Seeking the Spirit of the Kingdom, chapter five
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CHAPTER 5
THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH
THE AUTHOR OF SCRIPTURE
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| Chapter 5 is taken from this book |
When
the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews cites a portion of the Scripture, he
does not attribute it to a prophet, or the Psalmist, or any other human
personality, but directly to the Holy Spirit. For example, referring to Psalm
95:7-8, he says, “Therefore, just as the
Holy Spirit says, ‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb.
3:7-8).
In
Hebrews 9:8, he shows that it is the Holy Spirit who is teaching about the Holy
of Holies, mentioning that only the high priest could enter there and only once
a year: “The Holy Spirit is
signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed.”
For
the third time, in Hebrews 10:15-17 he cites Jeremiah 31:33-34, attributing
directly to the Holy Spirit, that which is written in the Old Testament: “The Holy Spirit also testifies to us;
for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those
days, says the Lord: I will put my laws upon their heart, and on their mind I
will write them,’ He then says, ‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will
remember no more.’”
Obviously,
the Holy Spirit still teaches us from the Old Testament: “For whatever was written in earlier times
was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the
encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). The
events of the Old Testament also are used by the Holy Spirit to teach us. These things happened to them as an example,
and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the age have
come” (1 Cor. 10:11).
It
is not difficult to prove that the Old Testament was written to the generations
under the New Testament, even more so than to those under the Old. For example,
Abraham only had at his disposal the story of creation, the flood and a few
other details, which we have now recorded in eleven chapters of the book of
Genesis. David never read the books of the major and minor prophets. Isaiah did
not read about the return of the children of Israel to their land and about the
rebuilding of the walls and the temple in Jerusalem. We have the complete Old
Testament only 400 years before Christ. Many of the prophecies and symbolism
given in the old Scriptures did not have true meaning until Jesus came.
The
Bible is a unique and sure work without an error, given by God from His throne
room in heaven. “All Scripture is
inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for
training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). God did not choose to give us
His word verbally, because in that way men would have easily erred in their
intent to transmit it from one person to another. For this reason, it was
recorded in writing to be faithfully preserved forever. None of it originated
in the heart of man, who was only the channel, through which this Word flowed.
God
has kept it supremely pure, so that nothing of man or devil should enter, and
He warned us that nothing should be added or taken away. “You shall not add to the word which I am
commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of
the Lord your God which I command you” (Deut. 4:2; 12:32). In the wisdom
of God, Agur cautioned, “Every word of
God is tested… Do not add to His words or He will reprove you, and you will be
proved a liar” (Prov. 30:5, 6). When we come to the end of divine
revelation, as He concludes His special, unique book, God gives one final
warning: “I testify to everyone who
hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will
add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away
from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from
the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book” (Rev.
22:18-19).
Nevertheless,
some perverse men have done it, exalting their own words to the same level as
the Bible, deceiving millions of followers in this way. The Book of Mormon,
written by Joseph Smith, the found of the Church of the Latter Day Saints is a
good example. Many others, with a purpose towards arriving at their own goals,
have dared to interpret the Bible in their own way. However, the Holy Spirit,
who knew beforehand of these attempts, gave notice through Peter: “Know this first of all, that no prophecy of
Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever
made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2
Pet. 1:20-21).
Paul
gave much attention to the following generation, so that Christian teaching
would not fall into the hands of inexpert teachers. “An overseer (elder, pastor), then, must be… able to teach… and not a new convert, so that he will
not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil” (1
Tim. 3:2, 6). Timothy, to whom Paul is writing, was a young man, but he had had
much contact with the Scripture, because his grandmother and mother were
Christians. “From childhood you have
known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15). Added
to this, Paul instructed him not to be careless with his ministry, but to stay
faithful to teaching and take advantage of that which God had provided: Give attention to the public reading of
Scripture… Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in
these things” (1 Tim. 4:13, 16).
