Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 16:13

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: and he will show you things to come.

13. the Spirit of truth ] See on Joh 14:17.

he will guide you ] ‘He and no other will be your guide.’ Christ is the Way and the Truth. The Spirit leads men into the Way and thus to the Truth. But He does no more than guide: He does not compel, He does not carry. They may refuse to follow, and if they follow they must exert themselves. Contrast Mat 15:14; Luk 6:39; Act 8:31.

into all truth ] Better, into all the truth, i.e. the truth in its entirety: this is very clearly expressed in the Greek.

he shall not speak of himself ] This does not mean ‘shall not speak about Himself’ but ‘ from Himself.’ The Spirit, like the Son, cannot speak what proceeds from Himself as distinct from what proceeds from the Father: He is the Source of Divine energy and truth. Comp. Joh 5:19 and Joh 7:18. This expression ‘from himself, from itself’ ( ) is peculiar to S. John: comp. Joh 11:51, Joh 15:4.

he will shew you things to come ] Better, He shall declare to you the things that are coming. The Greek verb means ‘to announce, proclaim, declare’ rather than ‘shew.’ Note the thrice repeated ‘He shall declare to you.’ The phrase ‘the things that are coming’ is identical in form with ‘He that cometh’ (Luk 7:19): among these things we may place the constitution of the Church and the revelation respecting the Last Judgment and its results.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The Spirit of truth – So called because he would teach them all necessary truth.

Will guide you into all truth – That is, truth which pertained to the establishment of the Christian system, which they were not then prepared to hear. We may here remark that this is a full promise that they would be inspired and guided in founding the new church; and we may observe that the plan of the Saviour was replete with wisdom. Though they had been long with him, yet they were not prepared then to hear of the changes that were to occur; but his death would open their eyes, and the Holy Spirit, making use of the striking and impressive scenes of his death and ascension, would carry forward with vast rapidity their views of the nature of the Christian scheme. Perhaps in the few days that elapsed, of which we have a record in the first and second chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, they learned more of the true nature of the Christian plan than they would have done in months or years even under the teaching of Jesus himself. The more we study the plan of Christ, the more shall we admire the profound wisdom of the Christian scheme, and see that it was eminently fitted to the great design of its Founder – to introduce it in such a manner as to make on man the deepest impression of its wisdom and its truth.

Not speak of himself – Not as prompted by himself. He shall declare what is communicated to him. See the notes at Joh 7:18.

Whatsoever he shall hear – What he shall receive of the Father and the Son; represented by hearing, because in this way instruction is commonly received. See the notes at Joh 5:30.

Things to come – Probably this means the meaning of things which were to take place after the time when he was speaking to them – to wit, the design of his death, and the nature of the changes which were to take place in the Jewish nation. It is also true that the apostles were inspired by the Holy Spirit to predict future events which would take place in the church and the world. See Act 11:28; Act 20:29; Act 21:11; 1Ti 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3; 2Pe 1:14; and the whole book of Revelation.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Joh 16:13

When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come

The Spirit of Truth

What is meant by all truth?

It is better to take for granted that the Bible always means what it says–all the truth of nature as well as of the gospel, of science as well as of religion. Aholiab was, doubtless, a skilled mechanic before the effusion of the Spirit; but after he became the best carpenter of the nation. So with Bezaleel. I am glad to acknowledge that the great thinkers of the world have not been wholly unguided by the Holy Ghost. Great discoverers are almost invariably devout: Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato–Kepler, Newton, and Faraday.

Even nature confides her secrets to none except to men of deep piety. Tyndall and Huxley are very brilliant; but they have not yet established their right to be classed with the great. The truth which makes for our salvation is here mainly intended. Note, the Spirit guides into all truth

I. IN RESPECT OF REVELATION. This means that the Spirit will

1. Speak nothing but the truth, for He shall not speak from Himself, &c. This is the Saviours infallible proof of the trustworthiness of His own teaching, and urges the same in support of the infallibility of the Spirits illumination. If you hear any one speaking from himself, boasting much in his originality, you may rest assured that his discovery will turn out to be shallow and worthless. For truth is not a thing that comes from, but to, man. He never strikes it–it always strikes him. Accordingly, great discoverers never claim much credit. I am but a child, said Newton, gathering pebbles on the shore of the great sea of truth. He felt that all the credit due to him was that of seeing the pebbles–the credit of making them belonged to another. You cannot originate truth–only discover it; you cannot make it–only see it. If you make it, it is no longer truth, but a lie. Wherefore it is averred of the evil spirit that he speaketh of his own, and therefore of necessity speaketh a lie. But whatsoever the Spirit heareth in the exalted fellowship of the Trinity in Unity, that speaketh He.

2. Inspire the truth already extant in the world, and only waiting the breath of inspiration to quicken it. True holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, but every Scripture is God-inspired. Not only the writers, but their writings, are all alive with the breath of God. God breathed into it the breath of life, and the Bible became a living book. The inspired men are dead, but the inspired truths are living. They are warm now with the breath of the Eternal. One of the rare excellencies of the Bible is its warmth. Its temperature is many degrees higher than that of any other book. Whereas the same truths in other religions and philosophies sink down to freezing-point, in Christianity they invariably rise to blood-heat. Here are two bars of steel. They are precisely of the same make, shape, weight, size. But put them on the ground near a heap of rubbish, and the difference will be manifest. Whilst one lies inert, the other exerts a potent influence on the whole mass, disturbing the needles and nails and iron filings. What is the matter? One has been magnetized. And here are two truths, one in heathen philosophy, the other in the gospel. They are as similar as two truths can be. But the truth as contained in

Greek or Chinese philosophy lies barren and inoperative; but the same truth as uttered by Jesus Christ enters as a living quickening force into human life. In Christianity it has been magnetized, inspired.

3. Revealed new truths. Eye hath not seen, &c. The truths of nature are only His surface thoughts, and therefore within the range of created intellects. But the truths of the gospel are His deep things, too deep for human reason ever to fathom, but which, nevertheless, God has shown to us by His Spirit. In the context the things of God are called the things of Jesus Christ. As Columbus took possession of the continent of America in the name of Christ, so Christ took possession of the continent of truth in His own name–He has stamped on every truth His own private mark. This is the final test whether any doctrine be of the inspiration of the Spirit. Does it glorify Christ? Many teachers went out in the apostolic age claiming to be Divinely commissioned; but this was the test whereby the spirits were tried. Many novel doctrines are promulgated to-day, labelled with the names of able and scholarly men. Do they glorify Christ? If not, beware of them. What do you think of Ecce Homo? asked a lady once of Professor Duncan. What does Ecce Homo think of Christ? asked the old Rabbi back. I cannot tell; that it is which puzzles me, answered the lady. Well, deliberately answered the sick professor, if any book, after a careful perusal of it, leaves you in doubt what it thinks and what you ought to think about Christ, there is something radically wrong in it. Every sound book, doctrine, sermon, glorifies Christ.

II. IN RESPECT OF EXPOSITION.

1. The nature of the Spirits influence.

(1) Guide; not only to show the road, but travel along it. To direct strangers in a strange country is much; to accompany them till they reach their destination is more. Thus the Holy Spirit takes us by the hand, as it were, and leads us to a reasonable apprehension of the great doctrines of salvation. This partly indicates the difference between the influence of the Spirit under the Old Testament and under the New. Then He moved. The prophets were borne along before the breath of the Spirit, like ships before the wind, a force outside them and behind them driving them irresistibly along. The Spirit sometimes fell suddenly upon them, and sometimes left them quite as suddenly; but in either case they were thrown half dead on the ground. But guide denotes steady, constant, uniform influence.

(2) And He will guide you, not to, but into. You cannot properly judge truth except from within. Go and examine a coloured window. From without it looks a mixed, unmeaning, vulgar blotch of paint. But enter the cathedral, look upon it between you and the light, and it is gloriously transfigured. Similarly the fundamental truths of the gospel, such as the atonement and justification, are unto the Jews a stumbling-block, &c. But study them from within, look at them between you and the light of God and the eternal judgment, and they become the power of God and the wisdom of God.

2. The subjects of His guidance. You, not the apostles only. The Spirit influences the mental movements of the weakest saint. The Spirit mysteriously invigorates the mind. The unction from the Holy One oils the wheels marvellously. Look at Saul, the son of Kish, and Peter. This, however, does not mean the total extinction of all differences between believers in their scholastic attainments; but it does mean the abolition of all difference in their spiritual apprehension of the saving truths of the gospel. Long sight has no advantage over short sight in examining the heavens. Both can see the sun, neither can see behind and beyond. The dullest, obtusest believer sees as far as the Sun of Righteousness, and your most learned occupants of professorial chairs cannot see an inch behind and beyond.

3. The scope of the Spirits influence. All, not into some, but into all. Not at once, for guidance is a gradual process.

(1) The history of doctrine is none other than the history of the Divine guidance of the Church into the truth. He guided the Church fathers into the truth concerning the Person of Christ; the Reformers into the truth of justification; the Puritans and Methodists into the doctrine of regeneration. Well, has the Bible been exhausted? Oh no; other truths remain to reward the patient and prayerful study of generations to come. The Spirit guides as fast as the body of the Church can follow, and will not desist till every chapter of the Bible has been emptied of its contents. God has much light to break out of the Bible yet. There are more acorns in Bashan than oaks, and there are more seeds of truth in the words of Christ than have yet developed into doctrines. If that be the case, you ask, What shall we do with the creeds, the confessions, and standards of faith? We shall respect the old, and, if need arise, make new ones. Creeds are not intended to shut out new truths, but to shut in old. Creeds do not set limits to faith, only to unbelief. Creeds are not hindrances to progress, but to retrogression, and so lose the ground it has gained through much agony of thought and prayer. They do not tie down the mind and impede its flight upwards; they tie up the mind and stop its flight downward. What minds have soared higher than those who think it no degradation and no bondage to subscribe to the hoary creeds of Christendom? Creeds are the garners where the Church lays by its ripe truths for the support and comfort of its children in years to come. But because we store the ripe fruit, does that make us negligent of the orchard? Let the history of the Church answer.

