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Book of John • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsThe Spirit of Truth delivers the message of Christ.
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In the Upper Room, Jesus in the moments leading up to His arrest, gives extremely important instructions to His disciples. He encourages them to believe in Him, to love Him, and keep His commandments. He tells them that He will go and make preparations for them, then He will come again to take them to the place to which, He has prepared.
Christ our Lord comforts the disciples, regarding His departure, yet all the while He warns them that they would face adversity and persecution from those who hate Him. In spite of the difficult times ahead, Jesus promised them the gift of peace, the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension.
Jesus tells of the persecution to come as the result of following Him, however, He says to them, “let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. “I will not leave you as orphans,” Jesus assures them, “I will come to you.” (isn’t that just wonderful?)
Now Jesus also tells what will occur as the result of His departure. Not only has He gone to prepare a place for them, but He will speak to the Father on their behalf…He says...
John 14:16–17 (NASB95PARA)
16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
He promised the Comforter or Helper, that is, the Spirit of truth who would come to be with them forever. He would abide with AND in them forever.
What else would this Helper do? Lets read...
John 14:26 (NASB)
26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
Jesus promised, back in John 7, that those who believe in Him were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit of God had not yet been received because Jesus had not yet accomplished what He came to do. He would first be crucified, resurrected, and ascend glorified, to His rightful place in the kingdom of Heaven, then He would send the Holy Spirit to the thirsty.
37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’”
What Jesus is proclaiming here, is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. From the innermost part a thirsty soul, the Holy Spirit would become in them, a well that flows life giving, satisfying water without end.
The time has drawing near that the Lord would be taken into custody, and stand trial for the false accusations made against Him by the lying Jews. The disciples were fearful of the persecution that they themselves were about to face. Rather than rejoicing that the Lord was going to accomplish the glorious work that He came to do, sorrow had filled their hearts.
So Jesus says to them...
7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment;9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me;11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
There is a purposeful and practical advantage that the Holy Spirit should come. The presence of the Holy Spirit would prove beneficial in the lives of all who would believe in Christ. He would come along side the believer, He would indwell the believers innermost being, He would become a well of living water in them, He would comfort them, He would teach them, remind them, guide them, and protect them, and He would be with them forever and ever.
In addition to the benefits to the believer, the Holy Spirit would convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. Therefore, the sin loving world is without excuse. Men would prove to be lovers of self, more than lovers of God.
Now we arrive at our main text today, where Jesus assures His disciples...
12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.14 “He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you.
Now lets consider precisely what the Lord is saying here...
12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
Why could they not bear the things that Jesus could have said, at that moment?
First of all, the disciples were overcome by with their own sorrow of Jesus’ departure.
Secondly, the disciples did not yet understand the significance of the cross, the resurrection, and His ascension that would soon take place.
The disciples were not yet ready to hear the additional things that Jesus could tell them about, it would require spiritual knowledge of spiritual truths. Notice in this passage that the Holy Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit of truth.” The Spirit of truth had not yet come upon them.
This reminds me of the scripture where the psalmist David prays to the Lord for Guidance...
4 Make me know Thy ways, O Lord; Teach me Thy paths.5 Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, For Thou art the God of my salvation; For Thee I wait all the day.
We too ask the Lord to make us to know His ways, and teach us the way in which we should go. Not only teach us, but also to lead us in His truth, for it is HE that we seek to please.
The things that Jesus could tell the disciples, they were just not equipped to bear them or comprehend them. That, however, would not always be the case. There is One who would equip them to bear the spiritual truths that Jesus wanted them to know. The agent of Christ’s further revelation to His disciples would be the Spirit of truth.
13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
By the coming of the Holy Spirit, He would...
Be a Teacher and guide (them) into all the truth
God the Holy Spirit is infinitely qualified to reveal divine truth to mankind.
God the Holy Spirit is the author the word of God, from Genesis to Revelation. He inspired every infallible word written in the Bible, and it stands without error, why? Because God does not inspire error. The sixty-six books of the Bible is God’s complete and final revelation to mankind.
The main idea of the Spirit as guide to believers “in all the truth,” is primarily a reference to the writers of the New Testament, but it also extends in a secondary sense to His illuminating of scripture to the believer in the truth of scripture. The only way to get the right understanding of the scriptures is to have our hearts and minds prepared by and guided by the Holy Spirit as we seek God’s message to us in His Holy Word.
We rely upon God the Holy Spirit of truth to bring us the truth and convict us of the truth. To show us our desperate need to be right before Holy God. He reveals to our hearts what true righteousness is and shows us that, we DO NOT have it. He shows us that we need a righteousness that is not our own. He shows us that we must call upon the ONLY ONE who can Save and Forgive. To cause us to come to repentance.
The Spirit of truth is a Messenger, He would speak only the truth, just as He had heard from God the Father. And may I say that the unity of the Trinity exceeds all comprehension. As Jesus did not speak on His own initiative, the Holy Spirit would not speak on His own initiative, but only speak that which is the Will of the Father. Additionally, whatever the Holy Spirit speaks to man is consistent with God’s revealed will in the Bible. When He speaks, He speaks through the Scriptures that He inspired.
The Holy Spirit would reveal the things to come to the disciples, from the Day of Pentecost to the eternal perfect state of glory.
Jesus continues...
14 “He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you.
Jesus is telling us here, that the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit’s revelation, is to reveal the truth of Christ glory in His Holy Scriptures.
To truly believe the Scripture, the Holy Spirit must convince us that they are true and divine, therefore, the Holy Spirit does His divine work in the hearts and minds of men, to give certainty in the truth of the Bible and its revelation of Jesus Christ our Lord.
If we should believe in Christ, if we should believe in the Word of God, then you should know that, “believing” is the evidence that authenticates the work of the Holy Spirit of God in your life. You believe because it was He who opened your understanding to the truth.