Well, good morning, church. It's good to see you all on this Fourth of July.
Glad you could join us for worship.
We are continuing in our series in the book of John.
We'll be in chapter 16, if you want to start looking there.
In two chapters after John 16, Jesus is on trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman ruler.
And Jesus, in response to a question, says that everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.
And Pilate responds, what is truth?
I think this is a question, maybe, that many are asking today.
I think there is a lot of confusion in our world about what truth is.
There are some who would deny the reality of truth.
That you could say a statement that actually corresponds to reality.
There are some that deny the possibility of knowing truth.
There may be a truth, but we can't know it.
Certainly not without any level of confidence.
On a popular level.
We live in a world today where we have competing narratives about what is real and true in the world.
We have to wade through accusations of fake news.
And we wonder, who do we listen to?
And commonly promoted, whether in the college dorm rooms or on Oprah, the idea that it is my truth that is most important.
And that I need to speak my truth to the world.
Not absolute.
This isn't, I'm not going to put this on you, but this is my truth.
And this becomes the defining reality for me, but not for anyone else.
And for some of us who actually believe in truth, we still struggle with the reality.
We see the dangers of absolutism and the way that it has created, Lord, the way it has created unhealthy patterns.
We've seen the need for humility.
And in all of this, it makes us wonder, with Pilate, what is truth?
And this question is a broad cultural one.
It is also a specific one for churches to answer, is it not?
Because the question of religious truth is particularly fraught.
In our culture today, religious truth is even more personalized, even more separated out from truth.
We think that what religious truth is, is really just an opinion on how I choose to think about what God might or might not be for me.
Our passage this morning in John 16 speaks to these questions.
And will help us gain confidence in our pursuit of truth this morning.
The disciples, giving this passage context, the disciples have been hearing from Jesus now for two chapters that he's going away.
We know from the storyline, this is literally the night before he will be crucified.
He will die.
So he is preparing them for what is coming.
He's telling them what is happening.
He's saying, I am going away.
And the disciples are thinking, well, how are we going to know anymore?
You've been leading us.
You've been with us.
You've been teaching us.
How are we going to know?
We have so many questions.
How will we know the truth when you are gone?
John.
And this is what leads us to our passage today.
The Gospel of John, chapter 16, verses 12 through 15.
And I'm actually going to back up and start in verse 5 just to give it a little bit of context.
But we're going to be looking and focusing on 12 through 15 today.
So let's read God's Word together.
John, we'll start at the beginning of that section in the ESV.
I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you.
But now I'm going to him who sent me.
And none of you ask me, where are you going?
But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.
It is to your advantage that I go away.
For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes, he will convict the world.
Concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.
Concerning sin, because they do not believe in me.
Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer.
Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
I still have many things to say to you.
But you cannot bear them now.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
For he will not speak on his own authority.
But whatever he hears, he will speak.
And he will declare to you the things that are to come.
He will glorify me.
For he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
All the Father has is mine.
Therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Let's pray as we look at God's Word together.
Lord, we thank you for this Word this morning.
We thank you for the opportunity to gather in freedom to read and to worship.
Lord, we pray this morning that what this passage says would be true.
That your Spirit would be at work among us.
That your Spirit would lead us into truth.
The truth of your Word and the truth about you.
God, we pray this morning that you would give us receptive hearts.
Lord, to have discernment and wisdom.
To grow in knowledge of you.
Lord, I pray this morning that you would help me.
The words that I speak, Lord, would be useful in the hands of your Spirit.
Lord, to proclaim the truth of your Word.
So that we might together sit under it and grow because of that.
We pray these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Friends, the big idea of our passage this morning is this.
That God's Spirit leads us into the truth that we most need.
Jesus, in verse 12, says,
I have many more things to teach you.
I've only been with you for a little while.
And honestly, you guys haven't been the best students.
You've misunderstood over and over again what I've said and what I'm about.
And I have many more things to say to you, but you can't bear them now.
Jesus knows their weakness.
Jesus knows we can't drink from a fire hose and just download all the information at once.
So He says,
You cannot bear it.
And I know that.
