October is the month of Halloween, which occurs on its last day. For many, this day draws attention to the spirit world of demons by its emphasis on dark images such as skeletons, skulls, ghosts, graveyards, witches, bats, darkness and black cats.
Theology 101 seeks this month to draw attention to the contrasting world of God’s Spirit, characterized by life, light, truth and holiness. We will be reminding ourselves of the Holy Spirit’s essence, as well as some of the evidences of Him being effectively present and at work in and through the lives of believers. We begin this spiritual journey by noting that God’s Spirit is the Spirit of truth.
Our guide
On one occasion when Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit’s ministry, He referred to Him in this way saying, “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13a).
Earlier, Jesus had promised to ask the Father to give “another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16–17).
These statements of Jesus allow us to think of the Holy Spirit as “the Truth Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit illuminates truth. He brings truth to light, and He seeks to implant that truth in the lives and thinking of His children.
The Holy Spirit teaches spiritual truth, as conveyed in God’s written word, to those of us who have chosen to become Christ-followers. The Word came into being through the Spirit’s inspiration at work in the minds of the human writers of the books of the Bible.
Divine inspiration
The Bible is nothing less than the truth of God given to us through the work of the Holy Spirit in holy men of God —
human vehicles through whom divine truth has been set forth.
If we embrace the truth that Holy Scripture is the result of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then we must invite the indwelling Spirit to be our Helper, Interpreter and Enabler to be people of truth, both in what we believe and how we live.
The hymn writer has furnished us with a fitting daily prayer: “Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me. Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me.”
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