12 “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
Spirit of truth
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
He will glorify Father and Jesus
14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the
Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
EXPLANATION
12 “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
“I have yet many things to say to you” — Jesus is at the end of his life. He has not completed all he wished to say to his apostles. Their need for further teaching is a necessity.
“but you cannot bear them now” — Under the present circumstances it is not opportune now. They cannot understand what he would like to tell them because at this stage they are perplexed by his speaking about his impending passion and death. They also are slow to learn because they have wrong pre–conceived ideas about the aims and objectives of the Messiah. They do not regard him as a spiritual but a political leader. There are certain matters they cannot understand until these have taken place, for example his resurrection. At that time no one had ever heard of or experienced a person rising from the dead. They could not believe before it took place that Jesus could rise from the dead.
They are also fragile because of their weak faith and he knows that when persecution arises fear will dominate their lives for a while. Jesus is about to provide his solution.
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
When the Spirit of truth comes” — “Truth” in John’s Gospel is a word that is synonymous with ‘revelation’. Jesus said, “I am the truth” (Jn. 14: 6), meaning that he is the revelation of his Father, “My word is not my own; it is the word of the one who sent me” (Jn 14: 24). “If you had known me you would have known my Father also; henceforth you have known him and you have seen him” (Jn. 14: 7). “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14: 9).
“The Spirit of truth” is the Holy Spirit teaching the full divine revelation as proclaimed by Jesus.
When will the Spirit of truth come? Only when Jesus prays to his Father (Jn. 14: 16–17) and sends him from the Father after his ascension (Jn. 15: 26).
“he will guide you into all the truth” — The Spirit will be an authentic interpreter so that the apostles will recall to memory and understand all the revelation proclaimed by Jesus (Jn. 2: 22; 12: 16; 14: 26).
“for he will not speak on his own authority” — The Holy Spirit will speak on the authority of the Father and of Jesus who will send him from the Father. Jesus also said, “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works” (Jn 14: 10; 7: 16; 12: 49–50).
“but whatever he hears he will speak” — The Spirit of truth is the Spirit of Jesus. Whatever Jesus speaks the Spirit recalls, interprets and offers a deeper understanding for the disciples. What Jesus speaks is what he has received from his Father. It follows that what the Spirit recalls and interprets is what the Father spoke to Jesus. This means that what the Spirit hears and speaks is on the authority of the Father as well as Jesus.
Vatican II teaches that our Lord “completed and perfected Revelation and confirmed it… finally by sending the Spirit of truth” (Vatican II, “Dei Verbum”, 4).
The Paraclete will “speak” to and through the Church, the Body of Christ, the sacrament of salvation, the divinely appointed means by which God’s will is made known to the world. The Church does this through divine tradition, the written scriptures and the Church’s teaching authority, the magisterium.
“and he will declare to you” — The verb “will declare” occurs in the following two verses. It has a technical sense. In Isaiah it is used 57 times with the meaning that God alone can announce future events. Applying this to the present context it means that the Holy Spirit is (i) sent by the Father (ii) to perform a function reserved to God. He shares in the divinity.
This is endorsed in the following words: “Before his Passover, Jesus announced the sending of ‘another Paraclete’ (Advocate), the Holy Spirit. At work since creation, having previously ‘spoken through the prophets’, the Spirit will now be with and in the disciples, to teach them and guide them ‘into all the truth’. The Holy Spirit is thus revealed as another divine person with Jesus and the Father” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 243).
“the things that are to come” — These future events are the death and resurrection of Jesus and the effects produced in salvation history. These the disciples will understand when the Holy Spirit will explain their full significance.
Jesus is speaking not only to the Eleven but to the Church as a whole and to its succeeding generations. He is speaking to our contemporary Church. There cannot be new revelations since the death of the last of the apostles but there have been new problems. There have been new heresies that needed an authoritative answer. There has been the need of new applications in succeeding generations to what has already been given to Jesus. This has meant new expressions of the significance of revealed truths to changing and perhaps more developed cultures down through the ages. For example, the Nicene Creed has given fuller expression to the contents of the Apostles’ Creed. The Spirit of Truth has been the “guide into all the truth” over the centuries.
