Whenever Jesus Christ is
exalted the Third Person of the Trinity is at work.
The Bible emphasizes different activities for each
of the three members of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit
is the Spirit of truth and He always points us in
the direction of the way, and the truth, and the
life.
Jesus told His disciples, “I
will ask the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the
Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you
know Him because He abides with you, and will be in
you” (John 14:16-17).
It is through the person and
work of Jesus Christ that we know the truth and are
set free (John 8:32). Jesus declared, “I am the way,
and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the
Father, but through Me” (14:6). A couple of verses
later He said to Philip, “He who has seen Me has
seen the Father” (v. 9).
Moreover, the Holy Spirit is
the “Spirit of truth.” He is the Spirit of Christ
who is the truth. He exalts the truth and glorifies
Christ.
The Holy Spirit does not speak
of Himself, but always of Jesus. Anything that
detracts from the person and work of Jesus Christ is
not the activity of the Holy Spirit. He will never
preempt the place of Christ in our thinking. He will
always exalt our Lord. He comes along side us to
guide us into the truth about God the Father and the
Son.
The “Spirit of truth” opens our
blind eyes so the unregenerate heart can see the
truth. He un fogs the cloudy mind so that it can
understand the truth. He prods the stubborn will so
that it responds in full commitment to the truth.
Can a person by searching find
out God? The answer is no because he is dead in
trespasses and sins, and blind spiritually. God
takes the initiative. God has chosen to reveal
Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, and the
Spirit of truth accurately retained and revealed
that true revelation from God in the God-breathed
Scriptures. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth,
guided over the preservation of His revelation in
the Bible. Without such special self-revelation of
God to men guided along by the Holy Spirit we would
know absolutely nothing about God’s moral
attributes.
The Spirit of truth “breathed
the breath of God” into His Book and made it the
Book of truth (2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The Holy Spirit of truth
reveals the truth about God, man, sin, judgment,
atonement, salvation, eternal life, etc. This
special revelation is the work of the Spirit of
truth. Without this special revelation we are
helpless in knowing God.
The Spirit of truth will reveal
nothing but the truth about God. He never
contradicts revealed truth in His Word, the Bible.
After forty years of scholarly study of His Word I
have yet to find a contradiction in the Bible. It
contradicts human reason and that is the problem. It
always proves God to be true and every man a liar.
The supreme ministry of the
Holy Spirit is to reveal the Father and the Son. He
reveals God in all His glory as the only one living
and true God. He reveals in His Word the great
mystery of the Godhead, the three in One—the Father,
the Son of God and the Holy Spirit who are the same
in substance, equal in power and glory.
He is the Agent of the Godhead
who reveals what God is like in His saving grace.
The Holy Spirit guides us in
the realization that it is in Jesus Christ that God
the Father is seen and known (John 1:18). The Holy
Spirit glorifies the Son so that we may know the
Father. He reveals to us the Father in the Son. The
Spirit of truth reveals to every seeker of the truth
the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and
everyone who believes on Him has eternal life
(20:31). He prepares our minds to accept this truth.
“When the Counselor comes . . .
He will testify about Me” (15:26). “I have much more
to say to you, more than you can bear. But when He,
the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into
all truth” (16:12-13).
The Spirit of truth teaches us
about the Lord Jesus in the Scriptures.
The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus
Christ by drawing sinners to Him for forgiveness. He
causes us to be born again.
The Holy Spirit works in the
life of the Christian by reproducing Christ-likeness
in us. He intercedes on our behalf within our
hearts, as Christ intercedes on our behalf before
the Father in heaven (Rom. 8:26, 33-34).
The Spirit of truth leads and
guides us into a deeper understanding of the person
and work of Jesus Christ so that we can be better
witness of Him.
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author's written consent.
Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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