But I am not going to leave you alone.
This is what He's been saying for a while, but He says it again.
And then specifically about this idea of hearing and knowing Jesus' teaching and the truth about it.
He says,
I am going to send you the Spirit and the Spirit of truth.
When He comes, He will lead you into all truth.
And this is the first big idea in this passage,
is that God is going to send His Spirit to lead us into all truth.
What He says is,
The Spirit's going to come and continue what I've been doing.
Jesus came to reveal God to the world,
to proclaim Him and to embody Him so that we might know who God is.
And what Jesus is saying is,
I am going away,
but my presence and this teaching,
revealing ministry that I have been doing will continue
because the Holy Spirit will continue what I have started
in making known God to the world.
He will speak truth.
If you look at these verses 12 through 15,
do you see how many times the words are
say, speak, or declare over and over again?
This is the primary way that the Spirit teaches us,
is by speaking through words.
And He will speak truth about God first to His disciples.
His audience is particularly, primarily His disciples,
the 12 who have been with Him for these three years.
And what we know from the rest of Scripture
is that what Jesus is promising
is that these men will then be the primary witnesses
who will tell others about Jesus.
As they learn from the Spirit,
they will tell others about Jesus.
And that's not only in the historical reality
of the proclamation in the first century,
but it also becomes this.
The Spirit will inspire these first followers of Jesus
to write down the truth about Jesus
so that we now, 20 centuries later,
can still benefit from the overflow.
So the primary audience of Jesus' statement here
is the apostles,
but the overflow audience is all of us.
That the Spirit will teach the church.
And if the Spirit is teaching the apostles
through the inspiration and the writing of the Scriptures,
He's going to teach the church
through the illumination of those writings,
the illumination,
the making clear what the Scriptures mean
for the church throughout all the ages.
So Jesus promises us
that the Spirit is going to continue
to teach us the truth that we most need.
And the focal point of it
is on the person and work of Jesus Christ.
I say this partly.
Look at the end of verse 13.
Jesus says,
He will guide you into all the truth,
for He will not speak on His own,
but whatever He speaks,
He will declare to you
the things that are to come.
Now, some people have thought
that the Spirit is going to teach
about the end times
and all sorts of speculative things
about what's to come.
But I actually think
we need to read this very carefully.
Jesus is speaking
the day before His crucifixion
and three days before His resurrection.
And those are the things to come
that Jesus is referring to.
And He's saying,
you will understand this
when the Spirit comes.
And in fact,
John has said this in other places.
The disciples did not understand this now.
But when Jesus rose from the dead,
when the Spirit came to illuminate
and help them interpret
and understand what it was about,
then it made sense to them.
And then it was clear
what the significance of Jesus' life,
death, and resurrection really was.
And this is the focus
on His most important things.
The Spirit will also focus on Jesus
as you see at the beginning of verse 14.
He will glorify me.
Now, if you've been here for a while,
you've heard me say this over and over again.
But for those of you who haven't been here,
it's worth stopping to think,
what does glorify really mean?
It's a church word
we throw around all the time.
What does it mean to glorify something?
To glorify something means
to make clear,
to make manifest
so that other people can see
and appreciate
the intrinsic quality,
character, and beauty of something.
Okay?
It actually can also be used,
you could glorify evil if you wanted to,
you could expose its negative,
but usually it's glorifying something positive.
So glorifying is to make something known
and clear
so that other people can see it
and respond
by treasuring its value and goodness.
And this is what Jesus says
the Spirit is going to do.
He will glorify me.
Jesus is going to come
and be like a spotlight,
shining His light
upon Jesus Christ.
I don't know if you've ever been
to the Statue of Liberty,
but it's really interesting
to look at the floodlights
that they have
that make the Statue of Liberty
visible at night.
I don't know if you remember,
but during Hurricane Sandy,
the lights went out
and the power went out
and the Statue of Liberty
disappeared at night.
But when you look at this,
you realize
these floodlights
make clear
the beauty of this statue.
And that's what
Jesus is saying
the Holy Spirit is going to do.
And here's the thing,
if you go and stare
into the floodlight,
what are you going to see?
