The Spirit of Truth

Q: What does the Bible say about the Holy Spirit as the Comforter?

The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, who teaches and reminds believers of Christ's words (John 14:26). In John 14:26, Jesus highlights the role of the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, sent by the Father to teach and remind believers of His teachings. This signifies a deep, personal ministry of the Spirit to provide comfort and guidance in their lives. As the Comforter, the Holy Spirit does not draw attention to Himself but instead points believers to the truth of the gospel, reassuring them of their salvation and the forgiveness of sins.

Q: How do we know the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ?

The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ by taking what is His and declaring it to believers (John 16:14). According to John 16:14, the Holy Spirit's primary function is to glorify Christ. He does this by receiving from Christ and making known to believers the depths of His work and person. The Spirit directs attention away from Himself and towards Christ, reinforcing that all truths revealed by the Spirit ultimately testify about Jesus. Any teaching or experience that does not glorify Christ is not from the Holy Spirit, highlighting His sole focus on the glory of the Son.

Q: Why is it important that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth?

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth because He guides believers into all truth and affirms their understanding of Christ (John 16:13). The designation of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth, as mentioned in John 16:13, emphasizes His role in guiding believers toward an accurate understanding of God and His Word. The Spirit's work is essential for true comprehension of scripture and the reality of salvation, ensuring that believers are not left in ignorance. This guidance includes convicting hearts of sin, revealing the glory of Christ, and affirming the truth of the gospel. Without the active work of the Spirit, believers would struggle to grasp the full essence of God's revelation.

Q: How does the Holy Spirit work in the process of salvation?

The Holy Spirit regenerates believers, working in conjunction with God's election and Christ's redemption (John 3:6). Salvation involves a coordinated work among the Trinity, where the Holy Spirit plays an essential role in regeneration. John 3:6 states that 'that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,' signifying that the new birth is a work initiated by the Holy Spirit. This regeneration is not based on human effort but is a divine act that aligns with God's sovereign choice in election and Christ's atoning work. Understanding this interaction helps believers appreciate the fullness of their salvation and the grace that undergirds it, ensuring that all glory belongs to Christ.

Q: Why is Jesus referred to as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world?

Jesus is called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world to emphasize God's eternal plan for redemption (Revelation 13:8). Revelation 13:8 states that Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, which signifies the preordained plan of God for salvation through Jesus Christ. This concept underscores the sovereignty of God in orchestrating history and His redemptive purpose centered on Christ’s sacrifice. The idea that Christ's atonement was determined before creation highlights the depth of God's love and the certainty of His plans. It assures believers that their salvation is rooted in God's eternal purpose and not in their merit, affirming that God receives all glory.

an announcement. We will be incurring some additional expenses on the building that the insurance will not cover. After removing damaged drywall, the contractors have uncovered rotted wood from long-term water exposure, and all the windows in the fellowship hall will need to be replaced. And we'll also need new kitchen countertops and other items as potential issues arise.

Give to this as you're enabled to. I've entitled this morning's message, The Spirit of Truth. More is said about the Holy Spirit in the Lord's final address to his disciples before his death than anywhere else in scripture. Four times he calls God the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. I suppose one of my Favorite scriptures is Isaiah chapter 40, verse 1. When God says, comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. And cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished.

You've already won. Not you will win if, but you've already won. Her iniquity is pardoned. Not it will be if, but it is pardoned. Don't you love the way salvation begins with the forgiveness of sins? It doesn't end there after you do this, this, and this. It begins with a complete pardon of all sin. For she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sin. Not only is your sin forgiven, you're justified like we just heard in that song.

Now it's God the Holy Spirit that ministers to your heart the comfort of that. Don't you love the way God the Holy Spirit is called the comforter? Four times in this closing address to the disciples before he goes to the cross, he calls God the Holy Spirit, the comforter.

The gospel comforts. If I hear a message that doesn't comfort me, I'm not hearing the gospel. If I hear a message that makes me think maybe I'm coming up short, maybe I need to do this, or I need to do that, or I need to stop, that's a message that works. There's no comfort in that.

The Lord calls God the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth. Verse 13, how be it when he, the spirit of truth, is come. Look back in chapter 15, 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."

