Please, browse the many free commentaries available on https://www.katrinapearls.com/blog
Jesus said to the disciples, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
--------------------
This is the Gospel selection that will be aloud by a priest on Trinity Sunday, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will follow an Old Testament reading from Proverbs 8, where Solomon wrote, “and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race.” That will be followed by either a singing of Psalm 8 or Canticle 13. If Psalm 8 is chosen, read aloud in unison will be these verses: “You have made him but little lower than the angels; you adorn him with glory and honor; You give him mastery over the works of your hands; you put all things under his feet.” If Canticle 13 is selected, the song will sing, “Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name; we will praise you and highly exalt you forever.” Following the song will come a reading from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, where he wrote: “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand.”
In John’s sixteenth chapter, he continued to write of Jesus’ words said to his disciples, as they were getting drunk on Seder wine. John began recording what “Jesus said to his disciples” in chapter thirteen; and, it continues here in his sixteenth chapter, without John ever writing the words beginning this reading selection. The Episcopal Church has picked out these four verses to be read on Trinity Sunday; and, they are simply setting the context of who Jesus was speaking to. By writing, “Jesus said to his disciples,” it must be understood that this applies to those drunken disciples that surrounded him and John only. These words are not for those who reject the teachings of Jesus, as those not there with him when he spoke these words. However, they equally apply to all who are “disciples” of Jesus today, as evidenced through devoted study of his words spoken and recorded in the Gospels.
As I did with the Romans reading for Trinity Sunday, I want you to compare the above NRSV translation to the literal translation that I have constructed. See how the nebulosity disappears and the Trinity theme appears.
12. “Still much I possess to your souls I say , on the other hand not you are able to carry
them at this moment .”
13. “whenever now it shall come that one , this Spirit of this of truth , it will guide you
within this truth all ; not indeed it will speak from itself , on the other hand how much it
may hear , it will speak ; kai these coming it will announce to your souls .”
14. “that one my soul it will render honor on , because from out of of this of my soul it will
take , kai it will announce to your souls .”
15. “all how much it possesses this Father , mine it exists , on account of this , I said
that from out of of this of my possession it will take kai it will announce to your souls .”
The same information is presented, but in a way that translation services cannot present. Let me now break all of this down, so my amendments are made clearly explained.
In verse twelve, the capitalized Greek word “Eti” begins it. The NRSV minimizes this as “still,” in the lower-case. The word means “Yet, Still,” with HELPS Word-studies saying the proper implication is: “Continue (Remain).” The divine elevation that must be read into this word is this is Yahweh speaking through the Son [as is explained in verse fourteen]; so, “Still” is an important statement that what has already begun, and was then in the present, will “Continue” into the future. This is vital to understand, because Jesus had told his disciples on three prior occasions that he would die and on the third say resurrect. When he said, “much I have Still to you to say, but you are unable to bear then now” [alternate translation of the same Greek text], Jesus was about to be arrested and never again talk to his disciples in the flesh. Therefore, “Still” is a prophecy of the future resurrection of Jesus in his disciples, when they would find out “how much” would be said by Jesus, when they were “able to bear” his words.
In verse twelve, when John wrote in Greek “echō,” which the NRSV translates as “I have,” this common word is overlooked as a statement of “I possess.” When this word connects to the Greek word “hymin,” in the Dative case, it easily appears to be Jesus saying, “I have to you.” The possessive pronoun “hymin” (in the second-person plural) makes the English simplistic “you” be implied as plural in number, where the singular root means “you” as well. The intent hidden beneath this word written in Greek says the singular is “yourself,” with the plural being “yourselves.” This makes it easy to see that Jesus said “I possess” to his disciples, but not in the physical sense of him owning them as slaves. Instead, his soul possessed their souls, where a “self” is a “soul.”
This says that Jesus’ soul was already in possession of the souls of his disciples. The fact that they were drunk at the time he spoke to them (which he would have known quite well) says he spoke to John, so those words would be recorded for those disciples today, who are equally incapable of understanding what Jesus said. The drunkenness is less about Seder wine and more about the artificial high brought on by popular opinions, taught by false shepherds and hired hands. The translators of a divine language – recorded in the Greek Yahweh led John to write, so signals of written text (not the spoken word, per se – are unable to project the truth of what Jesus intended in his spoken words. This is just how drunken disciples could not fathom the deep intent of the words Jesus spoke here, which John recorded later. Only in the future, when one has ‘come down’ from the Pablum spoon-fed to boxed-in Christians, can souls be inspired by the Spirit to grasp: “This was right in front of my face, but I could not see the truth until now!” The disciples, once Apostles, were possessed by Jesus's soul, so his bringing the 'Christ Mind' to them made them able to remember all things Jesus had said to them. That future transfiguration is when every soul will be “able to bear” what Jesus is saying now, in this selection from John’s sixteenth chapter.
Verse thirteen then states what will take place when this dawning of understanding comes to a soul. Jesus said, “whenever now it shall come that one”. In this segment, a word that will be repeated later is written, which is “ekeinos.” The NRSV translates this above as “he.” While the word is written in the masculine singular form, the word (as written) means “that one.” While the masculine implies a “he,” which the NRSV continues to call this aspect of the Trinity, it is not a separate entity, which “he” would lead one to believe. When Jesus then explained “that one” is “this Spirit of this of truth,” the Genitive case that states possession “of this Spirit,” where “this Spirit” is the source “of truth,” this would be better identified by the third-person neuter-gender, as “it.” This is then understood to be an “it” from a masculine source, which is Yahweh, as His “Spirit” – one of the three of the Trinity.
