will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32
The Spirit of Truth will always be present in your life and all the more when you have strayed from the truth. Your heavenly counselor will always give you the opportunity to deal with the sin that has captured you and made you its slave. The Spirit's task is to bring you up in the admonition and discipline of the Lord so you may live free of sin. In this capacity, the Spirit of Truth is working in you to demonstrate the very nature of God through your life. Your cooperation with the Spirit of truth will make becoming more Christlike possible.
For the most part, we as Christians want reliable information to live a godly life. Our father in heaven depends on us listening to the Spirit of Truth for sound advice. When we listen for his voice, we will hear advice that is appropriate for the occasion. That information may come from other Christians that have been through a similar trial. However, we must also learn to distinguish the Spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood.
We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. 1 John 4:6
Not every Christian is a valid source of advice and their answers may reflect the way of the world in their advice. The priority of Christians is to listen to the words of God, but even if your source is trusted person, the advice you receive must conform to the word of God. It’s not unusual that the advice of fellow Christians will agree with the thoughts going through your mind. This is a good sign that you have heard from the Spirit of Truth.
Determining the truth is a full time job as we live in a world where deceit in not only prevalent but the way of life. Many of us know that a materialistic world is based on possessing things you can live without. However, truth is one commodity that you absolutely need to live.
Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor. Ecclesiastes 7:12
The Spirit of Truth is a resource that preserves your life. Our preservation is not the sum total of knowledge, but the knowledge of knowing the living God and what he would recommend is at the top of the list. In this respect it’s not what you know, but whom you know.
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3
The main function of the Spirit of Truth is to guide you into all truth and in doing so he sheds light on the words of Christ. He reveals some of the hidden truths and shows its relevance to our needs and objectives. He gathers the principles of God like a puzzle and connects the pieces in an orderly fashion. The Spirit of Truth makes God’s principles understandable to our human mind.
When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. John 16:13-14
In the opening paragraph I spoke of God’s sovereignty over the earth and the people who live on the face of he earth. God has a plan for the men and women of the earth and the plan of his plan is about to move into another age. When this part of his plan reaches its climax God will bring the earth and all life on it to an end. At that time, God will judge its occupants. there are many truths in the world, but the truth you have based your life upon won’t make a difference because God’s truth will have supremacy.
We learn in the Christian arena that God does not want anyone to perish. Therefore, it reasonable to understand that God gives the Spirit of Truth to every human being that wants the gift of life and calls upon him. The main objective is to offer life to those who willing to abide by his plan. Those who accept his plan the Spirit of Truth makes every effort to insure that they will succeed. The Counselor, Spirit of truth or the Holy Spirit is one gift that will help you to have the abundant life and to know that God loves them.
4. Why a Spirit of Power?
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." Luke 24:49
The promise of divine power from God is one of the most misunderstood promises of the father, which is revealed in the passage above. Every Christian has the power promised by our father in heaven. This promise referred to the upper room experience when God gave the Holy Spirit to his apostles. Acts 1:4 repeats this promise using other words saying “do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised.” Looking at Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4 makes it clear that a promise of the Holy Spirit power was a promise made by the father.
The promise was inspired by God to Joel and repeated by Peter in his sermon following the upper room infilling that empowered the apostles to be God’s witness throughout the world. In Peter’s opening statement, Peter said we are not drunk as you may think. No, what you have seen and heard is God pouring out his spirit as promised through Joel. Then quoting Joel, Peter reminded those in his hearing of the promise that God gave.
'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” Acts 2:17-18
God also promised us a new spirit with a heart of flesh.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:26-27
And still another promise
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."Acts 1:8
In the latter years of Peter’s life he gave these words of advice.
If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:11
We have several promises of God to lean upon and a mission to accomplish, but how many of us actually rely upon those promises. How many times have we attempted to do God’s will in our own power and ended with everything going the wrong way?
Its not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6)
God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).
God’s power is not stagnant for it has the potential of changing the entire world. The power, which is at work in us, is the Holy Spirit, which every child of God has.
It is the life changing power that made the apostles into messengers of Christ and enabled them to speak the word of God boldly. That same power lives in us, but do we speak boldly of Christ to our world? The power of God sent these apostles to places we are not willing to go. All of these men suffered at the hands of men who persecuted them for telling them God’s truth. Ten of the eleven apostles were put to death because of their message, yet they went in the power of God.
To amplify going in the power of God the Bible speaks of the saint as the ambassador of Christ. It means that you have been appointed as a personal representative of God to the world he loves. If anyone speaks as the ambassador of God, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God (1Peter 4:11). In other words, You should understand that the gospel message you present to the world carries the weight and power of God.
When Paul wrote to the Romans he said, Do not be ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). Those who are perishing consider the cross of Calvary as foolishness but to those who are save it is the wisdom and power of God unto salvation. Speak as one who knows where he will spend eternity and of your desire to see the person you are witnessing to go there as well.
When witnessing the Holy Spirit will prompt you with words of wisdom and he will work