Jesus was the source of revelation

JESUS WAS THE SOURCEOF REVELATION
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 16:15 15All that belongs to the Father is mine.
That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what
he will make known to you."
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Christ Glorified By The Spirit
John 16:14
George Brown
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
Thus our Lord sums up the work of the Holy Spirit within the Church. He
had just saidthat the Comforteris not to come as it were on an isolatedand
independent mission. "He shall not speak of himself." For, though he is
another Comforter, he is not a secondMediatorbetweenGod and man. He is
not a secondRedeemer, Prophet, Priest, and King. No;there is but one Name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. The office of the
Holy Spirit is to revealto us that Name. He is to limit himself, if we may so
speak, to bearing witness concerning Christ. This may be said with perfect
reverence. Doubtless to the infinite Spirit of the Eternal all secrets ofcreation
and providence, and all the most hidden things of the Divine counsels, lie
open; they are all his own. But mark! it is not to reveal these that he comes as
the Church's Comforter, the one economyof grace that is the sphere of his

mission, the one mystery of godliness that he has takenupon himself to
disclose. He is to continue Christ's owninstructions. He is to guide the
disciples, step by step, "into all the truth," the whole truth as it is in Jesus.
I. THIS PROMISE WAS LARGELY FULFILLED IN THE MINISTRYOF
THE APOSTLES THEMSELVES AFTER PENTECOST.Theyknew all the
facts of our Lord's history already - his birth of a virgin, his death on the
cross, and his resurrectionand ascensioninto glory. But they were not left to
themselves to interpret these facts and explain their spiritual meaning. Far
from it; their eyes were opened, and their understandings guided from above.
They and the Apostle Paul, who was ere long to be added to their company,
had the mighty work entrusted to them of explaining to all ages the true
significance ofthe mission of Christ in the flesh. They were inspired to do this.
A wisdom not their own was given to them. They were no longer "fools and
slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken." Formerlythey had
been like children; now they were men of full age, and became the
authoritative heralds and expounders of the gospel. Paulwas fully conscious
of this when he said, "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts," etc. (2 Corinthians 4:6). It is important to observe
the order, so to say, of the Spirit's revelations concerning Christ. The great
outstanding facts, as just noted, of our Lord's manifestation to men are
(1) his incarnation;
(2) his cross;
(3) his crown.
It is around these that all the doctrines of the faith are clustered;out of these
facts they may be said to grow. From the very first - that is to sayfrom
Pentecost- the Holy Spirit bore a certain witness concerning them all. But in

what order did he bring them into prominence? Which did he first show forth
in light and glory to the eyes of men? Plainly it was not the birth of Christ, but
his exaltationto the right hand of God. This was the greatand urgent theme
of Pentecostandof the days which immediately followed(see the Book of
Acts). The words of the Apostle Peter," Godhath made that same Jesus whom
ye have crucified both Lord and Christ," - these words were the beginning of
the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And then, as time went on, the full meaning of
the cross was unfolded, and the Apostle Paul, who, above all things, preached
Christ crucified, was inspired to declare it as no one else had done. And, last
of all, the deep mystery of Christ's incarnation, how "the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us," - that in its turn was chiefly explored by the
beloved disciple John. Thus, through the illumination of the same Spirit, the
crownshed its light upon the cross, andthe cross and the crown shed their
united light on the cradle. The ripe fruit, the imperishable recordof all this, is
to be found in the Scriptures of the New Testament. How did the Spirit of
truth glorify Jesus in guiding and inspiring their human authors! What a
revelation do they contain of the Personand work, the mind and heart, of the
Holy One, never to be supersededby any newer Testamentso long as the
world lasts!
II. THIS PROMISE HAS BEEN FURTHER FULFILLED IN THE
SUBSEQUENT HISTORYAND LIFE OF THE CHURCH. It was by no
means exhaustedwhen the eyewitnessesand first ministers of the Word had
gone to their rest, leaving behind them the memory of their oral teaching and
the Booksofthe New Testament. So far from this, it has ever been by the
Spirit of truth that the voice of Christ, even in the Scriptures, has continued to
be audible and mighty, and that his presence in any of the means of grace has
been realized. We are warned that the letter killeth; and, alas!there have been
Churches whose candlestick has beenremoved out of its place. But in each
living Christian community there are men whose lips and hearts are touched
by fire from God's altar, that they may interpret the gospelto their own times
and their own brethren. Like householders, they bring forth out of their
treasures things new and old. By their spokenwords, by their written
treatises, perhaps by their hymns of faith and hope, they declare afresh to

those around them the unsearchable riches of Christ. In its essence and
substance their messageis still the same - "Thatwhich was from the
beginning;" in its form and expressionit varies with the aspects ofprovidence
and the problems of human life. In Christ are hid all the treasures ofwisdom
and knowledge, andthe age will never come when these treasures shallbe
exhausted, or the Spirit's ministry of revelation shall cease. "The worldwill
come to an end when Christianity shall have spokenits last word" (Vinet).
Great, indeed, is the responsibility of Christian pastors and teachers, calledas
they are to be fellow-workerswith God. The means of grace, the lively oracles,
are committed especiallyto their trust. It is theirs to trim the lamps of life in a
dark world; it is theirs to feed the flock of Christ, to stand by the wells of
salvationand draw water for every one that is athirst. And who is sufficient
for these things? But it is the Master's work, and here is the promise which he
has given for the encouragementofall his servants. Light and powerfrom on
high are assuredby it, and God will give his Spirit to them that ask him.
III. THIS PROMISE IS CONSTANTLYFULFILLED IN ALL TRUE
CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE;for in the case ofeachindividual believer the
Holy Spirit takes of the things of Christ, and shows them to his soul. It is no
doubt true that the gospelrecordis the common property of all mankind, and
that any man in the mere exercise of his natural intelligence cansee clearly
enough how the greatdoctrines of the faith are founded on the record, and
grow out of it. And thus, in point of fact, there are thousands who look upon
Christ as a greathistoricalTeacher, and content themselves with making
what we may call an intellectualstudy of his own words and those of his
apostles. Buthis true disciples go further, much further than this. How shall
we express the thoughts of their hearts about Christ? May we not say that
these correspondto his own words, "Behold, I am alive for evermore;" "Lo, I
am with you always, even to the end of the world"? They think of him not as a
Being separatedfrom them by eighteenlong centuries of time, but as One who
is really, though spiritually, present with them, at once human and Divine.
They habitually rejoice in his exaltation as "Lord of all." They feel a present
peace in the blood of his cross. Theybow before the mystery of his taking on
him our nature. His authority over them is supreme, and altogetherwelcome.

His example is ever immeasurably in advance of them, though they humbly
seek to follow it; and his words are like no other words - spirit and life to their
hearts. And we may say that these feelings and convictions of Christ's
disciples are altogetherreasonable - that is to say, they are entirely in
accordancewith the supernatural fact that Jesus is the Son of God. But
whence came these convictions? Whence their depth and their permanence
and their power? There is but one explanation, and we find it in the promise
before us: "The Spirit of truth shall receive of mine," etc. Not that he brings
any fresh tidings from the invisible world concerning Christ, or adds a single
fact or truth to what the Scriptures contain; but to those who resistnot his
teaching he manifests what is already known in its reality and glory. He opens
their eyes, purges their vision, sweeps awaythe veil that comes betweenthem
and their Lord. And it is ever the same Christ that the Spirit of truth reveals
to the soul of man; and yet under his teaching what room there is for variety
and progress ofspiritual apprehension! The same sun puts on a different
glory every hour of the longestday. His light is as various as the lands on
which he shines;and so it is with Christ, our unchanging Sun of
Righteousness - himself "the same yesterday, and today, and forever." He has
an aspectfor every period of life, and for all life's greatvicissitudes, to those
who believe. In childhood he may chiefly appear as a gentle Shepherd, in
youth as an earnestCounselor, in manhood as a mighty King, and in the
evening of life, when its battles are well-nigh over, and its companions
scattered, as a faithful, never-dying Friend. What is the result of this teaching
of the Spirit of truth? Under his illumination the soul cannotremain
unchanged. It is true that here below Christians see through a glass darkly -
not yet face to face. Still, amid all the imperfections of the life of faith, what
they do see of the glory of Christ makes them see all things in new light, and
judge all things by a new standard. The world cannot be to them what it was
before, for their horizon widens out far beyond its frontiers. Self can no longer
be their idol, for they have become conscious ofa Presencewhichraises them
above themselves. In their own measure and degree "they have the mind of
Christ." Grandly and powerfully does the Apostle Paul describe the ultimate
effectof the Spirit's teaching:"We all, with open face beholding as in a mirror
the glory of the Lord, are changed," etc. (2 Corinthians 3:18).

