Does John 16:13 Promise the
Individual Christian Divine Guidance?
Charles Stanley, in his book: The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life, writes “but how do we recognize
the Spirit’s guidance? How do we discern between our own thoughts and His
leading? After all, the Holy Spirit does not speak with audible words. Rather,
He guides us through an inner voice (John 16:13), our own consciences (Romans
9:1), and other quiet, subtle ways.” [1]
Elsewhere Dr. Stanley writes, “The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own. Like Christ, this member of the Trinity has willingly submitted to the authority of the Father. Everything He communicates to us is directly from the Father: "He will not speak on His own initiative" (John 16:13).”[2]
Elsewhere Dr. Stanley writes, “The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own. Like Christ, this member of the Trinity has willingly submitted to the authority of the Father. Everything He communicates to us is directly from the Father: "He will not speak on His own initiative" (John 16:13).”[2]
Is this true? This is not an
assault on Dr. Stanley. One could pick any number of Christians including Bible
teachers that trust God’s guidance by the direct leading of the Holy Spirit
based upon the promise of John 16:13.
Is that what Jesus is teaching here?
The Gospel of John
“The Gospel of John
was written to persuade people to believe in Jesus (20:30–31). The opening
verses declare that Jesus is God, stressing his unique relationship with God
the Father. The book focuses on seven of Jesus’ signs (miracles), to show his
divinity. Jesus called people to believe in him, promising eternal life. He
proved he could give life by raising Lazarus (ch. 11) and by his own death and
resurrection.”[3]
John 13 -16 describe the very personal and private ministry of Jesus to
the Twelve. Chapters 13-14 describe events in the Upper Room and then He speaks
in terms of His departure and death.
Chapters 15:26 to 16:15 describe His replacement: the Promise of the
Holy Spirit.
The Context (John 16:4–15)
“But
I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember
that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning,
because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you
asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you,
sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your
advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to
you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict
the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin,
because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to
the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the
ruler of this world is judged. “I still have many things to say to you, but you
cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into
all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he
hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He
will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that
the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and
declare it to you.”
In the ESV, eighteen
times in these nine verses, John uses the word “you”. Who are the “you”? “The time had come for a new revelation.
Previously Jesus had been with the disciples to counsel them and answer their
questions. Now, in view of his imminent removal, they needed someone to take
his place. He revealed to them the coming of the Holy Spirit, whom he had
already mentioned in the general discourse (14:16-17, 26; 15:26).”[4] The “you” is clearly and unambiguously the
Twelve (I use that in the technical sense, not the numerical sense).
The Immediate
Context John 16:12–15
12 “I still
have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13
When the Spirit of truth
comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own
authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the
things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is
mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I
said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
We should note the words of Jesus carefully. As He speaks to the Twelve, He reminds them
that they have more to know – more to learn.
He then promises that the Holy Spirit will guide them into all truth
(presumably the all truth that will fill out their inadequate knowledge). The Spirit comes on the authority of Heaven
to “declare to you the things that are to come.” This is what He, the Spirit, will reveal: things
to come. In that He will glorify
Christ and give them what Christ has been unable to give them, to date. “They would also be enlightened about
coming events . . . In this promise lies the germinal authority of the
apostolic writings, which transmit the revelation of Christ through his
disciples by the work of the Holy Spirit. He would conduct them (hodegeo)
into the unknown future as a guide directs those who follow him into unfamiliar
territory.”[5]
Simply put, Jesus'
teaching ministry to his apostles would not end with his departure. Rather, his
teaching ministry to them will continue via his replacement, the Holy Spirit,
the "other helper." He is not at all saying that the Spirit will
"teach every believer everything" or cause every believer to
"remember everything which he said" or "guide every believer
into all truth." That was not what he said, and that is not what has
happened. His promise is to his apostles. [Some of these ideas I attribute to a Reformed Baptist Conference. I believe the author was Fred Zaspel. I came from a talk entitled The History of Revelation.]
Summary
What this Commentator
says is critical: “In this promise lies
the germinal authority of the apostolic writings.” In other words, it is this promise that lies
behind and forms the bedrock of the inspiration and canonicity of the New
Testament. “The Spirit’s ministry of
guiding Jesus’ followers into all the
truth is a promise especially directed toward these 11 disciples, and it
finds particular fulfillment in the subsequent work of these disciples in
personally writing or overseeing the writing of the books of the New Testament.”[6]
Jesus, then, is
emphasizing not only the uniqueness of the Holy Spirit, he is also stressing
the uniqueness of the apostles. They are
the repositories of God’s full and final revelation.
The only way, that any
Christian, could possibly interpret this as a promise, for him or her, is in
the most general and indirect way. We
have before us the Apostolic fulfillment of that promise: The New
Testament. When we read the New
Testament and apply it by the help of the Spirit’s illumination, there is at
the most some implication of the text for us today. But to claim direct, personal guidance of the
Spirit based upon this text of Scripture is not only a perversion of the text,
but a most dangerous activity.
Conclusion
This passage also
implies the closing of the biblical canon.
The truth that we need for the future has been communicated by the
Spirit to the Apostles. There is no
further direct and unmediated revelation. Our source of Truth is in fact the
fulfillment of that promise: our New Testament.
In other words, a very real power of attorney was given to the apostles.
Equipped by the teaching of our Lord himself and via his Spirit, they were our
Lord's commissioned spokesmen, his personal representatives
[2]
http://www.intouch.org/you/article-archive/content/topic/knowing_the_voice_of_god#.VNvnDPnF-So
[3] The
Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Jn). Wheaton: Standard Bible
Society.
[4] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:John/Exposition of John/III. The Private Ministry of the Word
(13:1-17:26)/B. The Last Discourse (13:31-16:33)/3. The discourse on revelation
(16:1-33)/b. The revelation of the Holy Spirit (16:5-15), Book Version: 4.0.2
[5] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:John/Exposition of John/III. The Private Ministry of the Word
(13:1-17:26)/B. The Last Discourse (13:31-16:33)/3. The discourse on revelation
(16:1-33)/b. The revelation of the Holy Spirit (16:5-15), Book Version: 4.0.2
[6] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (2057). Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Bibles.
No comments:
Post a Comment