Jesus tells his disciples in the upper room just before he went to die for our sins on the cross of Calvary and rise from the dead that he had many other things but they weren't ready for all this teaching then. Jesus continued that when the Spirit of truth (the Holy Spirit) is come (His descent to earth since Pentecost 50 days after Jesus' resurrection) he will guide them and all believers into all truth. Some of this truth is what has come to us in the Divinely inspired by God's Holy Spirit 27 books of the New Testament but also the spiritual understanding God has given believers throughout this present Church Age including the present until the soon Rapture or translation to Heaven of the Church of God by His Holy Spirit giving spiritual understanding of the Old Testament or New Testament. God by His Holy Spirit also leads believers into all truth by giving understanding of links between the two or of other truth such as history or current events or likely future events or culture or science and technology or morals or law or other matters in the light of God's Word the Holy Bible. The scripture emphasizes the teaching of the Holy Spirit includes things to come which is a comforting reality for the Christian in this present time that is otherwise much more of a time of uncertainty about from the Holy Spirit's clear understanding of Bible prophecy given to Christians or God's children in this age on Earth. Jesus then emphasizes that the things the Holy Spirit teaches aren't just His own things or revelations but what he hears and conveys from Jesus the Son of God and God the Father. This is a way the Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus. The scripture passage in Gospel of John 16 of the ministry of conveying truth and spiritual understanding including understanding Bible prophecy or things to come of the Holy Spirit from Jesus the Son of God and God the Father is as follows:
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit (however) when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he shall show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you. Gospel of John 16:12-14.
Although once a person trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ and His shed blood for our sins we are no longer condemned before God, we can still be condemned in our own sight when we still sin after we trust in Jesus and are born again. This is because we still have the flesh or self-centred old nature and part of that is to live even the Christian life by self-effort rather than by trusting in the Lord and relying on the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. This is because we might be consciously or sub- consciously trying to fulfil the Law of Moses by self-effort including such things as prayer and Bible study by our own effort instead of trusting in Jesus and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Although it is difficult to explain exactly what it means to walk after the Holy Spirit and to live it out in practice part of it means not to give a foothold in the first place to anything the Holy Spirit through our conscience shows in not pleasing to Him or Jesus Christ or God. This will then continue to give more liberty for the Holy Spirit to work in our life and less strength for the flesh or old nature in our lives. This will also result in more contentment and less condemnation in our Christian lives and less likelihood to fall into condemnation in times of sin because God doesn't expect us to be perfect in this life which is the law and we will be less likely to fall into sin by over exertion in trying to keep from temptation on our own strength or in the flesh. This is also what is meant in verse 2 of chapter 8 that if we let the Holy Spirit let Christ work out his life in us on an ongoing basis by trusting in Jesus instead of trying by self effort we can be more free from the law of sin and death in which relying on self-effort fails us and we fall into sin and death including self-condemnation and being separated from God's fellowship until we confess our sins and renew trusting in the Lord and have our fellowship with the Lord renewed. The law or Law of Moses is not wrong but is fully righteous and strong enough but we are weak and sinful even in our old nature or the flesh even after we are born again so we can't consistently and fully keep the law by walking or living in the flesh. God condemned sin in the flesh by sending His Son Jesus Christ to condemn sin in the flesh by coming into this world and living a perfect live and then dying on the cross bearing the penalty of sin for us and also making the way that our old man or person can be put to death as we are to view our old nature or flesh as put to death or crucified with Christ on the cross. Then the righteousness of the law in its spirit not in letter can be fulfilled in us and through Christ living his life in and through our new nature when we walk or live after the Spirit and not after the flesh or self-effort. The scripture reference of God's righteousness and freedom from self-condemnation that is available in Christ through living in the Holy Spirit and not after the flesh for the born again Christian in Romans 8 is as follows:
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4
