Jesus said, "I am the way (οδος) and the truth (αληθεια) and the life (ζωη)." Nobody comes to God, the Father, except through Jesus (John 14:6). How can we walk on the way, know the truth and so live eternal life? Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit "will guide you (us) into all truth" (John 16:13) so that we can live His life and walk in His way guided by His truth.
The Holy Spirit is responsible to guide (οδηγησει) us (16:13). The verb means to lead or conduct us along the way (BAGD, p. 553). The etymology of the word helps us grasp its significance. It comes from two Greek words - "lead" (αγω) and "way" (οδος) - and means to "lead on the way" or "to show the way" (TDNT, V:97). In the Septuagint, the word is used for the "pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go" (Deut. 1:33). The noun form is used to describe Judas who became an escort (οδηγου) for those who arrested Jesus (Acts 1:16).
The Spirit is our guide who escorts us in the way of Jesus by leading us into all truth. There is a textual problem here. He guides us "into" (εις) all truth or He guides us "in" (εν) all truth. The translation "into all truth" suggests that He leads us toward the goal of all truth - a goal we will never reach in this life. The translation "in all truth" suggests that the Spirit leads us in the sphere of all truth. The manuscript evidence favors "in (εν) all truth" so it is best to understand it this way. The Holy Spirit guides us in the sphere of truth as we walk on the path of Jesus. The way of Jesus is enveloped in truth.
We can make some important applications from this text.
1) The way is a path not a moment, a life not an event. The leading is gradual as we walk the way.
2) We cooperate with the Spirit as we walk with Him on the way. Our responsiveness to His guiding is faith not works, but it is faith that walks not waits. There are times, of course, when we must wait for the Spirit to show us the way, but, once shown the way, we must walk it.
3) Jesus, and the Spirit, walk ahead of us on the way. It is, after all, the way of Jesus. He and His Spirit lead. They guide. They do not push.
4) All truth is God's truth, but we must rely on the Spirit, not our brains, to show us His truth. Reason must be always subject to the Spirit. Experiences must not define truth for us.
5) The Spirit has been guiding God's people into truth for many years now since Jesus returned to His Father. We are the beneficiaries of two thousand years of the Spirit's leading. The Bible is the ultimate repository - the inspired record - of the Spirit's guidance into all truth.
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