Thursday, 21 May 2020 John 16:1-16
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. -John 16:13
Our Lord Jesus Christ in preparation to His leaving His disciples while He would go back to the Father after His ascension, spoke to them many things. The teaching on the Holy Spirit from chapters 14-16 of the Gospel of John- the third Person of the Triune God is of prime importance to every disciple of Jesus Christ.
In John 14:16 and 17, Jesus told His disciples, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” We are born of the Spirit when we become saved (John 3:8). He comes to take residence in every person when he receives Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour and Lord and is the One with whom we have been sealed until our final redemption in heaven- “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession…” (Eph.1:13,14).
To the unsaved, the Holy Spirit is the One who brings conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:9). Unless one is convicted by the Holy Spirit, he cannot repent of sin and come to God. One has to cooperate with the Holy Spirit when He convicts us of sin so that we can become righteous by the cleansing blood of Christ (1John 1:7-9) and we don’t have to face God’s judgment.
Once we are saved, we need to be constantly guided to live a life pleasing to God- this is the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer. He takes the role of :
Teacher (John 14:26)
Advocate/Counselor/Helper (John 14:26; 15:26)
Revealer of the things of God (John 16:13,14) (1Cor.2:10)
The key verse speaks of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth, who will guide us to all the truth—truths about God and His Word; truths the Lord taught His disciples while He was on the earth. In a world where truth itself is relative to many- be sure that the Spirit of God will guide us to all truth.
Many are confused in our world today being constantly being pulled into a whirlpool of fact and fiction. What is true today is thrown to the winds the next day with a new discovery of something else. Where does man run to when the benchmark or standards are constantly changing?
Remember friend, the facts in the Word of God do not change, though centuries old- it is reliable! When the Spirit of God who inspired the writers of this Book, helps us to understand its truths, we know it is dependable. It is sufficient to guide us in our day to day lives and affairs. The Holy Spirit interprets them to us when we prayerfully meditate on the Word each day! He is the best Teacher! He is the best Guide!
Brethren, may we learn to abide in the Spirit and learn the truths of God’s Word from Him- may we become sensitive to Him that He will counsel us, help us and reveal what God desires of us as we learn to lean on Him!
Meditate on: But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. -1 John 2:27 [NLT]
Listen: ‘Welcome Holy Spirit’