power to us in communicating that truth to others. We see this brought out
in our own wisdom, which is the lesson of the first epistle to the Corinthians, especially the first to the third chapters (see e.g. I Cor. 1:19-21, 26, 27). The Jews had a revelation by the Spirit but they failed to depend upon Him to interpret it to them, so they went astray. The whole evangelical church realizes the utter insufficiency of man's righteousness, theoretically at least. Now it needs to be taught, and made to feel, the utter insufficiency of man's wisdom. that is perhaps the lesson this ninteenth century of overweening intellectual conceit needs most of any. To understand God's Word, we must empty ourselves utterly of our own wisdom and rest in utter dependence upon the Spirit of God to interpret it for us (Matt. 11:25). When we put away our own righteousness, then, and only then, we get the righteousness of God (Phil. 3:4-7, 9; rom. 10:13).When we put away our own wisdom, then, and only then, we get the wisdom of God (Matt. 11:25; I Cor. 3:18; I Cor. 1:25-28). When we put away our own strength, then, and only then, we get the strength of God (Is. 40:29; II Cor. 12:9; I Cor. 1:27,28). Emptying must precede fillingself poured out that Christ may be poured in. We must be daily taught of the Spirit to understand the Word. I cannot depend today on the fact that the Spirit taught me yesterday. Each new contact with the Word must be in the power of the Spirit. That the Holy Spirit once illumined our mind to grasp a certain passage is not enough. He must do so each time we confront that passage. Andrew Murray has put this truth well. He says, "Each time you come to the Word in study, in hearing a sermon or reading a religious book, there ought to be as distinct as your intercourse with the external means, a definite act or selfabnegation, denying your own wisdom and yielding yourself in faith to the divine teacher" (The Spirit of Christ, p. 221). 13. The Holy Spirit has not only power to teach us the truth, but also to impart power to us in communicating that truth to others. We see this brought out again and again. "And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."- I Cor. 2:1-5, R.V. "Our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost" (I Thess. 1:5). "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit enables the believer to communicate to others in "power" the truth he himself has been taught. We not only need the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth in the first place; and the Holy Spirit in the second place to interpret to us as individuals the truth He has revealed; but in the third place we also need the Holy Spirit to enable us to effectually communicate to others the truth He