If you will open your Bibles
again this morning to John Chapter 14. We're going to read a few
verses in John Chapter 14, John Chapter 15, and 16. And these
are all words which the Lord Jesus Christ spoke the night
before his crucifixion to his 11 disciples. And they all have
reference to God the Holy Spirit. John 14 and verse 16. And I will pray the Father, and
he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth
him, but you know him. For he dwelleth with you and
shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. Then down
in verse 26, but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom
the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things
and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have
said unto you. And then in chapter 15, verse
26, But when the Comforter is come,
whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of
truth, which proceeded from the Father, he shall testify of me. And then, if you will, in chapter
16, beginning with verse seven. Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth. It is expedient for you that
I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send
him unto you. And when he is come, he will
reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
Of sin, because they believe not on me. Of righteousness,
because I go to my Father, and you see me no more. Of judgment,
because the Prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things
to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Albeit when he,
the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth,
for he shall not speak of himself. But whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. He shall
glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto
you. We saw last week that our Lord,
in this first verse that we read here in chapter 14 and verse
16, said that he would pray the Father and he shall give you
another comforter, another comforter. And he was speaking, of course,
about God, the Holy Spirit, as we see in all of these verses. And he never spoke of him as
an it. He never referred to God the
Holy Spirit as an it. It shall come unto you. No, he,
he, he shall come unto you. He is a person. There are things
which are recorded about God the Holy Spirit that could not
be true of an it, but only of a person. For instance, in Acts
chapter five, Peter, spoke to this man who professed to be
a believer. He was in the church in Jerusalem.
His name was Ananias. And Peter asked him, why hath
Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? Lie to the
Holy Ghost. And then he said right after
that, thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Now, this
pulpit is a thing. You can't lie to a thing. You
and I, we are persons. We may lie to another person. And Ananias lied to a person. He lied to the Holy Ghost, whom
Peter said, you've lied to God. When you lied to the Holy Spirit,
you lied to God. Why? Because he is God. There's one God. And yet he reveals
himself in a trinity of persons. We talk about the blessed trinity,
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And
we think of them as co-equal in every way, equal in eternity. The Father is not older, if I
could use that word, than God the Son or God the Holy Spirit. The Father is not more powerful
than God the Son or God the Holy Spirit. No, they're equal in
every way. And we don't think of them as
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If we use that line, we think
of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We don't put one above the other
because the Spirit is equal to the Son and the Son is equal
to the Spirit. And we see that in and verses
of scripture. For instance, in benedictions,
the apostle Paul in second Corinthians, the last chapter there, his benediction
there, I believe he lists the spirit between the son or before
the son, the father, the Holy Spirit, and the love of the spirit. Anyway, there are several verses
like that just to emphasize the fact. that they're equal, they're
equal, but they're persons. Each one is a person, and God
the Holy Spirit is a person, and we're looking at several
verses of scripture where the Lord teaches about the Holy Spirit
and His work, His ministry. And I have three truths that
I want to emphasize to us today from these verses which we have
read, and I pray that God will Bless these words to all of us
here today. They're not things that we haven't
heard before. They're not things that we, I
hope, already know, but we're going to be reminded of these
things. The first truth I want to mention
is, now, the Lord Jesus, remember, he's in the upper room when he
speaks in chapter 14. He's in the upper room. and he's
alone with his 11 disciples, these 11 men who will become
apostles, or apostles. And he's alone with them. And the first thing I want to
emphasize is this, the Holy Spirit was known by these 11. When the Lord spoke these words,
and he tells them, if you notice in verse 17 of chapter 14, even the spirit of truth, whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth
him, but you know him." That's the first point I want to make,
that these 11 men knew the Holy Spirit. They knew him as a spirit
of regeneration. Remember our Lord told Nicodemus,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Every believer, every child of
God is born of the Spirit of God. When Peter made that great
confession, and he wasn't just speaking for himself, but he
was confessing what these 11 men believed When in Matthew
chapter 16, when our Lord said, who do men say that I the son
of man am? Thou art the Christ. Thou art
the Christ, the son of the living God. Now, our Lord told him,
well, Peter, flesh and blood did not reveal that unto you. These disciples, they knew the
Holy Spirit. They knew him. No one can know
God, no one can be saved apart from the ministry, the work of
the Holy Spirit. Peter, flesh and blood, you just
didn't learn this in class or something like this. My Father,