(2) You are welcome to go out on voyages of discovery to find out new islands or continents of truth. Only remember the condition–under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. No prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation; and a good reason why, Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man. The Spirit, who inspired the Bible, He only can adequately interpret it. But what about the right of private judgment? I have profound respect for that when it is a holy judgment, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. But I have not confidence in it when it is a depraved judgment, under the dominion of the evil spirit. The other evening I visited the Houses of Parliament, and observed that a soft, pure light was shed down on the floor from above the ceiling. I could see the light, but not the flame. Methought the Scriptures were illuminated in the same manner, from above the ceiling; the source of the light is in God, not in man. Let us, then, seek that illumination. We study human commentaries, but let us not forget the commentary of the Holy Ghost. When the Council of Trent sat, when an embarrassing question arose, the ecclesiastics submitted the points in dispute to the final arbitrament of the pope and cardinals. In due time the answer returned, prefaced with It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and to us. This happened so frequently that it passed into a proverb that the Holy Ghost was being sent in the popes portmanteau. But we need not send to Rome to learn the mind of the Spirit, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

(3) This is the Protestant counterpart to the Romish doctrine of the infallibility of the pope. He will guide you infallibly; but it is another question if you will follow infallibly. But wait awhile. The Bible is an infallible book; the Spirit is an infallible interpreter; and between them both men will grow infallible by and by.

III. IN RESPECT OF APPLICATION. This suggests that the Spirit

1. Whets the truth, puts edge on the ministry of the Word. My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words, &c. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, &c. Not tickled, amused, entertained, but pierced through. The sermons men like are refined, polished, full of flowers. But read Peters sermon on the day of Pentecost; it bristles like a hawthorn bush. The great need of the modern pulpit is sermons with fewer flowers and sharper pricks.

2. Imparts warmth to the ministry. He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Warmth is an essential element in the Scriptures; it is an essential element in the ministry. The chief difference between genius and talent seems to me to consist, not in the amount of light, but in the amount of heat; not in the knowledge, but in the fire. The erudition of Ben Jonson was profounder than that of Shakespeare; the knowledge of Whewell was more extensive than that of Carlyle; the information of many a Scott was more capacious than that of Robert Burns. Where, then, was the genius? Not in the knowledge, but in the fire. (J. C. Jones, D. D.)

The Spirit of Truth

The Holy Spirit, who was given for the reproof and conviction of the world, was given also for the enlightenment and edification of the Church.

I. THE DESIGNATION OF THE HOLY GHOST. The Father is the absolute Truth, the one eternal source of all truth. The Divine Son reveals, embodies, and bears witness to the truth. But the Spirit, coming into contact with souls, brings the truth home to them with power.

II. HIS COMING. Whilst believing in the eternal existence and activity of the Third Person in the Trinity, Christians apprehend what has been called the temporal mission of the Comforter. As there was a time for the advent of the Son, so was there a time for the full gift of the Spirit, viz., when the full truth had been revealed in Christ. The Spirit came conspicuously on the Day of Pentecost to remain for ever.

III. HIS OFFICE.

1. Generally–to lead Christians, not into every kind of truth, but the truth as in Jesus. As a master leads a pupil through a picture gallery, as a tutor leads a scholar through a science or a language, so does the Spirit lead us through the realm of spiritual truth.

2. Specially–to reveal what is Christs to His people: He shall take of Mine. Not only did He inspire apostles to record the facts of Christs ministry, and to expound the doctrines growing out of those facts, but He enables every Christian to realize and appropriate the blessings Christ brings to man.

3. Prophetically to unfold things to come. Thus to Peter was unfolded the mystery of the inclusion of the Gentiles in the fold; to Paul the doctrine of the resurrection; to John the glories of the eternal future.

IV. HIS END AND AIM. The glory of Christ, as secured by the achievement of the purposes of our Saviours ministry, and as manifested by the praise and fame accruing to Him both on earth and in heaven. (Family Churchman.)

Divine guidance

I. OUR CIRCUMSTANCES AS NEEDING A GUIDE.

1. Our entire ignorance of our journey. There is not a man in the world that knows anything of the way to happiness or heaven without this Spirit.

2. Our frowardness. We are rash and heady and obstinate. We rush on heedless of consequences. We hit on some one path or other, and it is sure to be a wrong one; but onward we go. Many tell us that it leads to death, and many times we are told so, but on we go. We therefore need a guide.

3. Our pride. We are by nature full of self-consequence. We think we know the way. If any tell us of it, we soon reply, We know these things as well as you. We have not lived so long in the world for nothing. We do not want your teaching, &c. Such never ask for wisdom, lest they should by that request confess their ignorance. We therefore need a guide.

II. THE EXCELLENCIES OF THE GUIDE HERE PROMISED US.

1. He has perfect knowledge of the way. A blind guide will be no guide. We should discard such, should they offer to conduct. This Guide knows the way, every step of the way; knows all truth, and where truth leads.

2. He is faithful. This is essential in a guide. If we trust to a guide we give up ourselves to his care.

3. He is condescending and familiar. This in a guide will make him a pleasant companion. A guide that will describe the surrounding scenery, and lead us into a knowledge of objects as we pass, will endear him and make our journeying easy. This Spirit is a Guide that stoops to converse with us by the way. Sometimes He tells us some sweet truths, as the

Fathers everlasting love, the Saviours finished work. Sometimes He shows some instructive objects. Look yonder, do you see that pillar? That is Lots wife: she left Sodom, and left all her furniture behind, and, against the command of God, she turned her head to look as if she hankered after that she left behind, and the Lord turned her into a pillar of salt. Look, there is Demas, who, having loved this present evil world, has left Paul and the gospel that he might embrace it. See, yonder is the place of skulls; that is Golgotha, where Christ fought with principalities and powers, and overcame, having destroyed Death.

III. THE EXECUTION OF HIS WORK. He shall guide you into all truth; wherein we have three particulars to open.

1. The way in which the Spirit leads. That way is the way of truth. Respecting this way of truth there are these particulars which commend it. Gospel truth is a pleasant way to walk in (Pro 3:17). There is nothing in this way to grieve or distress: its prospects are all good; it holds up to view a God reconciled in Christ. There is no pleasure equal to that which is found in walking in this way. True it is that Christians are not always happy, but that is not from any gloominess in the path of gospel grace. They step aside or walk carelessly, and so lose their comfort. Gospel truth is also a peaceful way to walk in: her paths are peace. Gospel truth, again, is a straight and even way to walk in. Gospel truth is a free way to walk in. Whosoever will may walk there. Gospel truth, in which the Spirit leads, is also a near way to walk in. We often choose the nearest way. It is but a step from misery to mercy, from nature to grace, from a fallen, ruined condition to a state of acceptance with God. Gospel truth, in fine, is a permanent way to walk in. There will never be another.

2. But where does the way of truth lead? We often ask where this or that pathway leads; in what direction or to what place. This leads to three places. To the Christ of God, the truth as it is in Jesus; truth centres in Him. This way leads to His person, fulness, work, love, and salvation. To the throne of grace. Truth tends that way. He that follows the word will call upon God. To the heavenly glory. Truth reveals heaven with all its glory, and shows itself the way.

3. How this Spirit, as a guide, leads in the way of truth. By putting us into the way. By nature we are all out of the way. By keeping us in the way when in. We are prone to wander. Did this Guide leave us we should soon leave the way. By upholding in the way. We are in danger of falling. By bringing us to our journeys end. He shall abide with you for ever. And for what but for this very purpose, to perfect that which concerneth us? Give up the soul to this Guide. (The Evangelist.)

The Spirit of Truth

This appellation teaches that He is the soul of truth, the life inside the truth, the sap within the gospel doctrines, keeping them fresh and green. But for the Spirit as a circulating, vitalizing sap within them, they would all shrivel up; the tree of life would wither and die, and its leaves would all drop to the ground. Examine the truths contained in other religions–how withered and dry they look. Examine the same truths in the religion of Christ–they throb with life and are clothed with verdure. (J. C. Jones, D. D.)

The Holy Spirit our Guide

People making the journey from earth to heaven need a guide. This they have in the Holy Spirit.

I. THIS PROMISE WAS MADE TO THE APOSTLES TO QUALIFY THEM FOR THEIR OFFICE. It included

1. The coming of the Spirit at a set time.

2. To guide them into all truth.

3. To show them things to come.

II. THIS PROMISE WAS FULFILLED

1. In the Pentecostal baptism.

2. In their preaching the risen Saviour.

3. In their founding the Christian Church.

4. In their writing the New Testament.

III. THIS PROMISE EXTENDS TO US.

1. In our reading the Bible.

2. In our understanding its truths.

3. In our living a life in conformity therewith.

IV. INFERENCES.

1. We have the power to accept or to reject the Holy Spirit as our Guide.

2. If we reject Him He will reprove us of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

3. If we accept Him He will dwell in us that we may know the things that are freely given us of God (1Co 2:9-16). (L. O.Thompson.)

