In John 14:25-26 (Amplified) Jesus said, "I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Comforter (Counselor, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name (In My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf) He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."
At the time Jesus was speaking to His disciples, the Holy Spirit had not yet come. The men He spoke to weren't born again yet, nor did they have any idea about what Jesus was speaking. The new birth wouldn't come until Jesus' death and resurrection and then the Day of Pentecost arrived.
Without the Holy Spirit, the disciples and those who came after them, couldn't understand the truth in Jesus' Words. We sometimes forget that the Words of the New Testament weren't yet available. And, until Paul was taken into heaven and given the revelation of the new birth, no one knew these things.
2Corinthians 12:1-4 (Amplified) says, "True, there is nothing to be gained by it, but (as I am obliged) to boast, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord." Verses 2-4 go on, "I know a man in Christ, who fourteen years ago-whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know; God knows-was caught up to the third heave. And I know that this man-whether in the body or away from the body I do not know, God knows Was caught up into paradise and he heard utterances beyond the power of man to put into words, which man is not permitted to utter."
Paul was speaking about himself (or Saul of Tarsus after his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road). Paul said he didn't know if he was actually present in the flesh or in the spirit and that only God knows. He was given the revelation that would have been blasphemy to the Jews. Without this revelation given by the Holy Spirit, we wouldn't know anything beyond the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.
Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the truth of the Words written for our reading today. If we still read these Words with our own intellect, then we miss the revelation that is given because what he wrote is "Spirit and Truth."
We miss much of the Truth of the Word because we don't allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the "Spirit" of these Words. Everything written in the Book of Hebrews concerning the High Priest and Melchizedek are lost to the Church, because only the Holy Spirit can reveal this truth to our spirit. We can absorb all these things in our own intellect and by our own understanding, but not the revelation in our spirit.
The main reason for the varying beliefs held in the Church today, is because part of them are revelation and part stem from man's understanding of the Word. It seems strange how anything supernatural to the Church is deemed as having "passed away" and "not for today." This is because only our spirit (not our intellect) can understand the supernatural. When the Holy Spirit reveals things to you, they become so real in your spirit that you think everyone who reads the same scripture has the same understanding, but they don't.
The Holy Spirit is the only part of the God Head Who is present to teach the Church today. The Father is still on His Throne, Jesus has ascended into His presence and the Holy Spirit has been dispatched to reveal all of these things to our spirits.
Jesus said that, "When the Holy Spirit comes, He will reveal all these things to us." Many of us have no idea what happened from the time of Jesus' death on the cross to the "now" time at the Right Hand of the Father. We have no idea about the "authority" that was given to us in His Name.
We still live as "mere men and not spiritual men" like Paul said in 1Corinthians 3:1-3 (Amplified) which says, "However, Brethren, I could not talk to you as to spiritual (men), but as to non-spiritual (men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates) as to mere infants (in the new life) in Christ (unable to talk yet) I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough (to be ready for it) but even yet you are not strong enough (to be ready for it) For you are still (unspiritual, having the nature) of the flesh (under the control of ordinary impulses). For as long as (there are envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you), are you not yet unspiritual and of the flesh? behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere (unchanged) men."
We can see similarities between today's Church and the Church of Paul's day. We have different denominations and customs and Laws to govern the people throughout the Church. This is because the Holy Spirit isn't being allowed to teach and govern the WHOLE CHURCH. He will not teach one part of the Church one thing and then teach another part of the Church something different. The Holy Spirit is the Teacher of the Church and He is here to teach us the "full truth" about Jesus as He is now on our behalf. Even when someone has a true revelation from the Holy Spirit, it's not always possible to convey that truth to another person, unless that person will "open" their spirit to the truth of the Holy Spirit. We see how Paul, who was given the revelation in 1Corinthians 3:1-3 couldn't make the Church see beyond what they wished to see.
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