The Spirit of Truth

John 15:26 - 16:11 (ESV)

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.


Explanation:

I can’t think of a worse or more disappointing situation than when Jesus told the disciples that He was going to be leaving them. Their Savior, their Messiah, their teacher, their encourager, their comforter, was going to be leaving them. They must have felt overwhelmed, upset, and hopeless. And then to add to the confusion, we see in this passage that Jesus tells them it will be to their advantage that He goes away, and He is sending the Helper who will be the Spirit of Truth. I’m guessing that was a little bit of an encouragement, but I imagine it was still puzzling to them. With access to the Bible, we can understand that Jesus was talking about being crucified, resurrected, and then ascending into Heaven where He now sits at the right hand of God. He sent His Holy Spirit to live inside of those of us who have recognized Jesus as our Savior. While it must have been extremely sad for the disciples to physically lose the presence of Jesus in their lives, they also had the life changing experience of having the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, to live inside of them!

We too have that same opportunity to have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, guiding us in all truth, comforting us, encouraging us, convicting us, giving us wisdom, and sustaining us. The Holy Spirit is a GIFT to us!

I am in a season of life where I must rely on the Holy Spirit completely. My mom has been dealing with Alzheimer’s for about 8 years, and is at a stage where she needs complete care. My dad lovingly and devotedly is caring for all of her needs, but it is getting more and more difficult. My four siblings and our spouses are doing our best to help in any way that we can. All of us, however, including my dad, are navigating a situation we have never been in before while trying to process the sadness of watching my mom go through this terrible disease. I am daily asking the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom on what is the best way to care for my mom, comfort as we deal with the reality of her being able to function less and less, encouragement as we feel sad at watching her face this disease and the reality that she isn’t who she once was. The Holy Spirit has been and will continue to be faithful to give me (and us) everything we need. Unless God does a miracle (and I believe that He can!), my mom isn’t getting better this side of Heaven. BUT I know that the Holy Spirit will sustain us and be with us as we walk through this situation, and will do things in our hearts that we can’t imagine.


Application:

1.What area in your life do you need the Holy Spirit’s presence most right now (conviction of truth, wisdom, encouragement, comfort)?

2.If you haven’t yet, what is preventing you from inviting the Holy Spirit to live within you?


Prayer:

God, we can’t express to You the thankfulness that we have for Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for the gift of allowing us to have Your Spirit within us, teaching us, guiding us, encouraging us, comforting us. Help us to take advantage of this gift and to be perceptive to the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. Amen.