Spirit of Truth

6 min read

8  “When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9  about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10  about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11  and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”

John 16:8-10

The world is wrong about sin, because the world thinks that our sin can be dealt with through religious rituals or through personal improvement and self-help. Either that or the world does not believe that sin is a problem at all, and therefore doesn’t need to be dealt with. In that case, the real problem is the “judgmentalism” of Christians.

But the world is wrong. Sin is a problem and the only way to deal with it is through faith in Christ.

The world is wrong about righteousness, because the world’s standard of righteousness is other people. And so, as long as we hold to human standards, we are “righteous.” As long as we are better than “bad” people, we are “righteous.” Either that or the world thinks that there is no such thing as absolute righteousness and that everyone gets to define their own “righteousness.”

But the world is wrong. Jesus is the only standard of righteousness, and that was proven through His resurrection.

The world is wrong about judgment, because the world thinks that the world will continue on tomorrow and the day after and so on, just as it has yesterday and the day before and so on. Either that or they think that this world will just come to an end one day, but technology will have advanced enough for us to live on another planet.

But the world is wrong. Jesus is coming back, and when He does, all things will be restored to the shalom that God intended for us in the very beginning. The Prince of Peace has overcome the prince of this world.

Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. The Holy Spirit will lead us into His way—to follow Jesus and by following Jesus, to become like Him. The Holy Spirit will lead us into His truth—to believe the word of God more than we believe the lies of the devil and the lies of this world. And the Holy Spirit will lead us into His life—to seal us with the mark of Christ, that Christ may dwell in us and us in Him, and so that when He returns, we will be ushered into eternal life—an eternal life that begins here and now.

I can stand with the world in its delusions or stand with the Spirit of truth. I choose to stand with Christ.

Father, Your thoughts are high above our thoughts; Your ways are high above our ways. And yet, You have made Your thoughts and Your ways known to us to the degree that we need to know them to have life. Forgive me and forgive us for clinging to our own thoughts and our own ways, as if they mean anything. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us into Your ways and Your truth. Continue to open our eyes and open our ears and open our hearts to You and You alone. In Jesus’s name. Amen.