How does the Holy Spirit speak to Christians?

[JohnB445]

Now when we mean speak, I know we aren't talking about like hearing an actual audible voice.

It is more like an "inner voice", intuition, "little voice" deep inside us, and we know this ought to be the way to do things. We get a sense of warning when we do wrong or about to do wrong.

This little voice has never failed me a day in my life, in fact if I would of listened more I would of been better off and healthier. I think we all know what we ought to do and God guides us to do the right thing.

I believe for the longest time, I knew Christianity was the way, but when I was younger I had a thing for wanting to be different and unique, it was a pride thing. But I quickly went to going to mainstream after I realized a lot of these different and unique religions were cults and unhealthy with crazy ideas. I always got weirded out by them and found them strange.

 

[fhansen]

Now when we mean speak, I know we aren't talking about like hearing an actual audible voice.

It is more like an "inner voice", intuition, "little voice" deep inside us, and we know this ought to be the way to do things. We get a sense of warning when we do wrong or about to do wrong.

This little voice has never failed me a day in my life, in fact if I would of listened more I would of been better off and healthier. I think we all know what we ought to do and God guides us to do the right thing.

I believe for the longest time, I knew Christianity was the way, but when I was younger I had a thing for wanting to be different and unique, it was a pride thing. But I quickly went to going to mainstream after I realized a lot of these different and unique religions were cults and unhealthy with crazy ideas. I always got weirded out by them and found them strange.

In my understanding God can and has spoken to people directly-man to man so to speak-down through the centuries -but as a very rare and incomparably profound occurence, at His discretion and for His purposes. IOW, there's a differnce there as well: the real thing vs the phony. And it's not something we should covet; your experience is the norm.

 

[pescador]

In my understanding God can and has spoken to people directly-man to man so to speak-down through the centuries -but as a very rare and incomparably profound occurence, at His discretion and for His purposes. IOW, there's a differnce there as well: the real thing vs the phony. And it's not something we should covet; your experience is the norm.

The Holy Spirit has spoken to me several times throughout my life. It was a clear, distinct message, just as clear as if someone had spoken to me. That is in addition to the moments of awareness when I was not behaving in accordance with Christian values.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Now when we mean speak, I know we aren't talking about like hearing an actual audible voice.

It is more like an "inner voice", intuition, "little voice" deep inside us, and we know this ought to be the way to do things. We get a sense of warning when we do wrong or about to do wrong.

This little voice has never failed me a day in my life, in fact if I would of listened more I would of been better off and healthier. I think we all know what we ought to do and God guides us to do the right thing.

I believe for the longest time, I knew Christianity was the way, but when I was younger I had a thing for wanting to be different and unique, it was a pride thing. But I quickly went to going to mainstream after I realized a lot of these different and unique religions were cults and unhealthy with crazy ideas. I always got weirded out by them and found them strange.

The way the Holy Spirit speaks to me is when it usually comes through a verse or passage of Scripture that strongly comes to mind. For example, the Holy Spirit wanted me to be quite sure who I am fellowshiping with by giving me the Scripture, "Truly our fellowship is with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ." What I learned was that I can always have close fellowship with the Lord and be able to hear from Him when I needed it. Another time I asked the Lord how I can become a real Christian. What came immediately to mind was, "Be yourself. Don't try to be someone you are not." That stopped me from trying to be super religious and I was able to relax and be the person I am. Another time during a very distressing event, it seemed that the Lord came and put His hand on my shoulder and said, "I am your refuge and strength, a very present help in your time of trouble" He showed me that I can have total confidence in Him at any time. Another time I was uncertain whether God heard me when I pray, His response was, "The eye of the Lord is upon the righteous and His ears are open to his prayers. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and delivered him out of all his troubles." When my 17 year old daughter went through a clinical depression, the Lord spoke to me and said, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. You are righteous because you have the righteousness of Christ as a free gift, and because you are her father, your prayers for her are going to be very powerful". As a result, she shook off her depression in less than a year and has been totally mentally healthy since. She is now 31 years old. So you see, the Holy Spirit does speak to us directly. In my case He uses Bible verses that I have never memorised. But after 50 years of reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit is well able to bring just the right Bible verse to mind that increases my faith in Christ in any situation. I don't have to write any additions to the Bible. The Holy Spirit uses what has already been written as a direct message to my heart and mind to assure me that He is on my case in any situation I find myself.

