The Holy Spirit: The Living Witness of Christ

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In our previous message we saw how the Holy Spirit comes to this earth, teaches us, and reminds us of the words of Christ. Continuing in this, today we will move forward and read John 15:26, which says: "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me."

From the Amplified Bible: But when the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who comes and proceeds from the Father, He will testify regarding me.

The Holy Spirit whom the Lord Jesus Christ will send by praying to the Father—that Spirit is the Spirit of truth. As Jesus Christ had mentioned before, this Spirit is the Spirit of truth who reveals truth in our lives. And what will this Spirit of truth do? We saw earlier how He will dwell within us and help us. And here in John 15:26 we read that the Holy Spirit will testify about Christ Jesus.

What Is the Meaning of Testimony?

What is the meaning of a witness? We understand this. Even today in this world, we see how much importance testimony holds. In any sequence of events, if anywhere at any place some event takes place—near your home or in your city or neighborhood some event occurs—when police come, they ask the eyewitness of that event: who has seen this event? In court as well, decisions are made on the basis of witnesses, whether someone has seen what has taken place. Through two or three witnesses, many things become established.

Here the Lord Jesus Christ is telling His disciples that the Holy Spirit will come and He will testify about Me. That is, this Holy Spirit remembers all things. He is wise, He has intelligence, He has emotions, and this Holy Spirit has a will. And these three things make up a person. Here Jesus Christ is telling this truth: that He is a person, a Helper who will stay with you, and He will testify about Me.

The Apostles' Need for a Witness

What kind of testimony is this? Do we need this testimony today? Or in that time when the disciples were with the Lord Jesus Christ, who became apostles, who gave testimony about the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the world—what was the need for the Holy Spirit to come as a witness for them?

Acts 4:33 says: "And the apostles were giving testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ with great power." The disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles, needed a witness who had understood the entire sequence of events, what happened with Jesus Christ—His three and a half years of ministry on this earth, the death on the cross, Jesus Christ rising from the dead, and His ascension.

The Holy Spirit is not an influence, not a cloud or some wind or some lightning. The Holy Spirit is a person, a spiritual being who can come and dwell in our body. The Holy Spirit is a person, and He gives power in the lives of the apostles so that they may give testimony.

The New Testament: The Testimony of the Holy Spirit

This testimony was needed—the testimony that Jesus Christ knew had to be given to the disciples. And the greatest testimony that we all received through the disciples of Jesus Christ, through reading these words—the New Testament that was written and given to us by the disciples, the apostles of Jesus Christ. This tells us that the testimony that these disciples gave came to us through the Holy Spirit in the form of this scripture. This is the living Word of God, this is the New Testament, the New Covenant, a new covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ.

When the Lord Jesus Christ is discussing with His disciples and telling them that this Holy Spirit will come and He will testify about Me—and when His disciples saw that testimony as revelation in their souls, then Peter stood up and spoke and explained what the mystery of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ is. All those mysteries and secrets, when the Holy Spirit came into their lives, the Holy Spirit gave them testimony of all things.

The Source of the Apostles' Power

And as we have read, "And the apostles with great power"—whose power is this? This power, this courage, is given by the Holy Spirit, about whom the Lord Jesus Christ is discussing before His death. And He is saying: He will testify, He will testify about Me that I have risen from the dead, therefore you can believe in Me.

When the apostles received the Holy Spirit, it is written in Acts 4:33 that they were giving testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ with great power. And this testimony, this event is a door of salvation for the world. As it is written: "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

This Holy Spirit came for this purpose, the Lord Jesus Christ discussed Him for this reason, because in this present age it is through this very Holy Spirit that we are witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

A Witness Still Present Among Us

John 15:26 says: when He comes to you, who proceeds from God the Father, He will testify about Me, because the Holy Spirit has observed the entire sequence of events with great care—He observed the suffering of Jesus Christ, from His birth through His entire life of ministry, He observed Jesus Christ bearing death on the cross, the death of Jesus Christ and His rising again. And there is one witness of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who is still present among us today—and that is the Holy Spirit.

So how necessary is this Holy Spirit for us, how important! This Holy Spirit gives us testimony about Jesus Christ and tells us that this event took place two thousand and sixteen years ago from today—Jesus Christ died on the cross and having died, He came back to life.

When a person believes this event in his inner conscience, the Holy Spirit gives testimony with his soul. And the Lord Jesus Christ is having this discussion with His disciples because this Holy Spirit tells us, gives testimony with our soul, and says: you have believed in Jesus Christ, and therefore Jesus Christ has given you the right to become children of God.

Spiritual Reflection

Romans 8:16 says: "The Spirit, that is the Holy Spirit, testifies with our own spirit." Whose testimony does He give? He gives testimony that you have believed in Jesus Christ, you have believed in His death, in His rising again, you have accepted His lordship. Therefore Jesus Christ has given you the right to become a child of God.

In this John 15:26, the Lord Jesus Christ is having this very discussion about the Holy Spirit: that Holy Spirit whom God the Father will send will not stay only with the disciples, will not stay only with the apostles, but today He will stay with every person who believes in Jesus Christ.

The power that the Holy Spirit gave to the apostles of Jesus Christ, those wonderful works and signs that were done through their hands—today as well the Holy Spirit does these very things with every believer, because the word of Jesus Christ says: "These signs will accompany those who believe—they will lay hands on the sick in My name and they will be healed. In the name of Jesus Christ, demons will be cast out. In the name of Jesus Christ, you will speak in other tongues."

Practical Application

The work that the Holy Spirit did among the apostles of the time of Jesus Christ—today that entire ministry, all those works, this same Holy Spirit who testifies about Christ, He causes those testimonies through His believers, through the lives of those who believe in Jesus Christ, and He tells that the Lord Jesus Christ has risen.

And this is very beautiful good news. Perhaps from birth you have heard about Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ is a good teacher, a good master, a good healer. But the greatest thing that the Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus Christ is this: that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He is that Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world.

This testimony is given only by the Holy Spirit—the Holy Spirit who gives this revelation in your inner conscience that Jesus Christ was killed for you, was buried, and having died, has risen again. And through your life, He becomes a cause of blessing for many. This Holy Spirit is very real, and He is God, a person, the person of God, who purifies the conscience of man and comes and dwells within him.