The Gospel of John: John 16.1-15

Read and meditate on John 16.12, 13.
The Spirit convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment so that He might the more effectively guide us into all the truth of God.

                ¹²“I have more to say to you,
but you cannot receive it now. ¹³When He,
the Spirit of all truth is come, then He
will guide you into truth, for on His own
authority He will not speak alone;
but what He hears, this He will speak and He,
will tell you things to come.’”

- John 16.12, 13

Reflect
1.  Jesus told His disciples He had more to say to them. If Acts 1.3 is any indication of the focus of this future instruction, what seems to have been of primary concern to Jesus? Why? Why could they not “bear” those things at that time? Can we “bear” them now? Explain. Complete this prayer: Lord, You have commanded us to seek Your Kingdom as our highest priority in all things, and this means…

2.  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, to guide us into all truth. The opposite of truth is, of course, the lie. Meditate on Psalm 12 and Romans 1.18-32. Summarize the nature of the lie. How does this help us in understanding the truth? How does it help us in recognizing when we might be drifting into the lie? Lead me into all truth today, Holy Spirit, as I…

3.  The Holy Spirit will guide, speak, and tell us the truth He hears from Jesus. Each of those verbs is significant in helping us understand how we learn the truth of God. What does each suggest? What do they all together commend as a program for learning the truth? I want You to teach me the truth, Holy Spirit, so I…

4.  The truth the Holy Spirit teaches relates to Jesus and His authority. The Spirit has no authority of His own, as, for example, to magnify Himself in some way. Rather, all His teaching – all the truth He speaks and tells us, and into which He guides us – is about Jesus (cf. vv. 14, 15). All truth, therefore, resolves into Jesus, Who is truth (Jn. 14.6). What are the implications of this for our calling as disciples? For whatever we may wish to learn in life? Increase in me, Lord Jesus, as I learn Your truth, and let me…

5. Jesus said the Spirit will tell us “things to come.” Does this mean that Christians should expect to gain some special insight to world events, or people’s lives? Meditate on Acts 1.7 and Revelation 1.1. How do these counsel us in thinking about “things to come”? While we cannot know all the details about things to come, we can know some things. Explain. Bring together into one your prayers from questions 1-4.

Summary
“The Lord sent the Paraclete because, since human weakness could not receive everything at once, it might gradually be directed and regulated and brought to perfection of discipline by the Lord’s vicar, the Holy Spirit.… And so, he declared the work of the Spirit. This, then, is the Paraclete’s guiding office: the direction of discipline, the revelation of the Scriptures, the reforming of the intellect and the progress in us toward ‘better things.’” Tertullian of Carthage (155-250 AD)

We cannot be disciples of Jesus unless we have the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit can teach us what we need to know, empower us to live as witnesses, and bring forth in us fruit and gifts for ministry. What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? How can we know when we are filled with Him (Eph. 5.18-21)?

Closing Prayer
Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

Psalm 37.3-6

Psalm 37.1-6(Neumark: If Thou but Suffer God to Guide Thee)
Let not the wicked make you worry;
Envy not those who break God’s Word.
Like dying grass will they be sorry,
And fade like every dying herb.
Trust in the Lord and do His will;
Dwell in His grace, be faithful still.

Delight yourself in God’s salvation;
He’ll give you all your heart’s desire.
Commit to Him your every station,
And His good purpose will transpire.
Your righteousness a blazing light
He will bring forth against the night.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.