When Jesus spoke “of truth,” the Greek word “alētheias” (also repeated) clearly states “of truth” (in the Genitive case), but Strong’s explains its usage means: “not merely truth as spoken; truth of idea, reality, sincerity, truth in the moral sphere, divine truth revealed to man, straightforwardness.” HELPS Word-studies says it properly means “true to fact,” as “reality.” This element of “reality” says the “truth” is not always as it appears to be. These Greek words written by John have been paraphrased into English, such that the “truth” is John did not write anything in English. To believe the NRSV translation in English is to believe whatever or whoever came up with these paraphrases; such that, the “truth to the fact” is one’s beliefs are in an English paraphrase, not the “truth” of the Word. Thus, Jesus followed that announcement that what Jesus would “Still” be “saying” to the souls of his disciples beyond that Seder evening would be spoken to their souls by the “Spirit of this of truth,” where “it will guide their souls [yourselves] within this truth all”. In that, “all” means each of the disciples would be possessed by “this Spirit of this of truth,” removing “all” confusion that hides the “truth” from being seen.
When Jesus then said “this Spirit” will “not speak from of itself,” this says Jesus was filled by the same “Spirit of truth.” We know that because Jesus said the same thing about “himself.” This says the same “Spirit of truth” existed in Jesus, as would exist in the future in his disciples. When he then said, “this Spirit of truth will speak how much it may hear,” this says the same source of what Jesus heard was said by Yahweh – the Father. When “this Spirit of truth speaks what it hears,” then the soul in whom “this Spirit of truth” has come, “he will speak” the truth. That is what Jesus prophesied would be “coming to their souls [“yourselves”].”
To begin verse fourteen, John used the second “ekeinos,” which again translates properly as “that one.” This refers to “this Spirit of truth,” such that Jesus added “that one mine” or “that one my soul’s,” which confirms the same “Spirit” possessing Jesus will be possessing them. When Jesus then said “it will glorify,” where the essence of “truth” says “it will render honor on,” that says the same “glory” possessed by Jesus will possess his disciples. Here, the meaning of “glorify” must become part of one’s venular that immediately realizes the “glory of Yahweh” is His love, which He built into the soul of Jesus. This is the Adam connection, where the soul of Adam was the “Yahweh elohim” that Yahweh placed into the clay of the ground, at which point He breathed in an “elohim” or an “angel” that is the love of God. That love of Yahweh is at the core of Jesus’ soul; and, the same love of Yahweh – the resurrection of the “Yahweh elohim” of Adam-Jesus – will become “this Spirit of this of truth” that possessed Adam, was resurrected in Jesus, and will always be resurrected within Yahweh’s “Saints.” Jesus explained “he will take” this same “Spirit” from the soul of Jesus and resurrect it in the souls of all Apostles. Then, the same announcements “of truth” will come from “those souls [“yourselves”],” in whom “this Spirit of this of truth” that is in Jesus will be raised.
In verse fifteen, Jesus then basically stated the Trinity, by saying, “all how many it possesses this Father , myself it exists “. This states a soul must be married to Yahweh, becoming His possession. No matter “how many” devote themselves to His service, “all” will become His wife-souls. Once that criteria has been met, then “all” souls possessed by Yahweh will become Jesus resurrected, as “myself exists” in those wife-souls possessed by “the Father.” Here, the “Father” brings about the Son, so the wife-soul also becomes both the mother (a Virgin womb of Mary recreated in “all”) and the “brother” of Jesus, such that Yahweh is both the Husband and the “Father.” The Trinity was stated in verse fourteen, as “this Spirit of this of truth,” which possesses the soul of the Son, as the “Spirit” of the “Father” (thus an “it” from a masculine source). The Trinity always needs a ‘fourth’ to possess, which is always a soul-flesh in the material realm. The fourth that spoke to the disciples was Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord of disciples, the son of Mary, the husband of Mary Magdalene, and the father of John the Beloved. All of those human traits and characteristics are worldly, not Spiritual. Thus, Jesus of Nazareth was possessed by the Trinity he explained.
As a Gospel selection to be read aloud by a priest on Trinity Sunday, the elders of the Church selected these four verses specifically for the purpose of having a priest explain this truthfully. That demands a priest be a fourth that has been and still is possessed by the Trinity. One so possessed can then act as one of the Apostles and speak the truth from the Spirit of truth, so others can receive the same Spirit and have the Trinity raise their souls from death. Alas, that fortunate state of the early phase of true Christianity has long ago been persecuted to near death. Pulpits now are found to be in buildings designed to only sheer the sheep for profit, not knowing any truths to be told. Sermons are created to befuddle the flock with adoration for an orator (speaker of fluff, not substance), so absolutely NO teaching of truth is done. That means it is left up the individual self-soul to seek the truth alone. That demands a spiritual relationship and a desire to be taught … to be a disciple of Jesus. With enough love of God shown, then Yahweh may have mercy on one’s soul and send a true Apostle to help one make a stand and be raised from the dead.