He is the one who teaches. And this is so encouraging to me in the preaching of the gospel. I can't teach anybody anything. The only one who truly teaches is God, the Holy Spirit. And when he teaches you, you're taught. And before he teaches you, you remain ignorant. No true understanding of the things of God, the things in scripture, apart from the work of God, the Holy Spirit.

Now, the Holy Spirit is a person. Let me repeat that. The Holy Spirit is a person with a personality. God the Father is a person, God the Son is a person, God the Holy Spirit is a person. One God in three distinct persons. How mysterious. Yet so true. In God's salvation, God the Father elects, God the Son redeems, God the Holy Spirit regenerates.

He's the author of the new birth. The Lord said in John chapter 3, that which is born of the flesh, we've had quite a number of babies born in this church, several women with child. One was born just this week, and two people getting together and producing another human life. That which is born of the flesh, what is it? Flesh. Two sinful individuals got together, had a baby, and it's a sinful individual as well. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the spirit, this is a reference to the new birth, that which is born of the spirit is spirit. You're given a new nature. Now, there is Look back in chapter 16, verse 12.

I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now, howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come. Now he has not come in his fullness yet. When the Lord says this, he doesn't come in his fullness until after the resurrection. Look in John chapter 7, verse 39. But this he spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because the Jesus was not yet glorified."

Now, the Old Testament believers were regenerated by the Holy Spirit, just like New Testament believers are. What did David mean when he said, Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. He was aware, just as we are aware, of our desperate need of God the Holy Spirit. I can't believe, I can't repent, I can't love, I can't see Christ without God the Holy Spirit. I must be given the Spirit. They that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Oh, how we need God the Holy Spirit and He was not given in His fullness. Somebody says, what does that mean? I don't know. But he did not come in his fullness until after the resurrection. Look at Acts chapter one, let me show you this.

Verse four, and being assembled together with them, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, you've heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but you should be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. They had not been baptized in the Holy Spirit yet.

Now this is talking about the ability to speak in other languages and heal and so on. But this is the time of the fullness of his coming. Now he says you can't bear what I'm saying to you right now. You're gonna have to have God the Holy Spirit to be able to bear. and understand this. Verse 13, how be it, John 16, 13.

How be it when He, the Spirit of truth, is come. I love that name of God, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of truth. When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you, not drive you, but guide you into all truth. How much truth? All truth. For he shall not speak of himself. You know whenever a preacher constantly emphasizes the Holy Spirit, He proves that he doesn't have the Holy Spirit. Because if someone has the Holy Spirit, they're going to be speaking of Christ, not the Holy Spirit. The Lord says that here, doesn't he? God, the Holy Spirit, the blessed Spirit of God shall not speak of himself. He does not draw attention to himself. What does he do? He shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak. What he hears the father say, what he hears the son say, that's what he's going to say. He will show you things to come.

You know, I know the future. I know the future. I'm going to stand before God in the future and be accepted. That's true of every believer. We know the future. We don't know all the details, but we know the future, and we know that everything between now and then is working together for our good and His glory. He shall show you things to come. And look at verse 14.

Here is the chief office and the chief fork of God the Holy Spirit. He shall glorify me. That's His purpose. He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine and show it unto you. All things, look at this statement, all things that the Father hath are mine. Therefore said I that he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you. Now, what a name from God the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. God does not work apart from the truth. He Listen to this very carefully. He never uses that which is not the truth. He only uses the truth. God is Spirit. They that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Faith.

Titus 1.1 is defined Titus 1-1. I know that.

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth. What is the faith of God's elect? The acknowledgement, the embracing, the full recognition of the truth, which is after godliness, which is caused by godliness, His work of grace in you. So faith is called The acknowledgement of the truth. The truth of who God is. The truth of who you are. The truth of your need of Jesus Christ and how God saves sinners. Repentance.

2 Timothy 2.25 If God perventure will grant them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. What is repentance? It's the full acknowledgement of the truth.

Salvation. is described in 1 Timothy 2.4 as coming to the knowledge of the truth.

God the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth and his chief office is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall glorify me. There we have the work of God the Holy Spirit. He shall glorify me. Now, listen to this statement very carefully. That which does not glorify Christ, and that means give Christ all the credit and all the glory. That which does not glorify Christ did not come from God the Holy Spirit.