One other important work of the Holy Spirit is the sealing by the Holy Spirit. This is a guarantee or down payment that God will after this life give His full blessing of eternal life and fellowship with Him. This sealing of the Holy Spirit is for all true Christians or believers of this current Church age or age of grace. This sealing is until the day or redemption or the day of redemption of our body which is the day of Christ or the day of the rapture (catching up to heaven) of the Church of born again believers. This sealing of the Holy Spirit is stated to be in effect even if we grieve the Holy Spirit which means it is always and forevermore in effect for the person that has truly trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as one's personal Lord and Saviour and been born of the Holy Spirit. This is the case for all true believers in God through His Son Jesus Christ in this age and the statement in Psalm 51:10 of King David around 1000 BC under the Law of Moses and when God is dealing with Israel not the Church is not to be applied to the Church to cause people to fear they can lose the Holy Spirit when they sin or some other time of concern. We can grieve the Holy Spirit by sin in our lives especially deliberate or unconfessed sin but if we are genuine children of God by faith in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit will heavily convict us of any unconfessed sin and make it desirable for us to confess and forsake it. He will also warn us not to commit sin in the first place although even genuine Christians in this life have the old Adamic nature which desires to satisfy the lust of the flesh or of the world or the temptations of the devil and as true or born again Christians we need to seek strength from God in the new nature and the Holy Spirit to live for God in the new Godward and unselfish new nature. The scripture reference of the grieving of the Holy Spirit and the sealing of the Holy Spirit for the Christian is as follows:
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30
After a person trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour that He died for our sins and rose again from the dead to give us new life God as He promises in the New Testament gives us a new heart or nature indwelt and led by His Holy Spirit. This is also what the Bible or the true Christian means by the new birth or being born again or born of the Holy Spirit. When we are born again and have the Holy Spirit indwelling in our new heart God seeks to work His will and word in and through us by His Holy Spirit as described by the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians. THese characteristics of the fruit of the Holy Spirit are characteristics of God and His unselfish and holy and loving nature and are in contrast with the original nature of what the Bible calls "the flesh" which is the fallen and self-centred nature we have obtained through the original sin of Adam and Eve when they rebelled against God and listened more to the devil through the temptation of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The fruit of the Holy Spirit which are nine can be grouped in three groups of three each. The first three (love, joy and peace) and characteristics that God gives in our new nature that He seeks especially for the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (Messiah) to exercise towards God including the Lord JEsus Christ who is God the Son or the Son of God. The next three fruit of the Holy Spirit (longsuffering (patience), gentleness, goodness) are characteristics that resemble and are of the indwelling Holy Spirit working in us that are or that God wills for the believer to exercise towards other people (both Christian and non-Christian). The last group of three characteristics or fruit (faith (faithfulness), meekness and temperance (self-control) are characteristics or attributes God wants the true Christian especially to exercise ourselves or internally. When true Christians apply or exercise the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives and walk or live by the indwelling Holy Spirit or let God through Him live His life in and through us we show the new nature and God's presence in our heart and lives and glorify God and give an encouragement to other Christians and a good witness to the unsaved. The fruit of the Spirit to some extent can be imitated by unbelievers but not reproduced in or with them unless of course they trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and are also born again or born of the Holy Spirit and become true Christians as well. The scripture reference from Galatians 5 of the fruit of the Holy Spirit of God's characteristics that typify the true Christian when we are living for Him is as follows:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
There are different views and some confusion on who the Comforter is who Jesus also mentioned in Gospel of John 16 especially with Muslims or people of Muslim background who often think this is a reference to the Islamic prophet Mohammed. The person mentioned here in Gospel of John 14 as the Comforter who is the Holy Ghost is the same as the one called the Spirit of truth in Gospel of John 16:13-14. However Jesus here clearly identifies the Comforter as the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit who is one of the persons of the Godhead or Trinity with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God or God the Son. Jesus promised the Comforter Who is the Holy Ghost would be sent by (God) the Father in His Jesus' name. This was fulfilled 50 days after Jesus' resurrection or on the 53rd day after Jesus' death for our sins when God sent the Holy Spirit on the original church of 120 people at Pentecost as mentioned in Acts 2 and for which they prepared in prayer in Acts 1. One of the common things of this other Comforter with the Lord Jesus Christ is that they were both sent from God the Father from heaven. For instance in Gospel of John 8:42-43, 6:38-39, 16:28 Jesus says clearly that he was sent from God the Father from heaven to earth. The Comforter who is the Holy Spirit was also sent from heaven to earth as in Luke 24:49 with Acts 2:1-4. Since then every person who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour