John 16:13 - The Holy Spirit Will Guide Us Into All Truth.
John 16:13 (NIV) But when he, the Spirit of
truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He
will not speak on his own; he will speak only
what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet
to come.
John 16:13 (AMP) But when He, the Spirit of
Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will
guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full
Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on
His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He
hears [from the Father; He will give the message
that has been given to Him], and He will announce
and declare to you the things that are to come
[that will happen in the future].
INTRODUCTION
The Holy Spirit revealed truths to the
disciples that they wrote down in the books that now
form the New Testament. [Life Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Heavenly Eye Salve
"By what authority are You doing these
things?" (Matthew 21:23). The chief priests and
elders were enraged at Jesus. He had rebuked them
publicly and driven their unholy traffic out of the
temple. He had not only contradicted their teaching,
but He was teaching the people Himself with
great authority. Jesus' learning did not take
place under their guidance, and this offended
them.
In response, Jesus reminded them of John
the Baptist. All had acknowledged John to be a
prophet, but he had never entered the schools of the
rabbis, nor had he been ordained by the Sanhedrin,
yet he spoke with authority as a mouthpiece for
God. Both John and Jesus had tremendous wisdom,
but if they hadn't learned it from men, from
where did it come?
Of the things of God, the Scripture says,
"God has revealed them to us through His Spirit"
(1 Corinthians 2:10). The Spirit of God is
promised to every believer (Luke 11:13). If we
prayerfully search the Scriptures, we also shall be
taught of God (Isaiah 54:13; Luke 24:45).
It simply isn't safe to trust in our
judgment (Proverbs 27:17). Even so, while we ought to
gather wisdom from those around us, we must never
neglect to be like the Bereans, who "searched the
Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were
so" (Acts 17:11).
Take your stand on the Word of God. Ask
for the guidance of His Spirit. He promises to
guide you safely through the myriad deceptions of
this broken world.
Father God, please open my eyes to see
clearly and to know the truth that will set me free.
[The Most Amazing Bible Promises by Amazing
Facts]
COMMENTARY
Teacher And Guide
The moment you receive Jesus Christ as
Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit takes up residence
in your heart. Right now He lives within you!
The Bible says, "If anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Rom. 8:9).
The Holy Spirit helps us in life's
struggles, and we must never forget that. But the Holy
Spirit also plays two other important roles we must
not overlook.
First, He convicts us of sin. The Bible
says, "He will convict the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8).
While this verse focuses on His
convicting power among unbelievers, the Holy Spirit
also convicts believers when we sin.
The second role of the Holy Spirit is as
Teacher. The Bible says, "He will guide you into all
truth." Just as surely as the Holy Spirit inspired
the writers of the Bible, so He will instruct us
as we meditate on God's Word.
Are you a willing student of the Holy
Spirit? [Hope for Each Day by Billy Graham]
What You Need to Know and Where You Need to
Go
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he
promised his followers hed send a helper, the Holy
Spirit. This helper would always stay with Gods
people - and that includes you and me!
The Holy Spirit fulfills many roles,
including telling you what you need to know and
revealing where you need to go.
The Holy Spirit teaches you a lot of the
big things that you need to know in life - like
letting you know whats true and whats not.
He also gives you insight moment by
moment. As you learn to let the Spirit lead you, he
tells you what you need to know just as you need
it.
Have you ever read a Bible verse one
morning and then, a few hours later, recalled that
verse at a moment when you really needed it? That
was the Holy Spirit.
The Bible says in John 16:13, When the
Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all
truth (NCV).
Sometimes God does this for your benefit.
But sometimes he does it for someone elses
benefit. God lets you share the truth hes shown
you.
Gods Spirit will also help you get
where you need to go.
Has God put a dream in your heart that
you could never achieve on your own? If you let
the Holy Spirit guide you, you will go to places
you never imagined.
The Bible is full of examples of people
who followed Gods guidance.
Luke 2:27 says, The Spirit led Simeon
to the Temple (NCV). When Simeon arrived at
the temple that day, he had the highest
privilege: He dedicated the baby Jesus to God.
In the book of Acts we encounter the
story of another person who obeyed Gods Spirit.
A man named Philip was walking down a dusty
road one day when an Ethiopian leader rode by in
a chariot. Acts 8:29 says, The Spirit said
to
Philip, Go over and join this
chariot (ESV).
Philip obeyed the Spirit and found the
man reading in the book of Isaiah about the
Messiah. Philip told him that the Messiah had come.
The man immediately asked to be baptized, and he
took Christianity with him back to Ethiopia.
Because Philip listened to the Holy
Spirits nudge, he got to be part of Gods work.
When you listen to Gods Spirit, hell let
you in on his work, too.
If Simeon and Philip hadnt listened,
they would have missed what God was calling them
to do. And if you dont learn to listen to
God, youll also miss things.
When you listen and follow the Holy
Spirits direction, youll find your faith
increasing because youll consistently see God at
work in your life. Youll learn you can count
on him to tell you what you need to know and
show you where you need to go. [Daily Devotional
by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
ILLUSTRATION
The Truth About Truth
Chloe stared. Her mouth hung open. She
had babysat the Miller kids before, and nothing
had ever gone wrong. But after leaving the older
two Miller children in the living room to check
on the baby, Chloe returned to find the
family's huge rubber tree lying in the middle of the
white carpet. Dirt was everywhere.
What happened?!" Chloe said, trying not
to shout.
"Well," little Jack said. "A gorilla just
burst into the living room and he didn't like that
plant."
Do you think Jack was telling the truth?
Some people will argue there is no real truth.
What's true for one person may not be true for
another. But professor and author Paul Copan says
there is absolute truth. "People instinctively
understand that truth is a belief, story, ideal, or
statement that matches up with reality or corresponds
to the way things really are," he explains.
According to that definition, Jack probably wasn't
telling the truth - unless he lived at a zoo or in
western Africa.
Some people don't like the truth, because
it limits what they're able to do. They define
truth as what makes them feel good. But that's not
what the Bible says. All truth is God's truth. In
John 16:13 Jesus says a helper will come to guide
us to the truth. As followers of Christ, we
have the Holy Spirit to help us discern what is
true. When we hear somebody telling a lie - or
when we tell one ourselves - we can feel in our
gut that it's wrong. The same thing is true when
we're reading a book, surfing the Internet, or
studying a textbook. The truth jumps out at us.
We can know what is true, because we know
the Truth (John 14:6). But that doesn't mean
people who don't believe the Bible are totally in
the dark. Even if two people don't share all the
same beliefs, they can still agree on some
truths. And once you find a point of agreement with
someone, you may be able to help lead them to the
ultimate truth of Jesus Christ. [Case For Christ For
Kids by Les Strobel]
CLOSING THOUGHT
A Guide For The Way
Guide me today, Holy Spirit. Show me
where you want me to go, whom you want me to talk
to, what decision you want me to make. Help me
discern your voice over my own and others'. Walk
closely with me and whisper truth to me. Forgive me
when I listen to my own desires and ignore what
you are telling me.
God, I'm so grateful you sent your Spirit
to empower me. Thank you for speaking to me and
working in me. Stay near to me and help me hear your
voice.
Father, you are good - so good that you
did not leave us alone on this earth. You left
us your Spirit to guide us. Because of your
Spirit, I never have to feel alone or afraid. You
are with me always. Amen. [You Can Count On God
by Max Lucado]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
John 14:26 - Gift of the Holy Spirit in a
Nutshell.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20231011-0927.html
John 14:6 - NOW IS THE TIME!
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230228-0657.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
