THE SPIRIT NEVER CHANGES THE SUBJECT

John 16:14 “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”

If you want to know whether a voice is the Holy Spirit’s voice, listen for the subject. The Spirit points us to Jesus & He glorifies Jesus. He does not invent a second gospel. He does not make the Christian life a hunt for new revelations that leave Jesus in the background. He reminds us of the Word, and the Word is full of Christ. He convicts of sin, and unbelief in Christ. He comforts the believer, and the comfort is the presence of Christ.

John 16:13 says, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” The truth He guides us into is not every curiosity under heaven. It is the truth of the scripture and as it is in Jesus. He keeps our feet on the only road that reaches the Father.

We forget that. We want the Spirit to talk about us—our gifts, our wounds, our plans. He will deal with all of that, but He will not change the subject. He brings us back to the Son. That is mercy. Left to ourselves we drift toward self. The Spirit pulls the eyes up.

This is also how we show the way to others. If our counsel is full of us and thin on Jesus, we are not helping much. If a conversation ends with a clearer view of Christ’s person, Christ’s cross, and Christ’s sufficiency, the Spirit can use that. The Spirit woos and invites and reveals the saving grace of Jesus. That is still His manner.

Ask the Lord to make you a person the Spirit can use. Not flashy. Just faithful. Open the Book. Speak of the Lamb. Stay on the subject of Jesus, He is sufficient. Colossians 2 tells us, “For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power.”