John 16:13

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 --- He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that
shall he speak
Reading John 16:13 in context ---

by M.W. Bassett

John 16:13	Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will
guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you
things to come.

Is Jesus Christ in this verse describing the Holy Ghost as an
individual other than God (the omniscient)?

The context of John 16:13 shows Jesus preparing the disciples to
understand the events coming, including the place of the crucifixion
relative to the on-going ministry of God in the earth. We will look at
the framework of this message including John 13-16.
Introduction to John 16
The disciples have been informed at this point in the monologue:

1. Jesus will bodily depart from their sight, and the sight of the
world, but that he would prepare a restored fellowship while the
disciples would be able to know the way to follow (13:31-6).
Evidently, the restoration of fellowship would depend on both the work
of their departed Lord, and their careful following of Jesus.

2. When Philip's question (14:8) set the stage for a declaration that
deity ("the Father") is comprehended IN the Son, the Lord went on to
indicate that ALL apparent aspects of the Son were reflective of the
true Deity (vs 14:9-14). That is, Jesus was telling them that in Him
they had known the attitude and power of God, or the real substance of
godly fellowship.

3. Centering around 14:18, Jesus teaches that despite his apparent
absence, they would not be "comfortless" (meaning "orphaned", or
"abandoned"). Describing the "Spirit of Truth" which would comfort, or
help, profoundly he says "I will come to you". Unless we are willing
to concede a church orphaned for 2000 years, Jesus is identifying
himself with the Spirit which is to come. Inquiring how the the Lord
would "manifest thyself unto us", Judas investigated the ministry of
this "comforter". It was revealed that obedience to the word of God
(Jesus said "my words") was to be related to the ability to perceive
or entertain his future presence, but here he distinguishes himself
from Deity, placing the power of such comfort into the broader
definition of the eternal plan of God1 Even here, the Lord cautions
that He Himself speaking, ought never to be considered the source of
the words He spoke, but rather "the Father". If we believe that there
a distinct plurality between Father and Son, then we still have a Son
without any evidence of distinct expression. This can mean nothing
except that God's revelation, whether through incarnation or emanation
of the Spirit, is expressly and only for the purpose of revealing the
being who Jesus made reference to as "Father", and who was understood
by his audience to be Jehovah of old.

4. With John 14:26, Jesus has introduced the precedent for speaking of
the Holy Ghost and the Deity as being uniquely operative in ministry
in apparent absence of the Son of God. While there are other aspects
beyond the scope of these comments, John 14:28 begs the audience about
its lack of response. Surely, if one understood that power of God was
limited and focused for a reason in Jesus, having had a taste of God
in Him, a message of another greater coming (the anticipation of
Pentecost), should have set them to rejoicing!

5. Throughout John 15, Jesus describes, to the disciples, the special
place and great preference which the fruit of His ministry has in the
coming era. He amplifies how that those who are abiding in him should
not only bear fruit but expect to be as much rejected by the world as
he was. Notice that this is understood to be in a coming era, for his
ministry on earth is nearly completed. The disciples are informed that
they will know him (implicitly in a greater capacity) in time to come
through the Holy Ghost experience, but that they would be abiding "in
him" at the time when these fruits of John 15 will be evident. Again
in 15:26-27, the Spirit of God is distinguished, but this time by
saying "he shall testify of me". The word used here is "martureo"
meaning, "to give evidence of". Remember John 14:18 and 14:22, and
remember that Jesus has expanded the topic but is still addressing
Judas' question generally. "How will you manifest yourself unto us and
not unto the world ?" Jesus says that the Holy Ghost would be the
identification of the manifestation of Jesus Christ, but that this "id
card" would be limited to them who would obey the word, and thus
please God (14:23-24). One must not miss the message of 15:27. There
is another witness to the identity of Jesus Christ, his word, works
and association with the spirit resident in the true church: that is,
the eyewitnesses. This is a powerful endorsement of the apostolic
credentials of the scriptures (ref 1 John 1:1-3, 4:6 ..etc).

Considering John 15:26, 16:7 and 14:26, proper understanding of the
ministry of the Holy Ghost begin with knowing that the Spirit would
focus upon the identity (name), word and character of Jesus Christ. By
this point in the monologue the disciples see the Jesus Christ as
being both the originator and the focus of any coming ministry of
Spirit. Furthermore, John 14:26 also prohibits application of a name
other than that of Jesus Christ to the Spirit.

