John 16:1-33
The Holy Spirit Will Come After Jesus Goes Back to Heaven
1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’?20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 14:6-7
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Acts 4:12
Salvation is Found in No One Except Jesus
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Jesus left us physically two thousand years ago...And because He left so long ago, I believe it hamstrings some people who would believe in Him...After all two thousand years ago, is a long time ago, and difficult to relate to...Why He could not stay on earth is a Great Mystery...After all those who live on earth must stay on earth, but He left...But I can understand why He would want to go back to heaven and His Father...He said it is good for Him to go (back to heaven and His Father)...To be first of all back in heaven would be good, and then to be back with His Father would the greatest of all things...
But Jesus ties His leaving earth and going back to heaven with sending us the Holy Spirit...So maybe it was and is impossible for Jesus to be with us on earth and to have the Holy Spirit on earth and indwelt in us at the same time...Without Him leaving the Advocate would not come to us...I really do not know why the Holy Spirit (in the sense of being with Jesus versus being with the Holy Spirit) would be more Spiritually important, than Jesus Himself, but His words in these verses make it seem like His departure is absolutely necessary and must happen before we can receive the Holy Spirit...So knowing how important He is to us, the Holy Spirit must be very or as important as His physical Presence...Somehow maybe His physical body can be in only one place, while His Holy Spirit can be anywhere and at anytime (again I do not know this)...So maybe it is good for Him to go so that the Holy Spirit can be anywhere and at anytime on earth and the Holy Spirit can be there for us...So we know that the Holy Spirit will continue Jesus' work when He leaves...
Maybe we need the Holy Spirit to know about sin...We know that the Holy Spirit knows all about sin and knows all about righteousness and all about justice...The Holy Spirit helps us see that Jesus is Truth, and that Absolute Truth is Righteousness...The Holy Spirit shows us that evil is condemned...By Jesus coming to us, living, dying, and resurrecting -we see that the prince of darkness is judged as evil...The Holy Spirit will convince the world that mankind has a sinful nature and that sin causes death...And that sin keeps us separate from God...And because of sin, we need a Redeemer, a Mediator, a Savior who can get us back to the Garden and back to God...
And as I think about these things I think of the Holy Spirit as a more Distinct Being, and separate from both the Father and His Son, as Jesus talks about Him...And we do need a Holy Spirit to continue Jesus' work after He is back in heaven...And we know we needed Jesus to be born, to live, to teach us, to die on the cross, to resurrect, and to ascend to heaven so we would know His Complete Glory...
The Holy Spirit is this Guide, our Guide -Guiding us right now...The Holy Spirit guides us to the Truth, and our Way in life and the paths we take...The Holy Spirit is always helping and guiding us...And in this Guidance we better see the importance and the True Need for a Savior...
So we have a Savior in Jesus who can only give us our salvation...Salvation is found in no one else...And the only way to God is through Jesus...No one gets to heaven, except through our Savior...