (00:20:20): Think about it; that first-fruits offering was on the sixteenth. Jesus was raised from the dead on the sixteenth. This is the day of the offering of the first fruits of the harvest. This is not a coincidence! It was planned this way. The Passover lamb was slain, Jesus the Lamb, and Jesus is raised on the day that the first fruits--interesting--first fruits are offered, and then 50 days later you have the day of Pentecost. What did they do on that day? Julie, you just said it. They offered more first fruits. That is when the spirit came to Christianity. Not a coincidence. Understand we have scriptures that talk about Jesus as the first fruits, that talk about the true church as the first fruits. Why? Because of this. It's right here. It's in black and white. Read it. It shows us the power of God putting the Old and New Testament together and how He timed the bringing of His spirit to Christianity. It was to become the first fruits of His plan of reconciliation. The life-changing events of Passover (Editor's Note: Rick meant to say "Pentecost") begin. We're going to be looking at Acts 2:1-4:

Jonathan (00:21:40): This is 50 days after Jesus's resurrection and his believers were meeting together in Jerusalem for the festival. Again, coincidence? I think not: "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit was giving them utterance." The holy spirit--God's power and influence--gave them the power to speak in other languages. This is amazing. There's nothing here about the spirit itself speaking.

Rick (00:22:24): You're right about that. There's nothing here about the spirit itself speaking, but what you have is the ability, this unnatural ability to speak another language. I have a hard enough time with English, I'll tell you. You see this and you say, "Wow, that is really an amazing thing." Well, let's understand it. Let's go a little bit further. Next we look at how the holy spirit operated on that day because there were very specific things here. To understand how it operated on that day, let's back up. Let's set some context on the night before Jesus' crucifixion, because at that point in John 16, he, Jesus, prophetically explained what God's spirit would do when it came to the disciples. This is huge and most of us overlook this. This is one of those things where you just don't think to connect the dots but they're very obviously there to be connected. Jonathan, let's go to John 16:7-11. Let's do 7-8 first:

Jonathan (00:23:24): This is the New International version. "...it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the advocate (parakletos, the comforter) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:"

Rick (00:23:42): Alright, so Jesus says the spirit, the comforter will come to "prove the world" wrong about "sin, righteousness, and judgment." It gives three specific objectives.

Jonathan (00:23:54): Let's continue with John 16:9-11. There are three main points here. First point - verse 9: "about sin, because people did not believe in me." Second point - verse 10: "about righteousness, because I am going to the Father where you can see me no longer." Third point - verse 11: "and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."

Rick (00:24:17): Jesus is specifically saying, when the spirit comes, it's going to do these three things. Notice Jesus is saying specifically three things, not one, not two, not five; three things.

Julie (00:24:32): How would the spirit do these things? Jesus said it would happen, and it did at Pentecost. Let's look at Acts 2:14:

Jonathan (00:24:40): "But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words."

Julie (00:24:51): In other words, listen to what I tell you. First, we see the spirit proving the world wrong. What did you say, Jonathan, about sin, "because people do not believe in me."

Jonathan (00:25:01): That is found in Acts 2:22-23: "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know--this man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death." Well, God's power, His spirit, worked through Jesus. I love how God's word defines itself! After the people saw the power of the spirit, they believed because the impact could not be denied.

Rick (00:25:40): But Peter is saying, and he said, listen to my words. He's saying here, this is the convicting of them about sin, because they were wrong. They didn't believe in him. He's saying, you nailed to the cross your Messiah. He is telling them. This is proof because Peter is able to say this because he's got the spirit working in him. This is that first point. The spirit is performing what Jesus said it would.

Julie (00:26:10): Second, we see the spirit proving the world wrong. Jonathan, you read about righteousness because I am going to the Father where you can see me no longer.

Jonathan (00:26:19): That is found in Acts 2:32-33: "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the holy spirit, he has poured forth this which you both see and hear." As soon as Jesus had ascended to the Father and presented his sacrifice on his followers' behalf, then the holy spirit of adoption could be sent, beginning at Pentecost.

Rick (00:26:48): They were "wrong about righteousness." They were wrong because it was an unrighteous act that they committed, and when you kill a man, you're done with him. Not so in Jesus' case, because he was raised from the dead. What Peter is saying is, again, you were "wrong about righteousness." Jesus is now at the right hand of God. The holy spirit is working through Peter to help them understand these things.