Nothing.
Because the purpose
of a floodlight
is not to be stared at.
The purpose of a floodlight
is to shine its light
on something else.
And Jesus is saying
the Spirit is going to come
to continue
what the Father has begun
and what I am doing
to glorify the Son
in His work of redemption
to make this
the most important truth
for anyone to know
throughout all of history.
Jesus is saying
you are not left
grasping for the truth.
God is making Himself known.
The Father is revealing Himself
through the Son
and the Spirit
is now shining
His floodlight
on the Son
to lift Him up.
This is what we heard earlier.
God in various times
in the past
spoke in various ways
to the prophet
but now He has spoken
His final word,
the complete word,
the end of the word,
Jesus.
This is what John himself
tells us
when we look at
the very beginning
of John in the prologue.
the word became flesh
and dwelt among us
and we have beheld His glory
because this is how
we know the Father
through this one God
who has come
to earth.
And so this is the focal point
of what the Spirit is doing
is bringing us news
and information
and knowledge
of Jesus Christ
and His work
so that we might see it
and be in response to it
be brought to faith
in Jesus.
So the Spirit
will bring us into truth
in this focused way
but I will say as well
that I believe that
as Jesus says
as He says
the Spirit will lead us
into all truth.
And I want to broaden our experience
so if this is the focal point
then this overflows
into a richness
of the truth of God
for all of life.
That God is going to give us
a knowledge
about the reality
of the world we live in
and wisdom
on how to live
in the world
under God.
Let me explain
what I mean by this, right?
There's a phrase that says
all truth is God's truth
and this is a helpful phrase
in as much as it
is God-centered
it is a wonderful thing
to recognize
that everything
that is true
that corresponds
to reality
that's defined by God
is something
that is coherent with
and a part of God's truth.
The Bible doesn't
tell us everything.
It doesn't tell me
how to build
an engine
for an airplane, right?
It doesn't tell me
how to code
a computer.
It doesn't even tell me
how to cook
chicken marsala, right?
It doesn't tell me
all sorts of really
basic things of life
and very specific things
but what it does do
is it gives us
a framework.
Gives us a framework
to understand
everything we do.
Part of what the Spirit
is going to do
is give us the keys
to the library
where we can go in
to the Creator's home
and we can pull out
the blueprints
to see how He's created
the world.
We can read His tomes
of His work
throughout history
to see the way
the world works
in different ways.
It's going to give us
a knowledge about ontology,
what truly is
in the world
and it's also going to
give us this knowledge
about wisdom
of how to live.
Now look,
I know there are some
who have questioned this
who have wondered
is the Bible
really trustworthy
and they often throw out
some really
some red herrings.
Well the Bible says
that the sun rose
and we're scientists
and we know
that the sun doesn't rise,
we know that the earth spins.
So that can't be truth.
Well listen friends,
can we give God
more credit than that?
Can we give God
more credit
than He can write
in literary genres
and in context
and can we re-understand
that what He is communicating
and the question
we need to ask
of each passage is
what is this passage
seeking to tell us
about reality
and about God?
And when it says
the sun rose
it's not trying
to describe
the specific
scientific process
of how the earth
relates to the sun
in a
what's the right word?
Astronomical
way.
Right?
That's not what
it's trying to do.
It's simply saying
from the perspective
of a human being
the sun came up.
Right?
So let's not be thrown
off by those red herrings.
There are good questions
to ask
and there are good things
for us to explore
in terms of how we
understand the coherence
and truthfulness
of the Bible.
But what John
is telling us here today
is that the Spirit
will lead us
into all truth
and the Bible
gives us a big picture
of what is real
and how to live
in that world.
What does this mean?
What might this look like?
Friends,
we could be here
for the rest of creation.
And not exhaust this
because this is the glory
of what we're doing
is God is leading us
to interact with Him
in His creation
for as long as we have
life and breath
under His truth
and with His knowledge.
But I want to give you
maybe just a taste
of what it might look like.
What might it look like
for a biomedical engineer
to think about
what he does
in light of God's truth?
