But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak; and the things that are to come, he shall shew you.

“(Didym. de Sp. Sanct. ii. ult med. inter opera Hieron.) Or He means that His hearers had not yet attained to all those things which for His name’s sake they were able to bear: so revealing lesser things, He puts off the greater for a future time, such things as they could not understand till the Cross itself of their crucified Head had been their instruction. As yet they were slaves to the types, and shadows, and images of the Law, and could not bear the truth of which the Law was the shadow. But when the Holy Ghost came, He would lead them by His teaching and discipline into all truth, transferring them from the dead letter to the quickening Spirit, in Whom alone all Scripture truth resides.”

“(Tract. xcvii) All heretics, when their fables are rejected for their extravagance by the common sense of mankind, try to defend themselves by this text; as if these were the things which the disciples could not at this time bear, or as if the Holy Spirit could teach things, which even the unclean spirit is ashamed openly to teach and preach. (Tr. xcvi. 5). But bad doctrines such as even natural shame cannot bear are one thing, good doctrines such as our poor natural understanding cannot bear are another. The one are allied to the shameless body, the other lie far beyond the body. (Tr. xcvi. 1). But what are these things which they could not bear? I cannot mention them for this very reason; for who of us dare call himself able to receive what they could not? Some one will say indeed that many, now that the Holy Ghost has been sent, can do what Peter could not then, as earn the crown of martyrdom. But do we therefore know what those things were, which He was unwilling to communicate? For it seems most absurd to suppose that the disciples were not able to bear then the great doctrines, that we find in the Apostolical Epistles, which were written afterwards, which our Lord is not said to have spoken to them. For why could they not bear then what every one now reads and bears in their writings, even though he may not understand? Men of perverse sects indeed cannot bear what is found in Holy Scripture concerning the Catholic faith, as we cannot bear their sacrilegious vanities; for not to bear means not to acquiesce in. But what believer or even catechumen before he has been baptized and received the Holy Ghost, does not acquiesce in and listen to, even if he does not understand, all that was written after our Lord’s ascension? (xcvii. 5). But some one will say, Do spiritual men never hold doctrines which they do not communicate to carnal men, but do to spiritual? (xcviii. 3). There is no necessity why any doctrines should be kept secret from the babes, and revealed to the grown up believersa. Spiritual men ought not altogether to withhold spiritual doctrines from the carnal, seeing the Catholic faith ought to be preached to all; nor at the same time should they lower them in order to accommodate them to the understanding of persons who cannot receive them, and so make their own preaching contemptible, rather than the truth intelligible. (xcvii. 1). So then we are not to understand these words of our Lord to refer to certain secret doctrines, which if the teacher revealed, the disciple would not be able to bear, but to those very things in religious doctrine which are within the comprehension of all of us. If Christ chose to communicate these to us, in the same way in which He does to the Angels, what men, yea what spiritual men, which the Apostles were not now, could bear them? For indeed every thing which can be known of the creature is inferior to the Creator; and yet who is silent about Him? (xcvi. 4). While in the body we cannot know all the truth, as the Apostle says, We know in part; (1 Cor. 13) but the Holy Spirit sanctifying us, fits us for enjoying that fulness of which the same Apostle says, Then face to face. Our Lord’s promise, But when He the Spirit of truth shall come, He shall teach you all truth, or shall lead you into all truth, does not refer to this life only, but to the life to come, for which this complete fulness is reserved. The Holy Spirit both teaches believers now all the spiritual things which they are capable of receiving, and also kindles in their hearts a desire to know more.”

“It is certain that many filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit have foreknown future events. But as many gifted saints have never had this power, the words, He will shew you things to come, may be taken to mean, bring back to your minds the joys of your heavenly country. He did however inform the Apostles of what was to come, viz. of the evils that they would have to suffer for Christ’s sake, and the good things they would receive in recompense.”