Julie (00:27:16): Okay, we've got one more thing. Third, we see the spirit proving the world wrong "about judgment because the prince of this world now stands condemned." Peter continues in Acts 2:34-36:

Jonathan (00:27:29): "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified."

Julie (00:27:49): How did the spirit do all these things? It was through the words and explanation of the Apostle Peter regarding the events and the prophecies. Peter used his own words and quoted prophecy. He said, here are my words as I expressed to you what the prophets said.

Rick (00:28:06): This is a model of how the spirit, the power and influence of God, would work in the Christian age. Here in this third aspect he uses prophecy to say, make your "enemies a footstool." He's showing them, you were wrong about judgment. You judged the Lord, and you were wrong. He is now in a position to make the enemies a footstool. He is now in the position of righteousness. When you understand what Jesus said the night before his crucifixion, you look at that and you think, okay, he's telling us what's going to happen with the spirit, and you see the spirit do those things. But how did it do it? Did it get its own foghorn? No. It took the words of the Apostle Peter. The spirit's influence drove Peter. Remember, Jonathan, you explained how Jesus was impelled to go into the wilderness? Peter was impelled, he was driven, to say these things. That is why at the beginning of this, he says, "listen to my words." You have a really strong sense of this is how God's spirit works. It works through the individuals in which it is residing. God's powered influence changes your life. That is what Peter is showing us. This is the first event where the holy spirit is in somebody else besides Jesus, and these are the things that we learn. This is huge if we allow the scriptures to sink in to see what we're saying here according to scripture. Let's go a little bit further. Let's further consider the pattern of gifts beginning right after Pentecost. What happened to the 3,000 new spirit-begotten converts regarding gifts and miracles right after that? You'd think that, well, there would've been a free-for-all because the spirit was like there and like taking things over. Let's look at what actually happened. Let's read Acts 2:37-39 and 41-43:

Jonathan (00:30:08): "Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit. So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls."

Rick (00:30:32): Let's pause there just for a quick second. You see Peter telling them, "Repent and be baptized." They followed because they saw and they understood because Peter, by the grace of God, through God's spirit, was able to show them what had happened. They saw these miracles and they said, this can't not be true! It has got to be God's will, God's word and God's way right before us. What did they do as a result? Verses 42-43:

Jonathan (00:31:01): "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teachings and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles."

Julie (00:31:16): Notice there's no evidence of any gifts of the spirit given to the followers at this point. It's just the Apostles. There's also no sense of the people being inhabited with no ability to think or act for themselves. They're not like puppets, like some sort of demon possession but in a positive way.

Rick (00:31:32): Think about this for a second, when you look back, and Jesus the night before his crucifixion talks about a "comforter" coming, alright? He describes the spirit as a "comforter." Look at the way they were acting. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe. They were breaking bread, and they were in prayer. They were in fellowship. What did they have? They had the comfort of a calling that was something they never, never, never knew existed before this. You can see the comforter, the comforting power of God's power and influence actually driving their lives. It's a beautiful, beautiful picture. This really does show us how God's spirit actually works. We just need to pay attention to what the scriptures are unfolding. Jonathan, up to this point, Perceiving the Presence of God's Spirit: where are we?

Jonathan (00:32:25): The way that the spirit arrived on the Day of Pentecost introduces us to God's methods regarding His influence in our lives. He is showing us His spirit would work through the hearts, minds, words and actions of those begotten. We do not see His spirit working through a voice of its own, but rather, provoking and guiding those who are begotten of it.

Rick (00:32:49): We don't see a separate voice. We see the Apostle Peter being impelled by the power of God within him to speak scripture, to show prophecy, to show what happened, to be bold, to have the ability to communicate with those who were not from the same places that he was. All of that was what they were seeing. What they saw is the spirit's evidence through the man Peter, as well as the other apostles. That's a big understanding of how God's spirit actually does work. It's amazing what we can learn when we slow down and pay attention to what the scriptures are really teaching us.

Jonathan (00:33:37): If the holy spirit does not have a voice, then how does it communicate to us the things we really need to know?

