“John 16:1-15”

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.”

---End of Scripture verses---

A few quick observations:

"It is to your advantage that I go away" (verse 7). I'm certain that the apostles saw nothing advantageous in the death and departure of their Master. They had given up everything in order to follow Him and now He was telling them goodbye after three short years. But Jesus wasn't going to leave them alone. He already had a plan in place to help them. This was all a part of God's eternal plan for the salvation of mankind. Therefore it was for our advantage that Jesus be killed and ascend back into heaven as well. After Jesus died for the sins of the world and went back to heaven, the Holy Spirit assumed His position as "Helper" or "Advocate" and as Revelator of the plan.

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth" (verse 13). It was the Holy Spirit's responsibility to reveal God's entire plan of salvation to the Apostles so that saving grace would be made available to everybody in the whole world. Praise be to God, He didn't fail! We have all of God's will for mankind revealed and preserved for us in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3; Jude 3). No part of God's plan has failed or will fail to be fulfilled. God has not revealed anything new to the world since His revelation was completed in the first century. We have everything we need to make us complete in God's sight and saved for eternity right at our fingertips in our Bibles (2 Timothy 3:16-17)!

Please read Matthew 26:47-75 for tomorrow – Jesus is betrayed, denied and arrested.

God bless you and have a great day!

-Louie Taylor

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