“He Will Testify About Me”

The expression “the testimony of Jesus,” appears in the book of Revelation with specific application to the gift of prophecy and the work of the prophets (Revelation 1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10). However, this and other similar designations such as “the testimony of God,” or “the revelation of Jesus Christ,” were apparently popular usages in referring to the messages coming from the Holy Spirit through the New Testament prophets. ^{3The apostle Paul uses the expression “the testimony of God” to refer to the messages he received from the Spirit and that he shared with the believers and leaders of the church. See Acts 20:20-27; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. The apostle John uses the expression “the revelation of Jesus” at the beginning of the book of Revelation 1:1.} Christ used this expression to refer to the work of the Spirit. “He,” the Lord declared, “will testify about me” (John 15:26). Here, Jesus describes the work of the Spirit specifically in terms of giving “testimony.” His task would be to give testimony about God’s great acts in the person of Christ. His function would be that of a divine communicator—to make known the mysteries of salvation that have as their central figure the Man of Calvary.VOTS 12.2

When speaking about the work of the Holy Spirit, many believers describe Him in subjective terms: a force, a power, or a special gift used to carry out a certain task. Christ, however, describes the work of the Spirit as an objective function. The Spirit speaks, communicates, and enters into contact with humanity to give testimony about Jesus. Clearly it is an activity in which the voice of the Spirit becomes audible. How does He do it? With whom does He communicate? These are the basic questions that this book will attempt to answer.VOTS 12.3