The Spirit guiding into all truth

Truth may be compared to some cave or grotto, with wondrous stalactites hanging from the roof, and others starting from the floor; a cavern glittering with spar and abounding in marvels. Before entering the cavern you inquire for a guide, who comes with his lighted flambeau. He conducts you down to a considerable depth, and you find yourself in the midst of the cave. He leads you through different chambers. Here he points you to a little stream rushing from amid the rocks, and indicates its rise and progress; there he points to some peculiar rock and tells you its name, then takes you into a large natural hall, tells you how many persons once feasted in it, and so on. Truth is a grand series of caverns, it is our glory to have so great and wise a Conductor as the Holy Spirit. Imagine that we are coming to the darkness of it. He is a light shining in the midst of us to guide us. And by the light He shows us wondrous things. He teaches us by suggestion, direction, and illumination. (C. H.Spurgeon.)

The progressive revelation of truth by the Spirit

In theology, as in every other department of human knowledge, there is a law of progress. Truths which in one age are almost latent, or recognized simply and insulatedly by faith, on the authority of a positive declaration, are brought out more distinctly by subsequent ages, and ranged in their mutual connection–in their position as parts of the system of truth. Not, however, that this progress is always an advance along the line of truth in theology any more than in other sciences. Mans path bends aside, winds, twists, seems almost to return up on itself. His orbit has its aphelia as well as its perihelia. When he has made a lodgment in a new field of knowledge, he will set about building a tower, the top of which, he fancies, shall reach to heaven; and generations, it may be, will spend their lives in working at such a tower (e.g., the schoolmen)

, until the Spirit of division and confusion comes down among the workmen. Thus, one system after another has passed away, each, however, leaving behind some contribution greater or less, to the general stock of theological truth. Meanwhile, Gods word stands fast, even as the heavens and the earth. To the words of Scripture we cannot add; nor may we take away from them. But truth is set before us livingly, by examples, by principles, in the germ, not by the enunciation of a formal dogmatic system, according to which the thoughts of men were to be classed and rubricated for ever after; nor can any human scheme or system make out a title to the possession of such an absolute conclusive ultimatum. The right theory of development by no means implies that each later age must necessarily have a fuller and deeper knowledge of Divine things than its predecessors, the very reverse having notoriously been often the case. For the world is ever wrestling to draw man away from the truth, and will often prevail, as Jacob did over the angel; and when faith is at a low ebb, when the visible and material predominate in mens hearts and minds over the invisible, the ideal, the spiritual theology, must needs dwindle and decay. But when there is a revival of faith, if this revival coincides with, or is succeeded by a period of energetic thought, a deeper or clearer insight will be gained into certain portions of truth, especially appropriate to the circumstances and exigencies of the age, and which have not yet been set forth in their fulness–the true doctrine of the Trinity, e.g., in the fourth century, and that of justification in the sixteenth. (Archdeacon Hare.)

The Holy Ghost the Great Teacher

Here is

I. AN ATTAINMENT MENTIONED–knowledge of all truth.

1. Nature itself gives us a strong desire to know all truth. What we call curiosity is something given us of God impelling us to search into the knowledge of natural things; that curiosity, sanctified by the Spirit, is also brought to bear in matters of heavenly science. A true Christian is always searching the Scripture that he may be able to certify himself as to its main and cardinal truths.

2. A knowledge of all truth is very essential for our comfort. Many persons have been distressed half their lives from the fact that they had not clear views of truth. Many souls–e.g., under conviction–abide in sorrow because they have no one to instruct them about justification. Give me the congregation whose faces are bright with joy at the sound of the gospel, then will I believe that it is Gods own words they are receiving.

3. This knowledge will keep us out of danger. No doctrine is so calculated to preserve a man from sin as the doctrine of the grace of God. Those who call it a licentious doctrine know nothing about it. A man cannot have an erroneous belief without by and by having an erroneous life. Keep the head right, and especially keep the heart right with regard to truth, and your feet will not go far astray.

4. This knowledge will make us useful. There will be no character, however perplexing may be its peculiar phase, but we shall be able to speak to it and comfort it. Almost every man whom God has blessed to the building up of the Church in prosperity, has been a man who has held firmly free grace through the finished salvation of Christ. The sturdy truth of God touches every chord in every mans heart.

II. A DIFFICULTY SUGGESTED. We require a guide. Truth is not so easy to discover. Why this? Because of

1. The intricacy of truth itself. Those who fancy they know everything of course see no difficulties; but the most earnest student of Scripture will find things which puzzle him. Truth is a path so narrow that two can scarce walk together in it; we usually tread the narrow way in single file. If you step an inch aside you are in a dangerous error. On the one hand there is a huge precipice, and on the other a deep morass; and unless you keep to the true line, to the breadth of a hair, you will go astray. Truth is like the veins of metal in a mine, it is often of excessive thinness, and runs not in one continued layer. Lose it once, and you may dig for miles and not discover it again; the eye must watch perpetually the direction of the lode. Grains of truth are like the grains of gold in the rivers of Australia, they must be shaken by the hands of patience, and washed in the stream of honesty, or the fine gold will be mingled with sand.

2. The insidiousness of error. It easily steals upon us, and we are often like men in a fog. We think, surely this is the right path; and the voice of the evil one whispers, That is the way, walk ye in it. You do so, and you find that you have been walking in the paths of unrighteousness and error. The way of life is a labyrinth; the grassiest paths and the most bewitching are the farthest away from right. There is not a counterfeit coin in the world so much like a genuine one, as some errors are like the truth.

3. We are so prone to go astray. If grace did not guide a man, he would go astray, though there were hand-posts all the way to heaven.

III. A PERSON PROVIDED.

1. Infallible. If I pin my sleeve to another mans coat, he may lead me part of the way rightly, but by and by he will go wrong himself, and I shall be led astray with him. But if I give myself to the Holy Ghost and ask His guidance, there is no fear of my wandering.

2. Ever present. When we have no commentator or minister, we have still the Holy Spirit. Whenever you cannot understand a text, pray over it, and if it does not open itself, try again. If prayer does not explain it, it is one of the things God did not intend you to know, and you may be content to be ignorant of it. There is no college for holy education like that of the blessed Spirit, for He is an ever-present tutor.

3. Guides into the truth. Now, man can guide us to a truth, but it is only the Holy Spirit who can guide us into a truth. There are many of my hearers who are brought to the truth of their depravity; but they are not brought into it, and made to feel it. Some of you are brought to know the truth that God keeps us from day to day; but you rarely get into it, so as to live in continual dependence upon God the Holy Ghost, and draw fresh supplies from Him. The thing is, to get inside it. A Christian should do with truth as a snail does with his shell, live inside it, as well as carry it on his back.

IV. A METHOD SUGGESTED. He guides us into all truth

1. By suggesting it. There are thoughts that dwell in our minds that were not born there, but which were exotics brought from heaven and put there by the Spirit. Have you not at times had unaccountably–in the middle of your business–a thought concerning God and heavenly things, and could not tell whence it came?

2. By direction, not so much putting a boat on the stream as steering it when it is there. Time after time have you commenced a meditation on a certain doctrine and, unaccountably, you were gradually led away into another, and you saw how one doctrine leaned on another, as the stones in the arch all hanging on the keystone of Jesus Christ crucified.

3. By illumination. There is nothing like reading an illuminated Bible. You may read to all eternity, and never learn anything by it, unless it is illuminated by the Spirit; and then the words shine forth like stars.

V. AN EVIDENCE. You may know the Spirits influence by

1. Its unity. The Spirit never says one thing at one time and another thing at another. It has been always held as a first principle that truth is one thing. But some persons say, I find one thing in one part of the Bible, and another thing in another, and though it contradicts itself I must believe it. All quite right, if it did contradict itself; but the fault is not in the wood but in the carpenter. Many carpenters do not understand dove-tailing; so there are many preachers who do not understand dove-tailing.

2. Its universality. The true child of God will not be led into some truth but into all truth. When first he starts he will not know half the truth, he will believe it but not understand it. Certain doctrines take years to develop themselves. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Heavenly Teacher

I. THE NAME HE BEARS The Spirit of truth descriptive of

1. His nature–Spirit. In this different from Christ who was God in human form.

2. His character–true. Implied in His designation–Spirit of truth.

3. His intelligence–involved in the fact that He is the possessor of truth.

4. His Divinity–if the possessor of truth He must be Divine.

II. THE SCHOLARS HE INSTRUCTS. The disciples of Christ.

1. The apostles.

2. Pastors (2Co 3:6; 2Ti 1:6; 2Ti 1:14).

3. The universal company of believers–the Spirit dwelling in them (1Co 3:16), helping their infirmities (Rom 8:26), and leading them into all the truth.

III. THE LESSONS HE IMPARTS. All the truth, not ordinary, scientific or philosophic truth, but truth

1. Heard from the Father, therefore Divine.

2. Relating to Christ, hence specifically Christian.

IV. THE AIM HE PURSUES. The glory of Christ. For this end He exhibits Christ

1. As the possessor of the truth (Joh 16:14).

2. As the substance of the truth (Joh 14:6).

3. As the end of the truth–persuading men and enabling them to rest on Christ. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

The necessity of the Spirits teaching to the right understanding of the Scriptures

I. THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE–of faith, of repentance. Simon Magus believed and remained in the gall of bitterness. Paul believed and became a Christian. In both cases there was a persuasion of the truth. Simon believed when he saw miracles; Paul when Christ was revealed in him. Judas repented when he saw the evil consequences of his treachery; Peter when he saw his conduct in its true character. So there is a simple intellectual knowledge of the truth, and there is a spiritual knowledge and discernment.

