1 Cor. 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
How Modern Versions Butcher this Verse
You won’t believe what modern translations do with comparing spiritual things with spiritual:
“…explaining spiritual things to spiritual people” (Holman Bible)
“…interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual” (English Standard)
“…we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.” (The Message Bible)
“…combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words” (NASB) [Huh? Pray tell, what does that even mean? “Combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words?!” What are spiritual words? How does this work exactly? Is there a Thesaurus full of spiritual words we can use in order to create spiritual thoughts? Is a thought no longer spiritual if you aren’t using God -determined spiritual words? If you think a spiritual thought, doesn’t that thought already have the words that you need to make that thought spiritual? How do you combine a spiritual thought with spiritual words if that thought is already using words that makes that thought spiritual? How do you combine a spiritual thought with spiritual words?]
“…explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words” (NIV) [What exactly are Spirit-taught words? Did the Holy Spirit conjure up new words that didn’t exist before in Koine Greek?]
“…using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths” (New Living Translation)
“…judging the things of the spirit by the help of the Spirit” (Bible in Basic English)
“…we explain things of the Spirit to people who have the Spirit” (Complete Jewish Bible)
“…jointly fitting spiritual things by spiritual means” (Jubilee Bible) [How do you jointly fit spiritual things by spiritual means? What’s a spiritual mean?]
“…make a likeness of spiritual things to ghostly men” (Wycliffe) [I guess Wycliffe thinks Paul was talking to dead people.]
“…makynge spretuall coparesons of spretuall thinges.” (Tyndale) [YES! I love what Tyndale wrote! What a beautiful man! He said the same thing as the KJV translators, but he said it in a different way. Yet, the meaning is still the same. You’re comparing spiritual things with spiritual things. You’re making spiritual comparisons of spiritual things. That means the same thing. And that would be a spiritual comparison because you’re comparing spiritual things.]
Later, I want to come back to this whole idea in these modern translations about “spiritual words” or “Spirit-taught words.”
Surely, we would all agree that there is substantive disagreement in meaning between all those differing modern translations to such a degree it’s impossible to understand what that verse is actually saying.
The corruption of this passage really began with Westcott and Hort. Bullinger, in his notes, said that “Westcott and Hort, in their Greek Text, preserve an ancient reading, but not being supported by the other MSS., they put it in the margin. It is pneumatikos, spiritually; and would read, ‘declaring spiritual things in a spiritual manner.’” It’s annoying that Bullinger would even consider the garbage put out by Westcott and Hort.
Their rewriting of this verse makes no sense. How do you declare spiritual things in a spiritual manner? Isn’t this verse in part talking about how the Holy Spirit teaches? Wouldn’t the Holy Spirit teach spiritual things in a spiritual manner because HE IS a spirit?
All Westcott and Hort did was corrupt the Word of God. If you’re looking at the correct text, the Textus Receptus, you will find that this verse is perfectly translated word-for-word in the King James. This is about the act of comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Comparing
Comparing is to examine the relationships between two or more things or concepts.
Spiritual things is one Greek word. Literally, non-carnal things, spiritual things. The second “spiritual” in that verse is the same Greek word used for spiritual things. Literally comparing spiritual things with spiritual things. The KJV translators opted to not say spiritual things twice. They opted to say spiritual things with spiritual because the second things would be obvious. The grammatical structure of that sentence is obvious that they mean comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.
Let’s look at this verse again. 1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Is Paul talking about how he teaches or how the Holy Ghost teaches? YES. All the modern translations and some commentaries, even some grace commentaries, would make the case that by saying comparing spiritual things with spiritual Paul is only explaining how HE teaches. That’s not what the verse says. Paul’s not simply talking about himself. He says, “but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” This is about how the Holy Ghost teaches, and therefore, this is how Paul has learned to teach. Paul teaches the way he does because that’s the way the Holy Ghost teaches.
