From Expounder to Exponent
Miles J. Stanford's sermon encourages believers to move from merely understanding biblical truths to experiencing and embodying them through the Holy Spirit.
Miles J. Stanford emphasizes the vital role of the Holy Spirit in revealing the truths of God's Word to us, enabling us to understand and experience the freely given gifts of God. He stresses the importance of personally internalizing and applying the Word of God, not just intellectually knowing it, but allowing it to transform our hearts and lives through the work of the Spirit. Stanford highlights the distinction between merely describing a truth and truly learning and living it out in accordance with God's will, emphasizing the Spirit's role in making the Word experiential and transformative in our lives.
Text
"Now we have received. . . the Spirit who is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God "(1 Corinthians 2:12).
The Holy Spirit ministers the truth of the Word via the mind, that we may share the One who is Truth via the heart.
"If you do not know the Bible as the very Word of God, all is lost! Where have you learned anything from the Lord distinctly, but where every counter influence was inadmissible-in the sacred enclosure of His own Word and Presence, where nothing to qualify what He says can exist?"
"I must not only be an expounder of the truth, but an exponent of it. There should be the sense, I have learned that word for myself. It is not just being able to describe it, or to put it in correct dispensational order; but having that word for myself from the Spirit."
"The mistake with many saints in the present day is that they think because they can describe a truth, that therefore they have learned it. When a truth is really accepted, the conscience demands that there should be accordance with it."
"The Scriptures tell me what the Father gives me, but they do not give it to me. The Spirit applies the Word to me in its divine meaning, and then I possess what Scripture tells me is mine through God's grace. For instance, the Word tells me that if I behold the Lord's glory I shall be transformed. It doesn't transform me, however clearly I may see what it states. It communicates to me a very great thing, but it is the Spirit who makes it experiential to me." -J.B.S.
"Changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. " (2 Corinthians 3.18).
Sermon Outline
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I
- Understanding the role of the Holy Spirit
- The importance of knowing the Bible as God's Word
- Distinction between expounder and exponent
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II
- The necessity of personal experience with truth
- The role of conscience in accepting truth
- The application of Scripture through the Spirit
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III
- Transformation through beholding God's glory
- The experiential aspect of faith
- Living out the truth in daily life
Key Quotes
“If you do not know the Bible as the very Word of God, all is lost!” — Miles J. Stanford
“I must not only be an expounder of the truth, but an exponent of it.” — Miles J. Stanford
“Changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” — Miles J. Stanford
Application Points
- Engage with Scripture daily to deepen your understanding and experience of God's truth.
- Allow the Holy Spirit to apply biblical truths to your life for personal transformation.
- Reflect on how your understanding of Scripture aligns with your daily actions and conscience.