The Spirit of truth

16:12-13

This is the last of the five sections about the Holy Spirit which Jesus spoke that night (12-15). In the four previous passages, the Spirit is called the Counsellor (the one who comes alongside to help) but he is also said to be the Spirit of truth and that’s the particular title given to him here (13; 14:17; 15:26).

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Jesus has already emphasised this aspect of the work of the Spirit in regard to unbelievers. It’s the Spirit who witnesses to the truth of Jesus (15:26) and who convicts the world about it (16:9-11). But now he returns to the theme of the Spirit’s work in the believer, especially his work of revealing the truth about Jesus and of reminding them of all that Jesus has said to them (14:26).

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The disciples were not yet ready to receive all that Jesus wanted to teach them (12) but the Spirit would lead them into all truth (13). That truth has been fully revealed already in Jesus (1:14,17; 14:6). But the Spirit takes the truth he has heard from Jesus and guides us into the understanding and outworking of it. This includes truth about the work of Jesus which is yet to come i.e. his exaltation as Lord, the gospel going out throughout the world, the final resurrection and judgement.