II. HOW ARE THESE RELATED? How do they agree and differ? The things known and the act of knowing are the same. But the spiritual excellence of the object is not apprehended in the one case, while it is in the other. This may be illustrated by the case of the discernment of beauty. Now, with regard to the knowledge of the Scriptures, there is no reason why the unrenewed man, without any special aid of the Spirit, should not acquire that knowledge, as well as the knowledge of any similar volume under the same conditions.

1. Assiduous study.

2. In the right method and in the use of the right means.

3. Impartiality and honesty. Now, although this is possible, it is in reference to the Scriptures difficult and rare, because of the opposition of the heart to Bible doctrines, and because the judgments of men are so largely determined by their feelings. Therefore, for the attainment of this intellectual knowledge there is great need of the Spirits guidance to produce docility, and to prevent opposition to the truth blinding the mind.

III. FOR SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE THE CASE IS PLAIN. The Scriptures teach

1. The absolute necessity of Divine teaching. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, &c. The Bible abounds in prayers for Divine teaching, and Paul declares all external teaching vain without it.

2. The cause of this ignorance, blindness, and inability to know the things of God arises from two sources.

(1) Our depravity. We are natural, carnal–the opposite of the Spiritual–which we cannot, therefore, discern.

(2) The god of this world blinds the eyes. He persuades men to reject the truth, raises objections, and excites the enmity of the heart.

3. It is a solemn fact, therefore, that those only who are led by the Spirit come to a knowledge of the truth. This is His great office, must be recognized and accepted. Correct speculative knowledge and spiritual knowledge experience teaches do not admit of protracted separation. Orthodoxy will not last long without piety. An unconverted ministry forsakes the truth. (C. Hodge, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 13. He will guide you] He will consider your feeble infant state; and, as a father leads his child by the hand, so will the Holy Spirit lead and guide you.

The Vulgate, and some copies of the Itala, read, He will TEACH you all truth; but this and more is implied in the word , he will lead; besides, this reading is not acknowledged by any Greek MS.

He shall not speak of himself] He shall teach nothing contrary to what I have taught you:

But whatsoever he shall hear] Of the Father and me, that he shall speak, and thus show the intimate consent between himself, the Father, and Christ. It is one conjoint testimony, in which the honour and glory of the holy Trinity, and man’s salvation are equally concerned.

And he will show you things to came.] He will fully explain every thing that may now appear dark or difficult to you; will give you such a knowledge of futurity as shall, in all necessary cases, enable you to foretell future events; and shall supply every requisite truth, in order to make the new covenant revelation complete and perfect.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The word which we here translate guide, odhghsei, is a word of great emphasis; it strictly signifieth to be a guide of the way, not only to discover truth as the object of the understanding, but the bowing of the will to the obedience of it. It is said, that the Spirit should guide the apostles into all truth; that is, all necessary truth, whatsoever Christ had revealed to them, because in their present state they were not able to bear it; whatsoever should be fit for them to know, in order to their planting, ordering, and governing the church of God, which Christ had not, while he was with them acquainted them with; and people were to expect from the apostles, upon whom the Spirit should come in the days of Pentecost, and so influence them, that in those things they should not be at a loss to understand the will of God, which they should communicate unto others. And they ought to look upon what the apostles so revealed, as the mind of Christ; for the Holy Spirit should not speak merely of himself, but as from Christ, with whom he was essentially one; as also from the Father: whatsoever the Father and the Son willed he should communicate, that he should reveal to the apostles: and he shall reveal to you things that are to come, being in you the Spirit of prophecy. The apostles in their Epistles, and in the book of Revelation, showed not indeed all things, but many things which were and are to come to pass.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

Howbeit, when the Spirit of truth is come,…. Of this character of the Spirit, see Joh 14:17. His coming, as before, intends more especially his descent on the apostles at Pentecost; though what is here said of him is true of his office, and of his operations on other persons, and at other times:

he will guide you into all truth; necessary to be known, useful to men, profitable to the churches, even the whole counsel of God; what relates to worship, the nature, form, and spirituality of it, as well as doctrine. He is as a guide, he goes before, leads the way, removes obstructions, opens the understanding, makes things plain and clear, teaches to profit, and leads in the way men should go, without turning to the right hand or left, which, without such a guide, they would be apt to do. The Jews y have a notion of the Holy Ghost being a guide into all wisdom and knowledge.

“R. Phinehas says, the Holy Spirit rested upon Joseph from his youth to the day of his death, and “guided him into all wisdom”, as a shepherd leads his flock, according to

Ps 80:1;”

For he shall not speak of himself: as Christ, the Son, spoke not of himself in opposition to the Father, so the Spirit speaks not of himself in opposition either to the Father, or the Son, but in perfect agreement with both; being, as of the same nature and essence, power and glory, so of the same mind, understanding, and will; and as they agreed and wrought jointly and harmoniously, in the works of nature and providence, so in the economy of grace and salvation.

But whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; as Christ himself did, Joh 15:15; and they are such things as ear has not heard besides; what were secretly transacted in the council and covenant of peace, and agreed upon by all the three persons; things which concern the salvation of men, the Gospel church state, another world, and the glory of all the divine persons:

and he will show you things to come; which would come to pass after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ; things relating to the state and settlement of the Gospel church, the partition wall being broken down, the law of commandments contained in ordinances abolished, and a new face of things appearing in the kingdom and interest of Christ, in consequence of the Spirit being sent forth, and poured down: or this may respect the spirit of prophecy in the apostles, who showed to them many things to come in after ages; as the rise of the man of sin, the great departure from the faith, and decline of the power of godliness in the last days, the calling of the Jews, the destruction of antichrist, the burning of the world, and the making of new heavens and new earth; and, in short, what would be the state of the church of Christ, and religion, in all the several periods of time, quite down to the coming of Christ, when dead saints shall be raised, and living ones changed, as is declared throughout the book of Revelation.

y Pirke Eliezer, c. 39.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Howbeit (). One of the most delicate and difficult particles to translate, varying from “and” to “but.”

When he, the Spirit of truth, is come ( , ). Indefinite relative clause ( and the second aorist active subjunctive of , no futurum exactum), “whenever he comes.” Note (masculine demonstrative pronoun, though followed by neuter in apposition. See 15:26 for this phrase about the Holy Spirit. He shall guide you ( ). Future active of old verb (from , from , way, , to lead). See Ps 24:5 for “lead me into thy truth” ( ). Christ is both the Way and the Truth (14:6) and the Holy Spirit is the Guide who shows the way to the Truth (verse 14). This he does gradually. We are still learning the truth in Christ.

From himself (‘ ). In this he is like Christ (John 1:26; John 12:49; John 14:10).

He shall declare (). Future active of , as in 4:25. See it also repeated in verse 14.

The things that are yet to come ( ). Neuter plural articular participle of , “the coming things.” This phrase only here in the N.T. The things already begun concerning the work of the Kingdom (Luke 7:19; Luke 18:30) not a chart of future history. See Luke 7:20; John 6:14; John 11:27 for (the coming one) used of the Messiah.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Spirit of truth. Literally, of the truth. See on 14 7.

Will guide [] . From oJdov, way, and hJgeomai, to lead. The kindred noun, oJdhgov, guide, leader, occurs Mt 14:14; Act 1:16, etc.

Into all truth [ ] . Rev., more correctly, into all the truth. Some editors read, ejn th ajlhqeia pash, in all the truth. Others, eijv thn ajlhqeian pasan, joining pasan in an adverbial sense with will guide you : i e., will guide you wholly into the truth. The Spirit does not reveal all truth to men, but He leads them to the truth as it is in Christ. Of himself. Rev., rightly, from himself. See on 7 17.

He shall hear [ ] . Some read, ajkouei, heareth, and omit an, the conditional particle. %Osa an ajkoush, the reading of the Rec. Text, is, strictly, whatsoever things he may have heard.

Will shew [] . Better, as Rev., declare. Compare Mr 5:14, 19; Act 20:27; 2Co 7:7. Also to rehearse; Act 14:27. Used of the formal proclamation of the Christian religion (Act 20:20; 1Pe 1:12; 1Jo 1:5). See on Act 19:18.

Things to come [ ] . The article, omitted by A. V., is important. The meaning is not, He will show you some things to come, but the things that are to come, or the things that are coming. These things are whatsoever He shall hear. The phrase occurs only here in the New Testament.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come,” (hotan de elthe ekeinos to pneuma tes aletheias) “Then when that one, the Spirit of truth comes,” to be your helper, your continual companion when I have gone away, called the Comforter, Joh 14:16-17; Joh 14:26; Joh 15:26. The Spirit of truth, in wisdom, points lost men to Jesus, Pro 1:20; Pro 1:31: and saved people to obey and follow the Word of God in ways of truth, Rom 8:14-16; Joh 14:6.

2) “He will guide you into all truth:” (hodegesei humas eis ten aletheian pasan) “He will lead you all into all truth,” to an understanding of what they had, and certain believers and apostles to complete the Bible by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by steady, gentle, revelation of future truth, 2Pe 1:21; 2Ti 3:16-17.

3) “For he shall not speak of himself;” (ou gar lalesei aph’ heautou) “For he will not speak from himself,” as I did not speak of or from myself, but as taught by the Father, Joh 8:28-29; Deu 18:15-19. He shall empower you all and discharge duties of His office, as I have, Joh 17:4-5.

4) “But whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:” (all’ hosa akouei lalesai) “But he will speak whatever things he hears,” and is taught of the Father, as I have, Joh 8:28. He shall speak what He hears and is directed in holy conference with the Father and the Son, not in His person alone, even as Christ had done, Joh 14:10.

