The teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit

By Spurgeon and others

(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

John 14:26, "But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."

One way in which the Holy Spirit comforts us, is by His teaching. It is His work to help us understand the Scriptures.

The Holy Spirit is the master teacher who takes the things of Christ and reveals them to us, making our hearts burn within us.

The Spirit's work is not to deliver new truths, but to make the truths in the Word shine with living clarity before our eyes.

The Spirit does not merely teach us doctrine, but makes us feel its power and sweetness in the depths of our souls.

The Spirit's teaching is heart-teaching. It is not learned in the intellect alone, but in the soul's deepest experience.

The Spirit is the great interpreter of God's Word--and without His teaching, we cannot rightly divide the Scriptures.

I can teach you the letter of God's Word, but there is only One who can teach you effectually and savingly.

The Spirit not only reveals, but transforms--for it is His nature to lead us from knowledge into holiness.

As the sun brings light to the natural world, so the Spirit brings spiritual light to the darkened soul.

When the Spirit breathes upon the Word, the truth leaps from the page and fastens upon the heart, as an arrow of conviction or comfort.

When the Spirit comes with power, every doctrine sparkles like a diamond in the sunlight, and glows with divine warmth.

The Spirit of God gives us not only light, but sight. For what is the use of daylight to a blind man? The Spirit opens the eyes of our understanding.

When the Spirit works within, even the simplest truths of Scripture shine with divine brilliance, filling the soul with joy.

Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing--we are as,
  ships without wind,
    branches without sap,
      and coals without fire.

The Spirit's illumination goes beyond words, for He makes us taste the sweetness of Christ, and feel the importance of eternal realities.

The Spirit of God first imparts light to the soul, by which we see,
  ourselves,
    our sin,
      and our Savior.

The Spirit shows us our sin as exceedingly sinful, and Jesus as altogether lovely!

We are blind until the Spirit takes the scales from our eyes.
We are deaf until He unstops our ears.
We are dead until He gives us life.

The Holy Spirit is the great revealer of Christ to the soul, making Him known, loved, and adored--where He was once despised.

By the Spirit's enlightening, we see,
  the glory of the cross,
  the beauty of holiness,
  and the hope of Heaven--as never before!

Without the Spirit's teaching, we are like travelers in the wilderness without a compass, wandering aimlessly in search of truth.

"But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth." John 16:13
 

We have published one of John Newton's most precious poems, 'Tis a Point I Long to Know.