Spirit of truth
At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth [I openly and joyfully acknowledge Your great wisdom], that You have hidden these things [these spiritual truths] from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants [to new believers, to those seeking God’s will and purpose]. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Son except the Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son [deliberately] wills to reveal Him. – Matthew 11:25-27
Here is the other side of the truth; here is hope for all, for these words do certainly mean that there is such a thing as a gift of knowing, a gift that comes from heaven. Christ taught His disciples to expect the coming of the Spirit of Truth who would teach them all things. He explained Peter’s knowledge of His Saviourhood as being a direct revelation from the Father in heaven. And His prayers – by “the wise and intelligent” our Lord meant not Greek philosophers but Jewish Bible students and teachers of the Law. – Tozer
Unconverted men often say, “If these things are so, if they are so clear and great, why cannot we see them?” And there is no answer to be given but this, “Ye are blind.” “But we want to see them. If they are real, they are our concern as well as yours. Oh, that some preacher would come who had power to make us see them!” Poor souls, there is no such preacher, and you need not wait for him. Let him gather God’s light as he will, he can but pour it on blind eyes. A burning glass will condense sunbeams into a focus of brightness; and if a blind eye be put there, not whir will it see, though it be consumed. Light is the remedy for darkness, not blindness. Neither will strong powers of understanding on your part serve. The great Earl of Chatham once went with a pious friend to hear Mr. Cecil. The sermon was on the Spirit’s agency in the hearts of believers. As they were coming from church, the mighty statesman confessed that he could not understand it all, and asked his friend if he supposed that any one in the house could. “Why yes,” said he, “there were many plain unlettered women, and some children there, who understood every word of it, and heard it with joy.” – Hoge
All of God’s revealed truths are sealed until they are opened to us through obedience. You will never open them through philosophy or thinking. But once you obey, a flash of light comes immediately. Let God’s truth work into you by immersing yourself in it, not by worrying into it. The only way you can get to know the truth of God is to stop trying to find out and by being born again. If you obey God in the first thing He shows you, then He instantly opens up the next truth to you. You could read volumes on the work of the Holy Spirit, when five minutes of total, uncompromising obedience would make things as clear as sunlight. Don’t say, “I suppose I will understand these things someday!” You can understand them now. And it is not study that brings understanding to you, but obedience. Even the smallest bit of obedience opens heaven, and the deepest truths of God immediately become yours. Yet God will never reveal more truth about Himself to you, until you have obeyed what you know already. Beware of becoming one of the “wise and intelligent.” – Oswald Chambers
The Spirit of Truth And The Spirit of Error
The Spirit of God 