IV. In conclusion, WHO SHALL PUT BOUNDS OR LIMITS TO THE
FULFILLMENT OF THIS PROMISE IN THE FUTURE? We know that
men shall be blessedin Christ, and all nations shall call him blessed. On this
earth, where he was despisedand rejected, he is yet to be crowned with glory
and honor from the rising to the setting sun. Human life in all its departments
is to be gladdenedby his presence, inspired by his example, molded by his
will. Through what means, or after what convulsions or shakings ofthe
nations, this is to be brought about we cannottell; but it will not be by human
might or power, but by the Spirit of the Holy One, that the grand result will
be achieved. It is written that "he will destroy in this mountain the face of the
covering castover all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations;" and
when that veil is rent from the top to the bottom, then the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. - G.B.
Biblical Illustrator
All things that the Father hath are Mine.
John 16:15
The fulness that is in Christ
T. B. Baker, M. A.
I. CHRIST HAS A LEGAL RIGHT TO THE PROPERTYOF THE
FATHER. BecauseHe has —
1. A natural right to it, as He is God.
2. A federal right as Mediator, i.e., God the Fatherand God the Son are
representedin Scripture as having agreedtogetherin a covenant respecting

the salvationof the human race. It was in this agreementthat God the Father
made over all the blessings that He had unto Jesus Christ.
3. A donative right as Saviour (John 3:35).
4. An acquisitive right as Conqueror. Suppose two individuals are combating
for some property or privilege, and this is to belong to the individual who
comes off victorious; you say of him afterwards, "he has acquired that." Just
so Christ came into the world to contend with sin and Satanfor us, and He
came off victorious.
5. A hereditary right as God's Son and Heir (Hebrews 1:2.)
II. SOME OF THOSE "ALL THINGS" WHICH JESUS CHRIST IS SAID
TO HAVE.
1. All the perfections of God. If, as is said, in 1 Corinthians 1:24, He is the
powerof God and the wisdom of God, then all the restmust be His.
2. The glory of the Father (Hebrews 1:3).
3. All the fulness of the Father (Colossians 1:19;Colossians 2:19).
III. IN WHAT SENSE ARE ALL THINGS CHRIST'S?

1. Substantially, not figuratively or nominally, but really.
2. Communicatively. Some persons may possessgreatand inestimable
treasures, but they may not have the powerof communicating them. But
Christ possesses"allthings" for the express purpose of communicating them
(John 1:16). He has pardon for our sins, and we have receivedit; He has
justification for our souls, and He has imputed it, &c.
3. Sufficiently (Psalm107:9).
4. Efficiently. It shall be really applied to the heart, and go to the extent which
necessityrequires. There may be many things that may be said to be sufficient
and yet not efficient. Some of us may have enough for ourselves and others,
but it is not efficient unless they partake of it.
5. Unchangeably.
6. Eternally. "He that believeth on the Sonhath everlasting life."
IV. FOR WHAT REASON IT IS SO ARRANGED THAT THE FATHER'S
PROPERTYIS CHRIST'S.
1. The right and the property of no party is lost. The Father has the same
property as the Son, and the Son has the same property as the Spirit.

2. Herein is seenthe pleasure of the Father, the pleasure of the Son, and the
pleasure of the Holy Spirit.
3. Here is God's honour in choosing His people; Christ's honour in redeeming
them, and the Spirit's honour in regenerating them.
(T. B. Baker, M. A.)
The joint proprietorship of the Fatherand the children
W. Arnot.
I once heard a father tell, that when he removed his family to a new residence,
where the accommodationwas much more ample, and the substance much
more rich and varied, his youngest son, yet a lisping infant, ran round every
room, and scannedevery article with ecstasy, calling out, in childish wonder
at every new sight, "Is this ours, father? and is this ours?" The child did not
say "yours," and I observedthat the father while he told the story was not
offended with the freedom. You could read in his glistening eye that the
infant's confidence in appropriating as his own all that his father had, was an
important elementin his satisfaction. Such, I suppose, will be the surprise,
and joy, and appropriating confidence, with which the child of our Father's
family will count all his own, when he is removed from the comparatively
mean condition of things present, and enters the infinite of things to come.
When the glories of heavenburst upon his view, he does not stand at a
distance, like a stranger, saying, "O God, these are Thine." He bounds
forward to touch and taste every provision which those blessedmansions
contain, exclaiming, as he looks in the Father's face, "Father, this and this is
ours." The dear child is glad of all the Father's riches, and the Fatheris
gladder of His dear child.
(W. Arnot.)

The revealing work of the Spirit
F. Wayland, D. D.
The Holy Spirit is given for the purpose of restoring to spiritual truth its
natural and reasonable efficiency. It is as though we had our eyes fixed on a
book in the deep gloomof twilight. We believe that the page reveals truth, we
know the language in which it is written; but the light is so imperfect, that,
though here and there we can distinguish a capitalletter, and now and then
decipher a word, yet we are unable to make out distinctly a single sentence.
But let light now fall upon the page, and every word and every letter is
instantly revealed, the thought of the writer beams upon our understanding,
and the channel of communication betweenHis mind and ours is, for the time,
fully established. Very similar to this is the case before us. We read and we
hear about God, the Judge of all, and Christ, the Redeemerofmen, about sin
and repentance, heavenand hell, the wagesofguilt and the rewardof
holiness, and we care so little about them that the words hardly awakena
thought, or leave a trace upon our recollection. Butlet now the Holy Spirit
show these things of Christ unto us, and they are at once invested with the
terrors or the joys of a most solemnreality.
(F. Wayland, D. D.)
The Guide into All Truth
A. Maclaren, D. D.
John 16:12-15
I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.…
This is our Lord's last expansion of the great promise of the Comforter. First,
He was spokenof simply as dwelling in Christ's servants. Then, His aid was
promised, to remind the apostles ofthe facts of Christ's life, especiallyofHis

words; and so the inspiration and authority of the four Gospels were certified
for us. Then He was further promised as the witness in the disciples to Jesus
Christ. In the preceding contextwe have His office of convicting the world.
And now we come to that gracious work which He is to do for all those who
trust themselves to His guidance. We have here —
I. THE AVOWED INCOMPLETENESS OF CHRIST'S OWN TEACHING
(ver. 12).
1. Earlierwe have our Lord asserting that all things whatsoeverHe had heard
of the FatherHe had made known unto His servants. Is it possible to make
these two representations agree? Yes!There is a difference betweenthe germ
and the flower; betweenprinciples and complete development. All Euclid is in
the axioms and definitions, yet when you have learned them there are many
things yet to be said, of which you have not grown to the apprehension. And so
our Lord, as far as confidence and fundamental and seminal principles were
concerned, had declared all that He had heard. But yet, in so far as the
unfolding of these was concerned, the tracing of their consequences, the
exhibition of their harmonies, the weaving of them into an ordered whole in
which a man's understanding could lodge, there were many things which they
were not able to bear. And so our Lord declares that His spokenwords on
earth are not the completed revelation.
2. We cannot but contrastthe desultory, brief, obscure references whichcame
from the Master's lips with the more systematizedand full teaching which
came from the servants, especiallyin reference to the atoning characterof His
sufferings.
3. What then? My text gives us the reason. "Youcannot bear them now," not
in the sense ofendure, tolerate, orsuffer, but in the sense ofcarry. And the

metaphor is that of some weight — it may be gold, but still it is a weight —
laid upon a man whose muscles are not strong enough to sustain it. It crushes
rather than gladdens. So our Lord was lovingly reticent. There is a great
principle involved here. A wise physician does not flood that diseasedeye with
full sunshine, but puts on bandages, andcloses the shutters, and lets a stray
beam, ever growing as the cure is perfected, fall upon it.
(1) So from the beginning until the end of the process ofrevelation there was a
correspondence betweenman's capacityto receive the light, and the light that
was granted; and the faithful use of the less made them capable of receiving
the greater. "To him that hath shall be given."(2)Now that same principle is
true about us. How many things there are which we sometimes feelwe should
like to know, but compassedwith these veils of flesh and weaknesswe have
not yet eyes able to behold the ineffable glory. Let us wait with patience until
we are ready for the illumination.
4. People tell us, "Your modern theologyis not in the Gospels. We stick by
Jesus, notPaul." What then? Why this, it is exactlywhat we were to expect;
and people who rejectthe apostolic form of Christian teaching because it is
not found in the Gospels are going cleancontrary to Christ's own words.
II. THE COMPLETENESS OF THE TRUTH INTO WHICH THE SPIRIT
GUIDES (ver. 13).
1. Note the personality, designation, and office of this new Teacher. "He," not
it, He, is the Spirit of Truth. "He will guide you" — suggesting a loving hand
put out to lead — "into all truth." That is no promise of omniscience, but the
assurance ofgradual and growing acquaintance with the truth which is
revealed, such as may be fitly paralleled by men passing into some broad land
of which, there is much still to be possessedandexplored. "He shall not speak

of Himself, &c. Mark the parallel betweenthe relation of the Spirit-teacher to
Jesus and the relationof Jesus to the Father. "All things whatsoeverI have
heard of the Father I have declaredunto you." The mark of Satanis "He
speakethofhis own;" the mark of the Divine Teacheris, "He speakethnot of
Himself, but whatsoeverthings," in all their variety, in their continuity, in
their completeness,He shall hear. Where? Yonder in the depths of the
Godhead— whatsoeverthings He shall hear — "there, He shall show to you."
And especially, "He will show you the things that are to come." Stepby step
there would be spread out before them the vision of the future and all the
wonder that should be, the world that was to come, the new constitution which
Christ was to establish.
2. Now, if that be the interpretation, then —
(1) This promise of a complete guidance into truth applies in a peculiar and
unique fashionto the original hearers of it. One of the other promises of the
Spirit was the certificate to us of the inspiration and reliableness ofthese four
Gospels. In these words there lie involved the inspiration and authority of the
apostles as teachers ofreligious truth. And so for us the task is to receive the
truth into which they were guided. The Acts of the Apostles is the best
commentary on these words. There you see how these men rose at once into a
new region; how the things about their Masterwhich had been bewildering
puzzles to them flashed into light. In the book of the Apocalypse we have part
of the fulfilment of "He will show you things to come;" when the seer was "in
the Spirit" on the Lord's day, and so the heavens were opened, and the history
of the Church was spreadbefore him as a scroll.
(2) This great principle has an application to us. That Divine Spirit is given to
eachof us if we will use it. Only we do not stand on the same level as these
men. They, taught by that Divine Guide and by experience, were led into the
deeper apprehensionof the words and the deeds of Jesus. We, taught by that

