Wednesday, August 5, 2015

EmmDev 2015-08-05 [John's Portraits of Christ] 16. Giver of the Holy Spirit

16. Giver of the Holy Spirit

"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, Where are you going?' 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.      (John16:5-7)
Jesus is continuing this very intimate "death-bed/last-words" conversation with the disciples. In this chapter He alludes to the incredible idea that He will return to the Father in heaven in order that He can send the Holy Spirit into our hearts.

The incredible good news that is wrapped up in this simple statement is that Jesus will return to the Father because:

  • His work is complete - He will have obeyed the Father in everything. This makes the Gethsemane "not my will but Yours" so important.
  • He has paid for the sin that has separated us from God.
  • He is now the High Priest who doesn't have to sacrifice bulls and goats because He gave the perfect sacrifice of Himself.

But the good news doesn't end with Jesus' return to the Father... Having returned to the Father, Jesus will send the Holy Spirit into our hearts and lives.

The phrase Jesus uses for "Counselor" is "Paracletos" which means the "One who comes/walks (kletos) beside (para)." This is an incredible promise: This is the final step of what the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel foresaw when they spoke about hearts of stone being replaced with hearts of flesh and about the knowledge and love of God being written on our hearts.

Jesus, the glorious majestic Son of God, comes from heaven to earth, to pay for our sin, to close the gap between us and God so that He can send the Holy Spirit into our hearts.

No longer is it legalism - trying to work from the outside-in - now Jesus makes it possible for God to work from the inside-out.