Life and Guidance

[Jn 16:12-13; Rom 8:10-11]

John 16:12-13 (NKJV) “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear [them] now. [13] “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own [authority,] but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

Jesus is saying that the disciples were not able to handle many things at that point in time. He knew that without the Holy Spirit, they couldn’t see from a spiritual perspective. They wouldn’t understand what was about to happen, even though it had been prophesied many places in Scripture. Something was about to happen that had never happened before, since the beginning of time. There was about to be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God was about to reside in the hearts of mankind.

The Holy Spirit will guide the believer into all truth, and will even reveal things to you before they happen.

It is a blessing when this happens. Recently a dear friend of mine was telling me about how the Holy Spirit prophesied to her of when her elderly mother would go to be with the Lord. And when that day arrived she was better prepared and more comforted than others in her family because of it. It is so awesome to have the Comforter living on the inside of us.

Romans 8:10-11 (NKJV) And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. [11] But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Christ is in you: Christ is not the Lord’s last name. Christos is the Greek word for Christ. Definition is: the Anointed One, Messiah, Christ, a characteristic or description of Jesus. If you are born again, you have the Holy Spirit in you, the characteristics of Jesus. You are an anointed one! The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. You have resurrection power living on the inside.

Body is dead: Those without Christ are only carnally minded; therefore, the body is everything to them. But true believers “keep under” their bodies (1Cor 9:27) and are looking forward to their spiritual bodies (1Cor 15:44). No one can please God in the flesh. The flesh has been corrupted and separated from God. Therefore from a spiritual perspective the body is dead, or incapable of living up to God’s standard. His Spirit is giving physical life to our bodies until we receive our incorruptible bodies.

Give life to your mortal bodies: Paul was commenting on this quickening power of the Holy Spirit for this life, as well as the ultimate victory when our physical bodies will be resurrected.

My Confession:

I cannot please God in the flesh, so I follow after the Spirit. The Spirit of truth guides me. He often gives me a “heads up” of things to come.

The old sinful nature died because of sin. But the Spirit is alive because it is right-wise with God. I have the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, and life in my body because He lives in me.

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead makes alive my mortal body!

God bless you my friend,

— Dwight Hammond