same Spirit, are led into a deeper apprehensionof the words which they
spake. And so we come sharp up to this. "If any man thinketh himself to be a
prophet, or spiritual," &c. That is how an apostle put his relation to the other
possessors ofthe Divine Spirit. And you and I have to take this as the criterion
of all true possessionofthe Spirit of God that it bows in humble submissionto
the authoritative teaching of this book.
III. THE UNITY OF THESE TWO.
1. "He shall glorify Me." Think of a man saying that! So fair is He, so good, so
radiant, that to make Him knownis to glorify Him. The glorifying of Christ is
the ultimate and adequate purpose of everything that Godthe Father, Son,
and Spirit has done, because the glorifying of Christ is the glorifying of God,
and the blessing of the eyes that behold His glory.
2. "ForHe shall take of Mine, and show it unto you." All that that Divine
Spirit brings is Christ's. So, then, there is no new revelation, only the
interpretation of the revelation. Christ said, "I am the Truth." Therefore,
when He promises, "He shall guide you into all the truth," we may fairly
conclude that the "truth" into which the Spirit guides is the personalChrist.
We are like the first settlers upon some greatisland-continent. There is a little
fringe of population round the coast, but awayin the interior are leagues of
virgin forests and fertile plains stretching to the horizon, and snow-capped
summits piercing the clouds, on which no foot has evertrod.
3. "All things that the Father hath are Mine, therefore said I," &c. (ver. 15).
What awful words!Is that what you think about Jesus Christ? He puts out
here an unpresumptuous hand, and grasps allthe constellatedglories ofthe
Divine nature, and says, "Theyare Mine;" and the Father looks downfrom

heaven and says, "Son, Thou art everwith Me, and all that I have is Thine."
Do you answer, "Amen! I believe it?"Conclusion:
1. Believe a great dealmore definitely in, and seek a greatdeal more earnestly,
and use a great dealmore diligently that Divine Spirit that is given to us all. I
fear that over very large tracts of professing Christendom men only stand up
with very faltering lips and confess, "Ibelieve in the Holy Ghost." Hence
comes much of the weaknessofour modern Christianity, the worldliness of
professing Christians.
2. Use the book that He uses — else you will not grow, and He will have no
means of contactwith you.
3. Try the spirits. If anything calling itself Christian teaching comes to you
and does not glorify Christ, it is self-condemned. And if the greatteaching
Spirit is to come who is to "guide us into all truth," and therein is to glorify
Christ, and to show us the things that are His, then it is also true, "hereby
know we the Spirit of God," &c.
(A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The Reserve ofChrist
T. Hughes.
John 16:12-15

I. THE SAYINGS OF JESUS.
1. They are the expressionof the deepestand purest earnestness. There is no
aim at any outward demonstration; yet in reading and reflecting upon them,
they sink into your deeperlife, they gain upon your reason, sentiment, and
conscience, until at lastthey leaven you with their spiritual life, and you
become His disciples through their life-power. This earnestnessmade Him
despise all artifice and cunning concealment, andled Him to present His
thoughts and sentiments natural and openly, without varnish and pomp.
2. They are the expressionof the highest wisdom. Solomonuttered many wise
proverbs; but Christ's sayings contain the wisdom of life, of salvation, which
Solomonand other wise men never pretended. He is the wisdom of God.
3. They are of perpetual and universal power and authority. The sayings of
wise men like coins lose their weight and value in their use, because theyare
not essentialforlife and happiness, for all times and places;but the sayings of
Jesus remain in their weight and authority, because we everneed them to
guide and comfort us. Before anything which belongs to men can be of
perpetual authority and fitness, it must —
(1) Be comprehensive of all nature, and have provision to meet it in all its
phases and relations, which is one reasonwhy the sayings of Jesus remain the
same.
(2) Harmonize with all essentiallaws outside itself, which is another reason
why the sayings of Jesus perpetuate their power and authority. Essentiallaws
change not. In vain all artificial powers try to prop a thing contrary to the

laws of the universe and the constitution of our mind. The unnatural will
perish by the hand of nature.
(3) Be capable of new development and application, which is another element
constituting the permanent authority of Christ's sayings. They are ever deeper
than our plummet, and loftier than our highest reach. Like rich grapes, the
more they are squeezedthe richer and sweeteris their sap. The sayings of
Jesus are like seedburied for a while, but which, by suitable agencies, willbe
restoredto new life and fresh application.
4. They are expressions of His love. Love may be shown by tears, by gifts, and
by sacrifices, as JesusshowedHis; but the most common expressions of
rational minds are words; these remain when tears are dried, and gifts and
sacrifices are forgotten. Christspoke as never man spoke, for He spoke from a
true heart to the heart of humanity, according to the law of truth and love,
which will abide for ever, and so He still speaks.
II. THE RESERVE OF JESUS. It was a reserve —
1. In the surplus which was beyond and above the immediate need of His
disciples. They had every way more than actually they neededto meet their
present necessity. He had already told them more than they understood; He
had given them work more than as yet they performed; He had declared
already of privileges and blessings greaterthan they enjoyed; and their
difficulties and persecutions were as numerous and heavy as they could well
bear without speaking ofmore. It does not appear requisite on any ground to
tell them more at present. They must mastertheir present lessons before they
are fit for more.

2. Was dictated by wisdom, to educate their Christian graces andcharacter.
He was a wise Master;He did not cram all into one lesson. There may be
things which belong to this hour only that demand to be told as complete as
they are, and that because we are fit to comprehend and use them now, and
shall be unfit at any other time. But a system of spiritual educationdemands
to be revealedlittle by little. If all the evil of the future were told us, it would
discourage and distractall our life; or if all the good, it would partly destroy
its enjoyment. The reticence ofChrist was intended to keepalive their
expectationfor future blessings, and thus preserve them from flagging and
weariness in their toil and trial, and to preserve their freshness offaith and
experience.
3. Was inevitable because ofthe inexhaustibleness of His resources. Everytrue
teacherhas always something more to say. He never says all in any lessonor
sermon. How could such riches of knowledge and love be bestowedall at one
time, and that to feeble minds and contractedsympathies? The light was
greaterthan their eyes, the cloud was largerthan the field, the showerricher
than the blades, and the oceanimmeasurably greaterthan their cups.
4. Was a reticence ofanticipation. What was unsaid should be declared
another day with a comment.
III. THE PRESENTUNFITNESS OF THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD
TO BEAR THE SAYINGS OF JESUS. It is the generalmisfortune of every
greatteacherto be misunderstood. The unfitness of the present age consists in
—
1. A want of greatersympathy with His teaching, and more insight into its
meaning. As it is in any branch of knowledge, so is it with truth and
character;without some sympathy to begin with in the object of our search,

or faith, we shall not acquire an insight into it. Sympathy with the things of
the Saviouris quite a different thing from certain attachments to certain
appellations and certain acquired opinions. What we need is that deep
attachment of our spirits with something that is common to all, and
unchangeable in all times, in the person, life, and sayings of Jesus.
2. Overweening and preconceivedattachmentto other and contrary things to
His sayings. This may be opinion, pleasure, worldly aggrandisement, self-
indulgence, or any other wrong and sinful way. Or it may be some contracted
habits, which have sunk into the very root of our nature, so that we have lost
the powerto renounce them. It may be associates who are loved more than
Him; or it may be carelessandblind indifference of all truth and goodness.
Even what is right, if used in the wrong way, and the truth if misapplied or
not used rightly, may unfit for His teaching and truth. Whateverabsorbs the
attention of the soul, so that it cannotlisten fully and impartially to Him,
unfits to bear His truth and spirit.
3. The many discordant voices that are heard. There is such a contradictory
crying, "Here is Christ, and there is Christ." Not that these voices are
altogetherfalse, for there is some Christ doubtless in all. But their great
wrong is in the pretension that He is all with them, and none with others.
These things perplex many, and keepthem awayfrom listening to the sayings
of the Saviour; and until men will love Christianity more than sects, andthe
spirit of the Saviour more than habits and opinion, they will continue.
4. The materialistic spirit of the age. This world is the kingdom of most; they
neither have taste nor time to think and trouble themselves about any other;
and the love of the world is enmity againstGod.

5. An unwillingness to see our own wrong, and be correctedand directed
rightly. The teaching of the Saviour is too spiritual, high, and searching, to
suit our sensuous desire and self-indulgent view and feeling. This is the
condemnation, &c.
6. The breadth and catholicity of His teaching. He is a teacherof truth, and
not of party; He claims mankind as His suitable audience, and not a small
portion of it. Such teaching is too lofty for men of narrow conceptions and
small hearts.
7. The weaknessofour powers and the imperfect characterof the present
state. "Fornow we see through a glass darkly," &c.
(T. Hughes.)
Yet Many Things to Say
W. J. Dawson.
John 16:12-15
There is always a pathos in last words. Those ofgreat men become the
inspiration of future generations;those of the humblest become sacredas
gospels to those who loved them. Of dying teachers we expectlastviews of
truth; of dying captains last advices for the campaign;of dying leaders some
inspiring programme. But it can scarcelybe said that Christ's programme is

