by Terry W. Benton<\/p>\n
A common mistake we run into today is taking a promise made to the apostles, commandeering it as a promise to us, and then imagining that the promise applies equally to us. For example, when Jesus promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would “guide you into all truth<\/em>” (John 16:13), people think that they can appropriate that promise to themselves and just imagine that the Spirit is guiding them. The context is showing a special conversation Jesus is having with his twelve apostles, those Jesus was equipping to be the eyewitnesses with the power to testify accurately of Him for all people of all time to come. Jesus did not promise everyone that the Spirit would guide them into all truth. The Spirit came upon the apostles and equipped them. Our job is to read the testimony the Spirit gave through the apostles (Ephesians 3:3-5).<\/p>\n By listening to the Spirit’s written testimony given through the apostles we are listening to the Spirit. They got direct guidance, and we get indirect guidance. They were promised direct guidance and then wrote it down. We read the testimony and believe what the Spirit says. We hear what the Spirit says through scriptures (Revelation 2:7; II Timothy 3:16-17). The apostles were promised the direct guidance that produced for us the words we read in the scriptures. We do not get the same direct guidance. We cannot produce a written record that carries the same authority as the written records of the Bible.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Terry W. Benton A common mistake we run into today is taking a promise made to the apostles, commandeering it as a promise to us, and then imagining that the promise applies equally to us. For example, when Jesus promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13),…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[86],"class_list":["post-41972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-holy-spirit"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":28097,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-authority-of-the-apostles\/","url_meta":{"origin":41972,"position":0},"title":"The Authority of the Apostles (Johnson)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mike Johnson Many acknowledge the authority of God and Christ but do not accept or understand the authority of the Apostles. Some people today say we only need the words of Jesus to guide us. Some who take this position place a great deal of emphasis on the red-letter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87440,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/having-the-spirit-by-measure\/","url_meta":{"origin":41972,"position":1},"title":"Having the Spirit by Measure","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Samuel Matthews \"For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him\" (John 3:34 KJV). Loved ones, in our text, the apostle John said that the Father sent Jesus the Messiah with an \"unlimited measure\" of the Holy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59644,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-black-type-in-the-red-letter-edition-of-the-new-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":41972,"position":2},"title":"The Black Type in the Red-Letter Edition of the New Testament","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Garry Smalley Of course, it is extremely disturbing to read or hear destructive criticisms toward the Holy Bible as unbelievers state disparaging comments regarding the reliability of the God-breathed writings (II Timothy 3:16; cf. II Peter 1:16-21; I Corinthians 2:12-13). But even among Christians, there are some who seek\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Bible-Red-Lettered-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":28794,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-helper\/","url_meta":{"origin":41972,"position":3},"title":"The Helper","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 16:1-15 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lifting a few statements from their context can often make a writer appear to say things he never intended. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It happens in politics all the time, and it happens in religion as well. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In his last hours, Jesus made a series of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42314,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-understand-where-you-are-getting-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit-in-acts-816\/","url_meta":{"origin":41972,"position":4},"title":"I don’t understand where you are getting gifts of the Holy Spirit in Acts 8:16","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading one of your Q&A's\u00a0Must you speak in tongues to have the Holy Spirit? I was a bit confused about this tail end of a verse \"They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8283,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-the-disciples-receive-the-holy-spirit-at-the-last-supper-or-on-pentecost\/","url_meta":{"origin":41972,"position":5},"title":"Did the disciples receive the Holy Spirit at the last supper or on Pentecost?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 26, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A question about John 20:22: \"And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.\" Did the Apostles receive the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost or at this time? 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