“…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Act 1: 8, HCSB
Thank You dear God, for Your leading in our lives. We pray that You will guide us into all truth as we study Your Word. For Christ’s sake; Amen
Today we will continue to look at the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of truth. If one of the main reasons the disciples would receive the Holy Spirit was for the purpose of witnessing, surely they needed to be rooted and grounded in the truth. The Holy Spirit would see to that. He would bear witness to the truth! “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from My Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning” (John 15: 26, 27).
What a powerful chain of operation! The Father, the Source of all truth, sends forth the Holy Spirit vested with truth. The Holy Spirit testifies of that truth to Christ’s disciples. Christ’s disciples in turn, go forth to bear their testimony of Christ to the world (If there was any group of people who could do that it should be His disciples.) They had been with Him from the start of His ministry. Now look at the powerful connection: Father – Holy Spirit – Disciples – World! All bearing witness of Jesus! Yes dear friends, when divinity and humanity join forces and work together, there is wonderful, life-producing power.
But it does not end there. Truth is not stagnant. It is progressive. The Holy Spirit would not only reveal some truth; He would guide them into all truth. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you” (John 16: 12-14). It is of vital importance for us, as Christians, not to close our hearts and minds to truth. There are elements of truth, that as young Christians some of us “cannot bear.” It would be too hard to receive. So as we mature, the Holy Spirit will shed light on truth we already know, but not fully. The danger here, is that many of us have a tendency to reject the unfamiliar. I should know; I was once there. We need not be fearful of allowing our minds to expand. If we are being led by the Holy Spirit, He will safeguard our minds from the deceptions of the evil one.
When people receive training in identifying counterfeits, their training does not consist of recognizing the false, but of knowing the genuine. At a glance they can identify an authentic one hundred dollar bill. So anything other than that is false. As Christians we must be able to recognize truth when we hear it, so that when we hear a falsehood, we will be on the alert, to reject it. God did not leave us at the mercy of the “father of lies,” He gave us the “Spirit of truth.” Therefore, let us pay heed to His “still small voice” (1 Kings 19: 12, 13).