58. The Holy Spirit - Truth Bringer Series

IN GOD'S IMAGE 58 - THE HOLY SPIRIT - TRUTH BRINGER

This message is part of a series of 90 sermons based on the title, “In God’s Image – God’s Purpose for humanity.” This series of free sermons or the equivalent free book format is designed to take the reader through an amazing process beginning with God in prehistory and finishing with humanity joining God in eternity as His loving sons and daughters. It is at times, a painful yet fascinating story, not only for humanity, but also for God. As the sermons follow a chronological view of the story of salvation, it is highly recommend they be presented in numerical order rather than jumping to the more “interesting” or “controversial” subjects as the material builds on what is presented earlier. We also recommend reading the introduction prior to using the material. The free book version along with any graphics or figures mentioned in this series can be downloaded at www.ingodsimage.site - Gary Regazzoli

We have been looking at the various roles of the Holy Spirit.

• We looked at His role as the “embracer,” the one who goes forth to embrace the lost sheep and draw them into fellowship with the Triune God.

• Then we looked at another title that describes the work of the Holy Spirit and that is, the Holy Spirit as “builder.”

• He is building a temple of living stones in which God will dwell.

• And last time we started looking at his role as our “heart surgeon.”

• Under the New Covenant, He gives us a new heart motivating us internally to develop the divine nature of God so we become a holy community in which God will dwell.

Living by the Spirit.

• Last time we introduced the concept of the two contrasting ways of life mentioned by the apostle Paul in Romans 8.

• Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

• Living according to the flesh is characterised by selfishness while living according to the Spirit is characterised by selflessness, the same kind of selflessness that inspired Jesus to present Himself as a living sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Today we are going to continue to discuss the role of the Holy Spirit as He instructs us on the subject of “truth.”

• The Spirit is well qualified for this role as “truth bringer” as Jesus said, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” (John 16:13).

• Regardless of which culture we live in today, all are built to one degree or another on deception and falsehood.

• It is not just “fake” news; it is “fake” promises, “fake” attitudes, “fake” agreements, “fake” deals, etc.

• The Holy Spirit’s role as truth bringer is to develop the culture of the kingdom of God built on “truth.”

• It helps to have a teacher who is uniquely qualified to dispense truth that comes directly from the Godhead itself.

• And standing behind the Spirit directing events is the one who claims to be “the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6).

• John 16:14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

• We are in very capable hands as the Spirit sets about the task of “conforming” God’s people to the “image of the Son” (Romans 8:29).

• We have Jesus, the one we are to emulate, directing events, and we have the Spirit giving us the capacity to replicate the selfless example of Jesus Christ as He demonstrated what a life “living by the Spirit” is all about.

So let’s look at the various aspects of the Spirit’s work as He teaches us to become God’s holy people.

• Coming to Spiritual Understanding, or Conversion

• We have already mentioned the Spirit’s role as the “embracer,” the one who goes out to embrace the lost sheep and draw them into fellowship with the Triune God.

• There is a mystery associated with this as the reality is, not everyone is afforded this opportunity to respond to God’s calling in this age, although as mentioned earlier, everyone has been implicated in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

• So as we learned in the case of suffering and evil, we have to recognise God uses aspects of this age as part of His higher purpose of making us in His image.

• We have to recognise, first, there must be a specific reason why not everyone is “called” at this time, and secondarily, God must have a specific purpose for those who are given this privilege in this age.