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Sunday, December 27, 2009

“The Spirit of the Truth”


One operation of God’s holy spirit is to inform, to illuminate, to reveal truths. Shortly before his death, Jesus told his disciples: “I have many things yet to say to you, but you are not able to bear them at present. However, when that one arrives, the spirit of the truth, he will guide you into all the truth.”—John 16:12, 13.http://biblize.com/search?q=John+16:12,+13&q_scope=

“The spirit of the truth” was poured out at Pentecost 33 C.E. when about 120 disciples who gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem were baptized with holy spirit. (Acts 2:1-4) http://biblize.com/search?q=Acts+2:1-4&q_scope=
The apostle Peter was among those present for that annual festival. Filled with holy spirit, Peter “stood up” and amplified, or clarified, certain truths about Jesus. He recounted, for example, how “Jesus the Nazarene” was “exalted to the right hand of God.” (Acts 2:14, 22, 33) http://biblize.com/search?q=Acts+2:14,+22,+33&q_scope=
God’s spirit also moved Peter to declare boldly to his Jewish listeners: “Let all the house of Israel know for a certainty that God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you impaled.” (Acts 2:36) http://biblize.com/search?q=Acts+2:36&q_scope=
As a result of Peter’s spirit-inspired message, about three thousand persons “embraced his word heartily” and got baptized. In this way, God’s holy spirit helped to guide them into the truth.—Acts 2:37-41.http://biblize.com/search?q=Acts+2:37-41&q_scope=

God’s holy spirit also served as a teacher and remembrancer. Jesus said: “The helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name, that one will teach you all things and bring back to your minds all the things I told you.”—John 14:26.http://biblize.com/search?q=John+14:26&q_scope=

How did holy spirit operate as a teacher? God’s spirit opened the disciples’ minds to things that they had previously heard from Jesus but had not fully understood. For example, the apostles knew that during his trial, Jesus told the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate: “My kingdom is no part of this world.” Yet, at the time of Jesus’ ascension to heaven over 40 days later, the apostles still had the mistaken view that the Kingdom would be established here on the earth. (John 18:36; Acts 1:6) http://biblize.com/search?q=Acts+1:6&q_scope=
Apparently, the apostles were not able to grasp fully the meaning of Jesus’ words until after the outpouring of God’s holy spirit at Pentecost 33 C.E.
God’s spirit also served as a remembrancer by bringing back to mind the various teachings of Jesus. Prophecies regarding Christ’s death and resurrection, for instance, took on new meaning with the aid of holy spirit. (Matthew 16:21; John 12:16) Recalling Jesus’ teachings enabled the apostles boldly to defend their position before kings, magistrates, and religious leaders.—Mark 13:9-11; Acts 4:5-20.http://biblize.com/search?q=Acts+4:5-20&q_scope=

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Christian view the Bible as the inspired Word of God, absolute truth, beneficial for teaching and disciplining mankind.