The Voice of The Spirit

Whom Does The Spirit Teach?

In view of the importance of the instruction of the Holy Spirit to the church, we need to elaborate on some aspects related to the topic. First of all, we need to define the receivers of these instructions. Second, what type of authority do these instructions or teachings have? Some well-intentioned Christians, after having prayed for the illumination of the Spirit as they study, then teach and preach convinced that every thought that comes to their minds—any interpretation or teaching—is true because they have asked for the illumination of the Holy Spirit. It may be well to ask ourselves at this point what the Lord’s original intention was in promising the teaching and instruction of the Spirit. VOTS 14.2

One of the basic principles of biblical interpretation is to analyze the historical context in which a declaration was made. In this case, when the Lord said: “He [the Holy Spirit] will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you,” His audience at that historical moment was specific and limited. The message was given in the upper room, and Jesus’ promises were given after having taken part with His disciples in the Last Supper. The apostle John records Christ’s presentation in the greatest detail (John 13-17). His words were directed primarily to His disciples, the future apostles and prophets of His church. The Lord took this opportunity to give instructions and specific promises to His future leaders. It is true, of course, that a large proportion of His marvelous declarations and promises given on that occasion may be applied in a general way to all followers of the Lord. For example, as members of God’s church, we accept and follow the instructions of the Lord relating to the ordinance of humility (John 13:3-16); we all rejoice in His promise to return to take us home (John 14:13); we all know that communion with Him is vital for our spiritual experience, just as it is vital for the branch to remain connected to the vine (John 15:15). Nevertheless, we must be careful not to make indiscriminate generalizations. Amid those marvelous promises directed to all His followers, there are specific declarations directed particularly to the disciples, who would be the future leaders and prophets of the church. For example, Christ promised His disciples regarding the Spirit; “he will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:13). This is a specific reference to the prophetic gift and the ability of the Holy Spirit to predict events before they happen and to communicate them to His followers. It is not difficult to see that this declaration refers to the future function of the apostles as prophets and not to the entire church in general. VOTS 15.1

The statement we are analyzing, “he will teach you all things,” may be classified in the same category as the previous one, “he will tell you what is yet to come.” At least the apostles understood it that way, especially the apostle Paul, who relates the teaching of the Spirit to the prophetic office and the inspired writings. ⁴ VOTS 16.1