Well, she might explore
the complexity
of the human body
as something created
by God.
She might work humbly
as a sub-creator
recognizing she doesn't have
ultimate control
over the world
but that God
is in doubt
with the ability
to create something,
biomedical technology,
that might actually
help someone.
she might consider
that God is the Lord
of life and death
but that she has been
given gifts
to be able to help people
in the process.
she would see
how the healing process
or the restoring
to what we would call
healthy functioning
is a foretaste
of the ultimate redemption
that God is going to bring
to all of His creation
when the powers of sin and death
are defeated
and eradicated finally.
And she might rejoice
in the opportunity
to serve others
by building
biotechnical
I don't even know
I'm so far out of my field
I can't
I don't even know
what it might be
but something that could
actually help
people live
and thrive
in this world.
Those are the kinds
of questions
that a biomedical engineer
might ask
in light of
the truth
that God is revealing
in the world.
Here's another example.
How about a filmmaker?
What is a filmmaker
going to do
to think about
what they do
in light of
the truth
that God has revealed?
Well, I think
first of all
they're going to consider
the storyline
all filmmakers
are telling stories
right?
So they're going to consider
the storyline
of the Bible
creation
fall
redemption
glory
right?
if this is the arc
then the films
that he makes
might do
all sorts
of different things
it might
reveal
the
the created
beauty
of humanity
and of creation
the
in his imageness
of all human beings
male and female
from every tribe
and tongue
and to
to bring to light
the glory
of the diversity
of what God
has created
in humanity
and in creation
he might tell
stories
about darkness
and despair
how sin
and evil
have infiltrated
the world
how it corrupts
our souls
how it corrupts
our society
how it has brought
death broadly
into the world
and how it might
help us connect
with that
and help us
understand
the despair
and brokenness
that that brings
he might tell
stories
of redemption
of courage
and of hope
that remind us
the incredible thing
that God has done
by bringing
Jesus
our rescue
and our savior
to break
into the darkness
with light
to bring hope
where there is despair
to bring life
where there is death
so we might tell
stories
of redemption
and of love
and of restoration
he might tell
stories
that give us
tastes of heaven
of perfection
of glory
of righteousness
and justice
that will never
be true
on this earth
but when we get
a taste of it
we are reminded
of what God
is doing
in the world
and where
this creation
is going
I hope
that you can
see through
these two
little examples
what it might
look like
to begin
to embrace
this overflowing
truth
that God
is giving us
by his spirit
some of you
are engaged
in the university
world
and your world
is the world
of ideas
and Jesus
is telling you
that the Holy Spirit
wants to teach
you how
what you do
in the academy
is going
to connect
with what God
is doing
in all of creation
and all of history
and for you
to find your place
to serve God
in all of these things
some of you
have nothing to do
with the university
you don't care
about it at all
and God is doing
the same thing
for you
no matter what
you are spending
your time doing
no matter what
you are engaged
in your life
God has given us
a framework
to navigate
all kinds
of different questions
of life
and work
here are some things
that the Bible
speaks to
that our society
is wrestling
with today
the Bible speaks
to gender
identity
and sexuality
and how we
understand that
the Bible speaks
to race
and oppression
and discrimination
and glory
in the diversity
of our world
the Bible speaks
to economics
and to justice
the Bible speaks
to the importance
of work
and of play
and of rest
the Bible speaks
to the place
of politics
and society
and how we live
with one another
and our neighbors
and it applies
in the everyday
lives
of relating
to one another
of being in a family
of being a parent
or being a child
and so on
and so forth
and in all
these things
God is giving us
through His Spirit
a knowledge
of the ontology
of what is true
about the world
and then
a knowledge
of wisdom
how we are to live
under God's rule
how are we to live
wisdom might be
described as
living in harmony
with or in
concert with
God's creative purposes
and God's plans
for this world
