The Need for the Holy Spirit in the Ministry of the Word (Part 2)

A few weeks ago, I began a brief series on the role of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of the Word. You can read Part 1 here.

We learned in that blog post that the enemy is prowling around seeking to destroy men (I Peter 5:8). We saw that Paul – who is leading by example – was quick to admit his own weakness and eager to say that if he was weak, it was only because of the example of Christ’s humility (II Corinthians 10:3-5).

Why do we need the Spirit’s working in our proclamation of the Word of God? Because we are mortal, because the enemy is formidable, and because the Spirit is effective. We will cover each of these 3 points in the next few weeks.

We Are Mortal (II Corinthians 10:3a).

Paul says that “we walk in the flesh.” We are human. We have skin and bones. We are not divine; we are not even angelic. There is nothing special about us.

In fact, Paul calls us “jars of clay” (II Corinthians 4:7). A clay jar is breakable; it is cheaply made, and thus, clay jars get replaced often. The normal purpose for a clay jar in the Ancient Near East was to store trash or human feces. That’s us!

Paul says we are mortal, and our bodies are dying – they are wasting away (II Corinthians 4:16). We are born, and then we begin to die. Until the Lord returns, all of us will die.

Moses was a man who saw the temporary nature of man as men and women died in the wilderness often. He wrote, “³ You make mankind return to the dust, and say, ‘Return, O people.’⁴ Yes, in your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday that quickly passes, or like one of the divisions of the nighttime. ⁵ You bring their lives to an end and they ‘fall asleep.’ In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up: ⁶ In the morning it glistens and sprouts up; at evening time it withers and dries up.” (Psalm 90:3-6)

That’s as good as it gets for us. At best, we are grass that dies within a day, dreams that last a few seconds or floods that recede by the days end! Life flees away; God endures. We are frail; we are mortal.

nd there is nothing we can do to change our transitory nature. Paul says, “We WALK in the flesh.” Walking is an idiom for living.

So, do we need the Holy Spirit? We most certainly do, because the Spirit is eternal. The Spirit is immortal.

Do you – as a mortal – want to fight the Enemy without the Immortal One who is Sovereign over Your Enemy? We need the Holy Spirit because we are mortal, and He is not.

The 2^nd reason we need the Holy Spirit is also quite sobering and we will consider that next week – our enemy is formidable.