Rick (00:33:44): That's a good question. Fundamentally, it's an important question. If there is no voice, how else does it work? If God's spirit communicates through feelings, then isn't that subject to wild human variations? If God's spirit and influence prods us through dreams, then doesn't that open the door to picking and choosing what's from God and what's not? Does His influence speak through modern-day prophets? How does it work? We don't have the Apostle Peter speaking to us at Pentecost, so what do we have to do? We have to understand how God's spirit works. Fortunately, the scriptures really lay it out for us, if we're willing to pay attention. Luke 12:11-12:

Jonathan (00:34:33): "When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your own defense, or what you are to say; for the holy spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

Julie (00:34:47): In other words, they wouldn't have to anxiously premeditate what their answers would be, but they would commit all to the Lord and expect divine assistance. Does this mean, Rick, that we didn't have to spend hours and hours studying this topic? That we could have just come on air and randomly started talking about and the spirit would speak through us? It would save me a lot of time!

Rick (00:35:08): Could have tried it--wouldn't have been a good suggestion. Why? Why? Because when Jesus is talking about they will "bring you before synagogues," he's not talking about somebody who's brand new. He's talking about once you are in the spirit, once you are walking with Christ, and once you are at a position where you are now going to be dragged to the authorities because they're going to be coming down on you, he's saying, you don't have to worry because your spiritual experience with understanding prophecy, with fellowship, with personal sacrifice, will all come into play at that point. So no, we couldn't have done this without studying first because that is part of the spiritual experience that is necessary. It's interesting that if you are a well-studied individual, when you run into a situation when you come against something like that, it's amazing how God allows scriptures and thoughts to come to your mind that are biblically oriented. That's what this is saying. So no, this doesn't say, "Oh, this is the easy way to get there." Oh, no, no, no. There's never an easy way because when you're talking about the gift of immortality, it's a big, big thing. Let's look further at how the spirit actually works, okay? In 1 Corinthians, Paul reasons through how the spirit works in our everyday lives. He begins, and this is really interesting, he begins by comparing those who are disciples with those who are not. This comparison reveals that the spirit reveals things to us through scripture, and the spirit is working in us to understand scripture. That's just what we essentially just began to describe. We're going to look at 1 Corinthians 2. We're going to go through a lot of verses here. Let's start with verses 6-10:

Jonathan (00:36:54): "Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. For to us God revealed them through the spirit; for the spirit searches all things, even the depths of God." I realize the more I study God's word, the harmony and connectivity between the Old and New Testament gets broader and deeper proving God's perfect plan of salvation for all.

Rick (00:37:48): It does. You see these things attach one to another and you realize the New Testament is hollow without the Old Testament, and the Old Testament doesn't make sense without the New Testament because when you see God's plan unfold--and in verse 10 it said, God revealed these things "through His spirit," through His influence-- He's saying, follow. Here's what happens: God calls, we answer that call. If God accepts our answer to that call, He gives us His spirit, and with that, He says, okay, now I'm going to give you the ability to begin to dig into and understand scripture so you can see My mind. Think about that for a moment here. The apostle is comparing those who don't have it, who look at this and say, You guys are full of nonsense. You're spending all your time on this thing -- come on, go have some fun. Go do this, go do that. Go be successful. Go, go, go, go, go. Here we're saying no. What we're doing is we're uncovering the mind of God, which is already written in the Scriptures. It doesn't take new prophecies to find the mind of God. It takes understanding the Holy Book. Paul next compares the spirit of man with the spirit of God. Previously he's saying, okay, here's people who don't think about it versus what God has given you. Now he's going to talk about something that is even more fascinating, the spirit of man and the spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11-13:

Jonathan (00:39:20): "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of a man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words."

Julie (00:39:46): You said, "who knows a man's thoughts except the spirit of the man" in him and "the spirit of the world." The comparison here is the "pneuma,"" the spirit of the man," and "the spirit of the world" with the "pneuma" of God. It's the same Greek word, but it's interesting that no one mistakes there to be a second man--like the man's a person, and his spirit is somehow a second person. The spirit of man is not his alter ego. It's an extension of who he is.

Rick (00:40:11): That is an important aspect because the spirit of God is the power and influence of Him working in and at other things. The work of the spirit in us is directly related to our focus on and desire to know God. It's not to get stuff, it's to know God. How can we best know Him? We can best know Him through His word. We can try all kinds of other things, but it boils down to God's holy word is the best way to uncover God's holy character.

