Christ-like thinking about the Spirit
The upper room ministry of our Lord Jesus is a testament to His gracious care for His disciples. Truly, “having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” In those few hours, He poured into them—by word and deed—truth that would sustain them through the times ahead. He spoke of many topics, but one that stands out is His revelation of another Comforter: the Spirit of truth.
Ironically, there is a great deal of error current concerning the Spirit of truth. The Lord’s teaching in the upper room is the antidote. Unbelievers deny the Spirit’s personality or His deity, but Christ described the Holy Spirit as a real person, co-equal with Himself and with the Father. The unsaved, however, don’t have a monopoly on misconceptions about the Holy Spirit. And so we find that our Lord’s words also address mistakes about the Spirit that believers sometimes make.
Failing to distinguish between the Old and New Testaments
“The Spirit of truth…abides with you, and will be in you” (Jn. 14:17). The permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit was a privilege unknown to Old Testament believers (Ps. 51:11) but universal in the soon-to-be-born church. Much error concerning the Spirit today occurs when believers fail to note the differences between the testaments.
Focusing on the Holy Spirit
“The Spirit of truth…will bear witness of Me” (Jn. 15:26). Although it is possible to err on the other side and neglect the existence and work of the Holy Spirit, nonetheless a real danger exists in obsessing on Him. It is not difficult to find Christians who rave about the Spirit but have little or nothing to say of Christ, the cross, or the Bible. But the Lord Jesus taught that the characteristic ministry of the Holy Spirit would be to speak of Christ, not draw attention to Himself. True appreciation for the Spirit of God is manifested, not in endlessly speaking of Him, but in cooperating with Him in exalting Christ (cf. Jn. 16:14a).
Neglecting the Scriptures
“The Spirit of truth…will guide you into all the truth” (Jn. 16:13). The Spirit’s work is inseparably linked to the Word of God. He is essential to every aspect of the Bible, including its origin (2 Pet. 1:20f), its understanding (2 Cor. 1:10-16), and its ministry (1 Cor. 12:11). The word “inspiration” or “God-breathed” used in 2 Timothy 3:16 is closely related to the word for “Spirit.” We also see parallels between the Spirit and the Word of God. Pictures of one are often pictures of the other: for instance, water (Jn. 7:38f and Eph. 5:26) and fire (Rev. 4:5 and Jer. 23:29), and we read that they perform the same work. Believers are born again by the Spirit (Jn. 3:5-8) but also by the Word (1 Pet. 1:23); and, as other articles will point out, being filled with the Spirit yields the same results as being filled with the Word of Christ (Eph. 5:18ff and Col. 3:16ff). What does all this mean to us? Simply that the genuine evidence of the Spirit’s work among us is seen not by extra-biblical “revelation” or counter-biblical experiences, but by lives and churches where the Word of God is honored, taught, read, and obeyed. It is commonly held that a “Spirit-led” church meeting will be heavy on emotion and singing, with the ministry of the Word becoming increasingly short and shallow. Nothing could be further from the truth.