that he died for our sins and rose again from the dead to give us new life gets the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit as our indwelling Comforter from the moment we place our trust in Jesus at least for the remainder of this current Church Age or Age of Grace which will soon end with the rapture or catching up to Heaven of all born of the Holy Spirit Christians. Part of the work of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit or the Comforter for believers of this age if for Him to teach us all things and bring all things to remembrance to believers that Jesus has said in His word the Holy Bible or to gain a sound understanding of it. The scripture reference from the Gospel of John 14 of the Comforter being identified as the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit who God sent to earth since Pentecost and who teaches the believers all things is as follows:
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Gospel of John 14:26
Although some people including some professing Christians like to use the idea that we shouldn't judge other people to include the idea that true Christians shouldn't judge between godly and ungodly teaching that isn't what the Bible or even New Testament means either in this passage in 1 John or some other parts of the New Testament. In this passage believers are urged or even commanded not to believe every spirit which would include angels, demons, humans or God or spirits that claim to be God. Instead we are urged to test or try the spirits to see whether they are really of God with the reason being that many false prophets are come into this world. Some religions which are influential and have their own false prophets these days are the New Age Movement, secular humanism and Islam and the Emerging Church. Some clear examples of spirits that are not of God are many of those from spirit guides, out of the body experiences or near death experiences and alien abductions. What seems to be common with most of these experiences is that the messengers and the message people receive is that the Lord Jesus Christ was an eastern mystic rather than the Saviour of the world, that there is a brotherhood of man rather than a distinction between those who have been saved by trusting in God's Son Jesus Christ for salvation and become God's redeemed bought back children and those who haven't and that we can be justified by good works or by being good or kind people rather than confessing that we are sinners and need God's grace through the finished work of His Son Jesus Christ's death on the cross for our sins and ressurrection from the dead to give us new life. The Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit instead leads people to confess God's way of salvation and God's version of who Jesus Christ was and is that he was the Messiah or Christ in a biblical sense in the person of Jesus of Nazareth who came from God's right hand as a fellow divine person in fleshly form so he could live out the law and reveal God in personal form and especially so he could die for the sins of all people and rise again. This leading people to confess or teach a true and scriptural version of who Jesus Christ was and is is one of the major works of the Holy Spirit especially for believers who are only indwelt and fully led or taught of the Holy Spirit. Every spirit that doesn't confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh that is they teach that Jesus Christ is less than God in the flesh or Immanuel such as the New Age movement, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, native religion, the Emerging Church and much of liberalism and atheism teach is not of God. John goes on to say that instead the spirit that denies the incarnation of Jesus as God come in the flesh is the spirit of antichrist. This spirit will become and is becoming more common in its different forms as we near the tribulation and the revelation of the Antichrist or the Beast out of the Sea who will be the epitome of this philosophy for a world that will be prepared for him. This spirit has been present throughout the church age but will become more and more entrenched and advocated until and through the tribulation until it is stopped by God through the Second Coming of His Son Jesus Christ at the end of the tribulation. God then says through the apostle John that the believers (the little children) have overcome the false prophets whether they are human or demonic that deny the incarnation of Jesus Christ because he that is in us as believers that is the Holy Spirit who is in our hearts is greater than he that is the world that is the devil, and also demons and human false prophets or false teachers. This is also a reason true or born again Christians can't be possesses of the devil or by demons because the Holy Spirit as a Divine Person is greater and more powerful and dwells continuously in our heart after we are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. However even true Christian can be influenced or controlled by evil spirits if we fall into sin through the old fleshly nature but we can be delivered through rebuking the evil spirits in Jesus' name or by His blood and claiming our position in Him and by seeking to resume living faithfully for God and Jesus according to His Word - the Holy Bible. The scripture passage from 1 John 4 of the work of the Holy Spirit to inspire especially God's people true Christians to confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and to indwell Christians and protect us from false prophets is as follows:
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (test) the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:1-4
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