July 28

However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. — John 16:13 BSB

There are two great lessons to be learned in the school of Christ, and all divine teaching is wrapped up in them. The first is to learn, through the Spirit, what we are by nature. We must see and feel the total ruin of ourselves and the absolute poverty, weakness, and helplessness we have in the things of God. This is the first great branch of divine teaching. We learn it day by day, “line upon line, here a little, there a little.” We often have to wade through this painful realization, sometimes sinking into deep distress as we feel the weight of our sinful nature.

The second great lesson is, “To know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.” We must learn who Jesus is and what He has done. We come to know the power of His blood to cleanse our guilty consciences, the strength of His righteousness to justify us, the mystery of His love to soften our hearts, and the vision of His suffering that conforms us to Him, leaving His image stamped upon our souls.