an inspiring one. He prophesies tribulation, and dies with the fulness of His
teaching unexplained, Note —
I. CHRIST FORESEEINGTHE DEVELOPMENTOF HIS OWN
TEACHINGS. It must be remembered that the ministry of Christ was not a
harvesting. He had only time to castin the goodseedof the kingdom. But then
there is a sense in which the man who looks upon the seedvirtually is looking
on the harvest too. So Christ saw in His teachings the prophecy of their
fulfilment. He said that His words were Spirit and life. There are many issues,
many harvests of the word of Christ, which He dare not even intimate to us
yet. Yet the time will come, for this Galileanpeasantdares to stand forth in
the light of all the ages, andto say, "Heavenand earth shall pass away;My
teachings shallnever pass away." Note, forinstance —
1. What Christ has to say about war. There is one of the sorestproblems of
the world, and Christ lived under the domination of the greatestmilitary
empire which the world has ever seen. In one sense He says nothing about it,
exceptto prophecy of it when He is gone. What, then, was Christ's attitude
towards it? "Love thy neighbour as thyself." That is the seed. Ages have
trampled with heavy feetabove it; and tens of thousands of men, women, and
children have been crushed beneath this frightful Juggernaut. But the seedis
not dead: now, after eighteen centuries, a tiny spear of greenlife begins to
pierce through the red soilof the battle-field. Mengather round, and, behold,
it is the plant of peace at last. Whatever be the wickedness ofrulers, or the
folly of statesmen, the entire sentiment of Europe towards war has changed;
and governments talk of arbitration, and war is dreaded, shunned, hated by
every civilized power.
2. What Christ has to say on slavery. Christ was familiar with it, and knew
what it meant and would mean. What, then, did Christ say? Well, He did not
go up and down Palestine preaching the abolition of slaveryor the rights of

man. Yet Jesus Christ overturned slavery, and that by recognizing the divinity
of human nature — that the lost are worth saving; that the harlot and the
publican were createdin the image of God; and Christ said: "If any man will
be greatamong you, let him be servant of all." That is to say, He recognized
the dignity and grandeur of service. Thatwas the seed. Ages pass, till at last
Macaulay, Wilberforce, &c., are praying, and the heavens seemto open and
the authentic voice of Christ reaches them, and in the strength of that vision
they begin their greatcrusade, till, at last, exactlyeighteenhundred years
after Christ bowedHis head on Calvary, England pays down her twenty
millions to free her lastslave. And thirty years later, at the price of one of the
greatestwars in history, America knocks the last shackle offher lastslave.
3. He has many things to sayto us on such questions as communism, socialism,
liberty, sacrifice;for His life was the seed. He was the Divine Socialist, who,
being rich, for our sakesbecame poor. He was the Heavenly Communist, who
shared His heart's blood with us. He was the GreatLiberator who made us
free with a glorious liberty. He was the Sacrifice who gave Himself "the just
for the unjust that He might bring us to God." Very dimly and feebly have the
wisestapprehended the truths that lie in those words. But the time will come
when God will send His new teacher;and then that Christianity which began
in a commune will end with a brotherhood, which says not, "thine is mine,"
but, "mine is thine."
4. Christ has much to say, too, of the duties that the Church owes to the
world; and if we would know how long it takes for men to learn the issues of
the words of Christ, just think how long it took England to learn what Christ
meant by "Go and preachthe gospelunto every creature." Elevencenturies of
Christianity pass in this land, during which the people perish in their
darkness;until at lasta clergyman againstwhom the Church doors are closed
goes out into the highways and hedges to find his congregation, andsays, with
magnificent prevision, "The world is my parish."

II. THIS PRINCIPLE OF GRADUAL ADVANCEMENT IS CHRIST'S
PRINCIPLE IN ALL THINGS.
1. Forillustration you need go no farther than this very supper chamber. How
fast Simon's heart is beating! He has just said, "I will go with Thee to prison
and to judgment." Hush! Thy Masteris about to speak. Where shall He
begin? He sees the vision of thee, old and grey, girded by those whom thou
knowestnot, &c. He knows all the paths of pain thy martyr feet will tread.
Shall He tell thee all that? No. It would not make a Judas of thee, but it might
make a Demas, who would love the wickedworld more than Christ. It would
break thy heart. Wait thou. Thou must stand in the blackness andhear that
last cry that thrills from that cross of shame, and then, when thou hastwept
thine heart out in an agonyof penitence, at lastthe morning will break beside
the greysea when Christ will meet thee, and then He will tell thee everything;
but thou couldstnot bear it now.
2. There are successive revelationsforevery age and for every man. They
never come too soon;they never come too late. The Church is like a man who
sits in a darkenedroom. He has been blind; he begins to see. Dayby day a
little more light is let into the chamber. At last the hour will come when the
blinds will be rolled right up, and the windows flung wide open. We shall look
out. There will be "a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness."Music has much to say to the little child. He begins snatches of
his mother's lullaby, cradle songs, nurseryrhymes. Then, as the years pass by,
higher strains engross him. The deep chords of wailing and distress wake the
poet in his brain. He bathes himself in the angeljoy of Handel. He himself,
perhaps, becomes a young Mozart or a Haydn. Music had much to say, but it
waited till the heart was deep enoughand the brain strong enough to receive
the message. So the Church learnt her cradle song at Bethlehem, her hymn of
pain on Calvary, her victorious marching music at Pentecost. In the dungeon
and the fire her voice has been trained to its noblest use, until at last, without

a single jarring discord, she shall sing in that new song which is never old —
the praise and glory of the Lamb.
3. Some one says, "Ithought that all Christ's words were in the Gospels. I
know all that Christ has said, for I have read them." I congratulate you, for I
do not. I find that Christ's words are like the sea, whichdeepens ever-more as
we go farther into it. I find that Christ has always something new to say. Oh,
think of it! Forall these centuries men have been preaching out of these
fragmentary sketches ofbiography — these brokenwords of Christ, and yet
they are newer and deeperand Diviner to-day than ever they were before.
Therefore, if Christ says nothing to me, I know that it is not because Christis
not speaking, but it is because I am deaf and am not listening. He tells me His
truth as I am able to bear it.
4. Or, perhaps, some one says again, "Oh, if Christ had this greatforesight,
that He would tell me something about my own future." Let me paint you a
little picture. See, out of church there come those two who have plighted their
troth eachto eachuntil death them shall part; and with what happy pride
they step forth into the unknown years. Now, suppose I know their future, and
I tell that fair young bride how she will know poverty and trial, and watch by
sick children, and weepover little graves;and how he will grow old and grey
before his time, vexed with many cares and hurt with many sorrows. Yes, and
one of those two must close the other's eyes in the coffin! Ah! which? Shall I
tell them which? Would there be any more joy in marriage mornings, any
more music in wedding bells? I will not tell them. And neither will Christ tell
me. He has many things to say, but He wants the quietness of the house of
sicknessto say some, and the more solemn silence of the house of death to say
others. "Ye could not bear them now." Conclusion:So I learn that for much
of Christ's speechyou and I must wait for another world. There are so many
things that you and I would like to ask Christ about. Why did that great
ambition cheatme so? Why did that bright joy crumble into ashes? Why did

that fair angelchild flit so early into heaven? I cannot tell; but I shall see
Christ some day, and He will tell me everything.
(W. J. Dawson.)
ParallelVerses
KJV: I have yet many things to sayunto you, but ye cannotbear them now.
WEB:"I have yet many things to tell you, but you can't bear them now.
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(15) All things that the Father hath are mine.—He has told them that the
Spirit’s work is to glorify Him, to receive of His, and announce to the world.
The ground of this saying is in the fact that the Son is the Revealerofthe
Father, and that the fulness of the truth (John 16:13) is given unto Him. The
words appear from the context not to express the spiritual relation of the Son
to the Father, but the fulness of the communication to Him in His human
nature of the divine truth which He should reveal to man. (Comp. Notes on
John 1:18; John 8:42; John 10:36;John 17:10; Matthew 11:27;Colossians
1:19; Colossians2:2-3.)
He shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.—Better, He taketh of Mine,
and shall declare it unto you. The present expressesthe unchanging relation of
the Spirit to the Son. It should be noted that in these verses (14 and 15) there

is an implication of the following doctrinal truths. They are implied, let us
remember, in the words of our Lord Himself, and that they are implied and
not statedincreases the force of their meaning:—(1) The divinity of the Son:
“He shall glorify Me;” “All things that the Father hath are Mine.” (2) The
personality of the Holy Ghost:“He shall receive of Mine.” The Greek word,
ἐκεῖυος, expressesthis in the most emphatic way. The word is used of the Holy
Spirit in John 16:8; John 16:13, and in John 14:26;John 15:26. (3) The
Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity: “the Father;” “I;” “He.”
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
16:7-15 Christ's departure was necessaryto the Comforter's coming. Sending
the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His
bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every
where, in all places, atall times, wherever two or three are gathered together
in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to convince.
Convincing work is the Spirit's work;he can do it effectually, and none but
he. It is the method the Holy Spirit takes, firstto convince, and then to
comfort. The Spirit shall convince the world, of sin; not merely tell them of it.
The Spirit convinces of the fact of sin; of the fault of sin; of the folly of sin; of
the filth of sin, that by it we are become hateful to God; of the fountain of sin,
the corrupt nature; and lastly, of the fruit of sin, that the end thereof is death.
The Holy Spirit proves that all the world is guilty before God. He convinces
the world of righteousness;that Jesus ofNazareth was Christ the righteous.
Also, of Christ's righteousness,imparted to us for justification and salvation.
He will show them where it is to be had, and how they may be acceptedas
righteous in God's sight. Christ's ascensionproves the ransom was accepted,
and the righteousness finished, through which believers were to be justified.
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. All will be well, when
his poweris broken, who made all the mischief. As Satanis subdued by
Christ, this gives us confidence, for no other powercan stand before him. And
of the day of judgment. The coming of the Spirit would be of unspeakable