Now the glory of Christ is himself. I wish I could preach on that the way I ought to. The glory of Christ is himself. He is the brightness of God's glory. The express image of his person. Oh, his glory is himself. He knows he gets all the credit. He knows he gets all the glory.

And this thing of his glory, that's so important to me for this reason. If he doesn't get all the glory, that means salvation has something to do with me and my works. And that's why I hate that, because I know I won't be saved if salvation is dependent upon me doing anything. But if he gets all the glory, that means he did it all. How we love that. God, the Holy Spirit, he shall glorify me. That which does not glorify Christ did not come from God, the Holy Spirit, because he shall glorify me. Turn with me to 1 John chapter four for a moment. Verse one, beloved, believe not every spirit.

Now what's he talking about when he's talking about a spirit? Is he talking about some kind of ghost or something or some kind of? No, he's talking about preaching, the preachers you're listening to. Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into this world. Not a few, but many. Many false prophets are gone out into this world.

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. That sounds so simple, but yet it's so full. Every spirit that confesses, this is a public confession. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Now when I make that confession, I'm saying He was before He came. I'm speaking of His pre-existence as eternal God. He was before He came. Before Abraham was, what did He say? I am. He came in the flesh.

Now this is John dealing with the error of Gnosticism that had come up in the church. The Gnostics were saying that all matter, everything material, everything you can feel, is evil. And only that which has no matter is good. Therefore, they said, Christ could not have possibly come in the flesh. For if he had come in the flesh, make him evil.

So what we see is a spiritual view of him, he's kind of like a ghost. He didn't actually come in the flesh and that's why John is saying every spirit that confesses he did come in the flesh. Now, why did he come in the flesh? Because his father sent him to come into the flesh. He came to do something. He came to honor God's law, to keep God's law. He came to save His people from their sins. He came to die on a cross. He came to be raised from the dead. He came for a specific person, purpose in coming in the flesh. And whatever it was He came to do, He did. Now, in that simple statement, we have all divine truth. Christ Jesus, the eternal son, came in the flesh, became man, 100% God, 100% man, and he did what he came to do.

And every spirit, verse three, that confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is that spirit of antichrist which you've heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world. Now we are to judge all preaching that we hear by this. Does it glorify Christ? Should we sit in judgment in preaching?

I'm not talking about trying to be critical. You can listen to a man, and if you're looking for reasons to criticize him, you can find him. Easy. Anybody. This is not talking about just being critical, but this is talking about hearing, I'm looking for the gospel in what I'm hearing.

Is he preaching the gospel? Where's the lamb? I love Isaac's Question, here's the fire, here's the wood, where's the lamb for the burnt offering? And I better be asking myself with regard to that every sermon I hear, where's the lamb? I better listen to preaching critically in that sense and judge and try whether or not the gospel of God is preached. Now, whenever the preacher is preaching, whatever his text, Genesis 1 through Revelation 21, cannot be understood apart from the Lamb of God. That's why Paul said, I determined not to know anything among you.

Say, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. No scripture is understood rightly that does not glorify Him and give Him all the glory. Amen? You believe that? I believe that with all my heart. If what I'm hearing does not glorify Him and give Him all the glory, I know that God the Holy Spirit is not in it. Now, let's consider He shall glorify me.

Let's begin with the Bible does before time began. You know, I love thinking about before time began, even though I don't understand it because we're creatures of time. But before time began, Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Now, don't miss that. That's what the Bible says in Revelation 13, 8. Christ is the Lamb, having been slain before time began.

So, that being the case, how much glory does he get in your salvation? You weren't even around. You couldn't contribute anything. Now, you were in his mind, chosen in him. I realize that. But this is how much he gets the glory. You weren't around to get any glory. He's the Lamb having been slain from the foundation of the world. That's why God created the universe, to send his Son to die for his people and accomplish their salvation. Now how much glory does he get there? He gets all the glory, doesn't he? Election is undoubtedly true, but who gets the glory for election? according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world."

Now don't look at election as God arbitrarily, I'm going to choose this one, I'm going to damn this one. That has nothing to do with what election is. God's elect have always been in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's never been a time when I was not in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who gets the glory in election?

