John 16:13-15 [Concerning the Spirit of Truth and the Purpose of Spiritual Gifts]

 

 

[Things to Meditate On]

1. The passage above is where Jesus, while having the Last Supper with His disciples, explained to the eleven disciples about "the Spirit of truth" who would come. Thus, Jesus told them beforehand about the Spirit of truth, so that they might know who the Holy Spirit, who would come upon them, is and what He would do. For us today also, the passage above must become a guideline, so that we do not believe every spirit in the world, but discern them and become people who fully receive and follow only the Spirit of truth.

 

1 John 4:1-6 "1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world..."

 

2. Through the words of John 16:13-15 above, we can think about the following questions.

 

a. The Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of truth" (verse 13) because He guides us into truth. Then what is "truth"?

b. What does it mean that "the Spirit of truth shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak" (verse 13)?

c. He said that He would show us things to come (verse 13). Then what are those things to come?

d. Jesus said, "He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (verse 14). Then ultimately, whose glory does the Spirit of truth reveal?

 

3. And we can find the answers through the following words.

 

a. "Truth" is "the word of God" (John 17:17). And "Jesus" is the One who came as "the word of God" made flesh (John 1:14). Therefore, "Jesus" is "the truth."

 

John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

 

Therefore, although there are diversities of gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), all works of the Holy Spirit must surely guide us into truth, that is, to Jesus. In other words, through the various works of the Holy Spirit, we must come to believe and obey the words of Jesus. Therefore, if there are only works of the Spirit, but no understanding of the words of Jesus and no obedience to those words, those works cannot truly be called the works of the Holy Spirit.

 

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 "9Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

 

b. That He does not speak of Himself means, literally, that the Spirit of truth is never One who speaks according to His own thoughts and will, but only speaks what He hears, that is, only what Jesus has spoken. Therefore, just because we have received the Holy Spirit, we cannot speak just anything. We must speak only the words of Jesus.

 

John 3:34 "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him."

 

c. Therefore, "things to come" does not mean future things outside the Bible, that is, things not written in Scripture. Rather, it means the things "written in the Bible"; in other words, He gives us meat, that is, the word, in due season, so that we may be prepared and made ready beforehand through the Bible.

 

Matthew 24:42-45 "42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?"

 

d. Thus, the Spirit of truth speaks only the things of Jesus, that is, only Jesus Himself. Therefore, He speaks only the words of Jesus, and so He can only reveal the glory of Jesus. The only One worthy to receive glory is Jesus alone. Therefore, all works of the Holy Spirit must never reveal man, but must wholly exalt and boast only in Jesus. These two things, revealing Jesus and revealing man, can never exist at the same time.

 

Romans 1:24-25 "24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen."

Revelation 5:11-12 "11And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing."

 

[Decision and Application]

The Spirit of truth distributes various gifts to each person according to His own will, that is, according to what is needed and for the glory of Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). Therefore, regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we have received, we must not say that one person is greater or another is lesser. Nor should we speak wrongly by emphasizing only one among the many gifts of the Holy Spirit, saying, for example, "If someone cannot speak in tongues, he has not received the Holy Spirit." In other words, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not given in order to exalt man, but are given according to need. Therefore, they may be present in one person and not in another. So we must not try to judge the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to human thoughts. Rather, remembering that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit exist for the glory of Jesus, whose body we are, it is important that we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to that purpose.

 

1 Corinthians 12:20-21, 25-27 "20But now are they many members, yet but one body. 21And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 25That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. 27Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular."

 

Now the words of John 16:13-15 above must serve as discernment for us today, just as they did for the eleven disciples of Jesus at that time, so that we may know who the Spirit of truth is and what He does. We must never forget that no gift of the Holy Spirit can ever depart from the words of Jesus, and that receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit is not the end. Rather, through the gifts of the Holy Spirit granted to us, all of us must enter "into truth." For this reason, since the Spirit of truth came so that we might believe in the truth, that is, Jesus, and abide in that truth, that is, in the words of Jesus, we must not regard visible signs, wonders, and miracles as the most important thing. Instead, we must regard as far more important the life of believing the words of Jesus and living through the name of Jesus (Colossians 3:17).

 

Mark 16:20 "And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following."

John 20:30-31 "30And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."

 

Amen.