6. John chapter 16:4-5 reiterate for perhaps the 3rd time, the soon
departure of the Lord for a return to His first state (see John 17:5).


--- Disciples facing the facts ---

Now comes the setting for the statement of John 16:13.  John 13:33,
14:2 &19 cite Jesus teaching on this, but here he notes "You haven't
even asked me where I'm going" (16:5).  In verse 6 Jesus reveals the
troubled state of their minds resulting from the difficult challenge
and teaching they have heard. ("But because I have said these things
unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.")

Verse 16:7 more deeply explains and clarifies the challenge of John
14:28, and verses 8-11 enumerate the many advantages of having the
spirit manifest in the fashion which has been prophecied.

Now, Jesus is gives is the bottom line concerning the disciples
preparedness and qualification to understand the foregoing message.=20

 "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them
now." (-vs 12)

This summary is at least threefold in meaning:
1) There is much to teach you but you are unprepared, but
2) There is a need to extend my access to you, but I am going to the
cross, and will be bodily absent
3) The coming experience of the Spirit will not only teach you, but
enable you to receive that teaching.

Each of these conclusions has been touched in earlier passages, but
all are joined here.

--- He, the Spirit of Truth ---

Now, on this foundation Jesus clearly answers the needs of the problem
he stated in verse 12.

13	Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to
come.
14	He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall
shew it unto you.
15	All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I,
that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

1. Does the third person reference to the Spirit indicate a plurality
of persons in this verse ? We have already covered the precedents and
reasons for referring to the Spirit in 3rd person. See also the
footnote on this topic2. In these verses, the pronoun "he", clearly
referring to the "spirit of truth", refers distinctly to the Lord
operating in a mode and era when the Lord Jesus Christ would not be
present in the bodily form which they were now familiar with. As we
have shown, he did say that he would be present in another manner.
That mode of operation commenced on the day of Pentecost, and is known
only by believers obedient to the word of God (John 14:23).

2. Another question that has been  asked is "Why is the message of the
Spirit of God distinctly said not to originate with the Spirit ? The
Spirit is portrayed as a messenger of another's message."
Yes, this is an underlying qualification of the "Era of Spirit
In-filling" in  Jesus' in earlier passages (see note 3, in the above
section "Introduction to John 16", above). At the same time there was
an effort made to distinguish the Son of God (i.e. the flesh visible
to the disciples) from the source of the truth which they were to
receive. Bear in mind the state of mind that the disciples were in
(according to verse 6) when the Lord was conveying this message. Jesus
Christ clearly put aside any idea of a variance in purpose or focus
from the pending change coming to the world. Jesus said=20

1. the son of man, who you see, is not uniquely the source of his
message, GOD is.
2. the Spirit, who you will not see but who will be the evidence of my
presence, is not uniquely the source of his message, GOD is.

Now, we have already covered the fact that, due to the mental and
spiritual infirmities of the disciples, Jesus refereed to the
manifestations of God distinctly from the essence or epitome of GOD,
this did not imply that these manifestations were not God, for as John
had set out testifying "In the beginning ... the word WAS God" (1:1).
However, he was preventing identification of any flesh, or even to
measure of spirit as being God in totality.

Thus, the disciples are left with several inescapable conclusions:
1. When the Son of Man is no longer visible, His truth and his message
will not disappear
2. When the Spirit comes, he will have the same message, name, and
power as Jesus Christ had.
3. The ministry of God in Jesus Christ will not end, in fact it will
greatly expand, but access to him will be through obedience to the
Word of God, and submission to the Spirit, which will covey  things of
and about Jesus.

=46inally, in verse 15, remarkably Jesus claims ownership of all that
Deity has, therein not only leaving no shortcoming of the ministry of
Jesus Christ through the Spirit, but also erasing any thought of Jesus
being essentially subordinate to a greater deity. This ought to
prevent any misreading of John 13:16, or 14:28.

16	A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little
while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
17	Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this
that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and
again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the
=46ather?

Some have interpreted verse 16 as Jesus proclaiming his bodily second
coming3, but given the context and that the disciples were promised a
restored fellowship with God, it seems rather to refer to the soon
coming of the Lord through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In John
14:18, he promised the return to reestablish an even greater
fellowship that the hearer had known in their face to face
relationship.


 --- Conclusion ---

Jesus does not distinguish the Spirit of God, or the Son of God as
distinct individuals from the Deity. However, Jesus in teaching the
disciples, does distinguish the purpose that these manifestations of
God would serve in His plan.

