“The Ministry of the Holy Spirit, Part 2” (John 16:12–15)

Series: “John: Life in Christ’s Name”Text: John 16:12–15

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: September 15, 2024

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: AM Service

Introduction

The Bible is a treasure for all believers, not simply a collection of writings by religious men throughout history. It is the very Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, who moved people to communicate God’s eternal message. Holy Scripture reveals truth about God, salvation, and life through the work of the Holy Spirit, guiding us in every generation.

We’ve been talking about the importance of Jesus’s departure. He said in v. 7, “But 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.” Last week we began to consider what a blessing He would be, not just so those who reject Christ could know the truth, but also because of how He comforts believers. Because of the Holy Spirit, we have the completion of Holy Scripture, and we have His ongoing work available to us.

We need the Holy Spirit. We see three reasons why we need the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit first because we know truth through Him. Second, we need the Holy Spirit because we know Christ through Him. Third, we need the Holy Spirit because we know God’s ways through Him.

First, We Know Truth through the Holy Spirit (vv. 12–13)

I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But 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.

Jesus had so much more to reveal to His disciples, but they weren’t ready for it. He says, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” Their minds were preoccupied with their own concerns — their present sorrow over Jesus’s departure, and their ongoing desire to be the greatest in the kingdom. They weren’t prepared to hear the deeper truths about Christ’s death, resurrection, and the life to come.

Their hearts needed the transformation that only the Holy Spirit could provide. The good news for their current state is that the Spirit of truth would come later and give them what they cannot currently bear! Jesus says in v. 13 that the Spirit is coming, again affirming the blessings which will befall them at Pentecost.

Of course, Jesus is talking about the “Spirit of truth.” Jesus mentioned this specific designation for the Holy Spirit in John 14:17, making this an important repetition to communicate the truthfulness of His nature. There are false spirits in this world willing to whisper deceptions in our ears, sometimes tapped into through new age and pagan practices, but this is the Spirit we want if we desire spiritual truth.

It is the Spirit of truth that Jesus says will guide us into truth. To be clear, this is a promise for all the disciples of Christ. In the original language, Jesus says “y’all,” not just “you” singular. We tend to have an individualistic view of Christianity, where we think it’s just about “me and Jesus,” but it’s more accurately “us and Jesus,” as He has called us to be a single body. People tend to think there’s no problem deciding to be in church, skipping church, changing churches, or just dropping out of church all together, using this individualistic view as justification to cut themselves off from the Spirit’s wider work. Just as the finger would be foolish to say, “I have the blood, so I can leave the hand!”, it would be foolish to say, “I have the Spirit and truth, so I don’t need any particular church.” The Holy Spirit works through the body, not simply in individual believers. See yourself as part of the y’all rather than a single “you.”

Moreover, it’s important to know that, when Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit guiding believers into “all truth,” He’s not referring to every kind of knowledge but to specific truth about Christ and His redemptive work. Some wonder if the Holy Spirit reveals new truth to believers today. It’s fitting to note that even the continuationist D. A. Carson said, “The question of the possibility of continued ‘revelation’ amongst Jesus’ disciples after the eyewitnesses have passed from the scene is not here directly addressed.” This is not the passage to turn to if you want to prove that the Holy Spirit is still speaking prophetically to Christians, and according to 1 Corinthians 12:29, not everyone is a prophet. We can’t say “we have the Holy Spirit, and that is enough;” we need Scripture and the body of Christ.

So, how does the Spirit lead disciples into truth? The apostles are the first order of fulfillment for this question. They certainly would receive revelation as they needed to complete Scripture or know God’s next plan for laying the foundation of the church. They would know the truth of God and even the future at times (“what is to come,” v. 13). He will bring things to their remembrance, as Jesus said back in John 14:26. The Spirit reveals truth progressively, and when the people of God were ready to bear it, He revealed the next steps.

For the rest of us, the Spirit is active in helping us to see what we need to know about the gospel. We can also have illumination of the Holy Scripture to our hearts. As 1 Corinthians 2:9–10 says, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” We don’t need to look to horoscopes, astrology, or anything else to find truth. We’re to trust that the Holy Spirit can lead us into all truth that we need.

The Spirit leads, then, through His written word and the application of that word within us. We don’t follow feelings, which can be deceptive, nor our own inner voice, which can lead to what we already want outside of Christ. We don’t listen to other voices that may approach us, for those may be demonic (Job 4:12–21; 2 Cor. 11:14–15). Instead, we follow the leading of the Spirit of truth according to His Scripture.

Why? The Holy Spirit doesn't operate independently. He speaks only what He hears from the Father and the Son, maintaining the unity and harmony within the Trinity. Just as Jesus said, “I speak the things which I have heard from Him [the Father]” (John 8:26), so the Spirit continues that work, guiding believers into the fullness of God’s revealed truth.

