THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH
In these last days, the world is filled with darkness, evil, violence, lies, greed, jealousy, deception, traps, and fraud. Many people are searching for the truth, yet they are often blinded and misled by erroneous teachings arising from man-made religion, culture, tradition, human thought, wisdom, philosophy, and theology.
If created human beings rely entirely upon their own wisdom and knowledge, they cannot truly understand the things of God, His Word, and His truth.
Then, in an age when truth and falsehood are increasingly difficult to distinguish and spiritual deception abounds, what must a person do to escape lies and deception, receive the truth, and be guided into all truth?
1. When the Spirit of Truth Comes
John 16:13
“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 what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.”
From this Scripture, we see that it is the Spirit of truth who guides people into all truth. Then how can a person receive the Spirit of truth?
2. Jesus Opens the Mind to Understand the Scriptures
Luke 24:45
“Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”
Psalm 119:18
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.”
Luke 24:31–32
“Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’”
1 Corinthians 2:12–13
“What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. These are the things we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.”
Ephesians 1:17–18
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you and the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people.”
From these Scriptures, we see that a person cannot depend merely upon man-made religion, philosophy, culture, human thought, knowledge, wisdom, or theology to understand the Scriptures. We need Jesus to open our minds and the Spirit of truth to enlighten us and guide us into the truth of God’s Word.
3. The Lord Jesus Is the Truth
John 14:6
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
1 John 5:6
“And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.”
2 Corinthians 3:17
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
1 Corinthians 15:45
“So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.”
From these Scriptures, we see that the Lord Jesus is the truth, and the Spirit is the truth. Scripture declares, “The Lord is the Spirit,” and speaks of the last Adam—Christ—as “a life-giving spirit.”
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit cannot be separated from Christ dwelling within the believer. To receive the Spirit and to receive the life of Christ are inseparably connected in the believer’s experience of God’s life.
4. Jesus Sends the Spirit of Truth from the Father
John 15:26
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—He will testify about Me.”
John 14:16–18
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
John 14:20
“On that day you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.”
From these Scriptures, we see that the Lord Jesus sends the Advocate from the Father. This Advocate is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, and He comes to testify concerning Jesus.
Notice also the profound connection in Jesus’ words: He says that the Spirit of truth “will be in you,” and then immediately says, “I will come to you.” He further declares, “I am in you.”
5. The Indwelling of the Lord Jesus
John 14:21
“The one having My commands and keeping them is the one loving Me. The one loving Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
John 14:23
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves Me will obey My teaching. My Father will love them, and We will come to them and make Our home with them.”
From these Scriptures, we see the inseparable relationship between loving Christ, keeping His Word, and experiencing His indwelling presence.
If a person does not have the indwelling presence of the Lord Jesus, how can that person depend upon Christ to understand God’s Word and be guided into all truth?
When the Lord Jesus dwells within a person, that person no longer needs to rely solely upon human wisdom and understanding. Through the Lord’s indwelling presence and the work of the Spirit of truth, the believer can be enlightened to understand God’s Word, recognize sin, turn away from sin, walk in the light, walk with God, follow Jesus, and receive the eternal life that is in Him.
Conclusion
Truth does not originate from man-made religion, culture, tradition, human thought, wisdom, philosophy, or theology. The Lord Jesus is the truth, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. It is the Spirit of truth who guides people into all truth.
Therefore, if a person truly desires to know God and understand His Word, that person must come to the Lord Jesus, continue to love Him, hold fast to His commandments, and obey His Word.
When a person loves Jesus wholeheartedly and keeps His Word, Jesus promises that the Father will love that person and that “We will come to them and make Our home with them.” The Spirit of truth dwells within the believer, and Christ Himself declares, “I am in you.”
When the Lord Jesus dwells within a person, that person no longer depends merely upon human intelligence, knowledge, philosophy, religion, or theology to discern spiritual truth. Instead, through the illumination and guidance of the Spirit of truth, the believer can understand God’s Word, be guided into all truth, obey the will of God, and walk with God.
Therefore, the way into truth is not merely the accumulation of human knowledge; it is a life of abiding in Christ, loving Him, keeping His Word, and walking according to the Spirit of truth.
Jesus Christ is the truth.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth.
God’s Word is truth.
And the Spirit of truth guides us into all truth.
Therefore, let us continually come to Jesus, abide in Him, love Him, keep His commandments, and allow His Word to remain in us. As we walk in His light and follow Him faithfully, He leads us in the truth, gives us His life, and leads us toward the eternal kingdom of God.