5) “And he will shew you things to come.” (kai ta erchomena apangelei humin) And he will announce to you things that are to come,” for the church age, millennia] age, and heaven of heaven age. He not only would show or cause you to understand past prophecy but also disclose to you matters of future certainty, Act 11:28; Act 20:22-23; Act 21:11; 1Ti 3:11; 2Pe 1:12-14; Rev 1:1-10.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

13. But when he is come, the Spirit of truth. The Spirit, whom Christ promised to the apostles, is declared to be perfect Master or Teacher (96) of truth And why was he promised, but that they might deliver from hand to hand the wisdom which they had received from him? The Spirit was given to them, and under his guidance and direction they discharged the office to which they had been appointed.

He will lead you into all truth. That very Spirit had lead them into all truth, when they committed to writing the substance of their doctrine. Whoever imagines that anything must be added to their doctrine, as if it were imperfect and but half-finished, not only accuses the apostles of dishonesty, but blasphemes against the Spirit If the doctrine which they committed to writing had proceeded from mere learners or persons imperfectly taught, an addition to it would not have been superfluous; but now that their writings may be regarded as perpetual records of that revelation which was promised and given to them, nothing can be added to them without doing grievous injury to the Holy Spirit.

When they come to determine what those things actually were, the Papists act a highly ridiculous part, for they define those mysteries, which the apostles were unable to bear, to be certain childish fooleries, the most absurd and stupid things that can be imagined. Was it necessary that the Spirit should come down from heaven that the apostles might learn what ceremony must be used in consecrating cups with their altars, in baptizing church-bells, in blessing the holy water, and in celebrating Mass? Whence then do fools and children obtain their learning, who understand all those matters most thoroughly? Nothing is more evident than that the Papists mock God, when they pretend that those things came from heaven, which resemble as much the mysteries of Ceres or Proserpine as they are at variance with the pure wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

If we do not wish to be ungrateful to God, let us rest satisfied with that doctrine of which the writings of the apostles declare them to be the authors, since in it the highest perfection of heavenly wisdom is made known to us, fitted to make the man of God perfect (2Ti 3:17.) Beyond this let us not reckon ourselves at liberty to go; for our height, and breadth, and depth, consist in knowing the love of God, which is manifested to us in Christ. This knowledge, as Paul informs us, far exceeds all learning, (Eph 3:18😉 and when he declares that

all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ, (Col 2:3,)

he does not contrive some unknown Christ, but one whom by his preaching he painted to the life, so that, as he tells the Galatians,

we see him, as it were, crucified before our eyes, (Gal 3:1.)

But that no ambiguity may remain, Christ himself afterwards explains by his own words what those things are which the apostles were not yet able to bear.

He will tell you things which are to come Some indeed limit this to the Spirit of prophecy; but, in my opinion, it denotes rather the future condition of his spiritual kingdom, such as the apostles, soon after his resurrection, saw it to be, but were at that time utterly unable to comprehend. He does not therefore promise them prophecies of things that would happen after their death, but means only that the nature of his kingdom will be widely different, and its glory far greater than their minds are now able to conceive. The Apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the Ephesians, from the first chapter to the close of the fourth, explains the treasures of this hidden wisdom, which the heavenly angels learn with astonishment from the Church; and therefore we need not go to seek them from the archives or repositories of the Pope.

For he will not speak from himself This is a confirmation of the clause, He will lead you into all truth. We know that God is the fountain of truth, and that out of Him there is nothing that is firm or sure; and, therefore, that the apostles may safely place full confidence in the oracles of the Spirit, Christ declares that they will be divine oracles; as if he had said, that every thing which the Holy Spirit shall bring proceeds from God himself. And yet these words take nothing away from the majesty of the Spirit, as if he were not God, or as if he were inferior to the Father, but are accommodated to the capacity of our understanding; for the reason why his Divinity is expressly mentioned is, because, on account of the veil that is between us, we do not sufficiently understand with what reverence we ought to receive what the Spirit reveals to us. In like manner, he is elsewhere called the earnest, by which God ratifies to us our salvation, and the seal, by which he seals to us its certainty, (Eph 1:13.) In short, Christ intended to teach that the doctrine of the Spirit would not be of this world, as if it were produced in the air, but that it would proceed from the secret places of the heavenly sanctuary.

(96) “ Maistre ou Docteur.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(13) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come.Comp. Note on Joh. 14:17.

He will guide you into all truth.Better, . . . into all the truth. The words do not mean that the Holy Spirit will fully guide them into truth, but that He will be their guide into the fulness of truth. The word rendered guide, occurs again in Mat. 15:14; Luk. 6:39; Rev. 7:17; and metaphorically, as here, in Act. 8:31. A comparison of these passages will show that its meaning is to point out the way, to lead one on his way. The fulness of truth is for the disciples an unknown territory. They are spiritually as blind men, feeling after the truth, but not able to see it. The Spirit of Truth will take them by the hand, and, step by step, as they have strength to follow, will guide them into the territory, and unfold to them the treasures it contains. The promise has a special meaning for the disciples to whom it was spoken; but it holds good for every disciple who seeks to know the truth. We may pray,without doubt that the prayer is in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and without doubt that it will be answered

Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,

And lighten with celestial fire.
Enable with perpetual light
The dulness of our blinded sight.

The scribes, instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, and bringing forth out of their treasure things new and old (Mat. 13:52), may know that they can seek, and not seek in vain, a higher than human guidance, and may hope by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort.

For he shall not speak of himself.Comp. Notes on Joh. 5:19; Joh. 7:17-18. The Holy Spirits power to guide into the truth depends upon the fact that He, like the Son Himself, will represent to the world the eternal truth of God. He, too, is subordinated to the Father, and His work is to seek the glory of Him that sent Him. (Comp., on the other hand, Joh. 8:44, where the essence of the lie is that the devil speaketh of his own.)

And he will shew you things to come.Better, and He will announce to you the things to come. (Comp. Notes on Rev. 1:1; Rev. 22:6; Rev. 22:20.) We must again be on our guard against drawing limits which Christ has not drawn. These words, too, have their fulfilment in the Spirits illumination in all time; but we may still find their first and special meaning in the Revelation to the Apostolic Church, of which St. Johns Apocalypse is the most prominent example.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

13. Guide you into all truth A strict translation would require the article the before the word truth. The Spirit does not guide into scientific, political, or historical truth. The inspiration of Scripture was never intended to teach astronomy or geology. It was to guide them into all the truth, namely, the truth embraced in their apostolate. And this is the truth beyond all comparison with any other truth.

Not speak of himself Literally, from himself. The messenger-Spirit should not have a message of his own separate and apart from his divine Sender. Like the Son, he is not alone and independent, absolutely originating his own doctrine.

Whatsoever he shall hear shall he speak This hearing, be it noted, is a hearing by the Spirit; it has no fleshly ear, no atmospheric sound. But spirits, we understand, communicate, though by pure voiceless impartation; and so the divine Spirit hears without organ; that is, perfectly sympathizes in the divine thought and purpose of Father and Son, from whom He goes forth. Thus, in an ineffable and mysterious sympathy and oneness does the holy Trinity eternally agree. Here let us believe rather than explain.

He will show you things As it is a spiritual and not a fleshly tongue with which the Spirit will speak, and a spiritual ear with which he will hear, so it is with a purely spiritual, not a fleshly hand, that he will show. He will take the apparatus of salvation, the cross, the tomb, the glory, and unfold them all to the eye of the human spirit.

Things to come Not only these past things, but things future will he show. The future growth of his Church, the future advent, the future salvation of the blessed, and the future retributions of eternity, will be so unfolded by the Spirit to them that they can unfold the whole to the world.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

“However, when he the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak from himself, but whatever things he will hear that will he speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take of mine and will declare it to you. All things whatever the Father has are mine, that is why I said that he takes of mine and will declare it to you.”

The Spirit when He comes will later guide them into all truth. For that is what He is, the Spirit of Truth. In the same way as Jesus could say, ‘I am the truth’ (Joh 14:6), so also can the Spirit. This special promise in its full significance is unique to the Apostles. All spiritual truth in its entirety will be revealed to them, the truth about God, the truth about Christ, the truth about His ways and purposes. Thus will they be able to lay the foundation for the infant church.

Just as in the Old Testament Moses spoke with God as a man speaks with his friend and wonderful things were revealed to him (Exo 33:11; Num 12:8), even more so will it be for the disciples. The Spirit will take of the deep things of God and make them known. He will speak only what He receives from the Father and the Son. He will make known things to come. He will glorify Jesus, and make His glory known, and will reveal the totality of what belongs to the Godhead.

Jesus stresses here that what the Spirit teaches is what comes from both Father and Son. The truth of God ministered by the Spirit will agree totally with that of the whole Godhead. This does not limit Him to what has been taught in the past, (contrary to some), for what Father and Son reveal is continuing. Indeed He will reveal things to come. Thus is being established the promise of the New Testament. But there is no suggestion that this special enlightenment will pass on beyond the Apostles.

‘He will glorify me.’ That is to be the work of the Spirit, to point away from Himself to Another. His ministry is to take of what is of Father and Son and make it known. Activity which concentrates solely on the work of the Spirit should always be viewed with suspicion. When the Spirit is active it is the Father and Son Who are glorified.