by the Spirit of God, has revealed this unto thee, Peter, that the Lord Jesus Christ is
the Christ. that he is the promised Messiah,
that he is the Son of God. Now think about it. Here's a
man, just like you, here's a man in their presence, but yet he's
the Son of God. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that unto you, Peter, but my Father, which is in heaven. It
was his father through the Holy Spirit who revealed this unto
these men. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians
12 and verse 3 makes this statement. Wherefore I give you to understand
that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed. And, now listen, and. that no man can, he doesn't say
may, no man can say that Jesus Christ is Lord but by the Holy
Ghost. Now he's not saying there that
any man cannot utter those words. In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ
said that in the last day many will come unto him and they will
say, Lord, Lord, Have we not prophesied in thy name, and done
many wonderful works in thy name? And our Lord said, then will
I profess unto them, depart from me, I never knew you. When Paul writes here, by inspiration
of the Spirit of God, no man can say that Jesus Christ is
Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. He's not saying that no man can
utter those words, You could go out on the street and one
of these men that is given to drugs or alcohol and they're
begging, you see them every once in a while, don't you? They're
asking, can you spare a dollar? Oh yeah, here, I've got $5 here,
if you will say Jesus is Lord, amen. He won't have any trouble
saying that. That's not what Paul is saying
when he says, no man can say that Jesus Christ is Lord but
by the Holy Spirit. No man can know him. No man can
know Christ as his Lord and as his Savior apart from the ministry,
apart from the work of God, the Holy Spirit. Men, all men, we
come into this world and we're dead. spiritually dead in trespasses
and sins. Paul wrote to the believers in
the church at Ephesus, and he said, he quickened who were dead
in trespasses and sins. Who does that refer to? That's
the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. He quickens. He raises men, spiritually dead
men, and gives them life in Christ. When Jonah said, at the bottom
of the sea, in that fish's belly, salvation is of the Lord. He wasn't just talking about
the Son. He wasn't just speaking about the Spirit of God or the
Father. Salvation is of the Lord. And each and every person in
that blessed Trinity, in the Godhead, that's the term that
Paul uses in the New Testament, in the essence of God, each one
has a part in our salvation. No one is saved apart from the
election of God the Father, no one is saved apart from the blood,
the redemption of God the Son, and no one is saved apart from
the quickening, the giving of life of God the Holy Spirit. Now that's what the scriptures
teach us. He makes a man a new creature. Only God can create. You can take some lumber and
you can build something, but you can't create that lumber.
Only God can create, and that's what God does in the new birth. He doesn't patch up the old.
Now, that's what religion does. That's what religion does, and
that's the reason, usually, in most false religions, they all
want to dress the same. They all put on the same white
shirt and have a tie on. You see, religion always starts
on the outside, always. Clean up your life. Turn over
a new leaf. Join the church. Be baptized. Religion. But salvation is a
work of God, the Spirit in the heart, giving us a new nature. Paul said, therefore, We're new
creation, a new creation in Christ Jesus. Now these 11 men, that's
the point I'm making, and I think I've made it. These 11 men, they
knew the Holy Spirit. The Lord's here speaking to them
more about the Holy Spirit than at any other time that I can
find in his ministry. But the point I wanted to make
is they knew The Lord told them, you know him. And no one knows
God apart from the work of God, the Holy Spirit. John declared, they're gonna
know him in a greater way. These 11. On the day of Pentecost,
God the Holy Spirit's going to be poured out. And I said, these
men were apostles. Now there were signs. Paul told
the church at Corinth, were not the signs of an apostle wrought
among you? There were signs that these apostles
had by the power, by the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them. And, you know, that's a different
message. Let me go on to the second point. The second point is the Holy
Spirit here is promised to make God's presence in every believer
a reality. God's real to a child of God. It's not just some thought. No,
he's real. And it is the work of God, the
Holy Spirit, who makes God real in the heart of every born again
believer. Notice his words here in chapter
14, verses 21 through 23. He that hath my commandments
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and he that loveth
me shall be loved of my father, and I will love him and will
manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot,
Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us and
not unto the world? And Jesus answered. Now, evidently he thought the
Lord by physical appearance would manifest himself to them, to
the disciples. And Judas said, how could that
be possible? You appear to me and here's John
Blow over here and he doesn't see you. But the Lord's not talking
about manifesting himself in a physical way, but it is God
the Holy Spirit. Look at the next verse. Jesus
answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my
words and my father will love him and we, we will come unto
him and make our abode with him. Now, think about our Lord's words
when he said, he that hath my commandments. Does that just
mean that you have this book here with God's commandments,
God's word? Is that what he means? Of course
not. One of the promises of the new covenant is a new heart.