And how does the Holy Ghost like to teach us? By comparing spiritual things with other spiritual things. So the first major point we would make about this verse is that Paul is not giving you instructions about how you should study your Bible. Paul isn’t giving pastors pointers about how they’re to exegete passages behind the pulpit. Paul is merely explaining the method by which the Holy Spirit teaches you in His Word, which is why Paul also teaches the way that he does.
When we think of the Spirit teaching us when we study, we think, “Well, the Holy Spirit convicts us about how we’re to live our lives, just like the way the Spirit convicts people when they hear the gospel or hear the Word generally. Sometimes, we read the Word, and we’re convicted that we should stop doing bad stuff and start doing good stuff. Or the Holy Spirit helps us to grasp spiritual concepts that we never would have understood in our natural state of unbelief. Or He inspires us, motivates us, strengthens our inner man, or helps us feel hope and peace.”
Yes, He does all those things. But that’s not what Paul’s talking about. Paul is just explaining here that the Holy Spirit likes to teach you by comparing spiritual concepts with other spiritual concepts in the Word of God.
Consider the Context
1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Look very closely at vs. 7. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.
Paul doesn’t simply say, “Yeah, I’m telling everyone about a secret God had ordained before the world.” No, he says “we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery.” The mystery is a new revealing of God’s wisdom. This is not just wisdom but hidden wisdom. In other words, Paul is also revealing new wisdom we’ve never seen before and depths of wisdom from God never seen before.
Notice also how the verse ends. He says unto our glory. Part of that secret kept hidden before the world was created were the determinations God made about how He would glorify YOU.
So wouldn’t you agree that the big picture point of verse 7 here is that Paul is explaining what it is he teaches, the mystery, the hidden wisdom of God about our glorification that had been ordained before the world was created? Correct?
So before the world was created God, in His wisdom, conceived of the mystery, which He kept secret until it was revealed though Paul unto our glory. Right?
Then look at vs. 8. Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
This begs the question: “What is it the mystery reveals that, had the princes of this world known, they would have never crucified the Lord of glory? If Satan and his realm had known beforehand this hidden wisdom that Paul has now revealed, which had been God’s secret, Satan would’ve never crucified Christ. So what was that information exactly?”
It wasn’t until Paul came along that we even understood the meaning of the cross, right? Is it not true that it was Paul who revealed that Christ’s sacrifice was to take on the penalty of all our sins? But Paul revealed far more than that, didn’t he? God’s hidden mystery is also an interruption of the prophetic program, an age of grace, this massive new victory program for everyone by God’s exceeding abundant grace.
This is about billions of Gentiles getting eternal life through the new gospel of grace Paul taught. This is about everyone’s new identification with Christ, our victory with Christ over sin and death, our perfect standing before God, and this is about all the glory to come that we’ll be sharing with Christ for all eternity. All this information Paul revealed, had Satan known this beforehand, he would’ve never killed Christ, and that information was… the meaning and all-sufficiency of that payment for all our sins on the cross of Calvary.
Did you notice that at the end of vs. 7, Paul says, unto our glory, and at the end of vs. 8, Paul says the Lord of glory? Do you think that’s a coincidence? No, that’s identification. His glory has become your glory. And if Satan had known any of that, he would’ve never killed Christ.
What did we just do?
We just compared spiritual things with spiritual things, did we not? We compared spiritual concepts with spiritual concepts, right? What did we compare? We compared the mystery to the Lord’s crucifixion to figure out what was the information that, had Satan known about it, he would’ve never crucified the Lord of glory. And in our analysis comparing the mystery to the cross, we concluded that the information Satan didn’t know was the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, which Paul had revealed in the mystery.
What did the Holy Spirit do here?
He created a question in our minds. We were drawn into these verses to do what? Compare two spiritual concepts to answer a question. We compared the mystery to the Lord’s crucifixion to figure out what that information was that, had Satan known about it, he would’ve never crucified the Lord of glory.
This is how the Holy Spirit teaches you.