‘He will glorify Me for He will take of Mine and will declare it to you.’ The Spirit will glorify Jesus by taking what pertains to Him and making it known. He will reveal His eternal pre-existence, He will reveal His power as Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, He will make known the inner depth of His teaching, He will manifest the depths of the humiliation through which He will go, He will reveal what He has accomplished on the cross in sacrificial and redemptive power, He will make known the power and glory of His resurrection, and how His resurrection life can be manifested in us, He will reveal Jesus in His exaltation as the Lord of glory, as the One to Whom Heaven and earth will bow, as the One Who is over all, as the One Who will be judge of all, and He will make known through Jesus the fullness of the Godhead in so far as such can be comprehended by human beings on earth.

So while we can apply all these words in Joh 16:13-14 to ourselves in a secondary way they cannot apply to us as they did to the Apostles. These are His deathbed words to His chosen men. There have been many great men of God who have received great understanding, but none have received it as the Apostles did. For these other great men have had to have their teachings tested by others, and all without exception have proved in time to have been wrong in one thing or another. But for the Apostles the promise was that they would know ‘all truth’. As He promised them earlier, ‘He will teach you all things and bring back to your memories all things that I said to you.’ That could only be said to eyewitnesses.

But that these words can be secondarily applied to us comes out in 1Co 2:9-16. There Paul describes the work of the Spirit in illuminating the heart and mind of the believer and revealing to him the deep things of God. Thus we can apply them in a secondary way.

It is certainly of significance that in these verses Jesus has spoken of the expectations of His people. The manifestation of sin, righteousness, judgment, the revelation of the glory of Christ, the ‘coming things’, were all expected at ‘the end’. Here Jesus is describing it as coming at once. Like much in John, what is to come in the end of time is already to be experienced by His people. To him these are ‘the end times’ (compare the same thought in Act 2:17; 1Co 10:11; 1Pe 1:20 ; 1Pe 4:7; Heb 1:1-3; Heb 9:26-28).

‘All things whatever the Father has are mine, that is why I said that He takes of mine and will declare it to you.’ Here Jesus was declaring that everything that was of the Father was (and is) His, to such an extent that to have what belongs to Jesus revealed is to have the fullness of God revealed. Thus the Holy Spirit by glorifying Jesus will be revealing the fullness of God. There is no limit placed on the words. The totality of what was the Father’s, belongs to Jesus. The fullness of the being of the Father was revealed in His being. There was nothing that was of the Father that was not also of Jesus. The Father had no attribute that Jesus did not have. He enjoys the fullness of all that the Godhead is. So much so that when He spoke of the Spirit revealing the glory of God in its fullness He only had to refer to Himself, for that included the revealing of all the glory that was the Father’s. This went far beyond a claim to Messiahship. It was a claim to portray in Himself the totality of God. It was a claim that all that the Father was, He was. In other words, He was saying, think of all the attributes that were known of God in the Old Testament, and these were His attributes too.

The remarkable fulfilment of these verses in the early church must not be overlooked. Fourteen men with powerful minds went out without a New Testament, relying only on the Old, and yet remained faithful to what we now know as Biblical truth, and continued to agree together (despite failed attempts to prove the opposite), to such an extent that Biblical truth survived all that followed. We have a partial revelation concerning this fact in the writings of differing Apostolic men in the New Testament. But it needs to be recognised that all the Apostles were involved in founding churches and yet remained true to their common heritage. This was a miracle in itself.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Joh 16:13. When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, The personality of the Holy Ghost is strongly and incontestably marked by the mention of his coming, being sent, guiding, &c. as well as by the particularity in the original; wherein the word rendered he; , is of the masculine gender, though the word rendered spirit, , is neuter. Instead of shall not speak, &c. the original may with much greater propriety be rendered will not, &c. and so in the two next verses. In this chapter, as Dr. Heylin intimates, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are considered as three gracious Masters in the breasts of believers. The internal agency of the Holy Ghost is continually admitted; and that of the Father and the Son, as represented in this gospel, greatly deserves to be attended to.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Joh 16:13 . . . .] See on Joh 14:17 .

. . . . ] He will be to you a guide into all the truth . Comp. Joh 16:23 ; , according to its position after . . (see critical notes), does not belong to the verb, as if it expressed the complete introduction (Lcke), but describes, as in Joh 5:22 , divine truth in its entirety, according to its collective contents. Comp. Joh 5:22 : . , Plat. Theaet . p. 147 E, ; Krger, 50. 11. 11. As to the thing, , Mar 5:33 (Krger on Thuc . vi. 87. 1), would not be different; only in the present passage, is the idea immediately prominent .

, . . .] Reason, from the origin and compass of His communications.

] , , Nonnus. This negative definition is, indeed, the denial of anything conceived of after a human manner, which absolutely cannot be (“spiritus enim, qui a semet ipso loquitur, non spiritus veritatis, sed spiritus est mendacii,” Ruperti; comp. already Ignatius, ad Eph. interpol. 9), but serves completely to set forth the unity of the Spirit’s teaching with that of the Lord. [177] Comp. Joh 5:19 .

] All, whatsoever He shall have heard from God , so that He will withhold from you nothing of that which has been divinely heard by Him. [178] The Spirit, however, hears from God not externally as a Subject separated from God, but (comp. 1Co 2:11 ) through an interna acceptio; for He is in God, and proceeds from Him, Joh 15:26 . That the hearing from God , not from Christ (Olshausen, Kling, B. Crusius, Luthardt, Hengstenberg, Godet: from both), is meant, is to be already assumed on account of the absolute , and Joh 16:15 renders it certain. On itself, comp. also Luther: “The faith must make its way universally over all creatures, and not cleave to thoughts of listening to bodily preaching, but lay hold of a preaching, word, and hearing in essence .”

] So that you, through the of the Spirit, will also become acquainted with the future ( , Soph. Trach . 846), the knowledge of which belongs to the whole (particularly the eschatological developments). Comp. Isa 41:22-23 ; Isa 44:7 ; Isa 45:11 : . Further, belongs also to that denoted by and is related to it as species to genus, so that brings into relief from that which is general, something further that is particular.

[177] “Consequently He sets, for the Holy Spirit Himself, a goal and measure of His preaching, that He shall preach nothing new nor different from that which Christ and His word is, so that we may have a certain mark of truth and touchstone, to judge of false spirits,” Luther.

[178] When Godet says, on ver. 13 : “ The word in Joh 14:26 included the formula of the inspiration of our Gospels ; ver. 13 gives that of the inspiration of the Epistles and of the Apocalypse ,” the simple addition must be made, “ in so far as and to the extent in which these writings are actually apostolic .”

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

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: and he will shew you things to come.

Ver. 13. He will guide you into all truth ] Many are the benefits that we receive by the Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth,” Eph 5:9 . This our Saviour delivers to his disciples at several times, and by degrees, as they could bear it. Here he represents him as a guide to godliness. Simeon was brought into the temple by the instinct of the Spirit. Paul would have gone to a certain place, but the Spirit would not suffer him. Lo such is the working of the Holy Ghost still in men’s hearts, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way,” Psa 37:23 . Kings suffer their children to ride with them, but yet set tutors and governors to overrule them. So here. And because Delicata res est Spiritus Dei, therefore we must observe and obey his motions, which are the sound of his goings, the footsteps of his anointed, Psa 89:51 . We should lay ourselves (as instruments) open to the Spirit’s touch, submit to his discipline, as Paul did, Gal 2:20 . And this requires a great deal of self-denial.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

13. ] , emphatical, as in Joh 16:8 : see note, ch. Joh 7:29 .

. ] all the truth, viz. on those points alluded to in Joh 16:12 . Lcke observes that the re [223] . reading connects more with , the other with . The Lord had ever told them the truth , and nothing but the truth , in spiritual things, but not yet the whole truth , because they could not bear it. This the Spirit should lead them into, open the way to it, and unfold it by degrees.

[223] The Textus Receptus or received text of the Greek Testament. Used in this Edition when elz and Steph agree

No promise of universal knowledge, nor of infallibility, is hereby conveyed; but a promise to them and us, that the Holy Spirit shall teach and lead us, not as children, under the tutors and governors of legal and imperfect knowledge, but as sons ( Gal 4:6 ), making known to us the whole truth of God. This was in an especial manner fulfilled to them , as set to be the founders and teachers of the Churches.

. . ] The Spirit does not, any more than the Son, work or speak of Himself: both are sent, the one from the Father, the other from the Father and Son: the one to testify of the Father, the other of the Father and the Son. ., from God, the Father and the Son.