In all my 50 odd years of hearing the Holy Spirit speak to me, either through reading the Bible, hearing a preached message, reading a book, or by Him speaking a direct verse of Scripture to my mind, it has always been to point me to Jesus and to strengthen my faith in Him. I have never received a prediction for the future. I have just asked the Lord why not, and immediately this verse came to me: "Don't say that you are going to do this or that or go into this town or that town, because you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. Let tomorrow take care of itself." This might not be an exact quote of what Jesus said, but it says basically the same thing. What I get from that is we can't really predict the future because we don't know what the future will bring to us. It is better to receive what the Lord is saying to us today, and not worry about tomorrow at all. So that was the Lord's answer to my question. In fact I could start that quote with "Thus says the Lord" because that is what Jesus actually said.

 

[B Griffin]

Scripture gives us insight into God's communications with the lost. Here are two examples:

• Romans 1:18-19 - "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them."
  Lost people will have no excuse when they stand before Him in judgement because He personally revealed His eternal power and godhead to them and they supressed that truth and rejected Him.
  
  
• John 6:44-45 - "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
  This is an important facet of our own salvation and the salvation of every other person. Namely, when we turned to Jesus to save us from our sins, our turning was the direct result of us having heard and learned from God. And it is important to note that God does not send people to any other person for salvation. He sends them only to Jesus.

Scripture also gives us insight into God's communications with us as Christians. Here are a few examples:

• Romans 8:16 (NKJV) -"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."
  God's communications are not audible. They are Spirit-to-spirit communications. If we look inside our hearts and find rock-solid assurance that we are children of God, then we should understand that this assurance comes directly from God.

 

[B Griffin]

• 1 John 2:26–27 - "These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him."
  The Holy Spirit teaches us concerning all things.
• Galatians 4:6 - "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”"
  If you look inside your heart and listen, you will hear the Holy Spirit (and your spirit in unison) crying out to God in this way.

These are just a few of the many Scriptures that point us to the truth that God communicates directly with us. By this, we have an intimate personal relationship with the Lord God Almighty.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

• 1 John 2:26–27 - "These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him."
  The Holy Spirit teaches us concerning all things.
• Galatians 4:6 - "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”"
  If you look inside your heart and listen, you will hear the Holy Spirit (and your spirit in unison) crying out to God in this way.

These are just a few of the many Scriptures that point us to the truth that God communicates directly with us. By this, we have an intimate personal relationship with the Lord God Almighty.

The way God speaks to us is through the Bible. Jesus Christ as the pre-incarnate Son of God wrote it through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it contains everything that God has said and will say to mankind. When we need to know what God is saying about an issue or answering a question, the Holy Spirit in us will bring us to remembrance of what God is saying about it in the Scriptures.

If we want to hear God's audible voice, read the Scriptures out loud.

God does speak through good, faithful Bible teachers who have done their homework in the Scriptures. We are more likely to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking when these Bible teachers teach the Scriptures by the expository, verse by verse approach. Topical teaching gives more of the teacher's own opinion through cobbling together verses from the concordance that match his own theological bias, and therefore has no guarantee that God is speaking through it.

Peter says:
"18 And this voice, which came from Heaven, we heard when we were with Him on the holy mount.

19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy, unto which ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts,

20 knowing this first: that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.

21 For the prophecy came not in olden times by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2 Peter 1:18-21).

It is important to note that Peter, James, and John, had the wonderful experience of hearing God's direct audible voice while on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. And yet, here he is saying that there is a much more sure word of prophecy that is more important than God's direct voice to us. It is the Scriptures. Peter makes the Scriptures at a higher priority than hearing a direct voice from God. Hebrews 1 says that in old times God spoke through His servants the prophets, but in these last days is speaking through His Son. What does this mean? It means that He is speaking through the Scriptures that His Son has written to instruct us in righteousness. The Bible on its own is just a book, but when it combines with the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit within us, it becomes the living Word of God. This links up with John 1: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." When we as converted believers, filled with the Holy Spirit, read and study the Scriptures, we are hearing the living Word of God as if Jesus was present and speaking it Himself. The risen Jesus demonstrated to the two disciples at Emmaeus, that the Old Testament is all about Jesus. If we do our homework, we see Jesus Christ almost on every page and in every event. We see distinct parallels between events in the Old Testament and what we see in the New Testament.

A really good study that shows this, is Chuck Missler's commentary on the book of Genesis, You can view the 24 parts of it on Youtube. It is the best commentary that I have seen to date that shows how Jesus is present throughout the whole book.