and this is what
God is doing
the Bible doesn't
always give us
easy answers
it certainly doesn't
always tell us
what job we should
take
who we should marry
or what we should
eat for dinner
but it does tell us
all that we need
in this big picture
and the most important
thing there is Jesus
but there's this
grand glorious picture
of His kingdom
and His world
that He's invited us
in to explore
and to know
and to exhaust
our whole lives
learning more
and more
about the glory
of God
in all of this
how do we
how do we do this
how do we pursue this
friends
it actually isn't
very difficult
and it's also
incredibly difficult
here's the easy part
do you see this book
it's called a Bible
if you have one
you should read it
if you don't have one
you should get one
and read it
because it is how God
has put down
in writing
His revelation
to us
so how do we pursue
growing in our knowledge
of truth of God
well we read the Bible
that may sound
really simple
it may sound simplistic
but it's the most
important thing
to do
and to do it
asking God
God help me
understand it
because Jesus
is promising us
that the Spirit
will help us
do that
you don't have
to be an expert
you don't have
to be an intellectual
you don't have
to be a theologian
to understand
God's Word
because God's Spirit
can help you
secondly
explore the world
with the lens
of the Bible
take seriously
the calling
that God has put on you
to figure out
how in the things
that I invest my life in
what does God
think about these things
start with the Bible
but recognize
that you also have
the church
the church today
and the church
throughout history
for you to talk to
about this
that means reading books
we have a book stall
downstairs
many of you
haven't seen it
because we've been
in a pandemic
for 18 months
but there's a book stall
downstairs
if you want a book
on something
go down there
see if you have one
we have a resource list
on our webpage
and if you don't find
what you're looking for
come talk to me
or one of the elders
we'd love to help you
find books
that can explore
God's world
and how God's world view
applies in different
parts of life
and finally
live a life
of humility
acknowledging
that you don't
know everything
but that you are
related to a God
who is truth
and a God
who by his spirit
of truth
is leading you
into all truth
that's the main point
of our passage
but there are two more
verses here
that we need to spend
at least a minute on
because when you look
at verses 14 and 15
it is remarkable
what Jesus says here
we could have just
preached the sermon
I just finished
and that would be nice
but there's more here
and we need to taste
because the spirit
doesn't only lead us
into all truth
but the spirit
leads us in a way
that helps us understand
that truth comes
from the triune God
when you look at
verses 13, 14, and 15
what is it that the spirit does?
The spirit speaks
what he hears from Jesus
and declares it
to the disciples
verse 14
what Jesus has
that is the truth
and the knowledge
of who he is
and his self-disclosure
the spirit will declare
that is what
so from Jesus
through the spirit
to us
and then verse 15 says
oh and by the way
what I have
Jesus is speaking
Jesus says
what I have
I get that from the father
and so the father
through the son
by the spirit
is brought to us
in this incredibly
personal way
I said earlier
that the spirit
unlocks the library
so we can walk in
and read the blueprints
and see the tomes
of the library
but it's actually
better than that
isn't it?
because what the spirit
is
is the promise
that the creator
himself
the architect
the librarian
wants a relationship
with us
that we can walk
into his library
and not just read
his books
but we can sit
in the armchair
across the table
have a cup of tea
metaphorically
with Jesus
and ask him
and learn from him
the grand architect
the author
of all things
we are taught
by him
directly
and the spirit
brings
the fullness
of truth
to us
and so truth
is found
ultimately
and fully
in relationship
with God
here's a quote
I found online
this is on a blog
post
on Ligonier.com
but it's a quote
from Herman
Bavink
who's a great
theologian
this is what he says
about this
God
is the truth
in its absolute
fullness
he therefore
is the primary
the original truth
the source
of all truth
the truth
in all truth
he is the ground
of truth
of the true being
of all things
of their knowability
and conceivability
the ideal
and archetype