He wants you to think about the text. He wants you to meditate on the text. He draws you in by creating questions in your mind and then He has you to figure out the answers by comparing spiritual concepts with other spiritual concepts.
That comparison of spiritual concepts is the very definition of Biblical interpretation.
This is how we learn, because the comparison of those spiritual concepts is how we expound or unfold spiritual truths we did not understand before.
This isn’t about the Spirit giving you a problem and then you have to go digging around the Bible to get the answer. There are occasions when that happens, but that’s not what Paul’s talking about. He’s talking about when you read the Word, chapter-by-chapter, section-by-section, the Holy Spirit teaches you by making comparisons between spiritual concepts, spiritual truths, spiritual doctrines, and we learn by thinking about those comparisons.
This isn’t so much about “comparing Scripture with Scripture.” That’s a common expression. And we know what that is. That’s a shorthand reinterpretation of comparing spiritual things with spiritual. And comparing Scripture with Scripture really undermines what Paul’s actually saying here. This isn’t about comparing verses. This is about comparing the spiritual concepts that are IN those verses. This is about comparisons of concepts in order to learn and gain a greater understanding of the whole kingdom of God.
Mar 4:30 And [the Lord] said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
See what’s going on in that verse? The Lord is using comparisons to teach people about the kingdom of God. Parables are perfect examples of comparing spiritual things with spiritual things. The Lord pulls you into a story or an illustration by which you’re invited to make comparisons in order to gain a greater understanding of spiritual truths.
Comparing Scripture with Scripture can be part of that process. There might be a symbolic element in a parable and you might go searching other Scriptures to find the meaning of that symbol, see if the meaning fits into the parable, and maybe help you to have a better understanding. But it’s not really about comparing Scripture with Scripture. It’s not about the verses. It’s about comparing spiritual concepts to other spiritual concepts in the verses.
Then the Lord says in Mar 4:31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: Mar 4:32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
What does this parable mean? Christ does not give us an interpretation as He had with other parables. How do you figure this out? Welcome to comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Does this mean I have to look up mustard seeds in the Bible? And other times the Lord talked about fields and branches? Sure, you could do that. One of the first things I would do is read the other Gospel accounts of the Lord speaking these same kingdom parables. There are corresponding accounts in Matt. 13 and Luke 8. You might want to see if anything different is said in those other accounts. You also might want to compare this to other kingdom parables, because the Lord gave interpretation for some of His other kingdom parables. So how He interprets other parables might inform us about how we’re to interpret this parable. A lot of the kingdom parables were similar. Are there other parables similar to this one that might help us?
We learn by comparing all these spiritual concepts to get the answers we need.
Bullinger made another point I thought was interesting. You know the Septuagint? Translation from Hebrew to Greek. Bullinger said in his notes for 1 Cor. 2:13, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, that the Greek word for comparing was used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word for interpret. This, again, would mean that the comparing of spiritual concepts is the method of Biblical interpretation. They’re practically synonymous when it comes to Biblical hermeneutics.
When would you encounter the word interpret in the OT? When they interpreted dreams. The first dream recorded in Genesis is Abimelech. That was pretty straightforward. God appeared to him in a dream and spoke to him.
The second dream in Gen. 28 was Jacob’s ladder. The interpretation of dreams was a comparing of spiritual things with spiritual. You have the symbols in the dream and their spiritual meaning. When you combine the two, you can decode the dream. In that dream of Jacob’s ladder, you can’t help but be drawn into the symbolism of the ladder. In his dream, the gate of Heaven was open to Israel with the Lord above the ladder sending His angels down to the Earth to minister to the people of God. They were guardian angels both individually and corporately over Israel. The angels in the OT provided guidance, instruction, interpretations of visions, and protection at the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was above the ladder.
But then something happened before the Lord was born. The gate of Heaven had seemingly become closed to Israel. God was silent for 400 years after Malachi. No voice of a prophet had been heard since Malachi. There was no heavenly visit from an angel since Zechariah.
