This study was first taught on October 9, 2012

Topic: Now That the Holy Spirit is in You (3.1): You Ought to Embody Truth

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Background
So far, we have seen that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us when we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour; He becomes our Comforter, Who stays with us from then on, till we go to be with the Lord. As our Comforter, the Holy Spirit in not just a Companion, but a Companion we can absolutely trust, as He cannot ever, ever, lie! Furthermore, we have seen that the Holy Spirit also helps us not to be deceived, by exposing error. In exposing error, the first thing the Holy Spirit does is to warn us of the existence of error, and that we should not gobble up every message, prophecy, miracle, etc., as though they are all from God. The Holy Spirit also exposes the source of all error, Satan, as well as his agents, and agencies, so that we come to realize that there are indeed false teachers, false prophets, false apostles, false churches, and so on.

Then, a fortnight ago, we also saw that the Holy Spirit exposes error, by revealing the error itself, and then, giving the correct scriptural and biblical perspective or precept on the issue. As a rule-of-thumb, we noted that when an issue arises that seems confusing, the believer in Christ should seek God’s counsel, and, the Holy Spirit will give the correct position of God on the matter in the light of the Scriptures! For this reason, therefore, the word of God is indispensable to a believer in Christ, as is the Holy Spirit, Who reveals what God has freely given to us. If, however, a person is yet unable to receive what the Holy Spirit is telling him with respect to error, he should walk only in the light of the revelation that he already has from God; and as he matures spiritually, the light of God on the matter will become clearer to him. We applied this principle of dealing with error to two issues—celibacy, and what we should or should not eat. On celibacy, we saw that the bible teaches that:
(a) Celibacy is not a divine mandate, since God instituted marriage, and intended it, among others, for procreation and as a means of eliminating fornication.
(b) People who are eunuchs by birth or through circumstances of life, and therefore unable to fulfil conjugal responsibilities in marriage, cannot and should not get married.
(c) Outside of those mentioned in (b) above, every other person is free to marry.
(d) Only on account of the gospel should a person other than those mentioned in (b) above, seek celibacy.
(e) Celibacy should not be sought on account of a bad experience, or for some other emotional reason; rather, it should be thoughtfully entered into by a spiritually mature mind.
(f) Where a person had decided to be celibate, but discovers that he does not have the grace to remain so, he is free to marry; for it is better to marry than to burn.
(g) If a person gets married, they should remain married, and not seek divorce or separation; not even for the sake of the gospel.

On the issue of food, the bible tells us that:
(a) We should not impose religious or dietary regulations on anyone.
(b) Each person should be fully persuaded as to what to eat, and what not to eat!
(c) Where, however, people are offended by what we eat, we should not eat such things, so as not to offend them.
(d) Where foods have first been offered to idols, it is obligatory on those who have knowledge as to the vanity of idols, to act in a manner that will not offend those who have no such knowledge, or cause those believers who are weak in faith to go astray.
(e) Ultimately, discretion and avoidance of offence should be the guide on the issue of food!

Scripture Text(s)
John 14:16-17
Tonight, we shall see who or what we ought to be if indeed the Holy Spirit is in us. It is our prayer that we would allow the Holy Spirit to complete His work in our lives so that we can be all that God intended us to be, in Jesus' name, Amen.
As the ‘Spirit of truth’, it is not just the nature of the Holy Spirit to be truthful, but He is an embodiment of truth. He is truth! And, if the embodiment of truth is indwelling a person, then, we should expect that person to be an embodiment of truth also!
John 18:38; Acts 17:18-21; John 14:6; 1:14, 17; Romans 8:9; John 3:8; 1 John 4:6; 1 Samuel 16:13-14; John 1:47; 8:44; 1 John 5:6; 3:9; 1 Corinthians 2:11; 1 John 2:20-27.

Conclusion
The question Pontius Pilate casually asked the Lord (maybe mockingly): “What is truth?” has enabled us to see that truth is not an ideology, or a philosophy, neither is it something that is vague, nor is truth relative to what a person considers it to be. Rather, truth is a reality and an absolute, which has its source or origin in a Person, and is manifested through that Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit, who is also called the Spirit of Christ, is therefore the embodiment of truth. Thus, the Holy Spirit cannot lie, is not false, neither does He deceive, nor is He deceptive. And even though He is invisible to the human eye, He is nonetheless a Person, and the effect of His presence is clearly evident.

And since the Holy Spirit has the personality, nature, and power of God, and is now indwelling you and I, the least we should expect is that there would be a manifestation of His nature of truth in us. Therefore, a believer in Christ cannot be a dispenser of error or of falsehood. He should not have any hypocrisy in him, or be of a dual personality; and, no deception, neither deceit, nor guile should be found in him. He should not entertain any myths or fables; neither should he acknowledge any hypothesis or assumption whatsoever, as truth. Instead, the nature of truth should be in him by reason of the Holy Spirit indwelling him, and he ought to know and dispense truth as a matter of life. The believer in Christ should not therefore tell lies, act faithlessly, and be untrustworthy. This is so because, if the Holy Spirit is indeed in you, you should be transformed (by His actions in you), into an embodiment of truth!

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