How the Holy Spirit Speaks Today Through the Word of God

Based on Scott Mitchell's Unlock the Bible Now, Bible message How the Holy Spirit Speaks Today: Testing the Spirits Through God’s Word

How the Holy Spirit Speaks Today Is Rooted in Scripture

Many believers ask how to recognize the voice of God and how the Holy Spirit speaks today. Scripture answers that question plainly. God has magnified His Word above His name (Psalm 138:2), and it is through that Word that the Spirit teaches, guides, and calls men and women to Christ.

Paul explains this clearly in 1 Corinthians 2. Believers have received not the spirit of the world, but a spirit that is of God—a teachable spirit given at salvation. This is not yet a reference to the Holy Spirit Himself, but to a disposition prepared by God so that a believer can be taught by the Holy Ghost. Spiritual understanding does not come through human wisdom or private insight. It comes when the Holy Spirit compares spiritual things with spiritual—that is, Scripture with Scripture.

The Spirit Teaches by Comparing Scripture With Scripture

Paul makes it clear that the things of God are not taught using the language of man’s wisdom. They are taught by the Holy Ghost, who instructs believers by revealing truth already written. The Spirit does not contradict Himself, and He does not introduce new revelation. He illuminates what God has already spoken.

This is why Scripture must interpret Scripture. Spiritual truth is found by comparing God’s Word with God’s Word. Any claim of spiritual insight that cannot be anchored in Scripture must be approached with caution.

What It Means to Be Led by the Spirit

The Bible teaches that believers are led by the Spirit of God. Jesus Himself was led by the Spirit into the wilderness (Luke 4:1). The word led carries the idea of being brought, guided, or induced. Scripture does not describe an audible command or a private revelation. It tells us simply that the Spirit led Him.

Paul uses the same language when speaking of believers in Romans 8. To be led by the Spirit does not mean receiving personal instructions disconnected from Scripture. It means following the Spirit’s leadership as He teaches and applies the Word of God to our lives. The Spirit leads believers as they obey Scripture, not by bypassing it.

Resisting the Holy Spirit Is Rejecting God’s Word

Stephen confronted the religious leaders in Jerusalem with a sobering truth. They had resisted the Holy Ghost just as their fathers had before them (Acts 7). How did they resist Him? By rejecting the Word of God spoken through the prophets, through the apostles, and ultimately through Jesus Christ Himself.

Resisting the Holy Spirit is not a mystical act. It is a willful rejection of God’s Word. Those who refused the message of Scripture were resisting the Spirit who spoke through it.

When the Spirit Forbade Paul to Preach

In Acts 16, the Holy Spirit prevented Paul from preaching in certain regions. Later, Paul received a vision directing him to Macedonia. Scripture records this clearly, but it also establishes an important boundary. While God communicated with prophets and apostles through visions and dreams, those experiences were unmistakable and served God’s revealed purposes.

Not every dream is from God, and not every spiritual claim is valid. Scripture is the final authority. No experience—however compelling—can override the written Word of God.

The More Sure Word of Prophecy

Peter addresses this directly in 2 Peter 1. After recounting his own eyewitness experience at the Mount of Transfiguration, he declares that believers possess something even more reliable—a more sure word of prophecy. That word is Scripture.

No prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. The Word of God did not originate in the will of man, but holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Any explanation or application of God’s Word must align with what God has already revealed. There is no private message that stands alongside or above Scripture.

Paul confirms this in Colossians 1 when he states that the Word of God was fulfilled—completed—through the revelation given to the apostles. The Spirit has nothing new to add. His work is to teach, reveal, and apply what God has already spoken.

Testing the Spirits According to God’s Word

John warns believers not to accept every spiritual claim at face value. Spirits must be tested. The test is simple and scriptural. Does the message confess Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh? Does it align with the Word of God?

There is no mystery in hearing God’s voice. He speaks through His Word. The Holy Spirit calls through the gospel, seals believers after faith, teaches through Scripture, and leads as believers submit to what God has written.

Believers should not feel inferior to those who claim special revelations. Every claim must be measured against Scripture. God has already spoken, and His Word is sufficient.

The Holy Spirit Calls Through the Gospel

The Spirit’s calling is most clearly seen in salvation. Paul explains in Romans 10 that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. The gospel is preached, the Spirit convicts the heart, and the sinner believes and calls upon Christ.

Jesus said His words are spirit and life (John 6:63). The Spirit works through the spoken Word, not apart from it. Salvation comes when the gospel is believed, not when a private message is claimed.

Trusting Christ Through the Word of God

If you are hearing the gospel, the Spirit may be calling you even now—not through a vision or a voice, but through the Word of God. Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

God speaks today as He always has—through His Word. The Spirit confirms it, teaches it, and applies it to the hearts of those who believe.