Author: Bryan Gibson

Weekly Bulletin
February 24, 2019

The Spirit Poured Out
by Doy Moyer
Reading in Proverbs, I was struck by this verse in a way I hadn’t thought about before. In Proverbs 1:23, personified wisdom says, “Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” I got to thinking about that phrase, “I will pour out my spirit on you” due to the fact that it is the same phrase used with reference to the Holy Spirit being poured out.
Read Joel 2:28-29 (referenced by Peter in Acts 2; see also Isa. 32:15, John 7:39). Notice how the pouring out of the Spirit is tied to revelation. The Spirit is poured out in that God’s will is more fully revealed. Wisdom pours out its spirit by making her words known to people. The Holy Spirit is poured out by making God’s words known.
Paul makes this point in 1 Corinthians 2:10-13. Only the Spirit can know the mind of God, and Paul writes, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things 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.”
I’m not saying that is all there is to it (not that I fully understand it), but the pouring out of the Spirit is very much tied to the revelation of God’s word. It’s not some subjective feeling one gets or some “better felt than told” experience. Without the words of God as revealed by the Spirit, we would have little more than feelings to go by. But that’s not how God has revealed Himself.
Consider John 7:37-39 in light of this idea: “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
Jesus later promised His disciples, “when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come” (John 16:13). Remember Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians 2. They did receive the Spirit “so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak…” The mystery had now been revealed (cf. Eph. 3:3-5).
We can connect these thoughts to a couple other passages in John. In John 4, Jesus, to the woman at the well, said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” Then, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (vv. 10-14).
Further, we can connect what Jesus said in John 6: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (vs. 63). This was said in the context of those walking away from Jesus because they were offended by His message that they needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood. He was the “bread” come down from heaven, and without partaking of Him, they would be lost. They chose not to partake. Then, when Jesus turned to His chosen disciples, Peter made one of his brilliant confessions: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life” (vs. 68).
Looking at these passages, we see the common terms, “Spirit,” “words,” and “life” (or “living”). They are all connected, such that we cannot come up with a legitimate view that disconnects eternal life from the words given by the Spirit. Without the Spirit, there would be no “well of water springing up to eternal life,” and without the words of the Spirit, there would be no eternal life. Whatever else may be involved in the pouring out of the Spirit, or in that “well of water,” the words of the Spirit are front and center. The pouring out of the Spirit involves making known the words of God so that people may have eternal life.
Want to see the effects of the Spirit poured out? Go to the living word to find the “words of eternal life” and we all can experience that “well of water springing up to eternal life.” Where else can we go, but to our Lord?

Contact Information
	P.O. Box 680872 / Prattville, AL 36067
	(334) 365-5887 / (334) 868-0801
	prattmont@gmail.com / prattmontchurchofchrist.org

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The Prattmont Church of Christ is just what the name suggests, a church that belongs to Christ. We are not a denomination; we are simply a group of Christians trying very hard to practice the teachings of our Head, Jesus Christ. The New Testament offers a complete pattern for what each local church should be like—its organization, its worship, its work, etc. We are committed to following that pattern. We cordially invite you to attend our services. We would also welcome any comments or questions about this bulletin.

TIMES OF SERVICES:
Sunday
Bible Study 9:00 A.M.
Worship……….10:00 A.M.
Training Class 5:00 P.M.
Worship 6:00 P.M.
Wednesday:
Bible Study 7:00 P.M.