The Teaching of the Holy Spirit

Spurgeon argues that the gift of the Holy Spirit, often undervalued compared to the gift of Christ, is what actually makes Christ's work effective in us — teaching believers how to do everything that pleases God, from the simplest things like crying out to God and learning to speak the language of faith, to the highest acts of preaching, praying, and singing, none of which have any real power apart from the Spirit's working. He traces what the Spirit specifically teaches — the true sinfulness of sin, the total ruin and helplessness of self, the character and attributes of God, the person and love of Christ, and the believer's adoption and coming inheritance — and describes how the Spirit teaches: by awakening interest where there was indifference, by creating a humble willingness to learn even painful lessons, by putting Scripture in clear focus, by opening the understanding itself, by refreshing memory, and by making truth felt rather than merely told, the way tasting honey teaches sweetness better than any description could. He closes by describing this teaching as sovereign (the Spirit teaches whom he wills, by whatever means and degree he chooses), effectual (no true pupil of the Spirit is ever turned away unlearned), infallible (unlike human teachers, the Spirit never teaches error), and continual (he never abandons the work until it is complete) — and ends with a solemn appeal to anyone who has never felt this inward teaching, warning that all human learning and effort are worthless for spiritual things, and urging them to simply believe on Christ now, since obedience to that one command is itself proof that the Spirit has already begun his quickening work in them.Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on May 13th, 1860.