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I believe Ray Stedman sums it up nicely in the following 2 paragraphs... In him[Christ] you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14 RSV) Notice two things which are emphasized here which are always found together in Scripture -- the Word, and the Spirit. Both are absolutely essential. There is no salvation without both of these. These are the instruments by which God performs his work. It is always a mistake to emphasize one of these to the exclusion of the other. There are groups today who are doing this: Some say, "No, we don't need the Word. All we need is the Spirit's guidance within. All we need is simply to trust the feelings we have. God the Spirit is dwelling in us and he will lead us." But whenever a group does that, they follow the pattern of similar groups in the past, and it invariably results in impractical ideas, in mysticism, in fanaticism, in rigid, hard-eyed determinism, and in individualism -- everybody going his own way and doing his own thing. Utter confusion results if you set aside the Word and try to follow only the Spirit. On the other hand there are those who try to follow the Word alone. On my recent trip around the country I visited several churches in which it was evident that they had lost all the freshness and vitality of the Spirit and had been reduced to mechanical, orthodox, perfunctory performance of the Word. They were orthodox to the core, but there was no life. They were sterile and dull and lifeless. This is what results when you try to adhere to the Word without the Spirit. It results in dry, mechanical services which only go through a certain form, a ritual observance, and the people go home deadened and dried up. It results in a kind of clenched-teeth piety in which the people resolve that they are going to "do their duty" as Christians, but there is no motivation, no hunger, no satisfaction, no love, no warmth, no joy, no life. But in Scripture you always find the two together. The Word is interpreted by the Spirit, and the Word becomes fresh and vital as you look to the Holy Spirit to make Jesus Christ step out of the pages and stand in your presence in living flesh. You feel the heartbeat of the human Lord who walked here on earth. It is the job of the Spirit to do that, and you never should come to the Bible without asking him to take these words and make them come alive. The entire article can be found at <http://www.raystedman.org/new-testament/ephesians/the-word-and-the-spirit>

How can a seed be transformed into a plant, a tree even, without sunlight, nutrients and water? How can flour, butter, eggs and flour be transformed into a cake without a hot oven? Its the same thing, the essential force that transforms our character is the presence of God. It is a gradual process and will only move as long as we seek His presence in scripture, prayer etc. We stop, transformation stops and will only resume when we resume. Its as simple as that!

Why is the Holy Spirit essential to help people see truth clearly and be able to grasp it? - Because the god of this world has blinded the mind...(2 Cor 4:4) and only the holy spirit can remove the veil and help us see clearly - Because God is the author of all truth. Who but his own spirit knows the things of a person? Similarly, no one but the Spirit of God knows the things of God (1 Cor 2: 11). He is the Spirit of Truth and reveals all truth.The things of God are spiritually discerned. They are like foolishness to the natural mind. What enables people to come to Christ at all? It is God that enables us to come to Christ. However we have a responsibility to accept the call coz He wont force you. What kind of freedom does the Spirit give us when we become Christians? - Freedom from slavery to sin - Freedom from the curse of the law - Freedom to be all that He's called and created us to be in all its fullness, no barriers, empowered by His Spirit. - Freedom of relationship with Him, communion with the Holy Spirit. Because of His redemptive work on the cross, we are sons and not slaves. Hallelujah!

I think being a living letter is more about what you do than what you say. As the saying goes ...." What you do is so loud that I can't hear what you're saying ...." Without a spirit-led life (living according to God's standard and will as opposed to the world's) phoniness and a serious discrepancy btw what you say and what you do- is inevitable and since as christians we are ambassadors/representatives of christ, you become a letter that speaks lies and misinformation about who christ is. Very sad indeed.

I think Paul's ministry is the perfect example of the value of training vs submission to the Holy Spirit. He was a pharisee, highly trained in the law at the feet of Gamaliel and was zealous for the things of God. But without the Holy Spirit's guidance, all he ended up doing was persecuting, hunting down and killing christians. But oh what a difference the holy spirit made! By submitting to the spirit of God, he ended up with such a powerful and effective ministry. He's one of the most influential early christian missionaries. I can't even begin to measure his contribution to the growth of the early church or new testament writings! With the benefit of hindsight, its apparent that all his previous rabbinic training was part of God's work ...." preparing him beforehand to do the work He'd called him to do .... (Eph 2:10) In a nutshell, Paul's knowledge and training in scripture made him a powerful and effective minister. Without the holy spirit, however, all that would have come to nought.

Intercession can be very important in general, but particularly in cases where the subject doesnt know how to pray or can't or won't pray. Then you as an intercessor becomes a life line! Also, when we intercede, heaven is being bombarded from many angles. Not that God didnt hear the first time, but it appears to have an additive effect. Moreover, with more people praying over the same issue, faith is perfected. We all know that prayer is nothing without faith and when you have more people interceding, the doubts or weaknesses of 1 are compensated for by the faith and strength of another. Also its more likely to cover all the basis. When you intercede, you are a fresh pair of eyes, looking into the situation. Your own approach to prayer might bring something new to the table. In a nutshell, 2 heads are better than 1! A few years back, I joined a group of christian women who stand in the gap and pray for one another, the world, our country etc. I'm still reeling from the shock and awe of the power of God that can be released through intercession. It really is a powerful and has changed the way I see my role as a christian. I'm a co-worker with christ.....( II Cor 6:1)

Hello everybody, This is my 4th bible study with Dr Ralph, but the first time I'll be participating on the forum. The studies have been very enriching and I've enjoyed them immensely and learnt a whole lot. Reading the insights and perspectives of others on the forum has been a big part of that, so I decided it was high time I made a contribution as well, rather than just receiving. I'm really happy to be here and looking forward to this. Cheers.