Question-and-answer session (5)
Date: August 19, 1948Place: Kuling
Question: What is the reminding of the Holy Spirit?
Answer: We can only remember what we have encountered. Remembering means thinking of something a second time. The reminding of the Holy Spirit is when the Holy Spirit reveals to us a second time what we have seen. Every time the Holy Spirit reveals something to us, He presents a picture before us. The reminding of the Holy Spirit unveils this picture before us a second time. It reminds us not only of words spoken, but it gives us a revisitation, a fresh revelation of what we once saw.
The reminding of the Holy Spirit preserves the freshness of past revelations. For example, there are two ways to remember the Lord at His table. One is through personal revelation, and the other is through the reminding of the Holy Spirit. In the first case, a man realizes that the Lord is the Savior. In the second case, a man sees the very picture of the Lord’s salvation. When we break the bread, we must not only recognize the Lord as the Savior, but also we must have a fresh vision of the picture of His salvation. This kind of bread-breaking will give us a strong and powerful impression. The same can be said of the ministry of the word. There must be a seeing and a revelation, but there must also be a renewed revelation at the time the word is actually delivered. Only then can the speaking be powerful. This is what we mean by the reminding of the Holy Spirit. Those who are in the ministry of the word must not only remember the words of a revelation, but the very picture of the revelation. Unless we can do this, we cannot be ministers of the word. Without the reminding of the Holy Spirit, a man’s past revelations are dead; they remain revelations that belong to one individual. Worse still, they are revelations that seemingly belong to someone else. Without the memory of the Holy Spirit, any revelation can merely be seen as the revelation of the Bible. These revelations belong to the past. It is useless to repeat these revelations without the reminding of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit must shine upon these revelations once again before they can become living. Paul first spoke about justification by faith, but Martin Luther had to see the very same thing — justification by faith — before he could speak. The same holds true for our own revelations — we must see it once again before we can speak it and before it will produce any effect in others. We have to see the same revelations which we once saw. This is the meaning of the reminding of the Holy Spirit, and this equips us for proper service.
Question: What is the meaning of the words revelation, knowledge, prophecy, and teaching in 1 Corinthians 14:6?
Answer: Prophecy is the speaking of the prophets. Teaching is based on the speaking of the prophets. Revelation is the shining and enlightening which one receives from the Holy Spirit. Knowledge is what one has learned from God. The first two kinds — revelation and knowledge — are inward and hidden. The other two kinds — prophecy and teaching — are outward and open. Prophecy and teaching are communicative. Of course, revelation and knowledge are communicative as well. The relationship between revelation and knowledge is similar to the relationship between prophecy and teaching. The places revelation and knowledge hold with respect to each other are the same as the places prophecy and teaching hold with respect to each other. Revelation is what a man sees inwardly under the light. Knowledge is the deposit that comes as a result of the revelation. When God shines on man, he receives a revelation. After he sees the revelation, something remains in him, which is knowledge. These are inward activities. Only those who have received revelation can prophesy, and only those who have knowledge can teach. Revelation resides within an individual. It is useful only to him; this revelation is useless to the church. A revelation only becomes useful when it is communicated to others. This communication is prophecy. In the same way, knowledge resides in a man alone; it is useless to the church. It must also be communicated to others before it can become useful. This communication of knowledge is teaching. The basis of prophecy is revelation, while the basis of teaching is knowledge. If teaching remains a teaching, without having knowledge, which is the effect of revelation, as its basis, this teaching will become a problem. God gives man revelation. When a man speaks according to the instant revelation, he has a prophecy. When he speaks according to past revelation, he has a teaching. The deposit of past revelations in a person is knowledge. The present speaking of past revelations is prophecy, while the present speaking of past knowledge is teaching. Revelation brings in prophecy, while knowledge brings in teaching.
Question: What is the place of human memory?
Answer: There is a place for our own memory, but the most important thing in our ministry of the word is not to interrupt our spirit with the activity of our memory. In fulfilling the ministry of the word, we should direct all our attention and energy to the spirit. We have to fully exercise our spirit. There must not be any distraction to frustrate the spirit. This is the only way for the spirit to be released. The spirit is very sensitive; once it is frustrated, it is bound. At times we need the help of the memory, but we must never frustrate the spirit when we are exercising our memory.