Jonathan (00:40:47): Paul will next show us that we are to live in a spiritually elevated way. 1 Corinthians 2:14-16: "But a natural man does not accept the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. (He now quotes from Isaiah 40:13): For who has known the mind of the Lord, that He will instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." To have the mind of Christ is to have a mind of loyalty, sacrifice, focus, service, and selfless love.

Julie (00:41:26): The mind of Christ is a mind that is focused on glorifying God. In Philippians 3:13-14 Paul wrote: "...one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." A person seeking this mind of Christ will have a comparatively disinterested viewpoint of the world. Earthly ambitions aren't going to be as attractive.

Rick (00:41:50): That's a big point. Part of what the spirit does within an individual, if you are begotten by the Spirit, is it takes what we would normally be drawn to and makes those things of less importance and less importance and less importance because you see the mind of Christ and the self-sacrifice, and the beauty of what God's plan is unfolding before your eyes. There's a lot here in these 1 Corinthians 2 verses that help us understand the human mind, the human spirit, the mind of God, the spirit of God. There's a comparison between the two. God's spirit helps us to attain levels of maturity that we previously would've never been able to see. Let's look at Galatians 5. Jonathan, we're going to look at verses 16-17, then in a moment after that, we're going to jump to 22-24:

Jonathan (00:42:44): "But I say, walk by the spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please."

Rick (00:42:59): There is a warfare going on in the mind of a Christian, the heart of a Christian--the spirit of flesh, the spirit of God. They are at war because they are tugging at our loyalty. Where will my loyalty fall? Where will I eventually go? What will I be influenced by and what will I put away? Well, we jump down to Galatians 5:22-24, and here's what God's spirit has to offer us:

Jonathan (00:43:31): "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." The spirit's power in our lives very much depends upon our willingness to depend on it.

Julie (00:43:56): I'm thinking of the word "redirected." When the holy spirit controls our lives, we are redirected from our natural impulses, and this is the kind of fruit that is produced in us. It's a result of gradual development and maturity. It's the result of labor. These don't come miraculously. They're in proportion as we come into harmony and obedience of the thought and word and deed with the spirit of God and the likeness of His son. We bear fruit when we seek these deep things, when we're redirected to God through Scripture and its principles.

Rick (00:44:28): Fruit never comes by accident. It comes through cultivation, it comes through pruning, it comes through putting things in order. How are we going to get there? How do we do that? We have to listen to the spirit. Let's look at one example of the holy spirit speaking.

Julie (00:44:46): If we're listening, does it mean that it's speaking? What about the example of Acts 28:24-27?

Jonathan (00:44:54): "Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe. And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, The holy spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers..."

Julie (00:45:09): Okay, hold on, see right there. "The holy spirit spoke through Isaiah." Doesn't that show us that the holy spirit has a voice?

Jonathan (00:45:17): Let's continue with verse 26: "Saying (he goes on to quote from Isaiah 6:8-10), Go to this people and say, you will keep on hearing, but will not understand; and you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of the people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them."

Rick (00:45:44): The question is, "the holy spirit rightly spoke." Does that mean the spirit had a voice? That's the question and the answer is: Paul is quoting from the writings of the prophet Isaiah. You have to look at the writings and can you rightfully say, well, there's a voice with that? Well, if you're reading it, I suppose so. But let's look at the origin of those writings, okay? Because what we will see is that the words that the Apostle Paul is quoting from the pen of Isaiah are actually the voice of God. Isaiah 6:8-10:

Jonathan (00:46:27): "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying..."

Rick (00:46:30): Okay, wait.

Jonathan (00:46:31): Just stop right there, right, Rick?

Rick (00:46:32): Right, right. "I heard the voice of the Lord saying..." Then all of the things that you read, "hearing you will hear and not understand" and "seeing and not perceive," and the "heart of the people becomes dull,"... all of those things ...what we're seeing in this verse, when the apostle says the holy spirit spoke through Isaiah, what it's saying is the power of God influenced Isaiah to write these words. These words apply here and now. It's God's power influencing an Old Testament prophet to write, potentially speak, those words to Israel at his time, but to have them mean something hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years later. That's what it means by the holy spirit speaking. It's not a voice; it is an application of what happens.

