Thoughts on the Gospel of John (155) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

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.
John 16:12–13

Thoughts on the Gospel of John (155)
The fact that the Holy Spirit has come to earth and dwells in believers is of utmost importance. It has started a new epoch in human history. While the Holy Spirit has not changed the course of the ungodly world, He has brought to light the true character of the world: it lies in enmity against God and is heading towards judgment.

For believers, the possession of the Holy Spirit is an exceedingly great blessing. Before the day of Pentecost, believers were unable to make complete sense of some of God’s sayings in the Old Testament. Even the prophets were wondering how their prophecies would be fulfilled (cf. 1 Peter 1:10–11). And Jesus could not yet tell His disciples everything; they would have been overwhelmed. Only after the coming of the Holy Spirit could the whole extent of divine truth be revealed. Undoubtedly, the Lord here first thinks of the Spirit of God “guiding” the apostles “into all truth”. But in the letters of the New Testament we see the result of this activity of the Holy Spirit, who made the thoughts of God fully accessible to us.

Further, the Holy Spirit was to proclaim to the disciples “things to come”. These things are especially recorded in the book of Revelation, as well as in some sections of the apostolic letters. Through these prophetic writings, the development of events both in the Church and in the world is foretold to us in broad outlines so that we do not have to grope in the dark. Thanks be to God!

Today’s reading: 1 Kings 20:31-43 · John 13:31-38