John 16:12-15
We want the power of the Holy Spirit. We want to do amazing, miraculous things. But the real purpose of the Holy Spirit isn’t to amp up our emotional energy or to give us magical powers (though his very real power is very supernatural).
The primary role of the Holy Spirit, as the third member of the Trinity, is to direct our attention to Christ, the second member of the Trinity. Yes, the Spirit of God is fully God, but his active ministry today is one of showing us, reminding us, and revealing to us the finished work of Christ that saved the world.
I love that the Spirit is given this title – “the Spirit of Truth.” If anything at all is true about God, about the world, or about us, then the Spirit of God certainly knows it and seeks to offer to us a right understanding of it all.
According to Jesus’ words in this passage, the Spirit takes on some specific Son-centered ministries:
- Guiding us into truth (and presumably away from error).
- Speaking to us what he hears from God.
- Pointing to the glorified Christ.
- Declaring to us the ultimate triumph of Jesus.
In other words, the message of the Holy Spirit isn’t about how amazing the Holy Spirit is. And it’s also not about how amazing you or I are as human beings.
The Spirit’s primary message to us is all about how amazing Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be.