ministry of the Spirit of Truth

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

John 16:13

In this one verse the apostles are promised a four-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit that still impacts Christians today. The work of the Holy Spirit is often downplayed or blown out of unbiblical proportion by some in the church today. We need instead to understand the Spirit’s work in us. These four things blessed the apostles and carry over to us today.

1. Guidance in the truth. The Spirit of God leads in revealing the truth of God. For the apostles it meant that the New Testament scriptures would spring forth by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration from their gospel ministry. The Spirit of God would lead them to understand the scriptures of the Old Testament as well. The book of Acts in particular shows the dynamic truth-guiding ministry of the Spirit as He led the church with both the Old and New Testaments to take the gospel around the world.

2. Speaking with God’s authority. The Holy Spirit would speak with the authority of the Father and under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. What the Spirit would reveal to and through the apostles would be, and very much is, the Word of God.

3. Connection to the Godhead. “What he hears he will speak.” The trinity is in complete unity. What the Holy Spirit would reveal would be in complete agreement with the Father and the Son because He speak only what He hears. We can be confident that the apostles’ doctrine as revealed in the New Testament is God’s Word, not in disagreement with any previous revelation, because it is the same God revealing Himself through the Holy Spirit!

4. Declare things to come. The Holy Spirit would have a prophetic ministry to and through the apostles. In this way we would receive a full picture of God’s purposes in salvation history. It ends with Jesus as Lord of all the universe, dear to His redeemed, Judge of all people with perfect justice, and the object of universal worship and praise forever. We have that hope, that complete picture, because the Holy Spirit was sent to comfort, guide, inspire, reveal, and guide the disciples of Jesus!