Experience, Scripture, or Both. Which is Supreme?

What you are about to read relates to the subject of the Baptism of the Spirit. Just hang with me.

Casting demons out of Christians is not laid out doctrinally in scripture. But I testify publicly that I have seen it happen on numerous occasions with numerous Christians. What this tells me is that not all revelation can be so literally spelled out in rules and decrees in the apostolic epistles. Some doctrines, decrees and rules that the Spirit lays out are actually understood in the context of experiences that we have as the Spirit of Christ leads us by his wisdom.

Most church doctrine which we find recorded in scripture was hashed out through experiences that were initiated by the Spirit of Christ. These same experiences gave a platform for revelation that in the course of time, when adhered to, bred purity and peace. We know when we are speaking and experiencing truth because the Spirit of God bears witness with both our human spirits and our consciences by way of peace.

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirits that we are God's children." Romans 8:16.

"Those who obey his commands live in him and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." 1 John 3:24

The Spirit, most often in the context of physical experiences, gives us revelation within the heart that is accompanied by the peace that transcends all understanding. God initiates experience through the giving of wisdom.

"Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom." Proverbs 4:7

A lot of Christians struggle with the supremacy of wisdom. Wisdom is clear direction within the heart. It is a clear way or path to be taken by the believer.

"If any man lacks wisdom (clarity), he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given unto him." James 1

"For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding...........for Wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul." Proverbs 2:6,10

Proverbs chapters 2,3,4, and 8 all refer to wisdom as a way or a path. In a roundabout way it is a general sense of direction. James uses the word Sophia for wisdom in the first chapter of his epistle. Sophia comes form the Greek word Saphes which means clarity. So when we combine both bits of understanding from Proverbs and James' writings, what we see is that the Lord, when giving wisdom to his people, is actually giving clear direction. It's a clear path or a clear way in him. The Spirit is telling us which way to go with clarity within the heart.

And this direction leads to experiences that are accompanied by peace.

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving..." James 3:17

"Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace." Proverbs 3:17

This peaceable wisdom leads to holiness within the soul. The reason we can say it leads to holiness is that, on the narrow path that we find ourselves on through the Lord's wisdom, is also the place where we find the discipline of the Lord to bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness (See Hebrews 12).

The wisdom of God that leads us into his work is supreme. It is in the midst of these Spirit-led experiences that we hear more of his voice which often comes in the form of scripture. He will show us what and how to interpret and understand the scriptures as we are having an experience that is led of him.

"Those that are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Romans 8:14

Remember, the apostles largely had just their testimony based on physical experiences that occurred over a period of 40 days to verify that Jesus was in fact alive after the crucifixion. And the scriptures that they had to draw upon were, to the logical mind, somewhat vague. Consider the following  verses:

"You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay." Psalm 16:10

"The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone." Psalm 118:22

"I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David." Isaiah 55:3

"I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever." 1 Chronicles 17:11-14

These were the only scriptures employed by the apostles as proof texts that Jesus the Messiah was in fact destined to rise from the dead. And when I look at them from the mind of a skeptical Pharisee or teacher of the Law I see nothing that convinces me, apart from God's Spirit revealing them to me, that they are in fact true. Yet this was the only scriptural basis that God gave them to bear witness to the most important event in recorded history.

The Wisdom of God is supreme in all matters. It is through this leading of the Spirit that we in fact keep the law and stay within the moral boundaries of holiness as God outlines them for us in scripture.

"...we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code." Romans 7:6

People who don't allow God to reveal the understanding found in the scriptures while having a Spirit-led experience.......those that rely only on interpretation of scripture while only ever sitting at a desk at home....those people are setting themselves up for a life spent knowing about the Lord but never really knowing the Lord. Again, it's the difference between knowing about the Lord versus Knowing the Lord.

I love reading my Bible and have had seasons where I did a lot of studying. But there comes a point where God says, "Here is what I want you to do. Now get out and live it...in power." I am not saying that we shouldn't know scripture. We should. I am saying we should understand it in context of the experiences we are given by the wisdom and understanding of the Lord. And lest you say I am downplaying the revelation that comes in scripture, I just quoted you almost twenty scriptures in a span of about 2 pages of writing.

The scriptures alone do not breed righteousness in our souls.

"You diligently study the Scripture because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." John 5:39,40

Scripture, when combined with the power of God, keeps us from error.

"You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power (Dunamis) of God." Matthew 22:29

All scripture is profitable.

"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16,17

But it must be understood in the context of a life lived in wisdom and power.

"But to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and wisdom of God." 1 Corinthians 1:23,24 

In the next post I am going to share with you my baptism in the Holy Spirit and how the Lord formed the doctrine that I hold to with regards to it.

JEB