Then in John 1 the Lord talks to Nathanael. He declares to Nathanael that the gate of Heaven is open once again, but now everything about Jacob’s ladder would be inverted. Now the Lord has descended the ladder Himself. He is no longer above the ladder but at the bottom, manifest in the flesh, and Nathanael would see the angels operating in a totally different light than what Jacob saw in his dream. The Lord says to him, “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
Now the angels would ascend and descend Jacob’s ladder only to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. It would be Nathanael’s distinct honor to see the entire government of Heaven serve the Messiah of Israel, because He would now be the object of attention of the entire heavenly host just as He would be the object of attention of the entire nation of Israel because the time was now at hand when all things that the prophets had written were to be fulfilled.
Back to the big picture point. The dream of Jacob’s ladder, the symbols in the dream, invite us to study more, to understand the meaning, and you can’t help but compare Jacob’s ladder to what the Lord told Nathanael because in both accounts there are angels ascending and descending. They’re similar concepts. We’re moved to compare those two spiritual concepts. The next thing you know, you feel a bit edified and excited that you discovered for yourself this amazing contrast between these two spiritual things. In Jacob’s ladder, the Lord was above the ladder sending angels to minister to Israel. In the Lord’s words to Nathanael, the Lord has descended the ladder and the angels come down to minister to Him.
I don’t think the concept of making spiritual comparisons of spiritual things began with the interpretation of dreams either. God was already teaching man through comparisons of spiritual concepts in the Garden of Eden. Tree of Life vs. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam was tasked with comparing those two items in light of God’s instructions to not eat from the one tree. Of course, Adam understood everything being in his original state of righteousness. He fully comprehended God’s instructions. He fully comprehended the spiritual contrast between those two trees. Then Eve was created. She’s different that Adam, and there’s the special way in which she was created. She’s created out of Adam’s rib. Adam could look at Eve and the way she was created and quickly discern God’s design, her role as a help who is meet for him, and his special relationship to her. He was even able to discern the concept of marriage and mother and father. How did he do that? God didn’t explain those things to him. He figured them out by making comparisons between spiritual concepts. He instinctively knew God’s design for families and mothers and fathers by simply comparing male to female. And this he was able to do on the day he was born! Of course, Adam had the advantage of being in a state of righteousness. His judgment wasn’t clouded by a corrupt mind or heart under the influence of a corrupt flesh. But he understood God’s design and wisdom – how? By making spiritual comparisons.
When you think about it, there is a long history of comparing spiritual concepts with spiritual concepts in the Bible. Almost everything invites comparison, especially the beginning vs. the end – comparing Genesis to Revelation. In both, we have a new beginning and a new order. In both, we have the tree of life, the river, the bride, the walk of God with man; and in both paradises we have the same moral and spiritual ideals… Mark the contrasts between the one book and the other. In Genesis, we see the first paradise closed (3:23). In Revelation we see the new paradise opened (21:5). In Genesis, we see dispossession through human sin (3:24). In Revelation we see repossession through divine grace (21:24). In Genesis we see the curse imposed (3:17). In Revelation we see the curse removed (22:3). In Genesis, we see access to the tree of life disinherited, in Adam (3:24). In Revelation we see access to the tree of life re-inherited, in Christ (22:14). You get the idea. Plus, the judgments and the deliverance of Israel in the Tribulation are super similar to Israel’s deliverance out the hands of Pharoah in Exodus.
The stories in 1st and 2nd Chronicles are the same stories in 1st and 2nd Kings but in Chronicles, it’s from a priestly perspective. So you’re invited to make comparisons because details may exist in one account that is not in the other.
The same is true for the Gospels. In the OT, you also make comparisons between volumes of prophecies to get a full picture of the Lord’s thousand-year reign. There is also the comparison between the Lord’s earthly ministry and His fulfillment of some 300 prophecies, which proves beyond any shadow of doubt His authenticity as the Son of God.
