Notes:

The Spirit of Truth

• Jn. 16:13-15. Our greatest need is for truth. False beliefs result in every kind of negative emotion, e.g. guilt, fear, shame, alienation, misery and death. Truth sets us free.
• Repentance is the first step back to God. Repentance = a change of mind.
• But even after repentance our minds needs to be renewed ( 2 Cor.11:3-4). It is possible to have a new life but not a new head.
• Satan is able to: Sow thoughts in believer’s minds (Jn.13:2), and take the truth from it (Lk.8:12).
• To combat this we have been given the Spirit of Truth. He will guide us into “all truth”, i.e. concerning the kingdom of God. Acts 20:27. All truth necessary for faith and obedience.

• Revelation is from the Greek word apocalypse, meaning ‘to draw back the veil from that which had been previously hidden’ (Rom.16:25-26). Apart from revelation, God and His ways would be unknown.
• The initiative had to be with God. God has revealed Himself to us through the Bible,  2 Tim.3:16.
• Inspiration is God’s work to assure that the revelation is transmitted accurately to others and ultimately inscripturated. God inspired men to write the Bible under the control of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet.1:20-21)
• Illumination. This is the work of the Holy Spirit by which He opens our spiritual understanding to grasp the meaning of the Scriptures, (Psa.119:18; Lk.24:45).
• Whilst revelation takes away the veil which hides God’s mind from us, illumination removes the veil from our heart by the Holy Spirit so that we understand what has been said, (Jn.14:26).

• Many of the writers of the Bible did not understand what they were writing about. They had inspiration but not illumination (Dan.12:8-9; Eph.3:8-11;  1 Pet.1:12).
• Those who receive revelation and illumination are ‘blessed’ (Matt.13:16-17; 16:17; Lk.10:21-24).
• Truth is known by revelation, not education. It is not human reason but God’s Spirit working with God’s Word in human hearts. If a person can be argued into truth they can be argued out of it.
• Humility is the key to being illuminated with understanding (see Lk.10:21; Psa.25:9; Matt.18:3; Jas.1:21.)

What is the role of teachers?

• They can be the channel through which we are enlightened or the source of confusion and deception.
• Teachers are not lords of our faith; they are helpers of our joy.
• In this way the Holy Spirit is our Teacher. He bears witness to the truth.  1 Jn.5:6.
• 1 Jn.2:20,27. This anointing is that we might know all things. Before the fall, Adam knew the truth from within. Deception could only access him from without. After the fall, man was indwelt by the lie, and the only way truth could reach him was from without.
• In salvation the situation is reversed. We are delivered from deception and indwelt by the truth. Our relationship with the truth is much deeper than simply believing it. We are now ‘of the truth’ (1 Jn.3:19) and the truth is ‘in us’ (3 Jn.1:3).
• We do not yet know all truth. We continually discover new aspects of it from God’s Word and renew our minds accordingly. But being of the truth and having the truth in us means that when we hear the truth we are able to attest to it. We know the character of truth, because the Holy Spirit bears witness to it.
• Truth is about Jesus. It teaches us to abide in Him.

Summary (see  1 Cor.2:9-16)

• 1 Cor.2:9-11. Unless God reveals Himself to us He remains hidden. We cannot discover God by searching or learning. He has chosen to reveal Himself to us. This is revelation.
• The wisdom of God is different to the wisdom of this world. It is all about Jesus. The princes of this world were ignorant of this wisdom. It is not known apart from revelation of the Spirit.
• 1 Cor.2:12-13. God has carefully preserved this self-revelation by breathing into the men chosen to record it the exact words that will give an adequate representation of Himself. This is inspiration.

1 Cor.2:14-15. But the things of God are not naturally discerned by man. He is incapable of understanding this inspired revelation, unless he is taught by the Holy Spirit. This is illumination.

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