“Above there was set forth a twofold fruit of the coming of the Holy Spirit, namely the conviction of the world and the instruction of the disciples; here a third fruit is set forth, namely the glorification of Christ. And first he proposes the fruit of the glorification; second he manifests the reason for it, at the words "because he shall receive of mine"; third the manifestation of the reason is added, at the words "all things whatsoever the Father hath are mine." He says therefore: "he will teach all truth," because "he shall glorify me," in whom is all truth; above, John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, and the life"; Colossians 2:3: "in whom," namely Christ, "are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." "He shall glorify me": that is, he will make clear knowledge of me. First indeed by enlightening the disciples: because they were still carnal, and were attached to Christ according to the flesh, that is, according to the weakness of the flesh, not knowing the majesty of his divinity, of which they were afterward made capable through the Holy Spirit; 1 Corinthians 2:10: "but to us God hath revealed them by his Spirit." Second, by furnishing confidence to proclaim him clearly. For the disciples were before timid, so that they did not dare to confess Christ publicly, but filled with the Holy Spirit, fear having been driven out, they proclaimed Christ to men, being in a certain way impelled by that very Spirit; Isaiah 59:19: "when he shall come as a violent stream, which the Spirit of the Lord driveth on." Whence also the Apostle said: "the charity of Christ presseth us." Third, by working wonderful works in the apostles and through the apostles; 1 Corinthians 12:11: "all these things one and the same Spirit worketh." Here is set forth the reason for the glorification, which is that the Son is the principle of the Holy Spirit. For everything that is from another manifests that from which it is: for the Son manifests the Father, because he is from him. Since therefore the Holy Spirit is from the Son, it is proper that he should glorify him. He says therefore: "therefore he shall glorify me because he shall receive of mine." But this receiving is not to be understood in the manner in which it occurs in creatures. For there are three things in the reception found in creatures, of which two are not found in the divine persons. Namely, first, that in creatures the one who receives is other than that which is received: this is not the case in the divine realm, since the divine persons are simple, nor is there in them one thing and another; rather, from whomsoever the Holy Spirit receives, he receives his whole substance, and likewise the Son. Second, it is the case in creatures that the one receiving at some time was without that which it receives, as when matter receives a form, or a subject receives an accident: for sometimes matter was without such a form, and the subject without such an accident. And this indeed is not found in the divine realm: because the Son from eternity has that which he receives from the Father, and the Holy Spirit that which he receives from the Father and the Son. Therefore the Holy Spirit receives from the Son, just as the Son receives from the Father; above, John 10:29: "that which my Father hath given me, is greater than all." Thus therefore, to receive in the divine realm denotes an order of origin. But note that when he says "he shall receive of mine," the word "of" does not import participation, but consubstantiality, because he receives the whole of what the Son has. For just as the Son is said to be of the substance of the Father, because he receives the whole substance of the Father, so also the Holy Spirit is of the substance of the Son, because he receives his whole substance. Because therefore "he shall receive of mine," and I am the Word of God, "therefore he will announce it to you." For the spirit of the soul can in no way exist except insofar as it proceeds from a word interiorly conceived. Here is set forth the manifestation of the reason, where Christ proves that the Holy Spirit received of his on account of the unity and consubstantiality of the Father and the Son; where first he sets forth the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son; second he draws the intended conclusion, at the words "therefore I said, that he shall receive of mine." He says therefore "he shall receive of mine, because all things whatsoever the Father hath are mine," as if he were to say: although the Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father, nevertheless because "all things whatsoever the Father hath are mine," and he himself is the Spirit of the Father, he shall also receive of mine. But it must be noted that we are said to have something in two ways. In one way as a possession; in another way as that which is in us, for instance either as a form, or as a part. The Father therefore has, as a possession and a thing subject to himself, the whole of creation: Psalm 23:1: "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof"; he also has something which is in him, indeed which is himself, because he himself is whatever is in Christ himself, since he himself is his own essence, his own goodness, his own truth and eternity. Of this manner of having, therefore, he speaks. And thus whatever the Father has is the Son's: because the Son has the same wisdom, the same goodness which the Father also has; above, John 5:26: "as the Father hath life in himself, so he hath given to the Son also to have life in himself"; Matthew 11:27: "all things are delivered to me by my Father." But, as Didymus says, some object: if all things whatsoever the Father has, the Son also has, then since the Father has paternity, it follows that the Son does too. To this he replies that this argument would indeed have an appearance of validity, if the Lord had said: all things which God has are mine. But in saying "all things which the Father has," he preserves the distinction of Father and Son, giving one to understand that all things whatsoever the Father has are his own, except that in which the Father is distinguished from the Son. For by the name "Father" he declared himself to be the Son; he did not usurp to himself the paternity which was the Father's. But it must be noted that we grant this simply, namely that whatever the Father has, the Son has, yet not that the Son has it in the same order in which the Father has it. For the Son has it as one receiving from another; the Father, however, has it as one giving to another. There is therefore no distinction in that which is had, but in the order of having. But relations of this kind, namely paternity and filiation, import a distinction of this order: for paternity imports this, that it is to give to another, while filiation imports to receive from another. But it is asked whether relation in the divine realm is something real. It seems that it is: otherwise, since the divine persons are distinguished by relations, their distinction would not be real. It must be said, therefore, that relation in the divine realm is considered in two ways. In one way by comparison to the essence or person of the Father; and thus the relation of the Father is not another thing than the essence or person of the Father. In another way it can be considered by comparison to the opposite relation, for instance to filiation; and thus paternity is a real relation, because according to this it imports an order of nature, which the Father gives to the Son through eternal generation: and this order indeed is in God according to the truth of the matter. Thus therefore, if paternity be compared to the essence of the Father, all things whatsoever the Father has, the Son has, because paternity is not another thing than the essence of the Father; but he does not have it in the same order, as has been said. Here he draws the intended conclusion, that the Holy Spirit receives from the Son. For it is necessary, if all things which the Father has are the Son's, and the Son is consubstantial with the Father, that the Holy Spirit proceed from the Son just as he proceeds from the Father, as Hilary and Didymus argue. On which point it must be known that in any procession or origin of a created thing, we say that the same thing is that by which the agent acts, or gives what it has, and that which the recipient receives; just as generated fire receives the form of fire, which the generating fire gives through its own form. But in the origin of the divine persons this is in a certain way similar, namely that the same thing is that by which the Father gives his own nature to the Son, not by will, but by nature, that is, through his own nature. But in this it is dissimilar: because in creatures that which is communicated and that by which it is communicated are not the same in number, but only in species; but in the divine realm it is the same nature in number which the Father gives to the Son, and by which he gives or communicates it. But note that we say that the Son receives of the substance of the Father, that is, the substance of the Father; and the Holy Spirit of the substance of the Father and the Son; and that the Father, by the power of his own nature, gives to the Son his substance, and the Father and the Son give it to the Holy Spirit. But nevertheless we do not say that the Father is of the substance of the Son, or that the Father and the Son are of the substance of the Holy Spirit: because the word "of" imports consubstantiality together with an order of origin. Thus therefore to the Holy Spirit is communicated that which is common to the Father and the Son. But it is necessary that the same thing be the principle of communication in the divine realm and that which is communicated. If therefore the essence is communicated to the Holy Spirit, it is necessary that that which communicates be the essence. But the essence is common to the Father and the Son: it is necessary therefore that, if the Father gives the essence to the Holy Spirit, the Son likewise give it: and therefore he says, "because all things whatsoever the Father hath are mine." And if the Holy Spirit received from the Father, he will also receive from the Son; and therefore he says "therefore I said to you, that he shall receive of mine, and will announce it to you," because according as he receives from me, so will he announce it to you.”

