John 16:13

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come.

This is a verse of nearly incredible importance in the proper understanding of Christianity. Here is the cornerstone of faith. The errors grounded here are colossal, and the general misunderstanding of it has perverted millions of disciples.

He, the Spirit of truth ... See under John 16:8.

Shall guide you into all truth ... The most poisonous errors have been widely held and devoutly believed by Christians of all generations, thus leaving an intolerable burden upon any view that would make these precious words a promise to all believers. Jesus was here speaking to "apostles only." (See under John 15:27 and John 16:4.) Again, the very manner of the Spirit's guidance of the apostles into all truth by bringing to their "remembrance" what Jesus had said (John 14:26) denies the application of this promise to Christians who have never "heard" the Lord say anything. Again, there is the limitation that the Spirit shall not speak "from himself," thus prohibiting the notion that the Holy Spirit would initiate new doctrine, formulate new truth, or announce new teachings in any manner beyond or in addition to the "all truth" Jesus had already delivered to the apostles (John 13:3; 16:15). The Father delivered all truth to Jesus (John 13:3); and Jesus delivered all truth to the apostles, promising that the Spirit would enable them to remember "all truth" (John 14:26); and, therefore, only the apostles of Jesus could have been guided into all truth. In the writings of the apostles of Jesus is found "all the truth" as far as Christians are concerned.

He shall guide ... indicates a progressive revelation from one level to higher levels; and thus Revelation with its prophecies of the future exceeds what the apostles at first knew. In fact, this Gospel, written so long after the synoptics, has deeper insight into the mysteries of the kingdom of God than appears in them; but even here, the Holy Spirit did not go beyond what Jesus said, the greater insight resulting from more extended study of Jesus' words. Only in the matter of prophesying future events would it appear that the Holy Spirit empowered the apostles apart from the exact words of Jesus, and even this may not have been done except in the same manner as that of Old Testament prophets. If this word "guide" indicates (from its suggestion of a journey) a progression, in some degree, beyond the actual words of Christ, it was strictly limited to the apostles. Such a proposition as the following is absolutely untenable:

A guide always means a pilgrimage, and a guide always means a process. The whole church of God today has a fuller apprehension of the truth than had those twelve men. The Spirit has been guiding us into all truth![13]

The Lord did not promise that the Spirit would guide "us" into all truth, but "them," the blessed apostles; and, as for the notion that arrogant, selfish, secular, materialistic Christendom, as now almost universally constituted, has a "fuller apprehension" of truth than the apostles of Jesus Christ that notion has all but destroyed Christianity from the earth.

For he shall not speak from himself ... indicates that the Spirit is not the originator, or primary source, of truth, but a "remembrancer" of the truth conveyed by the Lord to the apostles. Gaebelein's explicit words on this are helpful. He said:

He does not speak from himself, that is, independently of the Father and the Son ... Furthermore, he will show things to come. This was fulfilled in the inspired witness of the apostles ... Let no one therefore think that the Holy Spirit continues now to give prophecies through individuals. He has shown the things to come in the completed word of God, and we must turn there to know these future events.[14]

A little reflection will show that the Holy Spirit could never be the independent kind of "wind in the mulberry bush" guide of human conduct that some seem to believe. If any spirit, even the Holy Spirit, could have so dominated man's mind as to have guided him into all truth, apart from the objective demonstration of truth in the life and person of Jesus Christ, it would not have been necessary for the Lord to come in the flesh. The subjective "feelings" of spirituals in all ages have been erroneously received as gospel truth, and the ravages of this error have been phenomenal. Gibbon recorded a remarkable incident from one of the crusades in which:

Two hundred thousand people (had as their) genuine leaders a goose and a goat, carried at the front, and to whom these worthy Christians ascribed an infusion of the divine spirit.[15]

Pitiful? Certainly, but not any more pitiful than millions today who are following some goose who is allegedly endowed with the Holy Spirit.

And he shall declare unto you the things that are to come ... This also positively proves the limitation of this whole passage in its application to the apostles only. Can anyone believe that Spirit-filled Christians of the present age have the gift of prophecy? That the apostles had such a gift is devoutly believed, but it is here emphatically denied that any Christians now have such prophetic gifts. The glorious promises of this verse are the grounds of our hope in the sacred message of the apostolic company and our reason for receiving their word as true and infallible.

[13] G. Campbell Morgan, op. cit., p. 263,

[14] Arno C. Gaebelein, op. cit., p. 305.

[15] Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Philadelphia: Henry T. Coates and Company, 1845), Vol. 5, p. 27.