The Holy Spirit in the Epistles, Part 1: The Spirit of Truth

Throughout the Easter Season, we’ve been doing an intensive study of how the Scriptures talk about the Holy Spirit. Over the next three posts, we’ll be turning our attention to the Epistles, a category of books I’m expanding to include the twenty-two writings — mostly letters (the ‘true’ Epistles), but also Hebrews (a sermon), and Revelation (an Apocalypse in Epistle form) — at the end of the New Testament. There’s a lot of content about the Holy Spirit in these books, so I’m dividing up the discussion into three major themes: Today we’ll be looking at the theme of the Spirit as a source and confirmer of Truth. Next week, we’ll turn to themes of the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of Empowerment.

The association of the Spirit of God with revealing truth has been a common theme throughout this whole series, from Joseph’s dream interpretation in Genesis, through the prophets, Wisdom literature, and in the prophetic speeches and teachings of the Gospels and Acts. And it’s no different in this last section of the Bible.

First, the Epistles speak of the Holy Spirit as the voice behind the Scriptures. For example, referring to Old Testament writings, they include wording like “Now the Spirit expressly says” (1 Timothy 4.1) and “as the Holy Spirit says …“ (Hebrews 3.7; cf 9.8, 10.5). But, far more important in these texts is the sense that the Holy Spirit continues to speak. This revelatory character of the Spirit is particularly prominent in John’s Apocalypse (aka the Book of Revelation): “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet” (Revelation 1.10); “At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne!” (4.2, cf. 17.3); and of course its repeated refrain of “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches” (2.7; cf. 2.11, 17, 29; 3.6, 13, 22). While he doesn’t explicitly refer to the Holy Spirit in this light, Paul also records a similar kind of ecstatic experience: “I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows” (2 Corinthians 12:2).

While it may be implicit in that passage, Paul does explicitly teach that the Holy Spirit is the giver of prophecy, which he counts as one of the spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12.1-11). About this gift, Paul later writes:

Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts and especially that you may prophesy. … [T]hose who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves, but those who prophesy build up the church… Since you are striving after spiritual gifts, seek to excel in them for building up the church. (1 Corinthians 14.1-4)

Note once again here that the point of prophecy is not to foretell the future, but to encourage and build up the faithful in the present. This is the Holy Spirit giving people the right words at the right time to edify their fellow Christians. 2 Peter likewise affirms the connection between the Holy Spirit at prophecy: “…no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1.21).

In a similar way, the Spirit can also guide the the faithful in prayer, especially when words fail:

• Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8.26-27)
• Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. (Ephesians 6.18; cf. Jude 1.20)

As much as these books talk about the Spirit giving words to the faithful, it talks at least just as much about the Spirit confirming the truth of words. Here are just a few examples:

• I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit (Romans 9.1)
• My speech and my proclamation were made not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power (1 Corinthians 2.4; cf. 2.10-13)
• Our message of the gospel came to you not in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction (1 Thessalonians 1.5)
• And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. (1 John 5.6)

This truth confirmed by the Spirit leads back, always, to the person of Jesus: He is the Gospel the Spirit affirms:

• was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 1.4)
• By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God (1 John 4.2)
• In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit (Ephesians 3.5)

So, one of the major ways the Epistles talk about the Holy Spirit is in this sense of revealing truth, whether by giving people words to speak, to preach, or to pray, or by confirming the truth in those who hear it. The ‘truth’ in question is entirely associated with the person of Jesus. And that is the theme to which we’ll return next time.