Mainly, when we think of oppression it is numbers 1 & 3 — very rarely do we consider ourselves as the oppressor. And yet we do so, on a consistent basis; our self-talk alone harbors that ill-will toward our very selves & can be very destructive. Indeed, alone in thoughts can spur some great reflection & meditation and at the same time fire the very brokenness of mind & body to an extent that can instigate despair, grief, anxiety, & immobility. Are Christians free from this bondage of our wanton self-destructive capability?
Consider this passage by Christ spoken to His Disciples :
JOHN 16:12,13 — I still have many things to say to you, but you CANNOT BEAR them now. When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will Guide you INTO ALL The Truth.
First, what are “the many things to say” to the Disciples that Christ have not already said?
Second, why can’t they BEAR THEM NOW?
Third, what difference will the Spirit if Truth make upon the lives of the Disciples that will be influential?
The connection that Christ is making is that the Spirit of Truth or The Holy Spirit will provide the means, albeit an invisible one, in ensuring that whatever it is that they must BEAR will be bearable. And the things that Christ wants to say can only be spoken when the Spirit of Truth is manifested in fullness — that is, at the Pentecost, The Holy Spirit will reveal Himself & Christ in the fullness after Christ departs from the physical realm.
But there is this curious phrase — He will guide you into ALL the truth. What is Christ speaking about? I believe He speaking about three main things : The Triune Work of Salvation — The Death & Resurrection of Christ; The Fullfilment of the Promises made by God the Father; The Confirming work of the Holy Spirit; The Dual Natures of Christ — His Humanity & His Divinity; And His eventual return. Take note — all three require some level of maturity Faith. A kind of spiritual knowledge that cannot be ascertained merely through circumspection & meditation. As a Disciple of Christ, listening to what He is saying can only serve one purpose — downright & utter despair; a type of burdeonsome loathing. Or better, oppression. That’s right, oppression.
This type of knowledge can only serve to oppress our minds; flummox our brains into mincemeat; stir confusion & needless worrying — have I learned enough about Him. Yet, the answer never lay with the Disciples — their intelligence, education, rationality, or even maturity did not count nor did it matter because of the surpassing knoweldge of the Spirit of Truth that will herald & hallmark the dawning of the New Covenant Age. This means even as the awesome knowledge of Christ is further revealed to His people, we will not be left to our own devices but surely, He will Guide us Into ALL The Truth. Thus the Faith we have is not an empty Faith nor an esoteric one as if we do not know of its contours & shape. By no means. friends! Christ is informing us marvelously, that what we now possess by Faith in Christ Jesus, the Disciples, at that moment in time, did not possess — The Spirit of Truth! Is that not incredible!
The oppression & burden of the knowledge of Christ, we believers possess through Faith, is a burdensome load but only for those whose minds & hearts are not surrendered in submission to His Christ. Then and only then does the knowledge free us & even carries us upon its own weight for the knowledge of Christ is about the Person of Christ & the Spirit of Truth that directs that knowledge to us is the Spirit of Christ, Himself. In the end, He directs, guides, & leads us into Himself.
Let us take hold & be certain of this to cleanse our minds from the danger of our self-talk in order that we may lift up and not tear apart and bring down; to uplift even our spirit by the way we view ourselves in relation to our newfound Faith in this knowledge of Christ — this is the Truth He has given unto us & never let go.