advantage to the disciples. The Holy Spirit is our Guide, not only to show us
the way, but to go with us by continued aids and influences. To be led into a
truth is more than barely to know it; it is not only to have the notion of it in
our heads, but the relish, and savour, and powerof it in our hearts. He shall
teachall truth, and keepback nothing profitable, for he will show things to
come. All the gifts and gracesofthe Spirit, all the preaching, and all the
writing of the apostles, under the influence of the Spirit, all the tongues, and
miracles, were to glorify Christ. It behoves every one to ask, whetherthe Holy
Spirit has begun a good work in his heart? Without cleardiscovery of our
guilt and danger, we never shall understand the value of Christ's salvation;
but when brought to know ourselves aright, we begin to see the value of the
Redeemer. We should have fuller views of the Redeemer, and more lively
affections to him, if we more prayed for, and depended on the Holy Spirit.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
All things ... - See Matthew 28:18;Matthew 11:27. No one could have said this
who was not equal with the Father. The union was so intimate, though
mysterious, that it might with propriety be said that whateverwas done in
relation to the Son, was also done in regard to the Father. See John14:9.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
15. All things that the Father hath are mine—a plainer expressionthan this of
absolute community with the Fatherin all things cannot be conceived, though
the "allthings" here have reference to the things of the Kingdom of Grace,
which the Spirit was to receive that He might show it to us. We have here a
wonderful glimpse into the inner relations of the Godhead.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
All the Divine essence,wisdom, power, which is in the Father, are mine; I am,
in all things that concernthe Deity, one and equal with the Father;and that
was the reasonthat I said that he should

take of mine, and show it to you; which is the same as if I had said, he shall
take of my Father’s, and shall show it to you; for all that the Father hath is
mine; I and my Fatherare one in essence,wisdom, power, &c.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
All things that the Father hath are mine,.... Though it is true that the same
divine nature the Fatheris possessedof, the Son is; and the same divine
perfections belong to the one, as to the other; and the Son shares in the same
glory and felicity the Father does;so that in the utmost extent of the phrase,
all that the Fatherhath are his; yet since Christ is speaking ofthings received
of him by the Spirit, and shownunto his people, it rather seems that the
blessings ofgrace, which the Father has in store for his chosenones, and the
doctrines of grace, those deepthings of his, are here more especiallymeant;
which to revealand apply, is the peculiar work of the Spirit; and in these
Christ is equally concernedwith the Father:
therefore, said I, he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you; he does not
mention the things of the Father, only his own; nor was there any necessityfor
it, because whateveris his, is the Father's, and whatever the Father has is his:
they are jointly concernedin every thing relating to the salvation, benefit,
comfort, and happiness of the saints;so that when the Spirit of God takes of
the things of the one, he takes ofthe things of the other, and discovers, and
applies them.
Geneva Study Bible
All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of
mine, and shall shew it unto you.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
John 16:15. There is no need that the Spirit go beyond Christ and no
possibility He should do so, because πάντα ὅσα ἔχει ὁ Πατὴρ ἐμά ἐστι, “all
things whatsoeverthe Father has are mine,” cf. John 17:10 and John 13:3; 1

Corinthians 15:24-28;Hebrews 2:8. The Messianic reigninvolved that Christ
should be truly supreme and have all things at His disposal. So that when He
said that the Spirit would take of what was His, that was equivalent to saying
that the Spirit had the unlimited fulness of the Godheadto draw upon.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
15. All things] Literally, All things whatsoever:comp. John 17:10.
therefore said I] For this cause (John12:18; John 12:27)said I: see on John
5:16; John 5:18.
shall take]Better, taketh: the Spirit is already revealing the Truth which is
both of the Fatherand of the Son.
Bengel's Gnomen
John 16:15. Λήψεται, A considerable number of manuscripts read
λαμβάνει.[364]The ἔχει and ἐστι, John 16:15, accords with λαμβάνει, giving a
magnificent significationin the use of the present tense: and the receiving
certainly precedes the announcing, ἀναγγελεῖ.
[364]A reading to which greatervalue is attachedby the margin of the 2d Ed.
than by the larger Ed. But the Germ. Vers. adhered to the reading ληψεται.—
E. B. Λήμψεται,an Alexandrine form for λήψεται, is the reading of AD. These
less polished forms are retained in our LXX. Rec. Text, because itwas taken
from the very ancientVatican MS. Whereas in our New TestamentRec. Text
we have substituted the smootherforms, because our Rec. Textis formed
according to the mass of modern MSS. insteadof the few more authoritative
old MSS. which have the rougher forms. Orig. 471e, 346d, however, supports
the Rec. reading λήψεται. Λαμβάνει. is probably a reading drawn from the
genuine original λήμψεται.—E.and T.
Pulpit Commentary

Verse 15. - In this verse our Lord makes a still more superlative claim. All
things which the Father hath (ὅσα ἔχει) are mine. Perhaps no sentence
recordedby St. John is more difficult to reconcile with the mere humanity of
our Lord, even of the loftiest kind. The "mine" of the previous verse is
declaredto embrace something more than the mystery of his Personand
sacrifice. "All that the Father hath," all his fullness of being, all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge, allthe power, all the effulgence of the glory of the
Father, of the human race, and of all things, "are mine." This makes a
spiritual apprehension of Christ include a perfect revelationof all the Father's
characterand work. Therefore saidI, that he (the Spirit of truth, in being
your Guide into all the truth) takethof mine, and will declare (it) unto you.
Because"mine is the Father's, and the Father's is mine;" because, i.e., he is
the Center, and Agent, and Motive, and Force in all the Divine self-revelation,
and because he possessedas his own this vast range, this infinite fullness of
Divine operations, he promised them this spiritual teaching, and assuredthem
that his highest glory was simply to be made known as he is. Calvin, "We see
how the greaterpart of men deceive themselves;for they pass by Christ, and
go out of the way to seek Godby circuitous paths." In these verses we have a
very abundant exhibition of the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
coupled with a very remarkable setting forth of the tri-personality. The
Father "hath" (ἔχει) that which is in very. essencethe Son's (ἐμα); and the
Spirit, whose purpose is to glorify the Son by making him knownto men
(λαμβάνει), takes of "mine" and will declare it (see Stier, Schaff, note to
Lange). Luthardt once thought with Stier, but now limits the reference,
without giving any reasonfor it, to what he calls "the deposit of Divine truth
in the humanity of Jesus."The sum of this astonishing assurance is that the
Holy Spirit of truth, an essentialelementif not Personalityin the Godhead,
will lead these apostles into the fullness of truth, and of knowledge ofthe
future, by taking up the essentialrealities ofthe Christ in the fullness of his
being and work, and disclosing them by spiritual insight and supernatural
quickening. These realities ofthe Christ will prove to be the fullness of the
Father's heart - all that the Father hath. Again we ask - Does St. John even
here travel beyond his prologue?
Vincent's Word Studies

All things that (πάντα ὅσα)
Literally, all things as many as. Rev., all things whatsoever.
Shall take (λήψεται)
The best texts read λαμβάνει, taketh. The relation betweenthe Son and the
Spirit is put by Jesus as presentand constant.
STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
All things that the Father hath are mine - If Christ had not been equal to God,
could he have saidthis without blasphemy?
And show it unto you - As Christ is representedthe Ambassador of the
Father, so the Holy Spirit is representedthe ambassadorof the Son, coming
vestedwith his authority, as the interpreter and executorof his will.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography

Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on John 16:15". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/john-
16.html. 1832.
Return to Jump List return to 'Jump List'
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
All things … - See Matthew 28:18; Matthew 11:27. No one could have said this
who was not equal with the Father. The union was so intimate, though
mysterious, that it might with propriety be said that whateverwas done in
relation to the Son, was also done in regard to the Father. See John14:9.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon John 16:15". "Barnes'Notesonthe Whole
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/john-16.html.
1870.
The Biblical Illustrator
John 16:15
All things that the Father hath are Mine

The fulness that is in Christ
I.
CHRIST HAS A LEGAL RIGHT TO THE PROPERTYOF THE FATHER.
BecauseHe has
1. A natural right to it, as He is God.
2. A federal right as Mediator, i.e., God the Fatherand God the Son are
representedin Scripture as having agreedtogetherin a covenant respecting
the salvationof the human race. It was in this agreementthat God the Father
made over all the blessings that He had unto Jesus Christ.
3. A donative right as Saviour (John 3:35).
4. An acquisitive right as Conqueror. Suppose two individuals are combating
for some property or privilege, and this is to belong to the individual who
comes off victorious; you say of him afterwards, “he has acquired that.” Just
so Christ came into the world to contend with sin and Satanfor us, and He
came off victorious.
5. A hereditary right as God’s Son and Heir (Hebrews 1:2.)

