John 16:13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
Jesus had just told His disciples that He had more to say, but He had restrained Himself because they were not able to bear it. But that didn’t mean that they would miss out on those things He had to say. They would receive them from Him later, once the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, came to them. We have some hint from this verse about the things on Jesus’ mind—they were things “to come.” The Holy Spirit would guide them when they needed it. The Holy Spirit speaks what He hears from Jesus just like Jesus spoke what He heard from the Father. Again we may be encouraged by the union of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus is the son of truth, and the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. Neither of them spoke on His own initiative. If we walk by the Spirit, then we also should be careful not to speak when we feel like it. Just as love restrained Jesus with His disciples, we can expect love to restrain us as the Holy Spirit guides us. John referred to this wonderful truth of the Holy Spirit’s guidance and teaching when he wrote in 1 John 2:27 “As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.” This is the reason I pray in the Live to Love prayer these words, “Father, anoint and fill me with the Holy Spirit, the presence and power of Christ, so that I can love and trust You and love the people You put in my path today, for Your glory.” May we abide in the gift of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth, as we live to love with Jesus today. Whatever we hear from Him, let us speak in love with confidence.
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