Plus, making those comparisons between prophecy and the life of Christ is why the Bereans were more noble because they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so (Acts 17:11). What were the Bereans doing when they searched the Scriptures? They were comparing spiritual concepts, were they not? They were thinking critically by comparing the events of Christ to the OT prophecies to determine if He truly was the Son of God. And when you make those comparisons and you see those connections, that not only reinforces the truth that Christ is all He claimed to be, but that also reinforces the fact that you are truly studying the very Word of God.
Consider this. How did we come to understand substitutionary atonement? We compared the Lord’s sacrifice to the sacrificial system of the OT. Paul makes over 100 references to the OT in his epistles inviting us to make comparisons between the points Paul is making to the OT verses he’s quoting.
Not only that, we would compare spiritual concepts with spiritual concepts to discern the meaning of symbols, like those in Revelation.
Another type of spiritual comparison that I love is comparing a spiritual principle to a spiritual example in the OT. If I’m preaching about the spiritual principle of forgiveness, I like to give the example of Esau forgiving Jacob after he stole his birthright. I’m comparing the principle to a story that embodies that principle.
Making spiritual comparisons isn’t only about the similarities between concepts. Making spiritual comparisons can also be about the contrasts and the contradictions, and the importance of those distinctions that matter. The brilliance of God crafting all those many distinctions between prophecy and mystery was crucial for all of us to understand our Bibles rightly divided.
Finally, we can also be edified in our studies considering the spiritual concepts for which there is no comparison. I’m reminded of David saying in Psa_89:6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? And of course, Paul would write in Rom_8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Spiritual Words
You remember earlier the abominable modern translations talking about “spiritual words” or “Spirit-taught words?” Is there really such a thing as spiritual words?
1 Cor 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
When Paul says he preaches the gospel, he does not do it with wisdom of words. What does that mean? Bullinger would call it eloquent language, clever reasoning. Albert Barnes would make the point that this is a Hebraism meaning, “not in wise words or discourse.” In other words, preaching the gospel is not about being intellectual or philosophical like the Greeks, which is to show off how smart they think they are, being so clever with their winning arguments and their intelligent swelling words of vanity. That style of presentation hurts the message of the cross. Instead, the preaching of the cross is about simplicity spoken in true modesty and love allowing the power of the truth itself to work into the hearts of the hearers. The impact should be the message itself not the flowery way in which it’s delivered.
So were the words Paul chose important? Sure. Is Paul pulling from a pre-approved list of spiritual words given to him from God that’ll be effective in persuading his hearers? No. He is, in his free will, choosing the words that would best embody the principle of simplicity in Christ. The effectiveness of the gospel is in its straightforward, humble, simplicity.
Let’s look again at the verse where we started. 1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Consider now this phrase, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth. What does that mean? I’d suggest this is a variation of what we just read in the previous chapter, the wisdom of words, which are the same words which man’s wisdom teacheth. That is to say – Paul’s not teaching you in the manner that the Greeks say you ought to teach people in all the schools of philosophers. That is man’s vanity about his own perceived wisdom. Paul’s not going to wow you with clever intellectual argumentation and swelling words of vanity. He’s going to teach in the manner that the Holy Ghost teaches and that is humble simplicity while comparing spiritual concepts with spiritual concepts. It’s not about using specific pre-approved spiritual words. It’s about the spiritual truths themselves, articulating those spiritual truths accurately using simple words spoken in the right spirit.
It’s not about the words. It’s about the thoughts the words create.
What about when the Lord said inJoh_6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life?
Isn’t the Lord saying that the words He used are spiritual and they are life?
Let me ask a question: What if the Lord walked around Israel and shouted out random spiritual words? He’s in the Temple of Jerusalem and He’s just screaming out “Grace! Love! Repent! Kingdom!” Do you think people would’ve been ministered by that? Would that have convinced them He’s the Messiah? No, those words are strung together into what are called sentences. Those sentences convey spiritual truths and spiritual concepts. It’s the truths themselves that were spiritual and were life, because those truths could help someone become justified and live forever with God. When the Lord talks about His words, He’s talking about the sum total of truth He’s been sharing. The words were just the building blocks to form the sentence that became pure truth.