Jonathan (00:47:28): Rick, context is so important. When a prophecy is quoted in the New Testament, we should go back to the Old Testament prophecy for more clarity.

Rick (00:47:37): Yeah, all the time, whenever you see ...and a really good tool is to use a Bible translation that shows you when the Old Testament is quoted, because it gives you the motivation to say, Oh, let me see where that came from - and that helps us see, this is not about a voice. This is about an influence, a power of a plan that unfolds over time. Jonathan, Perceiving the Presence of God's Spirit: where are we now?

Jonathan (00:48:07): In the life of a true disciple of Christ, God's spirit--His power and influence--can be a very active force when we let it. God's spirit acts in a contrary way to our own human spirit, as it is driven by God's will versus our spirit, being driven by our own emotions. Though it does not have an audible voice, we see how loudly it speaks through Scripture. It is in this way that we learn from it.

Rick (00:48:33): I appreciate the way you said that. It's not an audible voice, but it speaks very loudly. How many things in our lives speak very loudly without saying something? When you have something that you look at as an inspiration--you can look at a picture, maybe a picture, like at my desk, I have a picture of my dad and my Uncle Steve, this little picture of them when they were both young men. I keep it right in front of my face all the time. Why? Because that picture speaks to me about dedication to God through Christ. There are no words in that picture. There are two individuals whose lives, whose influence, whose spirit have inspired me to live in a different way. There is tremendous power when something speaks without words. Understanding how the Bible shows what God's spirit does and does not do, directs us to know how we are to be guided by it.

Jonathan (00:49:34): Are we sure that God's holy spirit does not have its own voice? Aren't there other scriptures that talk about it testifying and speaking?

Rick (00:49:43): Yes, there are. We'll consider two more as we continue to grasp what the scriptural descriptions of God's spirit include. But here's one very important question: If I have a preconceived idea of what I think scriptures teach and that idea is not supported by those same scriptures, am I willing to reconsider my preferred thought? That is a very significant mirror question that every one of us has to ask ourselves as we go through a study such as this one.

Julie (00:50:27): Alright, well let's dig into those two scriptural descriptions. What about testifying? Here are texts that show that the holy spirit testifies. Hebrews 10:11-17 says: "Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but he, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the holy spirit also testifies to us; for after saying (then he quotes from the book of Jeremiah 31:33) This is the covenant that I will make with then after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them, he then says, and their sins and their lawless deeds will I remember no more." That question is in verse 15, "The spirit testifies to us, saying...Other translations say "it gives us witness" or "bears witness." What does it mean that God's spirit testifies or bears witness? That sounds like it's speaking.

Jonathan (00:51:42): Once again, the verses you read from Hebrews quotes from the Old Testament prophecy. This is obviously the voice of God again as recorded through the writing of Jeremiah 31:31-33. Listen for the phrase "declares the Lord." "Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord, I will put My Law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Written records of events can serve as actual testimonies of truth.

Julie (00:52:35): There is this ageless value of the written words of "thus sayeth the Lord." It looks like the Lord said this, and then it was the holy spirit in the New Testament.

Rick (00:52:46): What we have is a pattern. The pattern is, that just like at the day of Pentecost, when the spirit did those three things, how did it do it? It did it through the words of the Apostle Peter. Now we look at this second scripture, this Hebrews 10:11-17, and we can say, well, the holy spirit is testifying. Yes, it is. How's it doing it? "Declares the Lord," "declares the Lord," "declares the Lord." What it's saying is the written word of God's word hundreds of years before now can be looked at and applied in a whole different way. Jonathan, what you said about written words of events can serve as actual testimonies of truth; in courts of law you can submit, as actual testimony, physical pieces of evidence that say here's what was said, here's the contract. That contract speaks, doesn't it? It testifies. It is the way God's spirit works. You got me going now on this thing, and I want to go back just for a moment because you know what, this is my picture. This is my dad and my Uncle Steve. This is this little picture that I keep on my desk where I can see it all the time. It speaks to me. It inspires me toward greater faithfulness. This is what we need to be able to see here. Let's continue now and go onto our next piece, Julie.