of all truth
of all ethical being
of all rules
and laws
in light of which
the nature
and manifestation
of all things
should be judged
and on which
they should be modeled
God
is the source
and origin
of the knowledge
of truth
in all areas
of life
the Bible
does not simply
bring to us
a coherent
world view
with a philosophical
understanding
that coheres
but God
the Bible
brings us
God himself
who is the definer
and the creator
and the source
he is the beginning
and the end
of all truth
according to the Bible
friends I don't know
if you've thought
about this
but this is how
the Bible
really answers
the question
of religious knowledge
some people would say
well I need to come
to religious knowledge
through a scientific
I need to look
at evidences
and facts
and somehow
come to a proof
and faith
would be
denying that process
and ignoring it
but the Bible
actually says
that faith
and truth
go together
faith isn't
biblically
blind trust
faith is
reasonable trust
faith is
seeing that
there is
something there
and being
willing to
actually entrust
yourself
to it
and the truth
is that God
is making himself
known
in so many
various ways
and by his spirit
is drawing us
into that truth
so that faith
in God
is not an
irrational act
but it is a
super rational act
it is a
spiritual act
it is not in
denial of
a scientific method
but it is above
that
the biblical
worldview
marries faith
and truth together
because here's the thing
if you deny
the possibility
of the existence
of God
as a presupposition
you will never
know
whether there
is a God
or not
but what the
bible says
is
if you are
willing
if you will
humble yourself
and acknowledge
that maybe
there is a
God
then God
will reveal
himself to you
he will make
himself known
and he will
lead you
into all
truth
and so
relating to
God
is where
we find
what is
really
true
and real
because the
spirit
of all
truth
is going
to come
and bring
to us
not just
a system
and knowledge
but bring
to us
a revelation
of God
himself
the person
of God
will be
made known
to us
and as we
respond to him
in faith
we are then
able to
understand
the truth
friends
this is what
Jesus has
said from
the very
beginning
Jesus
in John
1
verse 14
is the
word became
flesh
dwelt among
us
full of
grace
and truth
and we
have beheld
his glory
if you want
to know
what God
is like
you go
to Jesus
you look
at him
because the
Bible says
this is where
God has
displayed his
glory
and when
you see
his glory
you will
experience
what Jesus
promised
in John
8
if you
abide
in my
word
you are
truly
my
disciples
and you
will
know
the
truth
and the
truth
will set
you
free
when you
see
Jesus
in his
glory
you will
understand
why
Jesus
said
in John
14
6
I am
the way
and the
truth
and the
life
no one
comes to
the
father
except
through
me
this is
the great
hope
for the
disciples
as they're
watching
Jesus
say
he's
going
away
and
wondering
how
can
we
know
you
the
spirit
is
going
to
come
and we
still
have
that
same
spirit
today
that
same
spirit
is
still
at
work
in
the
world
and
is
in
the
church
revealing
this
Jesus
to
us
revealing
God
to
us
so
that
we
might
know
him
and
know
his
truth
we
are
not
adrift
my
friends
we
don't
have
to
create
our
own
truth
or
to
grasp
in
the
dark
as
if
we
were
lost
but
the
Holy
Spirit
is
seeking
us
to
bring
to
us
all
truth
and
to
guide
us
so
that
we
might
know
him
and
know
the
truth
that
is
in
him
the
spirit
is
here
friends
let
us
rejoice
and
let
us
pray
spirit
we
come
to
you
Jesus
father
we
come
acknowledging
that the
mystery
of the
trinity
is
greater
than we
can
understand
fully
and
yet
we
thank
you
that
in
the
richness
of
your
three
persons
father
son
and
holy
spirit
you
have
revealed
yourself
to
us
your
gracious
self
disclosure
means
that
we
are
not
adrift
but
lord
that
we
can
know
real
truth
and
that
the
most
important
truth
is
about
you
once
we
know
you
lord
that
we
can
explore
all
truth
in
this
world
in
ways
that
bring
glory
to
you
lord
i
pray
this
morning
lord
if
there
are
those
here
this
morning
who
don't
yet
know
you
who
don't
yet
understand
that
you
are
God
of
truth
to
rescue
us
from
our
lostness
lord
i
pray
that
your
spirit
would
lead
them
into
truth
this
morning
and
i
pray
for
all
of
us
lord
that
we
would
have
confidence
in a
world
that
seems
adrift
that
we
would
have
confidence
that
in
knowing
you
we
can
know
what
is
right
and
good
and
true
in
this
world
holy
spirit
help
us
we
pray
we
pray
these
things
in
Jesus
name
amen