The Spirit Of Truth

The Spirit of Truth

Read: John 14:16-18

“You know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

John 14:17

“We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart.”

—Blaise Pascal

IN WORD Jesus promises His disciples that they will be inhabited by His own Spirit. Such an extravagant promise should lead us to a very natural question, though many Christians never think to ask it: If His Spirit is in us, what will we be like? The answer is that we will be like Him.

How is it that many of us study the Holy Spirit in Scripture and never get around to relating the Spirit to the character of Christ? We look for signs of the clearly supernatural, and certainly they may be present. But above all of the highly visible manifestations of the Spirit is this more subtle supernatural work: The Holy Spirit makes us like Jesus. In our character and in our will, we grow to be like Him as the Spirit does His work.

This week we will examine this work of the Spirit— making us Christlike. And Jesus calls His Spirit “the Spirit of truth.” What does it mean for us that “truth” is part of one of His revealed names? It means that He will remind us of Jesus’ words, His teaching (14:26); He will guide us into all truth when we are confused and lack wisdom (16:13); and we ourselves will be known by our truthfulness, because He will infuse us with His pure, uncompromising nature.

IN DEED There are some things in life that we can only know by revelation. Human wisdom is not enough for our understanding of God or for our daily decisions. But God reveals Himself and His will to us. We are not limited by our finite thinking. He works His truth into our minds.

We are also stewards of truth. We cannot become casual in our portrayal of truth, whether in the minor details of life or the proclamation of the eternal gospel. We can’t fudge the facts a little to make ourselves look better or to get us out of difficult circumstances; and we can’t soften the truths of the gospel for a low-tolerance world. Those who are filled with His Spirit will be guided by—and always known for—uncompromising truth.