This is why what the disciples recorded from the Holy Spirit was the Word of God. This word exalts the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. As we read Scripture today with the Holy Spirit, we see our need for this gospel message. We see our need for Jesus Christ, for His cross, the resurrection, and ascension. That brings us to the next point:

Second, We Know Christ through the Holy Spirit (v. 14)

He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

The Holy Spirit's mission is to glorify Christ. Jesus already said the Spirit would testify about Him in John 15:26. Here, Jesus reports that the Holy Spirit will be in the business of glorifying the Son of God.

Again, this is how you can tell the difference between a true Holy Spirit ministry and a counterfeit one. A false ministry will claim to have all kinds of miracles of the Holy Spirit. It will recite supernatural reports, and prophecies about the future, and blessings for those who give to the ministry. It may even complain about those Christians who are “afraid” of the Holy Spirit and won’t allow Him to outpour the spiritual gifts of tongues and prophecy upon them. A counterfeit Holy Spirit ministry will specialize in that kind of teaching, not in the proclamation of Christ. It may throw in a watered-down gospel message and mention Jesus from time to time, but everyone will be caught up in manifestations and sensations, not in Jesus Christ. It will emphasize long, repetitive worship music and the supposed signs of the Spirit, not the message of the cross.

The Holy Spirit’s role is not to draw attention to Himself but to direct our gaze toward Jesus. He does this by making Christ known to us, unfolding the truths about His life, death, and resurrection. As John MacArthur notes, all New Testament “truth revealed by God centers in Christ” (cf. Heb. 1:1–2), for Christ was the theme of the Old Testament, as the New Testament claims. The Spirit continually reveals Christ's glory through Scripture, molding believers into the image of Jesus.

Indeed, the Holy Spirit’s ministry to us isn’t separable from the agenda of Christ. The Spirit takes what belongs to Christ and declares it to us, illuminating Christ’s person and work. Calvin notes that nothing “is bestowed on us by the Spirit apart from Christ, but He takes it from Christ, that He may communicate it to us.” The mission of the Spirit and Christ are the same because the Spirit borrows His ministry from Christ, announcing it to our hearts.

This ministry of the Spirit is vital for our spiritual growth. The more we behold Christ through the Spirit’s illumination of Scripture, the more we are transformed into His image (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18). It is through the Spirit that we come to a deeper knowledge of Christ and are conformed to His likeness. This conforming happens as we learn more about God’s ways, as we see next.

Third, We Know God’s Ways through the Holy Spirit (v. 15)

All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

In this verse, Jesus emphasizes the perfect unity within the Godhead. What belongs to the Father also belongs to the Son, and the Holy Spirit takes from what belongs to the Son to disclose it to us. Thus, there’s no division in the Trinity.

Consider first that we see the belongings of Christ and the Father are the same. This elevates the Son from the status of a mere teacher or human to that of co-equal with the Father. Jesus is “is the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). The Holy Spirit, then, is not just taking from the Father when He discloses truth to us. Rather, just as Christ was faithful in reporting what the Father had said, the Holy Spirit is faithful in reporting what both the Father and the Son say.

The Father, Son, and Spirit are completely united in purpose and essence. Thus, the truth of the Holy Spirit is the very truth of God. The God of the Old Testament was always moving in this direction, meaning that we should read the Old Testament with a New Testament view. We must not think that the Father was moving in one direction for humanity in the Old Testament, but His Son changed His mind or usurped a plan of law with grace. The Holy Spirit was active in the Old Testament, and now He presents to us the next stage of God’s plan of redemption in Christ.

All that the Father possesses belongs to Christ, and through the Spirit, that truth is declared to believers. This declaration happens first in Scripture, the Spirit-inspired Word of God. As the apostles penned the new revelation God had for the church, they were seeing what is now and what will be in the future. Their words included how God wants us to live today, and the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts for us to see the application of God’s Word to our unique circumstances.

Thus, we begin to be conformed to Christ’s image and carry out the Father’s will. You may be a young man or lady, but the Lord has a will for you at your stage of life. He has a will for both the married and the single people in here. He has said what He wants of young and old in places like Titus 2. As each of us in our various situations read Scripture, the Holy Spirit can begin to open our minds and hearts to applying God’s will to our homes, workplaces, families, friends, and everywhere else in the world. Jesus said earlier, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9); the Holy Spirit shows us the Father’s heart, will, and ways for our individual circumstances.

Conclusion

We need the Holy Spirit! Without Him, we wouldn’t have Scripture, and we couldn’t know the truth of the gospel, the person of Christ, or the ways of God. So, He’s our Teacher, our Comforter, and the One who continually points us to Jesus. As Jesus promised in this passage, the Spirit leads us into all truth, glorifies Christ, and reveals the things of God.

Therefore, let’s trust the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. As the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:12: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.” Let this be our prayer as we rely on the Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts and minds, drawing us closer to the Savior.