He does. You know, the great question of the Bible, spoken of as early as Job, let me quote Job 25, verses four through six, how can man be justified with God? How can you be justified before God? To where he sees you as without sin, perfect, righteous, how can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean that's born of a woman? Behold, even the moon and it shineth not. Yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. How much less man that is a worm and the son of man, which is a worm. Now, how can man be just with God?

Claire read in Psalm 22, six, and all those words are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, David was saying that, but this is the great Psalm of the cross. He even said in this Psalm, they pierced my hands and my feet. They parted my garment and cast lots for them. All this was prophetically about the cross of Christ. And what did Christ say about himself in verse six? When he was hanging on the cross, he made this statement.

I am a worm, not fit to be called a man. Now how can God be just and justify somebody like me? Because Christ took my sin so truly that he said with regard to himself, I am a maggot, not even fit to be called a man. I don't even know what all to say about that.

But that's how truly my sin became His sin. And He put that sin away when He died. He did something that No one else has done. His body did not begin to decay because the moment he died, complete satisfaction was wrought, justification was accomplished. For he, 2 Corinthians 5, 21, for he hath made him sin. And that's why he said, I'm a worm and not fit to be called a man. He hath made him sin. Who knew no sin? He never sinned. He didn't even know you and I were used to sin. Oh, he never sinned.

When he was crying, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He knew why, because God's holy. He was made sin, he was made a worm. And by his glorious work and achievement on Calvary Street, he put that sin away and he gives me his very righteousness so that I stand just before God. For He hath made Him sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Justification. Who gets the glory and justification? He gets it all, doesn't he? Being justified freely by His grace. What about redemption? I'm redeemed. I'm redeemed, my sins paid for. Who gets the glory in that? Where the scripture says, he by himself purged our sins. No contribution from me, no help from me. He by himself purged our sins. Jesus paid it all. And he gets all the glory in my redemption, the new birth, the new creation, regeneration. Who gets the glory for that? Somebody says, God the Holy Spirit. I understand that answer. He's the one who gives us this life. But listen to this scripture.

If any man be in Christ, there's the issue. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Why is he a new creation? Because he's in Christ. That's why. Why am I born again? Because Christ died for my sins. That's why I'm born again. I'm not born again because of something I do. I'm born again because I'm in Christ and He died for my sins and He gave me life. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.

Why do I persevere? You know, right now, I'm looking to Christ only. And my hope is that the very last breath that I have on this earth, I'll be looking to Christ only. I won't be looking to myself. I'll be looking only to Christ. Why am I persevering? Now unto him that's able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before his presence with exceeding joy, why do I persevere? Because Christ preserves me. Philip opened his mouth at that same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. They cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

He gets all the glory. Now, in all religious movements, and you know there are a lot of them, religious movements, there's been so many different things happen over the centuries. And just think about this, denominations. They're purely man-made. There's nothing in the Bible about a denomination. There's no Baptists, and Presbyterians, and Methodists, and Catholics, and Church of Christ, and Church of God, all the different thousands of denominations. They're not in the Bible.

But there's some kind of religious movement, aren't there? That's why they were brought about. There was a time when there wasn't a denomination. So I think I got some better light here. We create a denomination, a religious movement, and we've got more light than these poor, ignorant believers over here. You know, all that does is take away from the simplicity that's in Christ. That's all it does. They're all man-made.

Any religious movement that doesn't give Christ all the glory is not of God. The songs we sing, if they don't glorify Christ, they're not of the Holy Spirit. The literature that we read, If it doesn't give Christ all the glory, it's not of the Holy Spirit, he shall glorify me. In our experience as believers, if Christ does not give all the glory, God the Holy Spirit was never in it. Now what do I mean by that? Faith. Who gets the glory from our faith? Do I believe because I decided to believe? Or do I believe because faith is the gift of God? Well, faith is the gift of God.

Who gets the glory? Christ, not you. Not you. Jesus Christ the Lord gets the glory, and he gets all the glory. You can't give your free will the credit. You can't give your need the credit. God gave you this faith, and if you believe, you know sure as you're a foot and a half high that he gave it to you. I don't have to argue that with any believer. Now, an unbeliever I might have to argue about. Well, I'm not gonna bother, you know, but every believer knows that there was a time that they didn't believe, And there's a time when they did, and they know that's for the glory of Christ. It's not because of me.