 

[B Griffin]

There are large number of Scriptures (probably in the hundreds, though I've never counted them) that tell us about God communicating with us directly by His Spirit. None of them say or imply that the Holy Spirit will send us to the Bible for wisdom. It is quite the opposite. The Bible itself says that if we lack wisdom we should go directly to the God who gives wisdom liberally. And it comes with a warning. Don’t ask God for wisdom if you’re not willing to believe the answer He gives you (James 1). This is the life of faith we live… walk in the Spirit so as to not indulge the flesh. It’s the only way to live a successful Christian life.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

There are large number of Scriptures (probably in the hundreds, though I've never counted them) that tell us about God communicating with us directly by His Spirit. None of them say or imply that the Holy Spirit will send us to the Bible for wisdom. It is quite the opposite. The Bible itself says that if we lack wisdom we should go directly to the God who gives wisdom liberally. And it comes with a warning. Don’t ask God for wisdom if you’re not willing to believe the answer He gives you (James 1). This is the life of faith we live… walk in the Spirit so as to not indulge the flesh. It’s the only way to live a successful Christian life.

If you hear a voice which you think is the Holy Spirit, how do you know that what it is telling you is actually true? Paul said, "believe not every spirit but hold fast to what it good." How do we know how to know what is good and be able to hold to it?

Every false prophet has said that what he is saying is the truth directly from God. If without faith it is impossible to please God, and faith comes by hearing the Word of God, and receiving some sort of impression or voice can't be reliable in itself, how can we know that what we think is the Word of God coming to us is actually God's Word?

What if what the inner voice is saying contradicts what is written in the Scriptures? How can you know whether it is contradictory if you don't go to the Scriptures to check?

Even Paul's preaching wasn't reliable in itself as far as the Bereans were concerned. They searched the Scriptures daily to make sure that Paul's preaching was consistent with the Scriptures they had.

And, if an inner voice tells you information that is not already in the written Scriptures, if it is from God, then it is additional Scripture, is it not?

Just askin'...

 

[B Griffin]

I’ll answer your question with a question. When is it ok to say to God, “I will not believe you until I find it in Scripture”? And why in the world would God tell us we can’t trust Him, but we can trust the book He inspired? He wouldn’t and hasn’t.

The Bible says trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

To answer your question directly, You can distinguish His voice (not audible) from all others because His is the one that tells you that you are His child, His is the one you hear crying abba Father, His is the one that corrects you when you go astray, His is the one that comforts you in your trials, and His is the one that opens the eyes of your understanding. This is not an exhaustive list but they are all scriptural.

 

[B Griffin]

Tomorrow, I will post a more detailed description of the final point above (including scripture references).

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I’ll answer your question with a question. When is it ok to say to God, “I will not believe you until I find it in Scripture”? And why in the world would God tell us we can’t trust Him, but we can trust the book He inspired? He wouldn’t and hasn’t.

The Bible says trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

To answer your question directly, You can distinguish His voice (not audible) from all others because His is the one that tells you that you are His child, His is the one you hear crying abba Father, His is the one that corrects you when you go astray, His is the one that comforts you in your trials, and His is the one that opens the eyes of your understanding. This is not an exhaustive list but they are all scriptural.

I refer to Scripture because God wrote it and it contains everything He has and will say to mankind. If you hear a voice telling you things that you can't find already said in the Scripture then you are hearing a voice that does not come from God. The Holy Spirit was commissioned by the Father and the Son to inspire the 66 authors of the Bible, and because He doesn't contradict Himself, He won't be saying anything directly to us which would contradict what He has already inspired in the Scriptures.

I take the Scriptures seriously. More seriously than any inner voice or voice in my head. The devil can quite easily speak in an inner voice and quote Scripture (out of context of course). So just because an inner voice speaks verses of Scripture we should not take it at face value, but to be like the Bereans and search the Scriptures to make sure that what is being spoken to is truly God speaking. It is well known that nine out of every ten impressions and inner voices come from the world, flesh or the devil.

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are integrally involved in the Scriptures, so if we depend on voices without reference to the Scriptures, we are thinking separately from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and are most probably serving another Jesus, other than the historical Jesus of the Gospels. John says "Believe not every spirit because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

 

[B Griffin]

Let’s try this approach. You keep quoting part of the passage below as evidence that we should not listen to the Spirit of God unless He is quoting Scripture. But, it is clear from the context that God’s Spirit is always to be trusted, evil spirits are not to be trusted at all, and we must test the spirits to determine which one we are dealing with. The passage prescribes a test, and the test does not involve checking Scripture. The test is whether or not the spirit will confess that Christ Jesus has come in the flesh.