OUR TEACHER
We
dedicated our study from the epistle to the Galatians primarily to see the
obstacles that can keep us from our intention to walk in the Spirit. We saw enemies
that we will meet along the way. Now, we begin a serious search towards the
person and the work of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing in the first place a
paramount attribute – the truth. For that reason, this third volume of
“Seek the Kingdom of God” is vitally connected with the second. It is
impossible to seek the truth of the Kingdom without the guidance of the
Spirit of the Kingdom. He inspired men to write the Word and he must
inspire our hearts to enable us to understand it and to know what was in His
mind, when He first gave it to us.
I
have observed that when a teacher gives studies on the theme of the Holy
Spirit, he usually will go directly to the book of Acts. This book, more than
any other in the Bible, demonstrates the work of the Spirit, so that the
listener can be informed, concerning the magnificent deeds that He can do.
However, if he only hears of the deeds, he will not be instructed in the
foundation, upon which these acts of the Spirit are built. For the most part,
he will not know the reason and purpose behind the works.
On
the night of the Passover, in which He was surrendered into the hands of the
Jews to be judged, Jesus gave His disciples ample teaching about the Spirit; it
covers chapters 14 through 16 of the Gospel of John. In the teaching, He called
Him the Spirit of Truth: “I will
ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you
forever; that is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive (14:16-17)…
When the Helper comes, whom I will send
to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from
the Father, He will testify about Me… (15:26)…When He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all
the truth…” (16:13). The Holy Spirit is a teacher and His subject is
truth. His textbook is the Bible, of which He is the author. “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). We
have commented earlier that when a person is preoccupied with truth, that
truth will lead him to Christ. For that reason, many times, as the first step,
the Spirit impresses people to read the Bible, before they are convinced of the
gospel or know how to receive Christ into their life. Jesus said to the Jews
that by searching the Scriptures they could be brought to His person, in order
to receive eternal life. “It is these
that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have
life” (John 5:39-40).
The
Spirit of God works in favor of and by means of pure truth. He does nothing
that is questionable or deceitful and we can be sure that any manner or method
that exaggerates or lies in the slightest degree does not proceed from Him.
Since we are looking to function in the Kingdom of God and walk in the Spirit,
we ought to know that one of the primary characteristics of an atmosphere
filled with the Spirit of the Kingdom is that of absolute honesty.
Because
it is impossible to learn the truth of the Kingdom and live by it without the
Spirit, Christ guaranteed His disciples that He would not leave them alone in
this world. “I will ask the Father, and
He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the
Spirit of truth… I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John
14:16-18). Since they are members of God’s family, He assures them that, as His
children, He will not abandon them in the world, but a Person of deity Himself
would be with them and in them. A Christian can never conduct himself
independently, but everything that God commands him to do or speak, he must do
always with his hand placed in the hand of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus said
that He would be with us forever, He was including the 21st Century. When He prayed for His disciples, He
prayed also for us: “I do not ask on
behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word”
(John 17:20).
The
Holy Spirit continues the work of discipleship in the followers of Jesus and no
man can disciple others effectively without His presence and direction,. “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name, He will teach you all things” (John 14:26). He
enrolls every disciple into His school individually. Charles Spurgeon compared
discipleship with a garden that the Lord Himself tends and said that it is sown
with knowledge. The seed is the word of God and without that seed there can
never be any hope for fruit. He also added that the garden is watered by love
and the weeds are rooted out by the Lord’s discipline. Love and discipline are
inseparable. As we have said, the Bible is the basis of knowledge, but God’s
Spirit also teaches us through experiences in life, many of which are difficult
and severe.
“You have no need for anyone to teach you; but as
His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and
just as it has taught you, you abide in Him” (1
John 2:27). There are people with very good intentions, but with poor
understanding, who often interrupt the classes, offering carnal help and
causing the student to leave the classroom, the very situation, into which the
Spirit has placed him. The consequence in the end is that, instead of
cooperating with God, they oppose His purposes. There is a tendency to create
certain types of green houses, artificial atmospheres, to protect people from
the necessary elements that will strengthen them and make them resistant
against the temptations and wiles of the enemy. In that condition, they seem to
grow rapidly, but in fact they are weak and any small wind will bend them.