Julie (00:54:24): Okay, well I've got another one in Hebrews 3:6-12. The holy spirit is again seemingly speaking with authority. It said this: "But Christ was faithful as a son over His house--whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. Therefore, just as the holy spirit says (he's going to quote from Psalm 95), Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and saw My works for forty years. Therefore, I was angry with this generation, and said, they always go astray in their heart, and they did not know My ways; as I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest. Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from God." "Therefore, just as the holy spirit says..." Very plain, right?

Jonathan (00:55:19): Well, the Apostle Paul in Hebrews quoted from the following verses, and the voice is again obviously God's. Psalms 95:7-11: "For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts...when your fathers tested Me, they tried Me though they had seen My work. For forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways. Therefore I swore in My anger, truly they shall not enter into My rest." Julie, in all these examples, the Old Testament where the New Testament is quoting is clearly the voice of God. This shows us God's power and influence came through the writings of those He put in place to record truth. That is the effect of His power and influence, so we can be elevated through His sacred word.

Rick (00:56:15): We can see the holy spirit working every day and "speaking" every day through the Old Testament and for us now through the New Testament. It shows us, it teaches us, it prods us, it guides us, it directs us. God's word is God's power and influence in written form. With all of these scriptural examples in hand, we can confidently say that God spirit speaks loudly and clearly through all scripture.

Julie (00:56:49): Alright, but I found two more texts where the holy spirit "speaks," and you can't show me where it ties back to an Old Testament prophecy, so I wanted to address these. One is Acts 10:19. This is Peter and Cornelius. It says: "While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the spirit said to him, Behold, three men are looking for you." The second example is in Acts 13:2 during Paul's first missionary journey. It says: "While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the holy spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." What say you?

Rick (00:57:25): Well, it's not what say me. It's what say the Scriptures. Now, let's look at this very, very carefully. The word for "the spirit said"--that is the word for "said." I mean, it's used like, I don't know, 2,000 times in the New Testament, but it also has different shades of meaning. Let's look at just two scriptures very, very quickly for those different shades of meaning. The first one is in Luke 10:39-41. I'm not going to read the whole thing. This is when Mary and Martha are together with Jesus and Martha is running around doing all the work and she's frustrated with Mary and she says: "But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord (she's talking to Jesus), dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me." The word "bid" is the same word for "said." Jesus could have just motioned her like, come -- come here. The idea of bid is not necessarily a verbal command. Next scripture, understanding the way the words work, then we'll go back to those two scriptures. In Matthew 9:2-6, Jesus had just healed the man sick of palsy. Jesus said that his faith had made him whole; his sins were forgiven. Then here's what happened: "...certain of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemes." The next verse: "So they said within..." Now did they say it out loud? No, there were no words. Here's how it's described; next verse: "Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?" and so forth and so on. The point of these verses is when you see "the spirit said," "the spirit provoked", "bid" me to go here or there. When you have this group of individuals together, and they're fasting, and in that fasting, in that experience, they see the guidance of God together. "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul," that's what the holy spirit guided them to do. It bid them to go forward. It doesn't have to be a voice. There is no precedent for voice. We can't just take an individual scripture and create the precedent. It just doesn't work. You see, it is a very, very clear, straightforward way to understand the way the holy spirit works. The primary work of God's power and influence dwelling in us is the reworking of our own minds to become spiritual. Romans 12:1-2:

Jonathan (00:59:57): "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Julie (01:00:17): The holy spirit, therefore, is like a tool. It helps a person do the work required to live a consecrated life. When a person is spirit begotten, they can be guided in the work of self-sacrifice, giving up one's own desires in order to do the will of God.

Rick (01:00:32): It's a tool. It's also a guidebook. It's a guidance. It's an experience that helps us to be able to move forward. The transformation of our being focuses us on becoming someone different, someone who will have a spiritual birth. That is different than any other human ambition. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18:

Jonathan (01:00:55): "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." This was a theme text for our last Episode 1324, "What is the New Creation?" We talked in depth how becoming a new creature is about ultimately being with Jesus in heaven and doing the work of the "ministry of reconciliation." The purpose is to bring God's creation back into harmony with Him through God's power and influence.

