Biblical Discipleship Pt. 30 Discipleship: Comfort from God and Truth to Detect Error.

Jesus declared that "I Am the True Vine" and we have looked closely into what this teaching means. There are two responses to Christ's teaching. 

First, it is an exercise in faith by believers choosing to abide in Christ and being blessed. 

The second choice is unbelief evidenced by those who are like worthless "sucker" shoots which look like shoots that might produce fruit, but they have no fruit and waste precious resources. Compare with the tares and wheat in Matthew 13. 

We learned that our Father is going to prune each of the living branches (believers) so that we retain vigor and bear much more fruit for His glory. 

We also learned that the Father will cut off all the dead wood from the vine (unbelievers) and they will be cast aside and burned. Again, compare with the judgment of sheep and the goats in Matthew 25.

Jesus repeated His promise to send the "Comforter" to His disciples. 

John 15:26-27  But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: 27) And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. 

In John 15:18-25 Jesus explained that His disciples will be the objects of the world's hatred. The world hated Christ and the Father and it will hate all who are born again.  

Christ graciously forewarned His disciples (and believers today) about the worst they will experience from a Christ rejecting culture.

Jesus spoke again about the coming ministry of the Spirit of God. He too comes forth from the Father and Jesus promised to send Him when He returned to the Father. 

The Holy Spirit brings comfort to God's people. 

Isaiah 40:1  Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 

Jesus called the Spirit of God the "Comforter." This name means that He is called alongside of believers to bring us heaven's help and abundant aid when we are in need. 

The word "comfort" means to revive the weak, to bring them strength and to cheer their heart and soul with the things of God. It means bringing us renewal of mind when our thoughts are filled with grief and distress. 

Christ's words connected the Holy Spirit's work with Isaiah's prophecy of promised comfort from God for His people. 

As "Comforter" the Spirit of God will to lead believers to a deeper knowledge of gospel truth, and give Christ's disciples divine strength needed for enduring much trials and persecution because of the name of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus reminds us that an important title of the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of Truth." John is the only apostle to apply this name to the Holy Spirit in John 14, 15, 16 and 1 John 4:6. 

As the Spirit of Truth, He inspired all of the scriptures in our Bible. He breathed it into being and infused it with light and life from God (See for examples, 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21). Thus, He has given us the only source of absolute truth from God.

We are learning that the ministry of the Spirit of God to each believer is going to be centered around the Word of God. 

He will come alongside each of us and use the Word of God in our hearts to transform us, renew our thinking, revive our spirits and bring heaven's hope before our eyes.

This same Spirit of Truth is going to testify on behalf of the words, works and Person of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 

This Holy Spirit generated testimony is going to come through the lips of the apostles. Jesus reminded them that He called them and they have been with Him from the beginning, an essential  qualification for apostleship (Acts 1:20-22). 

God's Spirit will call men to Christ and seek to convict their hearts about sin, hell, condemnation, Christ our Savior, forgiveness, and the hope of eternal life. 

The Spirit of Truth exposes all error.

1 John 4:2,3  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3) And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 

John told us that we can distinguish between the Spirit of God and the spirit of antichrist. The Spirit of God will always confess or publicly proclaim that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. 

This connects with 1 Timothy 3:16 and "God was manifest in the flesh" in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. If Jesus was not the virgin born, Son of God then we do not have a Savior. 

Why? Because that would mean that Adam's blood flowed in His veins, whereas, the virgin birth means that His blood was the blood of God, able to atone for all sin. 

Praise God that He was virgin born and was everything that He claimed to be. 

The Spirit of Truth indwells us and unites us with Christ.

1 John 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 5) They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6) We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 

We are of God because we are born again. The Spirit of God lives in us and our body is His temple. We were bought with the price of Jesus' precious blood. Thus, John tells us "We are of God." 

The proof of being a child of God is that we will heed the apostolic teaching and hold fast to their doctrine. Thus, the Spirit of Truth protects us from error by giving us God's truth and helping us understand it. 

Final warnings about Christ rejecters. 

John 16:1-3  These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. 2) They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3) And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. 

John 16 begins with another word of warning from Jesus because He wanted to make sure His disciples were prepared for gospel resistance that would come. 

The word "offended" means to put a stumbling block in someone's path so that they trip over it. It can mean something that causes someone to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey.

Jesus said that the Jewish religious leaders would throw His disciples out of their synagogues because they preached Christ and His resurrection from the dead. 

He told them they would be martyred for His name's sake and those who committed their murder would think they were serving God in killing them. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

Christ clearly spoke of great opposition which His gospel would experience from the world. He explained the hardships many preachers of the gospel would experience, so that they would not be overcome by fear and doubt. 

The violent torrent of hatred from Christ rejecters is something that all believers will potentially experience when we seek to tell others about Christ.  

Spreading the gospel of Christ is the primary and powerful work of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes He is preparing hearts to receive the word as He did with Lydia. Sometimes He uses Christians who seek to be His faithful witnesses. 

The Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and works it into the hearts of men.  He uses Pastors, Evangelists, Teachers and common people like you and me, to advance the Kingdom of God.   

Pastors, Parents and Parishioners need to learn and embrace this truth so that Pastors can lead their church aright, Parents can raise their children to fear God and Parishioners can be prepared to say "Hear am I Lord, Send me."

The Spirit of God is our comforter and He will comfort us in times of need.  May we yield ourselves willingly to Him and allow Him to use us to share the gospel of Christ with others. 

Bob