14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
“He will glorify me” — The Spirit will make manifest that Jesus, the Son of God incarnate, is divine as can be seen through his words and works and especially by his death and resurrection (Jn. 12: 23–24, 28; 14: 31).
“for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” — This is explained in the words that follow.
“All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” — What does Jesus have that is his? Whatever the Father has is his. “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10: 30). The Father has “glory” (he is divine) so Jesus has this “glory” (he also is divine). The Holy Spirit will “declare” this to the apostles.
The Father has knowledge which he reveals. Jesus has this knowledge also. He is the one who reveals this knowledge on behalf of the Father. The Holy Spirit has this knowledge from Jesus. He reveals and explains this to the apostles on behalf of Jesus who is not the one who reveals any more. It is not the role of the Paraclete to give any new revelation.
APPLICATION
Importance
No less an authority than The Catechism of the Catholic Church stands behind the following points listing the importance of the official Church teaching on the mystery of the Blessed Trinity:
“The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is [i] the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is [ii] the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore [iii] the source of all the other mysteries of faith, [iv] the light that enlightens them. It is [v] the most fundamental and essential teaching in the ‘hierarchy of the truths of faith’. [vi] The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men ‘and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin’” (CCC, 234).
I am sure that there are many more unique things that have been said about this mystery. I will add only one: this mystery is (vii) the most distinguishing mark of Christianity because no other religion believes in it.
Incomprehensible
Knowing the importance of this fundamental teaching, we have to add that it is the most incomprehensible belief of Christianity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is relevant here: “The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the ‘mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God’. To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament. But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel’s faith before the Incarnation of God’s Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit” (CCC, 237).
This quotation is not something negative; it is very positive. It tells us that unless God reveals it the mystery of the Blessed Trinity cannot be known. Then the Catechism adds that God has revealed the mystery in two ways. The first is by “traces” in creation and in the Old Testament revelation. That could be difficult because “traces” are not always clear and can lead to many misunderstandings and false judgements. The second way God has revealed himself is in the New Testament, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and this is much clearer.
The Catechism does not say that the mystery, as mystery, is taken away entirely but it is no longer inaccessible. The fulness of understanding can only be experienced when we see God face–to–face. That is our experience in knowing people. No matter how much we read and hear about them, we never really know them until we meet them, indeed only when we live with them do we really know them.
A major problem with perhaps the vast majority of humans is that what they do not understand they tend to either ignore or simplify into some thoughts more of their imagining than the reality. To ignore or simplify the mystery of the Blessed Trinity is to ignore or simplify what Jesus and the Holy Spirit have revealed. That could mean ignoring or simplifying Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A practical example might be that other than by the Lord’s Prayer, many people never pray directly, spontaneously and personally to the Father, Fewer may not ever pray to the Holy Spirit.
Relevance
Belief in the Blessed Trinity, that there are Three Persons in one divine Nature, is fundamental to the life of every Christian. Obviously, because this teaches us about God, Three in One, who wants us to know him and to know truths about him. A second, and very important reason, is that this teaching informs us about ourselves! He is the One who created us in his own image and likeness and who wants us to be with him for all eternity. To assist us between those two moments of our lives he endowed us with the Way to follow his Son in the flesh. Such love, his love! That is one great lesson he has taught us — what love is and how to love. This is in addition to knowledge about himself.
Current Passage
The current passage from John 16: 12–15 tells us about the three Persons in the Blessed Trinity. While it does not spell out the actual words, it is quite clear that
(i) The three Persons are distinct: the Father is neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit; the Son is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son; yet all three are divine; all three are one;
(ii) The Father will send the Holy Spirit on the identical mission of salvation which Jesus was sent on;
(iii) All that the Father has and knows the Son incarnate has and can reveal;
(iv) The Father authorised Jesus on what to speak;
(v) Jesus will authorize the Holy Spirit on what to speak;
(vi) The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, that is of Jesus who is the Truth and that also includes that he is the Spirit of revelation;
(vii) The Holy Spirit reveals not a new revelation but what he is authorised to reveal;
(viii) The Holy Spirit will guide by teaching and recalling to memory what the disciples need to know;
(ix) The Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus, that is reveal his divinity.
