Dr. Schreiner on the Spirit and the Word
Quoting Ephesians 5:18-19 and Colossians 3:16 (see these texts below), Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner says;
“The parallel reveals that being filled with the Spirit and being filled with the word of Christ are complimentary. There is no such thing as being filled with the Spirit if one is not filled with the external word of Christ. Focusing on the external word without relying on the Spirit can easily lead to rigidity, harshness, and formalism. On the other hand, devotion to the Spirit that leaves out the word can easily lead to fanaticism, an obsession with spiritual phenomena and a blind zealotry. For Paul the Spirit and the word are not contrary. The word and the Spirit work together. The external word is one of the primary means by which believers realize life in the Spirit.”*
Ephesians 5:18-19; “And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music to the Lord in your heart.”
Colossians 3:16; “Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.”
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*Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006), 310.