II. SOME OF THOSE “ALL THINGS” WHICH JESUS CHRIST IS SAID
TO HAVE.
1. All the perfections of God. If, as is said, in 1 Corinthians 1:24, He is the
powerof God and the wisdom of God, then all the restmust be His.
2. The glory of the Father (Hebrews 1:3).
3. All the fulness of the Father (Colossians 1:19;Col_2:19).
III. IN WHAT SENSE ARE ALL THINGS CHRIST’S?
1. Substantially, not figuratively or nominally, but really.
2. Communicatively. Some persons may possessgreatand inestimable
treasures, but they may not have the powerof communicating them. But
Christ possesses“allthings” for the express purpose of communicating John
1:16). He has pardon for our sins, and we have receivedit;He has justification
for our souls, and He has imputed it, &c.
3. Sufficiently (Psalms 107:9).
4. Efficiently. It shall be really applied to the heart, and go to the extent which
necessityrequires. There may be many things that may be said to be sufficient

and yet not efficient. Some of us may have enough for ourselves and others,
but it is not efficient unless they partake of it.
5. Unchangeably.
6. Eternally. “He that believeth on the Sonhath everlasting life.”
IV. FOR WHAT REASON IT IS SO ARRANGED THAT THE FATHER’S
PROPERTYIS CHRIST’S.
1. The right and the property of no party is lost. The Father has the same
property as the Son, and the Son has the same property as the Spirit.
2. Herein is seenthe pleasure of the Father, the pleasure of the Son, and the
pleasure of the Holy Spirit.
3. Here is God’s honour in choosing His people; Christ’s honour in redeeming
them, and the Spirit’s honour in regenerating them. (T. B. Baker, M. A.)
The joint proprietorship of the Fatherand the children
I once heard a father tell, that when he removed his family to a new residence,
where the accommodationwas much more ample, and the substance much
more rich and varied, his youngest son, yet a lisping infant, ran round every

room, and scannedevery article with ecstasy, calling out, in childish wonder
at every new sight, “Is this ours, father? and is this ours?” The child did not
say “yours,” and I observedthat the father while he told the story was not
offended with the freedom. You could read in his glistening eye that the
infant’s confidence in appropriating as his own all that his father had, was an
important elementin his satisfaction. Such, I suppose, will be the surprise,
and joy, and appropriating confidence, with which the child of our Father’s
family will count all his own, when he is removed from the comparatively
mean condition of things present, and enters the infinite of things to come.
When the glories of heavenburst upon his view, he does not stand at a
distance, like a stranger, saying, “O God, these are Thine.” He bounds
forward to touch and taste every provision which those blessedmansions
contain, exclaiming, as he looks in the Father’s face, “Father, this and this is
ours.” The dear child is glad of all the Father’s riches, and the Fatheris
gladder of His dear child. (W. Arnot.)
The revealing work of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit is given for the purpose of restoring to spiritual truth its
natural and reasonable efficiency. It is as though we had our eyes fixed on a
book in the deep gloomof twilight. We believe that the page reveals truth, we
know the language in which it is written; but the light is so imperfect, that,
though here and there we can distinguish a capitalletter, and now and then
decipher a word, yet we are unable to make out distinctly a single sentence.
But let light now fall upon the page, and every word and every letter is
instantly revealed, the thought of the writer beams upon our understanding,
and the channel of communication betweenHis mind and ours is, for the time,
fully established. Very similar to this is the case before us. We read and we
hear about God, the Judge of all, and Christ, the Redeemerofmen, about sin
and repentance, heavenand hell, the wagesofguilt and the rewardof
holiness, and we care so little about them that the words hardly awakena
thought, or leave a trace upon our recollection. Butlet now the Holy Spirit

show these things of Christ unto us, and they are at once invested with the
terrors or the joys of a most solemnreality. (F. Wayland, D. D.)
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Exell, JosephS. "Commentary on "John 16:15". The Biblical Illustrator.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/john-16.html. 1905-1909.
New York.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
All things that the Father hath are mine,.... Though it is true that the same
divine nature the Fatheris possessedof, the Son is; and the same divine
perfections belong to the one, as to the other; and the Son shares in the same
glory and felicity the Father does;so that in the utmost extent of the phrase,
all that the Fatherhath are his; yet since Christ is speaking ofthings received
of him by the Spirit, and shownunto his people, it rather seems that the
blessings ofgrace, which the Father has in store for his chosenones, and the
doctrines of grace, those deepthings of his, are here more especiallymeant;
which to revealand apply, is the peculiar work of the Spirit; and in these
Christ is equally concernedwith the Father:
therefore, said I, he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you; he does not
mention the things of the Father, only his own; nor was there any necessityfor
it, because whateveris his, is the Father's, and whatever the Father has is his:

they are jointly concernedin every thing relating to the salvation, benefit,
comfort, and happiness of the saints;so that when the Spirit of God takes of
the things of the one, he takes ofthe things of the other, and discovers, and
applies them.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on John 16:15". "The New JohnGill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/john-
16.html. 1999.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
All things that the Father hath are mine — a plainer expressionthan this of
absolute community with the Fatherin all things cannot be conceived, though
the “allthings” here have reference to the things of the Kingdom of Grace,
which the Spirit was to receive that He might show it to us. We have here a
wonderful glimpse into the inner relations of the Godhead.
Copyright Statement

These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on John
16:15". "CommentaryCritical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/john-16.html. 1871-8.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Therefore saidI (δια τουτο ειπον — dia touto eipon). Jesus explains how and
why the Holy Spirit can and will revealto the disciples what they need to
know further concerning him. They had failed so far to understand Christ‘s
words about his death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit as Guide and
Teacherwill teachthem what they can only receive and understand after the
resurrectionand ascensionof Jesus.
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on John 16:15". "Robertson's WordPictures
of the New Testament".

https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/john-16.html. Broadman
Press 1932,33. Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
All things that ( πάντα ὅσα )
Literally, all things as many as. Rev., all things whatsoever.
Shall take ( λήψεται )
The best texts read λαμβάνει , taketh. The relation betweenthe Sonand the
Spirit is put by Jesus as presentand constant.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon John 16:15". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/john-16.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.

Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
All things that the Father hath are mine — Could any creature say this?
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on John 16:15". "JohnWesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/john-16.html. 1765.
The Fourfold Gospel
All things whatsoeverthe Father hath are mine1: therefore saidI, that he
taketh of mine, and shall declare [it] unto you2.
All things whatsoeverthe Father hath are mine. The Son's unity of interest
with the Fathermade him possessorofall the Father's truth, as well as all the
Father's counselas to the future.
Therefore saidI, that he taketh of mine, and shall declare [it] unto you. As
Jesus, therefore, might at this time have uttered all which the Holy Spirit
subsequently taught, he rightfully claimed all the teaching of the Spirit as his.
Copyright Statement

These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon John 16:15".
"The Fourfold Gospel".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/john-16.html. Standard
Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
All things; that is, all that relates to moral truth.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Abbott, John S. C. & Abbott, Jacob. "Commentaryon John 16:15".
"Abbott's Illustrated New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ain/john-16.html. 1878.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
15.All things that the Fatherhath are mine. As it might be thought that Christ
took awayfrom the Fatherwhat he claimed for himself, he acknowledgesthat
he has receivedfrom the Fatherall that he communicates to us by the Spirit.
When he says that all things that the Fatherhath are his, he speaks in the
person of the Mediator, for we must draw out of his fullness, (John 1:16.) He
always keeps his eye on us, as we have said. We see, on the other hand, how
the greaterpart of men deceive themselves;for they pass by Christ, and go
out of the way to seek Godby circuitous paths.
Other commentators explain these words to mean, that all that the Father
hath belongs equally to the Son, because he is the same God. But here he does
not speak ofhis hidden and intrinsic power, as it is called, but of that office
which he has been appointed to exercise towardus. In short, he speaks ofhis
riches, that he may invite us to enjoy them, and reckons the Spirit among the
gifts which we receive from the rather by his hand.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on John 16:15". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/john-16.html.
1840-57.
John Trapp Complete Commentary

15 All things that the Fatherhath are mine: therefore saidI, that he shall take
of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Ver. 15. All things that the Fatherhath, &c.]So that if we can but marry the
heir, we have all. The Fathersaith unto him, as he did to his eldestson, Luke
15:31;"Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine;" therefore we
may go boldly to him for all things needful for life and godliness. When
Josephsent to Jacob, that Pharaohhad put all into his hands, he was not a
little comforted that one so near to him in nature was so able to accommodate
him. Let us also come boldly to the throne of grace, since our flesh and blood
hath all power to do us good. Christ, as mediator, is able to make all grace
abound toward us, that we "always, having all sufficiencyin all things, may
abound to every goodwork," 2 Corinthians 8:8. Well might Ignatius say,
Ignis, crux, et diaboli tormenta in me verdant, tantummodo ut Iesum
nanciscar. The fire, the troubles and the torments of the devil change me, only
merely so I may find Jesus.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on John 16:15". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/john-
16.html. 1865-1868.

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
John 16:15. He shall take of mine— He will receive of mine, ληψεται the same
word as in John 16:14 and consequentlythe translation should be the same in
both places. "Be notsurprized that I said unto you, He will receive of mine,
&c. for the whole treasure of the Father's wisdombelongs to me." See
Colossians 2:3. Those who oppose the divinity of Christ, seemto be at a loss
for an explication of this passage. Le Clerc tells us, that it is highly
figurative;—that the subject treated of is such as cannot be understood by
reason;—that the manner of it is not revealed;—and therefore it is not
possible to mark precisely the proper sense ofevery expression. Such are the
shifts to which the espousers ofa false hypothesis are reduced!
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentaryon John 16:15". Thomas Coke Commentaryon
the Holy Bible. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/john-
16.html. 1801-1803.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
15.]Here we have given us a glimpse into the essentialrelations ofthe Blessed
Trinity. The Father hath given the Sonto have life and all things in Himself
(Colossians1:19;Colossians 2:2-3), the relation being, that the Songlorifies
not Himself but the Father, by revealing the Father, whom He alone knows
(Matthew 11:27). And this Revelation, the Revelationof the Fatherby

Christ—is carriedon by the blessedSpirit in the hearts of the disciples of
Christ; Who takes ( λαμβάνει, indefinite, of the office of the Spirit) of the
things of Christ, and declares, proclaims, to them.
διὰ τοῦτο]Forthis cause I (rightly) said.… i.e. ‘this was the ground of My
asserting:’—notthe reasonwhy it was said, but the justification of it when
said.
This verse contains the plainest proof by inference of the orthodox doctrine of
the Holy Trinity.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Alford, Henry. "Commentary on John 16:15". Greek TestamentCritical
ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/john-16.html. 1863-1878.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
John 16:15. λήψεται, A considerable number of manuscripts read
λαμβάνει.(364)The ἔχει and ἐστι, John 16:15, accords with λαμβάνει, giving a
magnificent significationin the use of the present tense: and the receiving
certainly precedes the announcing, ἀναγγελεῖ.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on John 16:15". JohannAlbrecht
Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/john-16.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
All the Divine essence,wisdom, power, which is in the Father, are mine; I am,
in all things that concernthe Deity, one and equal with the Father;and that
was the reasonthat I said that he should
take of mine, and show it to you; which is the same as if I had said, he shall
take of my Father’s, and shall show it to you; for all that the Father hath is
mine; I and my Fatherare one in essence,wisdom, power, &c.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon John 16:15". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/john-16.html. 1685.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
Are mine; Matthew 11:27; Matthew 28:18.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Edwards, Justin. "Commentary on John 16:15". "Family Bible New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/fam/john-
16.html. American TractSociety. 1851.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
15. All things that the Father hath—How stupendous is this all! Omnipotence,
omniscience, omnipresence,eternity, all these the Fatherhath, and, therefore,
the Son. Yet, by the very terms, the Fatherpossessesalone his Fatherhood,
and the Son his Sonship.