I just spoke about that. And on that new heart, God writes
his law, his commandments, the fear of God. He that hath my
commandments, the Lord Jesus Christ said, and keepeth them,
he it is that loves me. Now, we know if you love God
today, and I know many of you do, you love God. But you know you love him because
he first loved you. That's what John said, isn't
it? We love him because he first loved us. And in the new birth,
we receive a new heart, a new nature. It's spoken of in various
different ways, different words are used. But upon that new heart
is the commandments, the word of God is written. We have a
heart of stone by nature. He gives us a heart of flesh.
And we have his commandments. And one of those commandments
is thou shalt Love the Lord thy God. God's people love him. You don't have to try to have
some kind of a contest to get God's people to love God. God's
people love him. Your children love you. Why? They're a father. They love you.
They just do. And rightly so. And God's children,
they love their father, their heavenly father, and they fear
him. That doesn't mean they have a
slavish fear of him like some fathers, some men are so stern
and hard and cruel that their children are afraid of them.
That's not the kind of fear we're talking about. We're talking
about a fear of reverence of God that causes us to bow down
and worship him. love him and desire that he be
honored and glorified through our life, through our words,
through our walk, through our thoughts, whatever we do, that's
our desire to glorify God. And our Lord promises we will
come to him. We the Father, the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit. That's the reason the Apostle
Paul said, what? Writing to the church at Corinth,
what? Know you not that your body is
a temple of the Holy Ghost? Don't you know that? Well, sure
you do. Sure you do. And that causes
you to live. in a way that a lost person probably
doesn't live. Why? Because God lives in you. It's not just some thought. No,
God is real. Real. When you get out of bed
in the morning, you think about God. You don't have to wait till
Sunday. On Sunday, I think about, no,
no, God is real. Why? Because he lives in you. If you're a child of God, Christ
in you, the Apostle Paul said, the hope of glory. And no one
has a hope of glory who does not have Christ living in him,
or he shouldn't have. Think about this word in Isaiah
chapter 57. Truly amazing. For thus saith
the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity. Who's that? The high,
lofty one that inhabiteth eternity. In other words, who's always
been. That's God. This is what he said. whose name
is holy. I dwell in the high and holy
place, comma, with him also. That is of a contrite spirit,
an humble spirit, to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Every child of God has a contrite
spirit. You know, by nature, we're proud,
we're self-sufficient, we don't need anybody. We'll take care
of ourselves until God the Holy Spirit shows us what we really
are. And we realize we do need someone. We need Christ. We need him. Other people, maybe they don't
need him. They don't have a contrite spirit. They don't have a worshipful
spirit. People take the name of Jesus
and use it just in common conversation and use it in swearing. Why? Because they don't know him.
They don't know him. Here's the third thing. I've
got three points under my third point, so bear with me here.
The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. In two of these places
that we've read, he is identified, the Lord Jesus Christ identifies
him as the spirit of truth. Look in verse 26 here of chapter
14. But the Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach
you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever
I have said unto you. Now, one of the office works
of God the Holy Spirit is the inspiration of the Scriptures. The Word of God, this Word that
you have in your hands here this morning, is God breathed. It's God-breathed, it's inspired
by God the Holy Spirit. Peter tells us that the Old Testament
part of our Bible records the words he said of holy men, holy
men of God, who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Well, the spirit of truth, our Lord here promises these 11 apostles
that he would bring things that Christ had spoken to their remembrance. Notice that in the text, verse
26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father
will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring
all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you.
How is it possible that Matthew, he's one of these 11, How is
it possible that years after this, he sits down and he writes
out the Sermon on the Mount? How did he do that? God the Holy
Spirit, he shall remind you, bring these things to your remembrance. And the gospel, according to
John, is supposedly the last of the four gospels to be written.
