# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1886_S56
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

56 Proceedings of the eleventh convention

deep things of God. For what man knoweth what is in man,
save the spirit of man which is in him? So also no one knows
what is in God, save the Spirit of God. But we have not received
the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we may know
what is given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in
words which man's wisdom teacheth, but in words
which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiri-
tual." Here Paul refers first to the fact that what no man
could know, what God alone is aware of, had come to his (Paul's) knowledge,
and indeed through revelation of the Holy Spirit. That is
the one thing we have to note about Scripture, namely the revelation
of the thoughts, of the content of Scripture, through the Holy Spirit.
But that is not all; for the apostle goes on: "Which things also we
speak," and so on. So, when it then came to the uttering of these revealed
thoughts among the apostles, when it then mattered to speak,
to put what was revealed into words, into expressions, even there the working of the Holy Spirit did not cease;
there the Holy Spirit did not leave the apostles
to themselves, to choose the words for the thoughts at their own
pleasure. No, this working of the Holy Spirit also in the
choice of words was necessary, so that the apostles should be reliable witnesses.
We see this also from the fact that Christ indeed himself calls his disciples
witnesses of all that they have heard and seen; but he by no means says
that, when the apostles were to speak of what they had heard and seen,
no special revelation would then be needed any more. No,
although they were with Christ in Gethsemane and could testify with eyes and ears
to his crucifixion, his resurrection, nevertheless they are given
the announcement that for their oral testimony they should be endued
with power from on high. Only so were they to be witnesses.
When, therefore, the day of Pentecost was fulfilled and they were now endued with power from
on high, they spoke with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance, Acts 2:4. What do they speak? The
great deeds of God, what they had heard and themselves seen.
But they speak it not in words of their own, chosen by themselves, but in
words which the Holy Spirit gave them to utter. That was also
promised them in Matt. 10:19-20: "But when they deliver you up,
take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you
in that same hour how or what ye shall speak. For it is
not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."
Here they are not only told: Take no thought what ye shall say,
it will occur to you or be given by your Father, —
and then speak just freely, as you think best, — no, it shall
not even be your concern what words you shall use;
how you shall speak, too, leave to your Father; it is not you at all who