I would suggest to you there’s nothing spiritual about words. They’re just words. Words are nothing more than building blocks to the important truths that are being expressed.
It’s the thought that matters.
“Wait, Joel. Aren’t all the words in the Bible spiritual words?” Tell me, weren’t those words already in use before the Spirit inspired the Bible? Aren’t many words we find in the Bible the same words unbelievers use even today? Do unbelievers somehow become spiritual for speaking words that exist in the Bible?
“Ass” is in the Bible. Does anyone think I’m being spiritual by saying the word “ass” in a Supply of Grace article? What if I said “ass” three times in a row?
Ass, ass, ass.
Does anyone feel more spiritual because I said that specific Bible word three times in a row?
This isn’t about the words. This is about the spiritual truths, the spiritual concepts that are expressed. Of course, words are important, but words only help to create the thought. Words are just the building blocks used to help us understand that spiritual truth.
“Well, now wait a minute, Joel. Wouldn’t you say ‘cross’ is a spiritual word?”
No.
Cross is just a word. If I walk around saying ‘cross’ all day does anyone get saved? No, but if I say, “Christ died on a cross to pay for all your sins,” well, now we’re getting somewhere. It’s not the words. I didn’t use special spiritual words. I conveyed truth with simplicity following the examples given to me in Scripture.
What would be better? Should I say the word “cross,” or should I say something a little more intellectual, like, “a 2-piece timber gibbet with a heavy patibulum?”
Of course, you should use “cross.”
Do we use “cross” because it’s some special spiritual word given to us by God? No. The word “cross” existed before Christ died on one. We use “cross” because it’s simple. The Bible uses “cross.” Why? Because it’s simple. It’s effective.
Let me ask a question. Let’s say I’m giving the gospel to someone. I tell that person that sentence about the cross. I say to that person, “Christ died on a cross to pay for all your sins.” That sentence does not exist in the Bible. Is what I said wrong?
No. That’s a true statement.
But there are verses that say that Christ died for us, like in Rom. 5:6-8. There are verses that talk about Christ paying for our sins, like the propitiation verse in Rom. 3:25. I took two spiritual concepts and put them together into one sentence. Christ died on a cross. That death was a payment for all your sins. Even though I’m not quoting a Bible verse, is it okay for me to say, “Christ died on a cross to pay for all your sins”? Do I have to quote Scripture with perfect verbatim identicality in order for the Spirit to convict that person of that truth so they’ll accept the gospel by faith? Or would the Spirit be willing to convict someone even if I only say, “Christ died on the cross to pay for all your sins?”
It always bothered me growing up that you’d read in the Gospels someone quoting the OT. Then you’d look up the verse in the OT and the quotation is, usually, never word-for-word. Isn’t this a problem? Doesn’t this bother God that this happens in His Bible? That’s not a perfect quotation from the OT. How can this be? My friends, Bryan Ross and David Reid, in their wonderful new book on Verbatim Identicality, made the point that even though there is not verbatim exactness in that OT quotation, the same thought is being conveyed. Even though we’re reading sometimes a big difference in wording.
You can say the same thing different ways.
God, in His genius, always knew that one can say the same thing different ways, and what He is concerned about is the correctness of the thought itself, not how perfectly you quoted a verse.
So, if I say to somebody, “Christ died on a cross to pay for all your sins,” and I say it in the right spirit, I absolutely believe the Holy Spirit would convict a person as much as me quoting a Bible verse. Now if you’re giving someone the Gospel, I think you should quote a verse or two. You should cite your source, because that gives weight to the power of the truth you’re sharing. And it shows that you know what you’re talking about.
God’s not concerned about verbatim identicality when you’re quoting a verse. God’s concerned about you understanding these Biblical truths, you comprehending the thought itself to a degree that you can articulate that truth accurately, in the right spirit, and with simplicity.
SUPPLY OF GRACE 
excellent article I would definitely recommend
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