There are only four verses in this current reading and here are nine fundamental truths about the Blessed Trinity. No wonder this concise instruction is not easy!
Commentary on Trinity Sunday C 12.06.2022
TEXT — John 16: 12–15 — The Spirit of Revelation
Jesus has much more to say
12 “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
Spirit of truth
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
He will glorify Father and Jesus
14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the
Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
EXPLANATION
12 “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
“I have yet many things to say to you” — Jesus is at the end of his life. He has not completed all he wished to say to his apostles. Their need for further teaching is a necessity.
“but you cannot bear them now” — Under the present circumstances it is not opportune now. They cannot understand what he would like to tell them because at this stage they are perplexed by his speaking about his impending passion and death. They also are slow to learn because they have wrong pre–conceived ideas about the aims and objectives of the Messiah. They do not regard him as a spiritual but a political leader. There are certain matters they cannot understand until these have taken place, for example his resurrection. At that time no one had ever heard of or experienced a person rising from the dead. They could not believe before it took place that Jesus could rise from the dead.
They are also fragile because of their weak faith and he knows that when persecution arises fear will dominate their lives for a while. Jesus is about to provide his solution.
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
When the Spirit of truth comes” — “Truth” in John’s Gospel is a word that is synonymous with ‘revelation’. Jesus said, “I am the truth” (Jn. 14: 6), meaning that he is the revelation of his Father, “My word is not my own; it is the word of the one who sent me” (Jn 14: 24). “If you had known me you would have known my Father also; henceforth you have known him and you have seen him” (Jn. 14: 7). “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14: 9).
“The Spirit of truth” is the Holy Spirit teaching the full divine revelation as proclaimed by Jesus.
When will the Spirit of truth come? Only when Jesus prays to his Father (Jn. 14: 16–17) and sends him from the Father after his ascension (Jn. 15: 26).
“he will guide you into all the truth” — The Spirit will be an authentic interpreter so that the apostles will recall to memory and understand all the revelation proclaimed by Jesus (Jn. 2: 22; 12: 16; 14: 26).
“for he will not speak on his own authority” — The Holy Spirit will speak on the authority of the Father and of Jesus who will send him from the Father. Jesus also said, “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works” (Jn 14: 10; 7: 16; 12: 49–50).
“but whatever he hears he will speak” — The Spirit of truth is the Spirit of Jesus. Whatever Jesus speaks the Spirit recalls, interprets and offers a deeper understanding for the disciples. What Jesus speaks is what he has received from his Father. It follows that what the Spirit recalls and interprets is what the Father spoke to Jesus. This means that what the Spirit hears and speaks is on the authority of the Father as well as Jesus.
Vatican II teaches that our Lord “completed and perfected Revelation and confirmed it… finally by sending the Spirit of truth” (Vatican II, “Dei Verbum”, 4).
The Paraclete will “speak” to and through the Church, the Body of Christ, the sacrament of salvation, the divinely appointed means by which God’s will is made known to the world. The Church does this through divine tradition, the written scriptures and the Church’s teaching authority, the magisterium.
“and he will declare to you” — The verb “will declare” occurs in the following two verses. It has a technical sense. In Isaiah it is used 57 times with the meaning that God alone can announce future events. Applying this to the present context it means that the Holy Spirit is (i) sent by the Father (ii) to perform a function reserved to God. He shares in the divinity.
This is endorsed in the following words: “Before his Passover, Jesus announced the sending of ‘another Paraclete’ (Advocate), the Holy Spirit. At work since creation, having previously ‘spoken through the prophets’, the Spirit will now be with and in the disciples, to teach them and guide them ‘into all the truth’. The Holy Spirit is thus revealed as another divine person with Jesus and the Father” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 243).