. . . ] As the direct fulfilment to the Apostles of the leading into the whole truth was the unfolding before them those truths which they have delivered down to us in their Epistles, so, though scattered traces of the fulfilment of this part of the promise are found in the Acts and those Epistles, its complete fulfilment was the giving of the Apocalypse, in which are distinctly the subject of the Spirit’s revelation, and with which His direct testimony closes: see Rev 1:1 ; Rev 22:6 ; Rev 22:20 . On the whole of this verse, see Eph 4:7-16 .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Joh 16:13 . What was now withheld would afterwards be disclosed, . The Spirit would complete the teaching of Christ and lead them “into all the truth”. “shall lead you,” “as a guide leads in the way, by steady advance, rather than by sudden revelation”. Bernard. This function of the Spirit He still exercises. It is the Church at large He finally leads into all truth through centuries of error, , “for He shall not speak from Himself, but whatever He shall have heard He will speak, and the things that are coming He will announce to you”. This is the guarantee of the truth of the Spirit’s teaching, as of Christ’s, Joh 7:17 , Joh 14:10 . What the Father tells Him, He will utter. Particularly, , “the things that are coming He will declare to you”. means “the things that are now coming,” not “the things which at any future stage of the Church’s history may come”. It might include the events of the succeeding day, but in this case could not be used; for although these events might require to be explained, they did not need to be “announced”. The promise must therefore refer to the main features of the new Christian dispensation. The Spirit would guide them in that new economy in which they would no longer have the visible example and help and counsel of their Master. It is not a promise that they should be able to predict the future. [“Maxime huc spectat apocalypsis, scripta per Johannem.” Bengel.] In enabling them to adapt themselves to the new economy the centre and norm would be Christ.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Howbeit = But.

the Spirit of truth. See on Joh 14:17 and App-101.

is come = shall have come.

guide = lead on the way. Greek. hodegeo. Elsewhere in Mat 15:14. Luk 6:39. Act 8:31. Rev 7:17. Used in the Septuagint for Hebrew. nahdh. Neh 9:19. Psa 23:8; Psa 73:24; Psa 139:24, &c.

into. Greek. eis. App-104.

all truth = all the truth: i.e. all the truth necessary for His people from Ascension to Descension; the truth concerning the Pentecostal Church, the blessed hope of His return, and the mystery or secret of’ the Body of Christ, yet to be revealed to Paul.

of = from. Greek. apo. App-104.

whatsoever = whatsoever things.

shall = will.

shew = tell or report. See Joh 4:25; Joh 5:15. Act 14:27; Act 15:4; 1Pe 1:12.

things to come = the coming things.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

13.] , emphatical, as in Joh 16:8 : see note, ch. Joh 7:29.

. ] all the truth, viz. on those points alluded to in Joh 16:12. Lcke observes that the re[223]. reading connects more with , the other with . The Lord had ever told them the truth, and nothing but the truth, in spiritual things,-but not yet the whole truth, because they could not bear it. This the Spirit should lead them into, open the way to it, and unfold it by degrees.

[223] The Textus Receptus or received text of the Greek Testament. Used in this Edition when elz and Steph agree

No promise of universal knowledge, nor of infallibility, is hereby conveyed; but a promise to them and us, that the Holy Spirit shall teach and lead us, not as children, under the tutors and governors of legal and imperfect knowledge, but as sons (Gal 4:6), making known to us the whole truth of God. This was in an especial manner fulfilled to them, as set to be the founders and teachers of the Churches.

. .] The Spirit does not, any more than the Son, work or speak of Himself: both are sent, the one from the Father, the other from the Father and Son: the one to testify of the Father, the other of the Father and the Son. ., from God, the Father and the Son.

. . .] As the direct fulfilment to the Apostles of the leading into the whole truth was the unfolding before them those truths which they have delivered down to us in their Epistles,-so, though scattered traces of the fulfilment of this part of the promise are found in the Acts and those Epistles, its complete fulfilment was the giving of the Apocalypse, in which are distinctly the subject of the Spirits revelation, and with which His direct testimony closes: see Rev 1:1; Rev 22:6; Rev 22:20. On the whole of this verse, see Eph 4:7-16.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Joh 16:13. , He shall guide) gradually, as you shall have need.-) all, not merely that, which I tell you now as suited to your present capacity, Joh 16:7; or that truth concerning which the Paraclete shall reprove the world, Joh 16:8-9; 1Jn 2:20, Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things; 1Co 5:5, In every thing ye are enriched by Him in all utterance and in all knowledge: Joh 2:9, et seq., Eye hath not seen, etc.; but God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God.-) The demonstrative article; all that truth which I was now having to say to you. The same phrase occurs in Mar 5:33, , all the truth.-, truth) The Scripture is not wont to say in the Plural, , truths, Truth is one, and a whole. The things whatsoever He shall hear and the things to come, are no doubt true things (but are not called truths in the Plural).- , for He shall not speak of Himself) So also the Son speaks concerning Himself in ch. Joh 12:49, I have not spoken of Myself, but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. Concerning hearing, comp. ch. Joh 8:40, A man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God.- , the things to come) These also are true; otherwise they would not come. There were then coming the Saviours cross, death, life, and glory. The present, things coming, is used as of things about which the prophets had foretold: Act 3:21, The times of the restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. The marvellous works of the Holy Spirit were already then close at hand. The Apostles foretold many things even in their Epistles, but the Apocalypse written by John is what this especially refers to.-, He will announce) This is the cause why Jesus, before His passion, predicted almost nothing of the things about to be, except the first and last of them, the overthrow of Jerusalem and the last judgment. The fountain of prophetical Theology is the revelation of the Holy Spirit. , He will announce, is thrice repeated, Joh 16:13-15.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Joh 16:13

Joh 16:13

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth:-The mission of the Spirit to them was to complete the revelation of Gods will to them. Notwithstanding their inability to receive all the truth then, the Holy Spirit would complete the revelation to them, would guide them into all the truth. [The you here is specific to the apostles. All the truth comprehends redemption through the death of Christ, the relation of grace to the law, the conversion of the Gentiles without any Mosaic legal condition. In a word, the contents of the epistles and the apocalypse so far as they pass beyond those of the teaching of Jesus.]

for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak:-The Spirit, like Jesus himself, would not originate what he spoke, but would speak what he heard from the Father. The Spirit would become the representative of the Godhead on earth.

and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come.-[All the things that are revealed. This is confined to the apostles. It opens up no place for modern visionaries with their claims of new and advanced revelations. He was to declare to them not only what might be necessary for their guidance (Act 20:22-23), but for the benefit of the church.]

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

of himself

from himself. Cf. next clause.

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

Spirit: Joh 14:17, Joh 15:26, 1Jo 4:6

will guide: Joh 14:26, 1Co 2:10-13, Eph 4:7-15, 1Jo 2:20, 1Jo 2:27

for: Joh 3:32, Joh 7:16-18, Joh 8:38, Joh 12:49

he will show: Joe 2:28, Act 2:17, Act 2:18, Act 11:28, Act 20:23, Act 21:9-11, Act 27:24, 2Th 2:3, 2Th 2:12, 1Ti 4:1-3, 2Ti 3:1-5, 2Pe 2:1-22, Rev 1:1, Rev 1:19, Rev 6:1-17, Rev 22:1-21

Reciprocal: Gen 42:23 – he spake unto them by an interpreter 2Ch 32:22 – guided Psa 25:5 – Lead Psa 31:3 – lead Psa 48:14 – guide Psa 68:18 – received Psa 73:24 – Thou Psa 143:10 – thy spirit Isa 11:2 – the spirit of wisdom Isa 58:11 – the Lord Mat 10:27 – I tell Mat 13:33 – till Joh 8:32 – ye shall Joh 14:7 – from Act 10:19 – the Spirit Act 11:12 – the Spirit Act 15:28 – it 1Co 2:16 – But 1Co 12:10 – prophecy Gal 5:18 – if Eph 3:5 – by 2Ti 2:7 – and 1Jo 4:2 – Every 1Jo 5:6 – is truth Rev 4:1 – and I

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

GUIDANCE INTO TRUTH

When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.

Joh 16:13

The coming of the Holy Ghost was no mere isolated event in the history of the Kingdom of God. It was a great epochthe opening of a new era in the life of man, the ushering in of a new dispensation.

I. He did not come as one that would come and go. He came to stay: to abide with us for ever.He came as the Spirit of Christ to take up His dwelling in Christs Church, which is His Body, until He should come again. It is this great truth which underlies the whole teaching of our Blessed Lord in the farewell words which He spoke to His disciples on the eve of His Passion. It is in this light that we must understand His exceeding great and precious promises, and most of all the promise of my text, He shall lead you into all the truth. The words of our Lord, taken with their context, might seem to imply that the teaching of the Holy Ghost would bring with it some fresh revelation of Divine truth. But it is manifest that the promise was fulfilled, not so much by the revelation of any new dogmas, concerning which Christ Himself had been silent, as by the enlightening of the Apostles to understand more fully and more clearly what they had already learned from the teaching of our Lord Himself. The accurate rendering of the words of my text seems to demand such an interpretation. He shall lead you into all the truth.

II. The Holy Ghost had no new revelation to make to mankind.His mission was that of an interpreter and guide. He was not to speak from Himself. He was to take of the things of Christ to declare them to His Church. Christ Himself, His work, His words, and His life, were to be the subjects with which the Holy Ghost should deal, interpreting their deep significance, their power, their loveliness, to the sons of men. Such an interpretation could not be made at once in all its completeness; it must be gradual and progressive, proportioned to the needs and capacities of successive generations. Age after age His work would still go on, guiding the Church and guiding individuals into all the truth, opening up new aspects of the truth, enlarging our conceptions of words and events already familiar, declaring to us their special message for each particular age, building up from generation to generation the great temple of the truth.

III. The history of the Church of Christ has furnished a continuous illustration of the fulfilment of Christs promise.We see it in the gradual growth and development of Christian doctrine and Christian worship. The formation of the creeds themselves was in strict accordance with this interpretation of Christs promise. There is nothing to be found in them which was not already contained in the teaching of the Apostles and afterwards in the Holy Scriptures; but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the creeds present these truths in a concentrated and practical form. Even the later additions made to them by the Councils of the Church contain nothing new in themselves, but only a fresh presentation of truth to meet the circumstances of particular times and to guard the sacred deposit from some prevalent error or from some practical defect. And so it has ever been in the history of the Church. From age to age we can hardly fail to trace in the development of Christian faith and Christian life the overruling guidance of the Holy Ghost, directing the minds of men for a time to some particular aspect of the truth, according as His infinite wisdom and love discerned a convenient season or foresaw some coming need. From the Day of Pentecost until now He has been leading us into all the truth. Our own branch of the Catholic Church, even within the past century, will furnish us with helpful illustrations of this principle and with no uncertain evidence of the guiding hand of the Holy Ghost.

