Through The Bible in a Year - July 29, 2026
“He [the Holy Spirit] will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” - John 16:14-15
The final and most important thing Jesus says in this passage about the Spirit’s role is this: “He will glorify Me.”
The Holy Spirit’s job is not to glorify Himself. He is not to draw attention to spiritual experiences or gifts or feelings or phenomena that make us focus on the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s purpose is to make Jesus known, evident, praised—to take everything that belongs to Jesus and declare it to His people.
And what belongs to Jesus? Everything the Father has. The love of the Father. The righteousness of Heaven. The stature of being a child of God. An inheritance that is vast and eternal. The assurance of being treasured. All of these blessings and attributes belong to Jesus.
These features of Jesus’s character and care are what the Spirit is charged to declare to us. He is to testify of the glory and goodness of Jesus. The Spirit’s mission is not to say, “Look at me” or “Focus on certain spiritual gifts.” Rather, the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to help you understand who Jesus is and remember that you are His. The task and treasure of the Holy Spirit is to make Jesus real in your heart.”
An adaptation of a story by a Southern novelist describes a young girl in a parochial school whose teacher told the class: “Your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Don’t let the boys make you unholy.” Later, the girls in the class laughed and jeered, calling each other “Temple 1 and Temple 2.” But this one girl, struggling with everything the teacher had warned against, walked away from the gigglers to a private corner. There she wept tears of joy because she had already been molested by the boys but now rejoiced to know that her body was still the temple of the Holy Spirit. Despite everything, she was God’s treasured possession, loved by Jesus, and precious to Him.
Such grace is what the Spirit has been sent to declare. Not your accomplishments or His. Not your spiritual resumé or His miraculous power. The Spirit has been sent into your heart, the temple that God has prepared to receive Him, in order to declare to your soul who Jesus is and how His love enfolds you. That is what is being declared to you—even now in whatever struggle of sin or circumstance you are experiencing.
Respond: What is the Spirit declaring to you today about Jesus? Not what do you wish He would say about you or your circumstances, but what is He saying about the character and care of Jesus? Remember that the mission of the Spirit is not to spotlight His power but to glorify Jesus. The reason is simple: when we know Jesus is for us and with us, then we can face anything with faith in Him and faithfulness to Him.
This week, in a quiet moment, ask: “What is the Spirit declaring to me about Jesus right now?” And listen for the answer—in a verse, in a hymn, in a conversation, in a moment of unexpected peace. The Spirit will testify to your spirit that Jesus is near and you need not fear.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I need the Holy Spirit to declare to my heart the truths of Jesus’s character and care. I need to be reminded from your Word who Jesus is and that I am His. Testify to my heart that I am His temple, His treasured possession, His eternal brother or sister. When I think that He has left me because I have wandered from Him, use the Holy Spirit to remind me that I have been purchased by His blood forever. Have the Spirit do what only He can do: make Jesus real to me. Glorify Him in my heart. Take what is His and make it mine. In Jesus’ name, Amen.