“Howbeitwhen He, the Spirit of truth (see above xiv. 17), shall come , He will teach you all truth, , which it is fitting you should know in this life, both for guiding yourselves and all nations into the way of salvation. So S. Cyril, Theophylact, Euthymius. For He would not teach them all truth in this life, but in heaven. So S. Augustine and Bede. In the Greek [as in English Version] we read “ will guide you into all truth.” For the way to attain truth is study, examination of Holy Scripture, the works of the Fathers, prayer and invocation of the Holy Spirit It is therefore clear that the Holy Spirit gradually taught the Apostles more and greater mysteries. It is plain from Acts x. that long after Pentecost He revealed to Digitized by THE TEACHER OF ALL TRUTH. 163 S. Peter that the Gospel was to be preached to the Gentiles, and from Acts xv. that the Gentiles were not to be circumcised, or obliged to keep the law of Moses. Wherefore on the Thursday after Pentecost the Church prays, “ We beseech Thee, O Lord, that the Comforter, who proceedeth from Thee, may enlighten our hearts, and lead them, as Thy Son promised, into all truth.” For He shall not speak of Himself but whatsoever He shall hear , He shall speak . (1.) S. Chrysostom explains, He shall not teach anything contrary to what I have taught (so also S. Cyril, Theophylact, Rupertus, Maldonatus). S. Chrysostom says, This is added, lest by saying that the Holy Spirit would teach all truth, He should make Him greater than the Son, as though He did not teach all truth. (2.) S. Ambrose (de Spirit. Sancto , ii. 12) explains, “He shall not speak of Himself,” ie.9 not without participation with the Father and Myself, and therefore what He shall speak the Father and the Son will speak also. (3.) S. Augustine : “ He speaks as breathed by the Father and the Son.” (4.) It is best explained by joining together the last two meanings in this way : He will not speak of Himself, but by the will of the Father and Myself, for He is " of” Both. (See Didymus de Sp . S.) Christ here alludes to men who are said to speak “ of themselves ” when they invent anything out of their own brain, and not according to the truth of things. But to speak in this way " of Himself,” the Spirit could not do. But again, Christ wished to teach that the Father and Himself were both the source of truth, and also of the Holy Spirit Himself, and therefore that the Holy Spirit would teach the same truth as He had taught. For what He hath heard from eternity, He hears, and will hear for ever, as deriving it together with His Divine Essence both from the Father and the Son. Christ also often said that He spake not of Himself, but what He heard from the Father. For to the Father belongs the source of origin, of essence, and of knowledge. Hear S. Augustine (in loc .) : “ For Him to hear is to know, and to know is to Be. From Him from whom He proceeds, is His essence, His knowledge and His hearing. The Holy Spirit ever hears, because He ever knows,” And Didymus : “ But that the Father Digitized by Google 164 speaks and the Son hears, signifies their common nature and consent. But the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth and wisdom, cannot when the Son speaks hear what He knew not before, since it is of His very nature to proceed from the Son, proceeding as the truth from the truth, the Comforter from the Comforter, God from God.” Again, S. Augustine (ibid.) : “ Let it not move you that the word is used in the future tense, for that hearing is sempiternal, because that knowledge is sempiternal. But in that which is sempiternal, without beginning and without end, a verb of particular tense is put. Nor do we say untruthfully, ‘Was/ and ‘Is/ and ‘Will be:1 'Was1 because it never was wanting, ‘ Will be 1 because it never will be wanting, ‘ Is 1 because it ever is.” And He will show you things to come. He will teach you every truth which concerns yourselves and your office : not only past and present, but also future. He will make you, not only Apostles and Evangelists, but will bestow on you the gift of Prophecy (see Acts / xi. 28; xx. 29; xxi. 11.) The Apocalypse of S. John is almost a continuous prophecy, for it was fitting that the Apostles should be superior to the Prophets of old. Whence Didymus says (de Spirit. Sancto ): “By the Spirit of truth a perfect knowledge of future events is conferred on the Saints, and by this Prophets looked on things future as though they were present. For the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth which reveals all truths, even those that are future. For it is the Spirit of Eternal Wisdom which maketh friends of God and Prophets” ( Wisd. vii. 27). S. Chrysostom gives the reason. He roused in this way the mind of the Apostles ; for mankind are most eager to know the future. He therefore freed them from this anxiety, by showing that the future would be revealed to them. Analogically, Bede says : “Show them things to come ; i.e.9 the joys of the heavenly country and the sufferings they would have to endure for Christ. The Interlinear Gloss says, “ Not only what will happen in time, but also in eternity, inflaming them with the love of them.””