My repentance. Who gets the glory for it? Well, according to 2 Timothy 2.25, it's a gift of God. Who gets the glory for it?

You've got to change your mind if you're a believer. Your mind's been changed. You see things that you didn't see before. You see things about God that you didn't see before. You see things about yourself you didn't see before. Oh, you see the glory of Christ's salvation.

You've repented of those old views of salvation by works, and you've repented. Where'd that repentance come from? God hath to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. He only is the object of my faith. Christ alone, thinking about our experience, what about our motives in what we do? If it's not for the glory of Christ, God, the Holy Spirit's not in it.

What about assurance? Listen to this real carefully. I want you to listen to all real carefully, but this is so important. Assurance of salvation. If my assurance of my salvation is not founded 100% on it is finished, it's a false assurance. Now think about that.

Paul said in 2 Timothy 1, 12, nevertheless, I'm not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that he has enabled me to change my life to such an extent that I know I'm a child of God. I'm not what I was. I'm living differently. I have different desires. That's not what he said, is it? He wouldn't look at the changes in his life that gave him assurance. Now, he did have changes in his life. He went from being a Pharisee to the chief apostle. I mean, he did have changes in his life. Does he even mention any of that? No!

I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Paul's assurance was that salvation didn't have anything to do with what he did, but it is holy in what Christ did for him. That's it. He said, God forbid that I should glory, saving the cross. of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, is all the assurance of your salvation in what He did? Has nothing to do with you, your changed life, your doctrinal understanding, your I get this? No, it's that what He did is everything in your salvation. Your hands are off. He did it all. Your fingerprints are not on there. He did it all. He shall glorify me. In your assurance of salvation, He shall glorify me. This is the work of God the Holy Spirit. He shall glorify me.

In every controversy, and there are plenty of them, you've been through controversy before over the gospel. You've had controversy with people over the gospel. In every controversy, and there are plenty of them, if it doesn't glorify Christ and if it was not for his glory, it's not of the Holy Spirit. It could be the stand that I am taking for whatever it might be is not for the glory of Christ, but it has something to do with my flesh, the promotion of my flesh, how good I look. how sound I am.

If it's not for his glory, it's not of the Holy Spirit. Now here's the test. He shall glorify me. Everything in our experience has to be judged through that. The doctrine that I embrace, does it actually glorify Jesus Christ? In my experience as a believer, is my experience does it glorify only Him? Not my experience. I wish every one of us would just forget our experience. I believed when I felt this or did that. Forget that. Forget that. You can't be sure of your experience.

I know when I was saved. Well, I don't know when I was saved. I know I was saved before time again. And I know I was saved when Christ died and accomplished my salvation. And I know I was saved whenever it was I believed on Christ for the first time, but I can't really remember when that was.

You know, you young people being raised up in the church, you're always gonna have a tendency to wait for a feeling or an experience. You've heard the truth and you think, well, I need to feel something. I need to experience something more. I need some kind of aha moment when I see everything. You're looking to an experience rather than looking to Christ only. That's a subtle, deceitful thing. We can even use our doctoral understanding as reasons to keep us from looking to Christ only.

Now, he shall glorify Me. You look to Christ and see that He gets all the glory in your salvation. It's His work. That's faith. It's resting in who He is and what He did. as all that's needed to make you save. Quit looking for something and look to Him.

He shall glorify me. That's the test. He shall glorify me. And by this we can see what is of the Holy Spirit and what is not of the Holy Spirit. But what a blessed promise. He shall guide you into all truth. He shall not speak of Himself but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, he shall glorify me." Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you that the blessed Spirit of God glorifies the blessed Son of God. Lord, we ask that you would drive us out of every false refuge, enable us to look to Him only. Bless this message for His sake, in His name we pray.

The Spirit of Truth

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the Holy Spirit as the Comforter?

How do we know the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ?

Why is it important that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth?

How does the Holy Spirit work in the process of salvation?

Why is Jesus referred to as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world?

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The Spirit of Truth

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the Holy Spirit as the Comforter?

How do we know the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ?

Why is it important that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth?

How does the Holy Spirit work in the process of salvation?

Why is Jesus referred to as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world?

Sermon Transcript

About Todd Nibert

Comments

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