Furthermore, this passage does not say God only communicates with us by pointing us to Scripture. No passage does that. Where exactly does that comes from?

1 John 4:1–6 (NKJV): Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

 

[B Griffin]

Here is a more detailed description of how Christians may learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice in their hearts.

The best place to start is Scripture. Read your Bible, especially the New Testament. As you read, when you come across Scriptures that tell you how the Holy Spirit interacts with Christians in their daily lives, look into your own heart to verify that He is interacting with you in the same way. Here are some specific examples that may help:​

• We know the Holy Spirit is involved in every salvation experience because Jesus told us, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Therefore, since you have come to Jesus, by necessity, you must have responded positively to His calling. Reflecting on your salvation experience and upon His calling of you to Himself may help you specifically identify the sound of His voice.
  ​
• Be introspective and contemplate the deepest longings of your heart. There in your heart, you will find two things that we know coexist with the Holy Spirit.​

The first is described in Galatians 4:6:​

​

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”​

​

The second is described in Romans 8:23:​

​

Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.​

​

These two things—our groping for God and our groaning for final redemption—are in us because the Holy Spirit is in us. These are His desires, and He shares them with us. Reflecting on these two things, with the knowledge that their source is the Holy Spirit, may help you discern the sound of His voice.​

• Consider one or more recent circumstances in which you have become aware of spiritual truths or those in which spiritual errors were exposed.​

The apostle John wrote:​

​

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. (1 John 2:27)​

​

When you think back on the instances when the eyes of your understanding were opened and you became aware of the truth, consider the internal voice of the one who told you those things, and think about how He opened your eyes. Reflecting on these things, knowing that God is the one who leads you into all truth, may help you discern the sound of His voice.​

• Hebrews 12:5–6 says:​

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.​

​

Think about all the times you have done something you should not have done. Specifically, consider the deepest voice of correction that is in your heart. This is the voice of the Holy Spirit. Reflecting on the voice of the one who corrects you when you go wrong will definitely help you discern the sound of His voice.​

• Look into your heart and find the voice that is confirming to you that you are a child of God’s and that you have an eternal inheritance. This too is the voice of the Holy Spirit. With His own mouth, He tells us that we are His children and that we will be with Him forever:​

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. (Rom. 8:16–17)​

​

Reflecting on that calming voice in your heart that confirms repeatedly that you are His child will help you discern the sound of His voice.​

Obviously, these suggestions concerning how we may learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice do not constitute an all-inclusive list. But they represent a starting point. The list will expand as you read your Bible and find more examples. And one thing that will help you expand the list is the realization that God’s voice sounds the same in all His interactions with you.

You may have noticed in going through the exercise above, that the voice in you that confirms that you are His child sounds just like the one who corrects you when you do wrong. It sounds just like the one who guides you into all truth. It sounds just like the voice that causes you to grope for God and long for redemption. And it sounds just like the voice that called you to Him in the first place.

And knowing that His voice sounds the same in all His dealings with you will make it easier for you to discern His voice when He shows you how to execute the daily decisions of your life. Eventually, in every circumstance, you will know what He wants you to think, you will know what He wants you to say, and you will know what He wants you to do. And you will know these things because you will know the sound of His voice, and you will recognize what He is saying as He leads, guides, and directs you.​

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Let’s try this approach. You keep quoting part of the passage below as evidence that we should not listen to the Spirit of God unless He is quoting Scripture. But, it is clear from the context that God’s Spirit is always to be trusted, evil spirits are not to be trusted at all, and we must test the spirits to determine which one we are dealing with. The passage prescribes a test, and the test does not involve checking Scripture. The test is whether or not the spirit will confess that Christ Jesus has come in the flesh.

Furthermore, this passage does not say God only communicates with us by pointing us to Scripture. No passage does that. Where exactly does that comes from?

1 John 4:1–6 (NKJV): Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Given that a demonised person can say that Jesus has come in the flesh with his lips, how do you know in practice that what you are receiving is the Spirit of truth and not the spirit of error?

Isn't it interesting that you are using the Scripture as the authority supporting what you are telling me, and yet you say that we can hear from the Holy Spirit without reference to the Scriptures. If you really do believe that the Holy Spirit speaks apart from the Scriptures, then would have said, "God communicates with me outside of the Scriptures because that is what the Holy Spirit told me" without using any Scriptural quotes to back up what you are saying. The very fact that you are quoting Scripture negates what you are saying about not always needing Scripture to validate whether the Holy Spirit is speaking or not.