And how did he recite the words that our Lord spoke in that synagogue
in Capernaum, I am the bread of life. I am the living bread
which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live forever. How did he remember that? How
did he remember those words? And think about the words of
the Lord here in John chapter 14. How many of God's children have
been discouraged, have been downcast, and then they read John chapter
14, let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. And I go to prepare a place for
you, that where I am, there you may be also. How many times have
those words just spoken to the heart of one of God's children? And there's words in verse six
there that are so clear, so plain, that no one can misunderstand
them. Now there are things, listen,
There are things in the Bible, as Peter said, which are difficult
to understand. But there's nothing difficult
about the way of salvation. A wayfaring man cannot err therein. Jesus Christ said, I am the way,
the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Can't misunderstand that, can
you? I don't think so. God the Holy Spirit, this is
one of his functions, to inspire the word of God. Look in chapter
15 in verse 26. Here's the second thing I want
to mention. That first point was one of the office works of
the Holy Spirit is the inspiration of the scriptures. Now here in
chapter 15 in verse 26, And when the Comforter is come,
whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of
truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. He testifies of his person in
the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. He testifies, the Holy Spirit
does, he testifies of his person, of the person of Christ. He's
God, man. Testifies of his sinlessness. Testifies of his work of redemption. He didn't die. And I heard one
of these, I could mention him, I'm not going to, but name him. I heard him one time talking
about Christ on the cross gambling for the souls of men. Now that
man is a pastor of a church here in Houston that has thousands
of members. Gambling, just like those men
at the foot of the cross he said were gambling for his clothes.
So Christ was gambling for the souls of men. That the Spirit
of God does not testify to you. He just doesn't do it. I don't
care what you say. I don't care how many people
follow that man. He shall testify of me, of his
person, and of his works. He died in the place of his people. He satisfied God's holy law. for his people, he shall testify
of me. And the third, if you look in
chapter 16, verses 13 and 14, how be it when he, the spirit
of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth. For he shall
not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he
speak, and he will show you things to come. He will glorify me,
for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. How would and how does the Holy
Spirit glorify Christ? He takes the things of Christ
and shows them to us. He uses means, preachers, his
word, of course, But that's how he glorifies Christ. He takes
the things of Christ and shows them unto us. Things which were
written by inspired men. And notice he doesn't speak of
himself, the Holy Spirit. If a man, if his ministry is
all about the Holy Spirit, it's not of God. The Holy Spirit,
from first to last, his focal, point is Christ and Him crucified. That's the reason the scriptures
from Genesis 1-1 to the end of the book of Revelation all speak
about Christ. That's the ministry of the Holy
Spirit. Let me close with this. There
are two truths I want to point out to us. In verse 26 in chapter
14, He said, but the Comforter, which
is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall
teach you all things. Now some wiseacre, he comes along
and he says, oh, these disciples, they knew all about medicine
and all about astronomy and they knew all about, that's not what
he's saying, not at all. No, when he said those words,
He's teach you all things, all things you need to know about
me. We're not looking for any further
revelations. All things that you need to know
about me, the Holy Spirit will teach you. And then in chapter 16, verse
13, Howbeit when he, the Spirit of
truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall
not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he
speak. Now notice, and he will show
you things to come. He doesn't promise him or these
disciples that the Holy Spirit would show them the things that
were going to come upon them but the things that he would
experience, the things that awaited him, his death, his burial, his
resurrection, his ascension. That's the only way the apostle
Peter, and please notice this, in Acts chapter two, and we studied
this in our Bible class this morning, Peter stood up with
the 11. It wasn't just Peter standing
up on the day of Pentecost. All of the other disciples were
standing up with him. How could he testify of the death
of Christ, what it meant? He couldn't have preached that
sermon before the day of Pentecost. There's no way he could have.
Not Peter, not any of the other disciples. They were still asking,
On the day the Lord ascended back to heaven, they were still
asking, Lord, will you restore the kingdom to Israel at this
time? They were still looking for an
earthly kingdom. But oh, when God the Holy Spirit
was poured out, that enabled Peter to tell those people that
assembled there on the day of Pentecost, you, Him being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, whom God
raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was
not possible that he should be holding of it. Peter then knew
the things that awaited that would come upon Christ. He understood
why Christ had to die. You know in his first letter,
1 Peter, he writes, we're not redeemed with corruptible things,
such as silver and gold, received from your vain conversation from
your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. These truths were
opened up to these apostles by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And they all testified of Christ. They all pointed.