Jesus prayed to the Father, “I do not
ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one” (John
17:15). The Holy Spirit not only keeps His own, but utilizes the storms of this
world to teach and discipline them.
In
John 15:26, Jesus said that “the Spirit
of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about me.” The Holy
Spirit does not have anything strange or new to teach. Many times, I have heard
fanatical teaching about the person and work of the Holy Spirit, but I fear
that they speak more of experiences than that, which is founded in the word.
They present the Spirit as an extremist, who does very strange things. John
Wesley declared, “All new teaching is false teaching.” Yes sir, very well said
and very true. The Father gave us the foundation of truth in the book of
Genesis, as He began to teach His ways, purposes and plan, and continued to
develop it throughout the Old Testament. God’s Spirit builds upon this
foundation. He proceeds from the Father and never contradicts His word in the
least; in fact, everything He does is in accordance with the plan of the Father.
His teaching proceeds from the Old Testament and then gives testimony of the
Son of God. His doctrine confirms the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels.
He
points His finger towards Jesus, reveals who He is and impresses us to fix our
eyes on Him. He has nothing new to teach. Everything that He opens to us has
already been discovered by the saints of all ages in the church.
Jesus
confirms this in the following chapter, verse 13: “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the
truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He
will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” The Spirit of
Truth will conduct us towards the complete revelation of all that God wants to
teach us. Remember, He is the author of the Scriptures and the only one capable
of giving us understanding of all it teaches us, but He will not add anything
on His own account. I have to emphasize it – He will not include anything new,
apart from that which is already written. Do not wait for anything distinct
from that which already has been placed in our hands. He makes clear and
interprets, when it is necessary, and in many forms guides us to eternal truth.
The truth is very old, but not at all out-of-date or obsolete.
The
verse tells us that also He will teach prophecy. Many are afraid of the
prophetic word, but that is a great part of Scripture. Jesus came in
fulfillment of more or less 300 distinct details that had been prophesied in
the Old Testament. Simeon, influenced by the Spirit, and Anna, the prophetess,
along with others, were awaiting His coming, having been advised by the
prophecies. The Spirit of God helped them to know the things that were to come.
He will guide the church through the written prophecies into the events that
will take place in our times. Anyone who is filled with the Spirit will be
conscious of the days, in which he is living. He will not be in darkness, “that the day would overtake you like a
thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor
of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and
sober” (1 Thess. 5:4-6). We ought to be very awake to the events of the
day, searching the Bible, so that the Spirit can prepare us for that, which is
to come. Jesus promised that He would cause us to know all these things.
Above
all, by means of the Holy Spirit and only by Him, can we live a life that
glorifies Christ: “He will glorify Me,
for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you” (John 16:14). It
is the Holy Spirit that breaks the egotistical nature, manifested in every
human being, who has not been born again. The unconverted does not know what it
means to live totally for someone else and cannot understand those who
demonstrate that attitude. Fallen nature always seeks it own well-being. When I
hear a preacher teaching his listeners about getting all they can of riches and
things of earth, seeking God for the benefits that can be obtained, I know that
he is not dealing with the new creature, but is only feeding old Adam. The Holy
Spirit teaches us not to be egotists, but to live for Him, who loved us and
gave Himself for us. The Christian, full of the Spirit, with a passion that the
egotist cannot imagine, surrenders his life to glorify Christ. The love of God
is poured into his heart by the Spirit that proceeds from the Father, takes the
things of the Son and makes them known to us.
Before
everything else in the Kingdom of God, we must be united to the Spirit, because
in order to function in it, we must know how to walk in the truth. He is our
teacher. We must be very much into the Bible and trust its author to teach us
the things that we cannot understand by our natural faculties. George Mueller,
who cared for 2,000 orphans, read his Bible on his knees completely forty-four
times. As he did, so we must be in the habit of praying with the Bible open
before us. Jesus emphasized, in order to teach us that the Holy Spirit would
not leave us orphaned and exposed to all the deceit of the enemy, that He is
the Spirit of Truth. He is the author and teacher of the Scriptures, the only
one capable of giving us understanding concerning His word.
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