IV. Does it not seem to you that in the light of Christs promise, and in the face of our manifold needs, there is a call for increased devotion to God the Holy Ghost?What we need is an age of God the Holy Ghost, an age in which there should spring up and increase a deeper and more continual sense of His Presence with us and His personal love towards us, and a more ready trust in the unceasing and unfailing guidance of Him Who will lead us into all the truth. How little do we think of Him as the Companion and Comforter of our daily lives! How little do we commune with Him in our hearts or speak to Him in our prayers! How seldom do we think of Him as an object for our affection; and yet how patiently, how tenderly, has the Blessed Spirit shown His love to us amidst all the waywardness and forgetfulness of our daily lives! There are, no doubt, reasons why in the public service of the Church so few direct petitions should be addressed to God the Holy Ghost; but there are none to prevent us from speaking to Him in our private prayers.

We shall fail to estimate the full blessedness of our Saviours promise unless we bear in mind the ultimate meaning of His wordsHe will guide you into all the truth. But the final truth is God Himselfthe one great reality, the first and the lastthe great I AM. As the truth He reveals Himself in the face of Jesus Christ.

Archbishop Maclagan.

Illustration

The great Evangelical uprising in the latter part of the past century, laying anew the deep foundation of the Christian hope; the Oxford Movement of fifty years ago, turning the thoughts of men to the constitution and characteristics of the Church of Christ, and teaching them to see in it no mere human society, but the extension of the incarnate life of Christ Himself and the sphere of the operation of God the Holy Ghost; the revival in our own days of the long-dormant privileges of Divine worship with its glad voices and its holy strains, making the hearts of them rejoice that seek the Lordin all these various advances of Christian faith and Christian life we can hardly fail to trace the guiding of the Holy Ghost. In each and all of these movements there may have been error or defect, narrowness or extravagance, mistakes inseparable from all human operations, even when associated with the working of Divine power. But when all that is earthly has been eliminated, or in its transitory nature has passed away, there remains the precious residuum of the spiritual truth into which the Holy Ghost has guided the Church. How different does the religious history of the Church appear, even in our own generation, when we have learned to associate its events and influences, not with the names of individual leaders who were permitted to take some prominent part in the movements of their day, but to see in every phase and epoch of religious revival the unceasing fulfilment of the Saviours promise, He shall lead you into all the truth.

(SECOND OUTLINE)

THE SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH

Look back upon the chapters of the history of the Church which might be written since the Acts of the Holy Apostles, and what do you find? Is it not exactly the same that Christ said would happen? Has not the world always resisted the truth? Have not there been enemies a hundredfold, sometimes without, sometimes within? And the Church has gone through all this, which would have crushed a human society a thousand times; gone through it all because the Holy Spirit has been with her and in her, and she lives to-day in the power of that same Spirit.

I. But what about your life to-day?Is it what it should be here in our own country? Is it even, perhaps, what it has been? Is not the faith of some shaken as when there are taken from us things we hold most dear, and when others deny the great truths of the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection of Jesus? Are not some to-day in perplexity? Are not some wondering in their hearts, Is the religion of Christ all that it should be? Some, too, perhaps, who say very little, who are still standing by the Church, are standing by her with a losing heart. But there is nothing to make us lose heart, nothing to make us doubt the power of Christ or of His great Church. There is no doubt about the Presence of the Holy Spirit here. He is in His Church as truly as He was at Pentecost. He is in you and me as truly as He was in those Apostles in the early days, in that little body of Christians.

II. The Holy Spirit needs invoking.We must stir up the great gift; for He can no more guide and strengthen you and me than Christ could perform the miracle in Capernaum unless we let Him.

(a) Let us summon Him to our aid in our private prayers. Let us day by day always speak to the Holy Spirit. Let us here, in this church, as a great body, and especially at our Eucharists, call Him down in all His power. Let us individually call back one of the greatest days of our livesI mean the day when the Holy Spirit made His way into our lifeour confirmation day. Then we were sealed; then the character was stamped upon us. To-day, if we could see it, we bear the marks of our confirmation; to-day, we have the seven gifts, just the very gifts that we want this moment to make us strong. Ah, need I say that we all would do well to look back again and again in thought to our confirmation day, to that time when, indeed, the promise of Christ was fulfilled in our individual lives!

(b) Let us allow Him to be our guide, allow Him to strengthen and influence us. Oh, how we allow in this world people and circumstances again and again to influence us, sometimes for good, sometimes for ill! Let us allow the Holy Spirit, because He cannot work in us unless we open the door, unless we listen to His still small voice. It is very difficult to hear sometimes. We can look back on our own lives and see some weeks of waiting when there seemed to be no small voice, when there seemed to be no answer. But the answer came, and the answer will come to every one of you if you will listen and wait. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth. You are part of the Church, that Church against which not even the gates of hell can prevail if you are loyal to the Presence of the Holy Spirit, Who is the strength, the power, and the life of the Church. And so my message to you is this: Expect dark days; remember that, in spite of all those dark days, the Holy Spirit is here, and in us, and with us. Invoke Him, believe in Him. Let Him work in your life, and your fears shall vanish, and your faith shall be made strong.

Rev. D. G. Cowan.

Illustration

I believe in the Holy Ghost. He who is able to make the confession has found a Divine Friend. For him the Spirit is not an influence, an energy, of One far off, but a present Comforter Whom Christ has sent to fulfil His work, a present Guide ready to lead him into all the Truth, a present Advocate waiting to gain acceptance for the deep sighings of the heart before the throne of God. So it is that Scripture speaks of His relation to us; so it is that we can understand how His Presence among men is dependent on the exaltation of Christ in His human nature to the right hand of God.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

3

With the Spirit to guide them into all truth, the apostles would not need to he overburdened with the load, but could always have the assur-ance that no truth would be omitted that was necessary for their work. The Holy Spirit is the third being in the Godhead, and is wholly subject to the authority of God and Christ who are the two other members thereof. That is why Jesus said that he would not speak of himself. Will show you things to come. Rom 8:27 and 1Co 2:10-11 teaches ub that the Holy Spirit is fully aware of the purposes and desires of God. That Is why he was able to tell the apostles things to come; he would learn it from God.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

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: and he will show you things to come.

[Whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak.] And Joh 16:14, he shall receive of mine. He speaks according to the dialect and custom of the nation, and so to the capacity of his auditors: If they have heard, they teach; it is spoken of a judge in the lower Sanhedrim consulting a higher court, first, that of the triumvir: and if they hear, they teach; if not, then he goes to the supreme court of all.

The latter clause, he shall receive of mine; seems taken from Isa 11:2. And it should seem he inclined rather to this sense, because he does not say, he shall receive of mine and give; but he shall receive and shew it unto you: by which the Jew would understand he shall receive of my doctrine; or from my instructions. For the Holy Spirit is sent as an instructor from the Son, as the Son is sent as a Redeemer from the Father.

Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels

Joh 16:13. But when he is come, the Spirit of the truth, he will guide you into all the truth: for he will not speak from himself; but whatsoever things he shall hear, he will speak: and he will declare to you the things that are coming. These words lend strong confirmation to what has been said on the previous verse. For this work of the Spirit is evidently different from that of chap. Joh 14:16; Joh 14:26, or chaps, Joh 15:26, Joh 16:7; the first pair of these passages relating to preparation for the work, the second to the discharge of its duties, while this relates to something to be given in the midst of these duties and their corresponding trials. Further, He shall guide implies not merely that He shall show the way, but that He shall Himself experimentally go before them in the way (Mat 15:14; Luk 6:39; Act 8:31; Rev 7:17). It will thus be observed that we are again led to think, not of new revelation, but of earlier teaching deepened by experience. The view now taken is strengthened by two important particulars in this verse:(1) The unexpected use of for in the clause for He shall not speak from Himself. This word, so closely binding the clauses together, makes it plain that all the truth can be nothing else than the truth of which Jesus was the Proclaimer: all the truth, He would say, which I have proclaimed, of which I am Myself the substance (chap. Joh 14:6). He will guide you, for it is not from Himself that He will speak: He comes as My Representative, not for new and independent offices of grace: He will carry on My work. (2) When it is said, He hears, we are not told whence He hears. It is possible that it may be from the Father; but when we call to mind that the unity of the Father and the Son is a leading thought in this discourse (comp. chap. Joh 14:23), particularly in relation to the sending of the Spirit (comp. chap. Joh 14:26, and especially chap. Joh 15:26), it seems highly probable that the mention of the Source whence the Spirit hears is designedly omitted. Thus we are led to think not of the Father only, but of the Father and the Son, and again the revelation given is bounded by what Jesus has Himself revealed. The last clause of the verse may indeed, at first sight, appear inconsistent with this view. Are not the things to come new revelations? We answer that in no strict sense of the words are they so. Even should we suppose that Jesus speaks of such things as the things to come of the Apocalypse (chap. Joh 1:19), these properly interpreted are not so much revelations wholly new, as new applications of what had already been revealed, and in particular of that very controversy between the Church and the world of which the mind of Jesus was now full. The things that are coming are the things that happen when He who is to come begins in the power of His Spirit the great conflict carried on throughout all the ages of the Christian Church in her militant condition; and the whole verse thus refers not to new revelations, but to revelations made new by the teaching of Christian experience.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Verse 13

He shall not speak of himself; that is, he shall not make a new and independent revelation, diverse from what the Savior had taught.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament