"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you."

John 16:13-14

 

Father Matta El-Meskeen (Matthew the Poor)

 

 

CHRIST HERE DESCRIBES THE HOLY SPIRIT as the spirit of truth. By this he

defines the Holy Spirit as the spirit of all that is essential, the origin and nature of

the things of God. He is of the same divine essence with the Father and the Son, the

essence and truth of God in Himself.

However, a comprehensive definition of the essence is beyond our capability because it

includes truths that cannot be realized by the mind. They are beyond what is comprehensible

to man. They are the truth of God in himself who is absolute spirit, containing all that is

divine while he himself is uncontained. His life is from himself, and he gives life to all that

lives. Analysis of him is only by his own standard for he is self existent and the origin of the

existence of all that is God’s. He formed eternal life which the Father and Son fill by their

presence, and he embraces all the exalted created beings that live with God. He receives the

chosen man to enliven him in the fullness of the life of the Father and Son, so that man

becomes a participant in the divine nature1 and by it lives and enjoys its pleasure. He is the

source of all wisdom and intelligence, giving man the gifts of the highest divine knowledge

from which he receives life and well-being. By him man comprehends the highest

realizations which make of him a spiritual being in his own right, existing by the divine self

in its completeness. He is the one who now fills the Church of God with divine knowledge

to prepare it to be transported high above where by him the Church becomes the fullness that

fills all things. He leads man to the core of truth which is complete in Christ for he gives to us all

that is Christ’s, as if he is not speaking from himself but takes and gives from the

mystery of Christ. In this he can be considered an indescribable spiritual connector,

connecting the spirit of man with the Spirit of Christ. Based on this, and for this

purpose, Christ says ‘You are in me, and I am in you.’2 This is the revelation of the

work of the Holy Spirit, tying together the human and divine beings into one, for the

sake of the Father. The Holy Spirit is indeed the spirit of oneness, able to gather all into

one for the sake of the Father.

The Spirit may reveal his presence within a man by giving him another tongue, a

spiritual tongue that is not understood. However, few are those able to translate the

spiritual tongue, which is a very unique sign of his presence. It is not given to all, but

by the choice of the Spirit himself the new language is poured out on the tongue in an

audible way but that cannot be understood.3

Another of the unique gifts given by the Holy Spirit is that he gives foreknowledge

of things to come. This grace also is given only to a few, and its one purpose is

preparation of the mind and spirit beforehand for the arrival of God and Christ.

The role of the Holy Spirit in the new covenant is to bring glory to Christ in the

world by giving gifts, abilities, tongues and miracles that reveal the truth of Christ and

his saving work. The Spirit is not the only one who testifies for Christ, for God has

given believers the fullness of the Spirit in order to testify also for Christ.

At this point we must remember that the truth cannot be divided, broken up, bound or

contained, rather, it is a being that fills every living thing. When man knows the truth,

every truth becomes known to him. Indeed man becomes a possessor of truth because

the truth cannot be separated from any other truth. The truth of the Son is the truth of the

Father. He who believes in Christ and who has had the spirit of truth opened to him at

the same time obtains Christ, or as stated in the Bible, becomes ‘in him,’ No barrier

prevents him, no obstacle stops him. As Christ says with all clarity, ‘On that day you

will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.’4 The one who

gathers all together into one is the Holy Spirit, for the Bible says the Spirit takes what is

Christ’s and declares it to us; he declares it to us so that we may take possession of it.

Christ speaks to his Father saying, ‘Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the

only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’5 Here the knowledge of the Father and

the Son is itself eternal life, for the Father is truth and the Son is truth and eternal life is

truth. So the one who knows truth knows all truth, and it enters him and becomes his.

July 26, 2005

2 John 14:20.

3 1Cor 14:2.

4 John 14:20.

5 John 17:3.

1 See 2Pet 1:4.