Rick (01:01:30): The new creation--its difference from the previous creation (and really, folks, you've got to listen to that last podcast because that puts this in great order) is that the spirit is within those individuals and they are transformed at the point of death at this point, into spirit beings. That is what the new creation is. It has everything, everything to do with God's spirit driving them and being a permanent fixture in their lives for eternity. This is big. This privilege requires focus and fruitage for our lives to change. God's spirit is the key to this growth. How do we work on it? We touched on this earlier. Let's come back around, 2 Timothy 2:15-16:

Jonathan (01:02:20): "Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness."

Julie (01:02:33): When a person is spirit begotten, they should have a greater understanding of the Bible, not through a miracle without any effort, but through the hard work of studying God's word. We have to know how God will communicate with us so that we're not looking in the wrong place. So, Rick, is God going to give us visions and dreams about the future? Is that white feather on a sidewalk a sign from God about what choice we should make? How are we going to be communicated with?

Rick (01:02:59): Well, that is a whole podcast right there. But the point is, that we don't need to be given new prophecies and new dreams and new this or that. Why? We've got God's word for goodness sakes! Look at the length of the Bible. Look at the depth, look at the breadth of what it talks about and understand that every single thing we do in life has a biblical principle that can drive it, should we choose to find that principle. I will tell you just for me, in my own experience, one of the things that I work very hard at, not always successful, alright, but one of the things I work very hard at is not saying, Oh God, give me a dream or God, give me a prophecy or give me this or give me that. It's, Oh Lord, please, as I enter this experience, help me be out of the way. Help me, help Rick, just to be put aside. When I study for a podcast, what I look for, what I pray for is, Lord, show me where Your scriptures will lead this podcast. You guys know this, how many times do we, we're getting ready to do a subject and I have a preconceived idea of where it's going to go. Then when it comes to doing our review before we get here, what do I say?

Jonathan (01:04:16): It's totally different!

Rick (01:04:19): Right, right. It is.

Julie (01:04:21): Yep, the spirit has led you in a different direction.

Rick (01:04:23): What happened was the scriptures led me in a different direction. By God's grace, you follow the beautiful breadcrumbs of scripture to unfold the beautiful truth that's there. So no, Julie, we don't need that stuff. We've got that which is perfect. We've got God's word, God's will, God's way. Bottom line: It's all about becoming daily more selfless and embracing God's power, which dwells within us. Jonathan, final scripture, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20:

Jonathan (01:04:57): "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the holy spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" The next verse is important. Why is your body a temple of the holy spirit? Verse 20 says: "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

Rick (01:05:17): We can glorify God in our human spirit, that human, that extension of our human selves, by following the lead and teaching of God's holy spirit. That's the point, to take ourselves and conform them by God's grace, through His spirit, through His strength, through His wisdom, through His word, to more Christlikeness. Jonathan, wrapping this up, Perceiving the Presence of God's spirit: let's finish.

Jonathan (01:05:45): God's spirit in our lives is an undeserved gift of the highest honor and magnitude. Appreciation for such a gift begins with respecting the Bible's teaching regarding its function. To have God's spirit is to have His influence guide our life. That influence is plainly taught in the Bible, and any other influence we are exposed to that is out of harmony with that basis should be flatly rejected.

Rick (01:06:12): There is a dividing line that we need to approach. If we believe that we have been given God's spirit we have to approach that dividing line, and that dividing line is very, very simple. I either follow scriptural principles--not traditions, not thoughts, not preferences--scriptural principles according to the writings of the inerrant word of God, or I can follow something else. You can't do both. Folks, as we wrap this up, we really want to understand the depth and the power of God's spirit dwelling within the true followers of Christ. It is a life-changing, mind-altering--in a very good, high spiritual maturity way--it's a mind-altering experience that brings us to a place where we can truly honor God with our lives. What is better than that? Think about it. Folks, we love hearing from our listeners. We welcome your feedback and questions on this episode and other episodes at ChristianQuestions.com. Coming up in our next episode: "Is Mourning Out Loud Over Our Losses Good for Us?" We'll talk about that next week.

Final Notes (01:07:21): copyright @2024 Christian Questions. In addition to this transcript, we provide comprehensive CQ Rewind Show Notes for every episode. They include every scripture quoted during the podcast, as well as graphics, illustrations and bonus material. Click the "CQ Rewind Show Notes" button near the audio player or sign up to receive these weekly at ChristianQuestions.com. This transcript was created using artificial intelligence. While we believe it to be accurate, we apologize for any errors that may exist.