323. The Spirit of Truth

Jesus said that He would not leave us as orphans. He meant that He would send us the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive this Spirit, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. John 14:16-17.

It is a tremendous advantage to possess the Spirit of truth. It sets us free from the power and authority of lies. The leading of the Spirit of truth is able to dispel every perversion or distortion of the Scriptures. Ideas like the one that says that our body of sin is taken away when we receive the baptism of the Spirit are branded as lies by the Spirit of truth. The Spirit of truth leads us to the enemies in our flesh and gives us power to overcome them. In the same way the Spirit of truth brands denominationalism as a work of the flesh. It makes into one body all those who in truth have the faith of Christ. All sectarianism falls away. The Spirit of truth removes any need for any other type of education. Follow this, and there will not be any professor who will be able to teach you to know God and fellowship with the saints. We are not left as orphans. The Son will come to us through the Spirit of truth. Verse 18.

Since the world cannot receive the Spirit of truth, how then are people able to govern and lead in the world? The result is complete chaos, which is exactly what we see before us. The spirit of lies rules and creates havoc within industry and commerce and disrupts all divine order. The Spirit of truth is denied, and anyone who has this Spirit is rejected. We see that religious parties also shun the Spirit of truth. They believe that they are doing God and man a service by backbiting those who as a result of following the leading of the Spirit of truth are far more God-fearing than they themselves, and they do this because they have stagnated in their spiritual life. The Spirit of truth has been able to lead them to the forgiveness of sins and to the baptism in the Spirit, but no further into the fellowship with Christ in His sufferings, being conformed to His death. There is strong enmity against this. It must be plain for everyone that Christ shows no partiality. He is neither Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, nor Pentecostal, for He prayed that we might be one even as the Father and the Son are one. Thus this party system is not of the Father, the Son, or of the Spirit of truth, and if it does not belong there, we know that it comes from a different father—the devil himself, who has come only to separate, steal, and murder. Moreover we notice how the various parties like to steal members from each other because they figure that more people equals more money and thus more wealth. They corrupt themselves by the things they know naturally, because they do not have faith. Jude 10.

All such enmity was put to death on the cross where the two were made one. This happened when Jesus abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances. “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” That one Spirit is the Spirit of truth. Eph. 2:15-18.

So do not be deceived by those who create sects and parties, because the Spirit of truth will never sanction such things.

Within these parties it is impossible to grow up to the maturity in Christ—up to the head of the church because there is not a single apostle, teacher, shepherd, or prophet there. All of them are placed in the church, not in the party system. This explains why all these parties are in agreement in their opposition to the church, despite being in disagreement about everything else, just like Herod and Pilate who agreed when Christ was to be crucified. If you will be crucified with Him, you will get victory over enmity and over all sectarianism. Christ is placed as Head over the church, “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” Eph. 1:19-23.

Obey the Spirit of truth, and you will come to the light of life and to revelation in the Scriptures. You will be wiser than all your teachers, and they will soon become completely superfluous for you. Such teachers do not like this at all, but this is precisely what pleases God and all His saints. No one who does not, with a whole and undivided heart, follow the Spirit of truth in all things is ever to get power over you. On the contrary, you shall have power over them.

When God wants to heal Israel, He exposes the iniquity of Ephraim and uncovers the wickedness of Samaria. Hos. 7:1. In the same way, when God wants to cause light to shine in the darkness for the upright, He uses the Spirit of truth to expose the offenses of the religious and the egotism and wickedness of the party system.

Everything appears to be exceedingly good—until light shines in the darkness. Just read the judgment of Jesus Christ over the angels of the churches in Revelation, and you will discover that not everything was in order. How much worse it must be with the churches that split the entire country into dioceses, deaneries, and beneficiaries. Visit the prisons and ask those inside which church they belong to, and you’ll soon discover that such people have not allowed themselves to be led by the Spirit of truth. The fact that they were baptized as babies cannot free them from the hands of the authorities, far less from the hands of God.

The Father and the Son abide where the Spirit of truth exposes all hypocrisy and lies. John had no greater joy than to see his children walking in truth. 2 John 4 and 3 John 4. Demetrius had a good report from all, and of the truth itself. Verse 12. May we conduct ourselves like Demetrius, because that brings down grace from God. No power or authority can stand against the truth. It is the lord over all. Be one with it, and you will not need any other lord.