“the things that are to come” — These future events are the death and resurrection of Jesus and the effects produced in salvation history. These the disciples will understand when the Holy Spirit will explain their full significance.
Jesus is speaking not only to the Eleven but to the Church as a whole and to its succeeding generations. He is speaking to our contemporary Church. There cannot be new revelations since the death of the last of the apostles but there have been new problems. There have been new heresies that needed an authoritative answer. There has been the need of new applications in succeeding generations to what has already been given to Jesus. This has meant new expressions of the significance of revealed truths to changing and perhaps more developed cultures down through the ages. For example, the Nicene Creed has given fuller expression to the contents of the Apostles’ Creed. The Spirit of Truth has been the “guide into all the truth” over the centuries.
14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
“He will glorify me” — The Spirit will make manifest that Jesus, the Son of God incarnate, is divine as can be seen through his words and works and especially by his death and resurrection (Jn. 12: 23–24, 28; 14: 31).
“for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” — This is explained in the words that follow.
“All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” — What does Jesus have that is his? Whatever the Father has is his. “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10: 30). The Father has “glory” (he is divine) so Jesus has this “glory” (he also is divine). The Holy Spirit will “declare” this to the apostles.
The Father has knowledge which he reveals. Jesus has this knowledge also. He is the one who reveals this knowledge on behalf of the Father. The Holy Spirit has this knowledge from Jesus. He reveals and explains this to the apostles on behalf of Jesus who is not the one who reveals any more. It is not the role of the Paraclete to give any new revelation.
APPLICATION
Importance
“The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is [i] the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is [ii] the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore [iii] the source of all the other mysteries of faith, [iv] the light that enlightens them. It is [v] the most fundamental and essential teaching in the ‘hierarchy of the truths of faith’. [vi] The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men ‘and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin’” (CCC, 234).
I am sure that there are many more unique things that have been said about this mystery. I will add only one: this mystery is (vii) the most distinguishing mark of Christianity because no other religion believes in it.
Incomprehensible
This quotation is not something negative; it is very positive. It tells us that unless God reveals it the mystery of the Blessed Trinity cannot be known. Then the Catechism adds that God has revealed the mystery in two ways. The first is by “traces” in creation and in the Old Testament revelation. That could be difficult because “traces” are not always clear and can lead to many misunderstandings and false judgements. The second way God has revealed himself is in the New Testament, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and this is much clearer.
The Catechism does not say that the mystery, as mystery, is taken away entirely but it is no longer inaccessible. The fulness of understanding can only be experienced when we see God face–to–face. That is our experience in knowing people. No matter how much we read and hear about them, we never really know them until we meet them, indeed only when we live with them do we really know them.
A major problem with perhaps the vast majority of humans is that what they do not understand they tend to either ignore or simplify into some thoughts more of their imagining than the reality. To ignore or simplify the mystery of the Blessed Trinity is to ignore or simplify what Jesus and the Holy Spirit have revealed. That could mean ignoring or simplifying Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A practical example might be that other than by the Lord’s Prayer, many people never pray directly, spontaneously and personally to the Father, Fewer may not ever pray to the Holy Spirit.
Relevance
Current Passage
(i) The three Persons are distinct: the Father is neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit; the Son is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son; yet all three are divine; all three are one;
(ii) The Father will send the Holy Spirit on the identical mission of salvation which Jesus was sent on;
(iii) All that the Father has and knows the Son incarnate has and can reveal;
(iv) The Father authorised Jesus on what to speak;
(v) Jesus will authorize the Holy Spirit on what to speak;
(vi) The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, that is of Jesus who is the Truth and that also includes that he is the Spirit of revelation;
(vii) The Holy Spirit reveals not a new revelation but what he is authorised to reveal;
(viii) The Holy Spirit will guide by teaching and recalling to memory what the disciples need to know;
(ix) The Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus, that is reveal his divinity.
There are only four verses in this current reading and here are nine fundamental truths about the Blessed Trinity. No wonder this concise instruction is not easy!