The Spirit Guides Believers to the Truth and Exalts Jesus

Acts 5:27-35, John 16:7-15

People often ask, “Why did Jesus have to teach through parables and with such vague methods?  Why doesn’t He just tell us point blank what he is trying to say?”

The text from John 16:12-13 in some ways answers that question.  Jesus explains to his followers, ^“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”

Even the disciples could not fully understand all that Jesus was teaching them.  It was even harder when he was telling them of what would happen to him in the near future.  They not only couldn’t understand but they couldn’t bear some of what he said.  It was too difficult to hear about what might happen to Jesus and to them.  When the time was right, when they could understand more clearly, the Holy Spirit would be sent.

Let’s think for a moment about how we talk to our children.  There are subjects that are difficult to address with our children – right?  I mean who has tried to explain where babies come from to a 3 or 4 year old?  And how do we explain death or aging to a 6 or 7 year old?  Oh there may be some children who are more advanced in their thinking but most little children have a difficult time understanding any kind of conversation about these two subjects and others topics as well.  So as adults when we try to have these conversations we use scenarios that we hope they will understand.  We simplify the words and try to at least answer without too much detail until the day they can more fully understand the whole explanation.

This is a like the patient who walked into his surgeon’s office with a list of questions.  The surgeon listened to all his questions and gave him answers using the medical jargon only educated physicians understand.  The patient didn’t understand most of what the doctor told him and simply sat looking at the doctor with a confused look on his face.

The surgeon said to him, “You see, you have some good questions, but in reality you don’t have enough knowledge to understand the answers.”

As with the first disciples, when we first meet Jesus, we don’t have a full understanding.  As we hear the stories and lessons Jesus used, we are intrigued and begin to think a little deeper.  Parables are stories that people can visualize and identify with.  Many people today, parents and children, can identify with the story of the Prodigal son who takes his inheritance and runs off to squander it and then comes home seeking forgiveness.  Our first encounter with that or other scriptures we identify with, grab our attention and we want to study them and seek to understand more fully what the message is.  As we study and ask for understanding, the Spirit comes to us and opens our minds to understand it in a deeper way.

I don’t know about you but I am amazed and excited when a new insight is opened to me.  It is in those moments that I find myself wondering, “How can I apply this to my life now?”  Often when I figure it out I am struck by the answer and not always in a good way.  Sometimes the truth in the lesson that the Spirit moves us to grasp can be a difficult pill to swallow. I found a reference that noted Mark Twain once saying, “It’s not the parts of the Bible that I don’t understand that give me trouble, but the ones I do.”

So how do we know if it is the Spirit that is leading us to the Truth, whether it be in the scriptures or in our daily lives?  The answer to that question for me is found in verse 14, Jesus’ words, “He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

When we ask the Spirit to lead us in times when we are weighing a decision or studying the scriptures for answers, we may discover there are a variety of answers.  What I believe Jesus is saying is that the answer that glorifies Him, or follows His commands is the correct answer.  Such as if we are given two answers – one which leads us to social success at the cost of others and the other leads to lifting up another person’s accomplishment – which do you believe is truly Spirit led?

The Holy Spirit will lead us to the Truth and will lead us to glorify Jesus in all we do if we are open to it.  We must acknowledge the power of the Holy Spirit at work all around us, seek His guidance in all matters every day, and surrender our lives to the leadership of the Spirit asking, listening, and following the Spirit’s lead.

Have any of you ever taken a cruise or been out on a large ship traveling?  I just read that when a large ship enters a harbor, it takes on board what is called a harbor master. This is a person who knows everything about that particular harbor. He knows the hidden hazards and the way the tides and currents flow in and how strong they are. When that harbor master comes on board, he takes control of that ship, and he gives order to the captain who steers the ship. He is an outside expert who is brought in to make sure that ship docks safely.

As we sail through the sea of life, we have been given a harbor master. He is the Holy Spirit. He knows the currents, the tides, the hazards, and the flow. If we will let Him guide the ship of each of our lives, He will guide us safely through the hazards of earth, right into the harbor of heaven. Because He is the only guide we need.  (from “The Only Guide You Need”  by James Merrit)