Jesus' message is delivered again the background of a nervous and weak
proto-church, whose caliber of spiritual understanding was inadequate
to grasp why Jesus' "disappearance" could actually be regarded as a
great benefit. As in all of Jesus' ministry, and thus as should be the
case in every God-given ministry of the church, the truth arrives at
the right time to supply a human need. The disciples were worried
about his departure. Jesus reassured them that the ministry of the
Holy Ghost would originate from the same source that His own ministry
did. Not only could the disciples avoid fretting: Jesus told them that
if they understood the nature of the change that was coming, they
would greatly rejoice.=20

John 14:28 and the John 16:7 speak of the joy and power that only
recipient in the birth of the Spirit can know (see John 3:5). In a
sense, the message was lost on the audience, but in another sense, it
was a powerful call to seek the promise of the Father. Only the
experience if Pentecost can satisfy the human soul. Jesus here has set
a precedent for speaking of it and declaring the power of Pentecost,
regardless of the limited initial understanding of the hearer.

The title "Spirit of Truth" is in itself fitting to describe the
intercessory  role played by the Spirit which indwells Christians.
Webster's defines the verb "spirit" as "to carry". We speak of
"spiriting someone away", meaning to move from one place to another.
The disciples were most certainly in need of having truth carried to
their earnest hearts, as is every soul born into this world. There is
no mistaking the doctrine of Jesus Christ: While he claimed "I am the
... truth" (John 14:6), he clearly taught that the baptism of the Holy
Spirit, anticipated in these passages, as the means of delivery of the
truth. Apostolics are confident that when they receive the Holy Ghost
as on the day of Pentecost, they are receiving the Lord Jesus Christ
into their lives. Also, the Spirit of God can not only carry truth,
but as John 16:13 indicates, it will carry the recipient.

The thoughts Jesus planted in these 3 chapters of John must certainly
have been in the minds of the disciples as Jesus spoke the words " ...
but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power
from on high." - (Luke 24:49b), a short time later.

----=20
footnotes:

1 In all interactions with Jesus Christ, the disciples encountered one
or both of two self-references. Jesus either distinguished himself
from Deity or identified Himself with deity. By definition, we
recognize the responses such as John 14:23 & 14:26 where Jesus refers
specifically to deity in third person as being from the frame of
temporal, human reference. Other responses led the disciples, and now
us, to recognize the identification of Jesus Christ with the Eternal
Deity.=20
When Jesus Christ speaks with his disciples of the work of God in the
time following his glorification (after Calvary), he is aware that the
audience is hearing a human voice and moves to a 3rd person
perspective so as to accent the distinction between subordinate flesh,
and the sovereign God. The work of restoring and enhancing fellowship
with God in the time to follow Calvary would by a dynamic work of God,
and require no further work on the part of the Son of God who then
knew and conversed with, and who would conclude is great work in the
flesh on Calvary in a few brief days. Nothing in the ministry of Jesus
Christ detracts from the work of Calvary as being the ultimate measure
of his purpose while being manifest in the flesh.=20
Had Jesus not distinguished himself from Deity in matters that follow
Calvary temporally, and logistically Paul could hardly say "Wherefore
henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known
Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more." (2
Cor 5:16). There is a distinction between the ministry of the Son of
God (to whom we may aptly ascribe the titles "Servant"and "Prophet")
and Deity who brings to pass the broader plan of God.



2 Plural and third person references by one individual to himself are
not uncommon either in common expression, literature or scripture.
Biblical examples include Gen 18:3 (Abraham refers to himself as "thy
servant"), Matt 17 (numerous times Jesus refers to himself as "the Son
of man"), Matt 17:23 (After using the title "son of man", Jesus
applies the third person pronoun "him"). A more perfect and
illustrative example is found in Matt 22:42, when for obvious reasons,
Jesus refers to "Christ". Placing a person in objective reference is
accomplished by that person so as to separate himself and his personal
persoective from what is collectively know about that individual by
those who he is addressing. So a king may make personal reference to
"the king" for the sake of deflecting view from personal matters to
objective consideration of the king's authority.

3 Though not likely this interpretation is plausable. The same word
"mikron" (#3397) is used in Hebrews "For yet a little while, and he
that shall come will come, and will not tarry." (10:37), but much more
often pertaining to a relatively short period of time.