6.  “I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6).  Those who use this to prove a special operation of the Spirit make it mean, “I have planted the word and Apollos has watered it, but God by a special work of the Holy Spirit makes the increase of the word.”  This is a false interpretation, as the apostle was not speaking of “the word” at all.  How could Apollos “water the word”?  The apostle was speaking of the congregation at Corinth, which he had planted and Apollos had tended, and which, under the care of God, had made increase.  There is nothing in the passage about the Holy Spirit.

7.  “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them that heard the word” (Acts 10:44).  This has reference to God’s signifying his acceptance of the Gentiles by an outpouring similar to the one on the day of Pentecost.  It was purely a supernatural act, and has never been repeated since that day.  But even then it would not prove the necessity of an operation of the Spirit, that men might hear the gospel and believe it.  The record says “it fell on all them that heard the word." Cornelius was told by the angel to send for Peter, “who shall tell thee words whereby thou shalt be saved.”

8.  “Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:  for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged.  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man” (1 Cor. 2:14, 15).  This is held to be one of the strongest passages to confirm the teaching of the necessity of a direct operation of the Holy Spirit to enable a man to hear and to believe the gospel.  A brief examination of the context will show that such an idea was not in the mind of the apostle at all.  The apostle is not even speaking of conversion when he uses the language.  He is speaking of inspiration.  The spiritual man in Paul’s mind was a man inspired by the Spirit, and the natural man was an uninspired man.  If the reader will turn to the ninth verse of the chapter and read to the conclusion of the chapter, and place “uninspired” where he finds “natural,” and “inspired” where “spiritual” is found, the passage will be as clear as a sunbeam.  “The things of the Spirit” are things produced by the Spirit, which needed an inspired man to explain.  The day of Pentecost was a “thing of the Spirit,” and there was not an uninspired man in all that great throng that could understand it.  The best solution they could give was, “These men are drunk,” but Peter, an inspired man, explained in inspired language that “this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel:  It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh.”  When these natural (uninspired) men heard Peter’s (inspired) spiritual explanation, they could understand it.  They did understand it and obeyed it to the number of three thousand.  Nebuchadnezzar’s vision was a “thing of the Spirit,” and there was not a natural (uninspired) man in all his realm that could interpret it.  But Daniel, a spiritual (inspired) man, explained it in spiritual language and then all could understand it.  There is nothing in the passage to support the theory of a direct operation to enable man to understand the gospel.