You and I obviously disagree on the matter of context. <br><br><blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]<br>Paul is clearly speaking about the Apostolic office which Christ had appointed him to.<br></font><hr></blockquote><p><br>Of course he is. And as his way of transitioning between talking about his calling and talking about the superiority of the new covenant over the old, he says,<br><br>"(Our covenant is) not in a written code but in the Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life." <br><br>It is a glorious statement of Truth.<br><br>[quote]<br>Thus, the apostle John warns that we are not to "believe every 'spirit', but to test the 'spirits'." To do so requires that there be an objective standard of propositional truth that is discernible to those who are in need of knowing who is teaching error. That standard is God's infallible and inerrant Word.... not some inner movement of the Spirit. <br>[\quote]<br><br>The Bible, as we know it, was not compiled when John wrote that statement. So clearly, he was not referring to what later became canonized and known as the Bible. In the same letter he wrote,<br><br>"The anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that any one should teach you; as His anointing teaches you about everything." (1 John 2:27)<br><br>The Holy Spirit is the Revealer of Truth. He lives within us, and we can depend on Him to teach us what is true,<br><br>"When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the Truth; for He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever He hears he will speak." (John 16:13)<br><br>Blessings,<br><br>Alex<br><br>