Therefore—Becausethe Son hath this fulness, therefore had Jesus included
this all in the things revealedby the Spirit.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on John 16:15". "Whedon's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/john-16.html.
1874-1909.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
John 16:15. All things whatsoeverthe Father hath are mine: therefore said I
that he receivethof that which is mine, and will declare it unto you. It is of
Himself as Son of man as well as Sonof God, not of Himself only as the
Eternal Son, that Jesus speaks. In that capacity ‘all things whatsoever’had
been given Him by the Father. Therefore might He well sayin the previous
verse that, in leading His disciples onward to the ultimate goalof the Divine
purposes, the Spirit would do this by receiving and declaring of that which
was His. What was so receivedand declaredwould not fall short, therefore, of
leading them into the highest truth—the truth as to ‘the Father.’
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Schaff, Philip. "Commentary on John 16:15". "Schaff's PopularCommentary
on the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/scn/john-16.html. 1879-90.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
John 16:15. There is no need that the Spirit go beyond Christ and no
possibility He should do so, because πάντα ὅσα ἔχει ὁ πατὴρ ἐμά ἐστι, “all
things whatsoeverthe Father has are mine,” cf. John 17:10 and John 13:3; 1
Corinthians 15:24-28;Hebrews 2:8. The Messianic reigninvolved that Christ
should be truly supreme and have all things at His disposal. So that when He
said that the Spirit would take of what was His, that was equivalent to saying
that the Spirit had the unlimited fulness of the Godheadto draw upon.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicol, W. Robertson, M.A., L.L.D. "Commentary on John 16:15". The
Expositor's Greek Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/egt/john-16.html. 1897-1910.

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
All things whatsoeverthe Father hath, are mine. The obvious sense ofthese
words, shews, that the Sonhath the same nature, and the same substance with
the Father, and that he is one, and the same God with him. And by Christ's
adding: therefore he (the Holy Ghost) shall receive of mine, we are taught,
that the third personproceeds from both the Father, and the Son, and that he
receives, andhas the same perfections. (Witham)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Haydock, George Leo. "Commentaryon John 16:15". "GeorgeHaydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/john-16.html. 1859.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
therefore = on accountof (Greek. dia. App-104. John 16:2) this.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on John 16:15". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/john-16.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Fatherhath are mine:
therefore said I, that he shall take , [ leempsetai(Greek #2983), as in John
16:14]- or, according to what appears the better supported reading,
'receiveth' [ lambanei (Greek #2983)], a lively way of saying 'He is just about
to receive'
Of mine, and shall show it unto you. A plainer expressionthan this of absolute
community with the Father in all things cannot be conceived, althoughthe
"all things" here have reference to the things of the Kingdom of Grace, which
the Spirit was to receive that He might show them to us. We have here a
wonderful glimpse into the inner relations of the Godhead. The designof this
explanation seems to be to prevent any mistake as to the relations which He
sustainedto the Father.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on John
16:15". "CommentaryCritical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/john-
16.html. 1871-8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(15) All things that the Father hath are mine.—He has told them that the
Spirit’s work is to glorify Him, to receive of His, and announce to the world.
The ground of this saying is in the fact that the Son is the Revealerof the
Father, and that the fulness of the truth (John 16:13) is given unto Him. The
words appear from the context not to express the spiritual relation of the Son
to the Father, but the fulness of the communication to Him in His human
nature of the divine truth which He should reveal to man. (Comp. Notes on
John 1:18; John 8:42; John 10:36;John 17:10; Matthew 11:27;Colossians
1:19; Colossians2:2-3.)
He shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.—Better, He taketh of Mine,
and shall declare it unto you. The present expressesthe unchanging relation of
the Spirit to the Son. It should be noted that in these verses (14 and 15) there
is an implication of the following doctrinal truths. They are implied, let us
remember, in the words of our Lord Himself, and that they are implied and
not statedincreases the force of their meaning:—(1) The divinity of the Son:
“He shall glorify Me;” “All things that the Father hath are Mine.” (2) The
personality of the Holy Ghost:“He shall receive of Mine.” The Greek word,
ἐκεῖυος, expressesthis in the most emphatic way. The word is used of the Holy
Spirit in John 16:8; John 16:13, and in John 14:26;John 15:26. (3) The
Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity: “the Father;” “I” “He.”
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on John 16:15". "Ellicott's
Commentary for English Readers".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ebc/john-16.html. 1905.
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
3:35; 10:29,30;13:3; 17:2,10;Matthew 11:27;28:18; Luke 10:22;Colossians
1:19; Colossians2:3,9
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Torrey, R. A. "Commentary on John 16:15". "The Treasuryof Scripture
Knowledge". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tsk/john-
16.html.

Ver. 15. "All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He
shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you."
Jesus now shows how great things the Apostles had to expectin the Holy
Spirit's revelationof the future, by declaring that, in this matter as in all
others. His domain was co-extensive withthat of the Father; so that nothing
Was inaccessible to Him, nothing going beyond His own sphere. The "of Me"
needed this explanation all the more, inasmuch as the Old Testamenthad
always most decisivelyreferred the disclosure ofthe future to God alone,
exhibiting it as His supreme and sole prerogative. In harmony with the
present passage, the Apocalypse in its very first words refers itself to God as
its original: "The revelationof Jesus Christ, which God gave Him:" comp.
also ch. Revelation22:6. The triple ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν, "will show you," must
have had the effect of making the Apostles anticipate with the most anxious
expectationthe disclosures whichwere foreannouncedwith such deep
emphasis. When they subsequently recalledthis promise, and reflectedwho
among them would be the instruments of these high revelations, the three,
Peter, James, and John, would be the most prominent; for these three had
been on every occasiondistinguishedby our Lord, and were among the
Apostles "the greater." Ofthese three, again, that disciple who leanedon the
Lord's bosomseemedthe most adapted to the revelation of these deep
mysteries, Amos 3:7. His self-renouncing, contemplative, mystical peculiarity,
placed him in the forefront.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES

WILLIAM BARCLAY
THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH (John 16:12-15)
16:12-15 "Ihave many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
When the Spirit of Truth has come, he will lead you into all the truth. Forhe
will not speak on his ownauthority and out of his own knowledge, but he will
speak all that he will hear, and he will tell you of the things to come. He will
glorify me, for he will take of the things which belong to me, and will tell you
of them. All things that the Father has are mine. That is why I said that the
Spirit will take of the things which belong to me, and tell them to you."
To Jesus the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, whose greatwork is to bring
God's truth to men. We have a specialname for this bringing of God's truth
to men; we callit revelation, and no passagein the New Testamentshows us
what we might call the principles of revelationbetter than this one.
(i) Revelationis bound to be a progressive process. Manythings Jesus knew
he could not at that moment tell his disciples, because they were not yet able
to receive them. It is only possible to tell a man as much as he canunderstand.
We do not start with the binomial theorem when we wish to teach a boy
algebra;we work up to it. We do not start with advancedtheorems when we
wish to teacha child geometry;we approachthem gradually. We do not start
with difficult passageswhenwe teacha lad Latin or Greek;we start with the
easyand the simple things. God's revelation to men is like that. He teaches
men what they are able and fit to learn. This most important fact has certain
consequences.
(a) It is the explanation of the parts of the Old Testamentwhich sometimes
worry and distress us. AT that stage they were all of God's truth that men
could grasp. Take an actualillustration--in the Old Testamentthere are many

passageswhich callfor the wiping out of men and women and children when
an enemy city is taken. At the back of these passages there is the greatthought
that Israelmust not risk the taint of any heathen and lowerreligion. To avoid
that risk, those who do not worship the true God must be destroyed. That is to
say, the Jews had at that stage graspedthe fact that the purity of religion must
be safeguarded;but they wished to preserve that purity by destroying the
heathen. When Jesus came, men came to see that the way to preserve that
purity is to convert the heathen. The people of the Old Testamenttimes had
graspeda greattruth, but only one side of it. Revelationhas to be that way;
God can revealonly as much as a man canunderstand.
(b) It is the proof that there is no end to God's revelation. One of the mistakes
men sometimes make is to identify God's revelation solelywith the Bible. That
would be to say that since about A.D. 120, whenthe latestbook in the New
Testamentwas written, God has ceasedto speak. But God's Spirit is always
active; he is always revealing himself. It is true that his supreme and
unsurpassable revelationcame in Jesus;but Jesus is not just a figure in a
book, he is a living personand in him God's revelation goes on. God is still
leading us into greaterrealizationof what Jesus means. He is not a God who
spoke up to A.D. 120 and is now silent. He is still revealing his truth to men.
(ii) God's revelationto men is a revelationof all truth. It is quite wrong to
think of it as confined to what we might call theologicaltruth. The theologians
and the preachers are not the only people who are inspired. When a poet
delivers to men a greatmessage inwords which defy time, he is inspired.
When H. F. Lyte wrote the words of Abide with me he had no feeling of
composing them; he wrote them as to dictation. A great musician is inspired.
Handel, telling of how he wrote The Hallelujah Chorus, said: "I saw the
heavens opened, and the GreatWhite God sitting on the Throne." When a
scientistdiscovers something which will help the world's toil and make life
better for men, when a surgeondiscovers a new technique which will save
men's lives and ease their pain, when someone discovers a new treatment

