The Holy Scriptures have been given to us as the written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews when quoting from Jeremiah 31, speaks of it as "The Holy Ghost is a witness to us" (Heb. 10:15). After the same manner, in quoting from Psalm 95, he writes, "As the Holy Ghost saith" (Heb. 3:7). When the Lord Jesus speaks in Revelation 2 and 3 to the seven assemblies in Asia, the Apostle John writes to each, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." What the Lord Jesus had just spoken is given by the inspired apostle as the Spirit's word and voice to the assemblies.
To Paul it was given "to complete the word of God" (Col. 1:25) with the revelation of the mystery, so that there was no further need for revelations such as those mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:30. Paul could therefore write to Timothy, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
With the whole mind and will of God for us revealed there is all that the man of God needs in the inspired Scriptures. The Holy Spirit is still with us, and will be till the end of our wilderness journey, dwelling in every true believer and in the house of God, the power for all true ministry, for the perception and apprehension of the truth of God, and to enable us to walk according to the light that God has given.
All true ministry directs the hearts and minds of the saints to Christ, and every true minister is altogether subject to the word of God, and dependent on Christ's grace. The Scriptures are the divine safeguard for the saints, the touchstone of all that is ministered, being recognised as the only divine standard of truth and the witness of the Holy Spirit.
When the saints of God, even if it be but two or three, are gathered to the Name of the Lord in assembly, there is liberty for the manifestation of the Spirit. The hymns, the prayers, and the ministry of the word can all he under the guidance of the Spirit of God. Human organization and arrangement but hinder the liberty of the Spirit, and set aside the divine order given in the Scriptures for God's assembly.
The present witness of the Spirit recalls in freshness and power the precious truth He has inspired and put on record in the Holy Scriptures for the help, edification and encouragement of God's people until the coming of the Lord.
There is also the Spirit's witness in the lives of the saints, in the beautiful features of Jesus He reproduces, features that were seen in their fulness and perfection in the Son of God down here. Apart from ministry in the assembly, there is also the Spirit's witness in the ministry of Christ at all times through the gifts Christ has given to men, ministry which includes that of the evangelist, who proclaims the Gospel for the salvation of sinners.