Is this the teaching of the Word itself? Let us see. In John vi. 63, Jesus says: _"The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life."_ In Romans i. 16, Paul says of the Gospel: _"It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth."_ Heb. iv. 12: _"For the word of God is quick_ (living) _and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword."_ 1 Peter i. 23: _"Born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever."_ James i. 21: _"Receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls."_ It is clear, therefore, that the Word does claim for itself virtue, life, power, and effectiveness. But does it claim to be the Spirit's means and instrument, by and through which He operates? In 2 Cor. iii. 8, it is called a "_ministration of the Spirit_." In Eph. vi. 17, Paul calls it the "_sword of the Spirit_." We learn the same truth from the fact that the same effects are ascribed indiscriminately to the Spirit and the Word, showing clearly that where one is, there the other is also, and that one acts through the other. Thus the divine _call_ is ascribed in one place to the Spirit, and in another to the Word. Rev. xxii. 17. _"The Spirit ... says come."_ In the parables, Christ's ministers, preaching the Word, say: _"Come, for all things are ready."_ In like manner, _enlightening_, or teaching, is ascribed to both. John xiv. 26, Jesus says of the Spirit: "_He shall teach you all things_;" chapter xvi. 13, "_He shall guide you into all truth_." He is called a "_spirit of wisdom_"--a "_spirit of light_." On the other hand, the Word is called a "_Word of wisdom_;" also, Ps. cxix. 130: "_The entrance of thy Words giveth light_;" 2 Tim. iii. 15: The Scriptures are said to be "_able to make wise unto salvation_;" 2 Pet. i. 19: It is as "_a light that shineth in a dark place_." So, also, regeneration is ascribed to both. John iii. 5: "_Born of water and of the Spirit_:" verse 6: "_That which is born of the Spirit is spirit_;" verse 8: "_So is every one that is born of the Spirit_:" 1 John v. 4: "_For whatsoever is born of God_ (_i.e._, of God's Spirit) _overcometh the world_." But of the divine Word it is said, 1 Pet. i. 23, "_Born again ... by the Word of God_;" James i. 18: "_Of his own will begat he us, with the Word of truth_." In like manner, _sanctification_ is ascribed to both. John xvii. 17: "_Sanctify them through thy truth: thy Word is truth_;" but 1 Cor. vi. 11, "_Ye are sanctified ... by the Spirit of our God_."