which will bring life and hope to suffering humanity, that is a revelation from
God. All truth is God's truth, and the revelation of all truth is the work of the
Holy Spirit.
(iii) That which is revealedcomes from God. He is alike the possessorand the
giver of all truth. Truth is not men's discovery; it is God's gift. It is not
something which we create;it is something already waiting to be discovered.
At the back of all truth there is God.
(iv) Revelationis the taking of the things of Jesus and revealing their
significance to us. Part of the greatness ofJesus is his inexhaustibleness. No
man has evergraspedall that he came to say. No man has fully workedout all
the significance ofhis teaching for life and for belief, for the individual and for
the world, for societyand for the nation. Revelationis a continual opening out
of the meaning of Jesus.
There we have the crux of the matter. Revelationcomes to us, not from any
book or creed, but from a living person. The nearer we live to Jesus, the better
we will know him. The more we become like him, the more he will be able to
tell us. To enjoy his revelationwe must accepthis mastery.
CALVIN
Verse 12
12.Ihave still many things to say to you. Christ’s discourse could not have so
much influence over his disciples, as to prevent their ignorance from still
keeping them in perplexity about many things; and not only so, but they

scarcelyobtaineda slight taste of those things which ought to have imparted
to them full satisfaction, hadit not been for the obstruction arising from the
weakness ofthe flesh. It was, therefore, impossible but that the consciousness
of their poverty should oppress them with fear and anxiety. But Christ meets
it by this consolation, that, when they have receivedthe Spirit, they will be
new men, and altogetherdifferent from what they were before.
But you are not able to bear them now. When he says that, were he to tell
them anything more, or what was loftier, they would not be able to bear it, his
objectis to encourage themby the hope of better progress, that they may not
lose courage;for the grace which he was to bestow on them ought not to be
estimatedby their present feelings, since they were at so greata distance from
heaven. In short, he bids them be cheerful and courageous, whatevermay be
their present weakness.But as there was nothing else than doctrine on which
they could rely, Christ reminds them that he had accommodatedit to their
capacity, yet so as to lead them to expect that they would soonafterwards
obtain loftier and more abundant instruction; as if he had said, “If what you
have heard from me is not yet sufficient to confirm you, have patience for a
little; for ere long, having enjoyed the teaching of the Spirit, you will need
nothing more; he will remove all the ignorance that now remains in you.”
Now arises a question, what were those things which the apostles were notyet
able to learn? The Papists, for the purpose of putting forward their inventions
as the oracles ofGod, wickedly abuse this passage. “Christ,”they tell us,
“promised to the apostles new revelations;and, therefore, we must not abide
solelyby Scripture, for something beyond Scripture is here promised by him
to his followers.”In the first place, if they chooseto talk with Augustine, the
solution will be easilyobtained. His words are, “Since Christ is silent, which of
us shall say that it was this or that? Or, if he shall venture to sayso, how shall
he prove it? Who is so rashand insolent, even though he say what is true, as to
affirm, without any Divine testimony, that those are the things which the Lord

at that time did not choose to say?” But we have a surer way of refuting them,
takenfrom Christ’s own words, which follow.
Verse 13
13.Butwhen he is come, the Spirit of truth. The Spirit, whom Christ promised
to the apostles, is declaredto be perfect Masteror Teacher(96)of truth And
why was he promised, but that they might deliver from hand to hand the
wisdom which they had receivedfrom him? The Spirit was given to them, and
under his guidance and direction they dischargedthe office to which they had
been appointed.
He will lead you into all truth. That very Spirit had lead them into all truth,
when they committed to writing the substance of their doctrine. Whoever
imagines that anything must be added to their doctrine, as if it were imperfect
and but half-finished, not only accusesthe apostles of dishonesty, but
blasphemes againstthe Spirit If the doctrine which they committed to writing
had proceededfrom mere learners or persons imperfectly taught, an addition
to it would not have been superfluous; but now that their writings may be
regardedas perpetual records of that revelationwhich was promised and
given to them, nothing can be added to them without doing grievous injury to
the Holy Spirit.
When they come to determine what those things actually were, the Papists act
a highly ridiculous part, for they define those mysteries, which the apostles
were unable to bear, to be certain childish fooleries, the most absurd and
stupid things that canbe imagined. Was it necessarythat the Spirit should
come down from heaven that the apostles might learn what ceremony must be
used in consecrating cups with their altars, in baptizing church-bells, in
blessing the holy water, and in celebrating Mass? Whence then do fools and
children obtain their learning, who understand all those matters most
thoroughly? Nothing is more evident than that the Papists mock God, when

they pretend that those things came from heaven, which resemble as much the
mysteries of Ceres orProserpine as they are at variance with the pure wisdom
of the Holy Spirit.
If we do not wish to be ungrateful to God, let us rest satisfiedwith that
doctrine of which the writings of the apostles declare them to be the authors,
since in it the highest perfectionof heavenly wisdom is made known to us,
fitted to make the man of God perfect (2 Timothy 3:17.) Beyond this let us not
reckonourselves atliberty to go; for our height, and breadth, and depth,
consistin knowing the love of God, which is manifested to us in Christ. This
knowledge, as Paulinforms us, far exceeds alllearning, (Ephesians 3:18;) and
when he declares that
all the treasures ofwisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ,
(Colossians2:3,)
he does not contrive some unknown Christ, but one whom by his preaching he
painted to the life, so that, as he tells the Galatians,
we see him, as it were, crucified before our eyes,
(Galatians 3:1.)
But that no ambiguity may remain, Christ himself afterwards explains by his
own words what those things are which the apostles were notyet able to bear.
He will tell you things which are to come Some indeed limit this to the Spirit
of prophecy; but, in my opinion, it denotes rather the future condition of his

spiritual kingdom, such as the apostles, soonafter his resurrection, saw it to
be, but were at that time utterly unable to comprehend. He does not therefore
promise them prophecies of things that would happen after their death, but
means only that the nature of his kingdom will be widely different, and its
glory far greaterthan their minds are now able to conceive. The Apostle Paul,
in the Epistle to the Ephesians, from the first chapter to the close ofthe
fourth, explains the treasures ofthis hidden wisdom, which the heavenly
angels learn with astonishmentfrom the Church; and therefore we need not
go to seek them from the archives or repositories ofthe Pope.
For he will not speak from himself This is a confirmation of the clause, He will
lead you into all truth. We know that God is the fountain of truth, and that
out of Him there is nothing that is firm or sure; and, therefore, that the
apostles may safelyplace full confidence in the oracles ofthe Spirit, Christ
declares that they will be divine oracles;as if he had said, that every thing
which the Holy Spirit shall bring proceeds from God himself. And yet these
words take nothing awayfrom the majesty of the Spirit, as if he were not God,
or as if he were inferior to the Father, but are accommodatedto the capacity
of our understanding; for the reasonwhy his Divinity is expressly mentioned
is, because, onaccount of the veil that is betweenus, we do not sufficiently
understand with what reverence we ought to receive what the Spirit reveals to
us. In like manner, he is elsewhere calledthe earnest, by which God ratifies to
us our salvation, and the seal, by which he seals to us its certainty, (Ephesians
1:13.) In short, Christ intended to teachthat the doctrine of the Spirit would
not be of this world, as if it were produced in the air, but that it would proceed
from the secretplaces ofthe heavenly sanctuary.
Verse 14
14.He will glorify me Christ now reminds them that the Spirit will not come to
erectany new kingdom, but rather to confirm the glory which has been given
to him by the Father. For many foolishly imagine that Christ taught only so as
to lay down the first lessons, and then to send the disciples to a higher school.

In this way they make the Gospelto be of no greatervalue than the Law, of
which it is saidthat it was a schoolmasterofthe ancient people, (Galatians
3:24.)
This error is followedby another equally intolerable, that, having bid adieu to
Christ, as if his reign were terminated, and he were now nothing at all, they
substitute the Spirit in his place. From this source the sacrilegesofPoperyand
Mahometanismhave flowed; for, though those two Antichrists differ from
eachother in many respects, stillthey agree in holding a common principle;
and that is, that in the Gospelwe receive the earliestinstructions to lead us
into the right faith, (97) but that we must seek elsewhere the perfectionof
doctrine, that it may complete the course of our education. If Scripture is
quoted againstthe Pope, he maintains that we ought not to confine ourselves
to it, because the Spirit is come, and has carried us above Scripture by many
additions. Mahometasserts that, without his Alcoran, men always re-main
children. Thus, by a false pretense of the Spirit, the world was bewitchedto
depart from the simple purity of Christ; for, as soonas the Spirit is separated
from the word of Christ, the door is open to all kinds of delusions and
impostures. A similar method of deceiving has been attempted, in the present
age, by many fanatics. The written doctrine appeared to them to be literal,
and, therefore, they chose to contrive a new theologythat would consistof
revelations.
We now see that the information given by Christ, that he would be glorified
by the Spirit whom he should send, is far from being superfluous; for it was
intended to inform us, that the office of the Holy Spirit was nothing else than
to establishthe kingdom of Christ, and to maintain and confirm for ever all
that was given him by the Father. Why then does he speak of the Spirit’s
teaching? Notto withdraw us from the schoolofChrist, but rather to ratify
that word by which we are commanded to listen to him, otherwise he would
diminish the glory of Christ. The reasonis added, Christ says,

Jesus was the source of revelation

Jesus was the source of revelation

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