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Tag: Book of John

Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in John, What’s new?.

What does it mean that the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth (John 16:13)?

In John 13 Jesus begins teaching His faithful disciples in what has come to be known as His “Upper Room Discourse.” In that great discourse, Jesus tells them that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all the truth (John 16:13). Many wonder whether this is something that applies to us as well or simply to the disciples. In the context, Jesus helps us understand the specificity of His promise that the Holy Spirit will “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13, NKJV).

First, it is worth noting that some English translations say “all truth,” while the Greek New Testament actually includes the definite article, so a more precise way to translate what Jesus said is that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all the truth. There is a specific truth to which He is referring, and the Holy Spirit would guide them into that. Specifically, the Spirit would reveal what the Son and the Father would have Him disclose (John 16:13–15)—things about Jesus (John 16:14).

Jesus had already told the disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit—the Helper—who would teach them and bring to their remembrance all that Jesus had said to them (John 14:26). Jesus’ later reference (in John 16:13) to the coming of the Holy Spirit and His work of guiding them into all the truth was fulfilled literally. Peter later said that God moved the writers of Scripture, and they spoke from God (2 Peter 1:21). When Matthew wrote his gospel, for example, Matthew didn’t need to borrow from anyone; he was in the room when Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth. It seems that Mark, who served alongside Peter for some time, wrote down Peter’s account (as church historian Eusebius suggests in his History, 24:5–8). Luke researched reliable sources (presumably including the disciples) as he wrote his account of Jesus’ ministry (Luke 1:1–4). John, another eyewitness, wrote his own gospel, stating that what he had written provided sufficient information for people to believe in Jesus and have life in His name (John 20:30–31).

Before the disciples would begin their ministry, they were to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4). After the Holy Spirit came, the disciples were equipped for their work, and we see them proclaiming powerfully the gospel of Jesus Christ (e.g., Peter in Acts 2—4). The Holy Spirit had indeed guided them into the truth (John 16:13) and brought to their remembrance what Jesus had said to them (John 14:26).

While we certainly benefit from that work of the Holy Spirit—as we have the writings of these men whom the Holy Spirit guided into the truth—it is clear from other contexts that this is not how the Holy Spirit works with all believers. Guiding into the truth was simply a purpose for which He was sent to empower and equip the disciples. Paul tells Timothy, for example, that Timothy should be diligent as a workman, accurately handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Timothy would have to work to understand what had been written, and he would have to be diligent to hold true and pass along the things he had heard from Paul (2 Timothy 2:2). Similarly, we are told that all Scripture is from God’s mouth and is profitable for believers’ growth and equipping (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

We are thankful for and benefit greatly from the Holy Spirit guiding the apostles into all the truth, and we recognize that, because of the Spirit’s work through the disciples, we have His record: the Bible. We should be diligent in studying the Bible to know the Lord better.

Breathed receive the Holy Spirit

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in What’s new?.

What does it mean in John 20:22 that Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit?”

During one of His post-resurrection appearances to the disciples, Jesus declared to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21). Then, in the next verse, “He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). This is similar to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19–20 in which Jesus promises, “Surely I am with you always,” and Acts 1:8 in which He proclaims, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” In John 20:21–22, Jesus is sending the disciples out on mission, and He is providing them with the power they will need. That power is found in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The question arises, however, as to why Jesus breathed on the disciples to give them the Holy Spirit in John 20:22 when the disciples would later receive the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:4: “All of them [the disciples] were filled with the Holy Spirit.” Did the disciples need to receive the Holy Spirit twice? If so, why? The Bible does not directly answer this, but there is enough information provided to derive a plausible explanation.

Acts 1:3 records, “After his [Jesus’] suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” The events recorded in John 20:21–22 occurred during this forty-day period. According to John 20:19, this appearance of Jesus occurred “on the evening of that first day of the week.” This places Jesus’ breathing the Holy Spirit onto the disciples at the very beginning of the forty-day period in between His resurrection and ascension.

There are two views of Jesus’ breathing on the disciples in relation to their receiving the Holy Spirit. One view is that Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit onto the disciples in John 20:22 to empower them until the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:4 when they would receive the Holy Spirit permanently. The reception of the Holy Spirit in John 20:22 was a temporary filling of the Holy Spirit, preparatory to the permanent indwelling to come later. In John 20, the disciples were filled in a manner similar to how Bezalel was filled in Exodus 31:2–3. The reception of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:4, then, was the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which resulted in the disciples being indwelt by the Holy Spirit permanently (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

The other view is that Jesus’ breathing on the disciples in John 20:22 did not impart the Holy Spirit at that time; rather, the breathing was a promise—an anticipation of the coming Pentecost. The Spirit did not come upon them at that moment, but Jesus gave them a pledge that they would soon be endowed with the Holy Spirit and with power from on high.

Son of perdition

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in What’s new?.

Who is the son of perdition?

The title “son of perdition” is used twice in the New Testament, first in John 17:12 and again in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The phrase simply means “man doomed to destruction” and is not reserved for any one individual. In fact, there are two people to which the title “son of perdition” is applied. In context, John 17:12 is referring to Judas Iscariot, while 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is referring to the “man of lawlessness”—the Antichrist—who will appear in the end times before Christ’s return.

The word perdition means “eternal damnation” or “utter destruction.” It can also be used as a synonym for hell. When a person is called “son of perdition,” the connotation is that of a person in an unredeemable state, someone who is already damned while he is still alive. Jesus mentions the “son of perdition” in His high priestly prayer in John 17. While praying to the Father for His disciples, Jesus mentions that He “protected them and kept them safe” and that none of them were lost except the “son of perdition,” that is, the one who was already in a damned state. The fact that the phrase is used again to describe the Antichrist shows us that forgiveness was not planned for Judas. God could have saved Judas—moved his heart to repentance—but He chose not to. He was indeed “doomed to destruction.”

A good picture of a person who is a “son of perdition” appears in Hebrews 6:4–8, which describes a person who, like Judas, has experienced a certain closeness to God and has a good understanding of salvation, but then denies it. Instead of bearing good fruit, he bears “thorns and thistles.” This is a person who sees the path to salvation, which is trusting in God’s grace to cover sin (Ephesians 2:8–9), and instead either flatly denies the existence of God or denies God’s gift of salvation, preferring to pay his own debt. Judas chose the second path, punishing himself by suicide instead of accepting grace.

However, Judas and the Antichrist are extreme cases. It is never right for a human being to label another person a “son of perdition” because only God knows the ultimate future of each human soul. Only with these two individuals did God choose to reveal His plan for their eternal damnation. With every other person, no matter how lost or evil he may seem, we are to hope and pray for his redemption (1 Timothy 2:1).

The woman at the well

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in What’s new?.

The woman of Samaria (the Woman at the Well)

Samaritan woman at the well

Jesus and The woman of Samaria (the Samaritan Woman) at the Well.

The woman of Samaria

The woman of Samaria or the Samaritan woman at the well is a figure from the Gospel of John. John 4:4–42 relates her conversation with Jesus at Jacob’s Well near the city of Sychar in Samaria.