“All things that the Father hath are mine,.... Though it is true that the same divine nature the Father is possessed of, the Son is; and the same divine perfections belong to the one, as to the other; and the Son shares in the same glory and felicity the Father does; so that in the utmost extent of the phrase, all that the Father hath are his; yet since Christ is speaking of things received of him by the Spirit, and shown unto his people, it rather seems that the blessings of grace, which the Father has in store for his chosen ones, and the doctrines of grace, those deep things of his, are here more especially meant; which to reveal and apply, is the peculiar work of the Spirit; and in these Christ is equally concerned with the Father: therefore, said I, he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you; he does not mention the things of the Father, only his own; nor was there any necessity for it, because whatever is his, is the Father's, and whatever the Father has is his: they are jointly concerned in every thing relating to the salvation, benefit, comfort, and happiness of the saints; so that when the Spirit of God takes of the things of the one, he takes of the things of the other, and discovers, and applies them.”

“He will guide you - He will consider your feeble infant state; and, as a father leads his child by the hand, so will the Holy Spirit lead and guide you. The Vulgate, and some copies of the Itala, read, He will Teach you all truth; but this and more is implied in the word ὁδηγησει, he will lead; besides, this reading is not acknowledged by any Greek MS. He shall not speak of himself - He shall teach nothing contrary to what I have taught you: But whatsoever he shall hear - Of the Father and me, that he shall speak, and thus show the intimate consent between himself, the Father, and Christ. It is one conjoint testimony, in which the honor and glory of the holy Trinity, and man's salvation are equally concerned. And he will show you things to came - He will fully explain every thing that may now appear dark or difficult to you; will give you such a knowledge of futurity as shall, in all necessary cases, enable you to foretell future events; and shall supply every requisite truth, in order to make the new covenant revelation complete and perfect.”

“When he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will teach you all truth; will direct you and the Church, in the ways of truth. For he shall not speak of himself, or of himself only, because, says St. Augustine, he is not from himself, but proceedeth from the Father and the Son. Whatsoever he shall hear, he shall speak [3]; this his hearing, says St. Augustine, is his knowledge, and his knowledge is his essence, or being, which from eternity is from the Father and the Son. The like expressions are applied to the Son, as proceeding from the Father. (John v. 30. and viii. 16. &c.) (Witham) — If he shall teach all truth, and that for ever, (chap. xi; ver. 26.) how is it possible, that the Church can err, or hath erred in matters of faith, at any time, or in any point of doctrine? In this supposition, would not the Holy Ghost have forfeited his title of Spirit of Truth?”