 

[B Griffin]

It appears that we are talking past each other. This is what I thought you were saying:

God has left us the Bible. If we want to know God's will, we must go to the Bible to find it. If we go to God for answers, He either sends us to the Bible or reminds us of some verses. Other than that, God does not communicate directly with man any more. If we want to hear God's voice, then we should read the Bible aloud. People should not look directly to God for answers to their everyday issues because you can't trust the voices in your head (they are probably demons).​

I disagree with this point of view for many reasons. First, it has no support in Scripture. Second, it contradicts what the Bible says. Third, it places the Bible in a superior position to God. Finally, it denies the vital role that the Holy Spirit plays in bringing us into an intimate personal relationship with God.

Please clarify your position if I got it wrong.

My view of Jesus' role in our lives from inside our hearts is much different. Instead of backing off on personal communications after Jesus' resurrection, God stepped up the communications when He sent the Spirit of His Son to live in our hearts. From inside our hearts, using Spirit-to-spirit communications, He leads us, guides us, directs us, corrects us, comforts us, and teaches us. I have given numerous Scripture references that say this is what He does. The reason I cite the Scriptures is that they give us tangible and dependable insight into what God is doing inside our hearts.

Knowing the importance of hearing and trusting Jesus who lives in our hearts, and in line with the question raised at the top of this thread, I have cited several Bible passages that help us learn to distinguish His voice from all others.

I don't know what else to say. Maybe to move the ball forward we can each pick one passage of Scripture that supports our point of view and we can discuss those two passages in detail to see if we can reach some kind of consensus. I am open to other suggestions.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

It appears that we are talking past each other. This is what I thought you were saying:

God has left us the Bible. If we want to know God's will, we must go to the Bible to find it. If we go to God for answers, He either sends us to the Bible or reminds us of some verses. Other than that, God does not communicate directly with man any more. If we want to hear God's voice, then we should read the Bible aloud. People should not look directly to God for answers to their everyday issues because you can't trust the voices in your head (they are probably demons).​

I disagree with this point of view for many reasons. First, it has no support in Scripture. Second, it contradicts what the Bible says. Third, it places the Bible in a superior position to God. Finally, it denies the vital role that the Holy Spirit plays in bringing us into an intimate personal relationship with God.

Please clarify your position if I got it wrong.

My view of Jesus' role in our lives from inside our hearts is much different. Instead of backing off on personal communications after Jesus' resurrection, God stepped up the communications when He sent the Spirit of His Son to live in our hearts. From inside our hearts, using Spirit-to-spirit communications, He leads us, guides us, directs us, corrects us, comforts us, and teaches us. I have given numerous Scripture references that say this is what He does. The reason I cite the Scriptures is that they give us tangible and dependable insight into what God is doing inside our hearts.

Knowing the importance of hearing and trusting Jesus who lives in our hearts, and in line with the question raised at the top of this thread, I have cited several Bible passages that help us learn to distinguish His voice from all others.

I don't know what else to say. Maybe to move the ball forward we can each pick one passage of Scripture that supports our point of view and we can discuss those two passages in detail to see if we can reach some kind of consensus. I am open to other suggestions.

The way that the Bible is designed in its progression through the 40 authors of God's plan of salvation, and even in the format of the actual text right down to the number of letters in the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, show that although the 40 authors put their contribution in their own words, there is a mysterious process that makes the letters of the text of each book divisible by 7 without a remainder. Taking just a small part of the text, such as the last 12 verses of Mark, which follows the same pattern, which shows that these verses were in the original, but taken out of the Alexandrian manuscript, if even a powerful computer doing 400 tries per second is used to produce the same effect, it would take it 3,300 years to achieve it. In other words, that intricate design of the text could not have happened by chance. It had to be done by an intelligent designer who operates outside of our temporal frame of reference. It had to be someone working outside of our three dimensional frame.

We know through the coming and going of the resurrected Jesus, that He operated outside of our three dimensional frame. He was able to come and go from our three dimensional state to that of another dimension. It has been shown that our universe has a limit both is plus size and microscopic size. One physicist has theorised that there is another reality outside of our universe that we know nothing about. I believe that the Bible, although written in 66 books by 40 authors over thousands of years, was given overall design and supervision by someone living in that reality outside of our known universe, and this is what makes the Bible a supernatural book that has Jesus infused all though its pages. This is why I believe that the Bible is essential in us hearing the voice of God. We hear His voice as we read it.