Spiritual Growth and Understanding

The Holy Spirit's Guidance

So we left off last week with Jesus explaining three key things about the Holy Spirit. He would reprove the world of sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace., of judgment and of righteousness – and we discussed what these things might mean.

So let’s read the next few verses beginning at verse 12 where Jesus continues, saying:

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

The Necessity for Spiritual Milk

Alright, back to verse 12 where Jesus says:

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

This point is obvious for us right. I mean the apostles are still questioning Him over many of His claims and it is going to take some time before they are ready to bear them. There is a biblical principle here to consider and it is touched on in the Old Testament and then by both Jesus and Paul.

Proverbs 23:9 says:

“Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.”

Jesus said in Matthew 7:6

“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”

Peter lays out the order of things for us in 1st Peter 2 and saying

1st Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Notice the order? He says (in reverse) “If you have tasted that the Lord is gracious (had your eyes open to the person of Christ), as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” We are all pretty much aware that newborns cannot eat Doritos or steak but require milk, and growing by it, get to the stage where they can start eating other more complex foods.

Charles Templeton's Journey

Same with spiritual wisdom. As babes in Christ it is vital that a believer FIRST cut become established on the milk of the word and later start chewing on the meat of the word . . . and not before or else they might choke or develop serious allergies.

I am reading a book published in 1996 and written by Charles Templeton, a former mass Evangelist of wide popularity back in the forties and fifties (known as Canada’s Billy Graham) who was also a good friend of Graham – before he turned on Christianity and the Bible altogether. I enjoy reading what the enemies of the faith have to say (especially if they were former believers) because it challenges me to test all things and to make sure I am prepared to give every man an answer for the faith that I possess).

In any case I had a friend ask me why I thought Templeton walked. There are a number of possibilities – pride, intellectualism, anger, delusion, disappointment – but I had a different reason come to me as I read his words. Templeton essentially gained a lot of popularity in the mass evangelical movement early in life. He was loved for his command of the stage, his ability to persuade people (through what he called sales tactics) and in my estimation didn’t have enough hours in the milk of the word to fortify his frame. Later, when doubts began to creep into his mind and heart (while he was bringing thousands to the Lord from the stage) his answer was to go to theology school – without having an undergraduate in biblical studies or the alternative (Time in the Word learning the essentials).

Because of his popularity on the Evangelical traveling circuit, he was granted a special dispensation and was allowed to enter theology school (essentially a PH.D program) without the foundation of milk. In my estimation Templeton choked on Christianity when he was fed information from the halls of higher learning without ever possessing teeth. I feel bad for him because in addition to all of this the milk he was given was steeped in Evangelical rhetoric rather than sound biblical truths.

John 16.27 MILK February 8th 2015 WELCOME PRAYER MUSIC SILENCE

Spiritual Maturity and the Role of the Holy Spirit

The need to mature from milk drinking to meat eating is important. It’s what caused Paul, in a form of chastisement, to say to the believers in Corinth:

1st Corinthians 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

This was the spiritual state of the apostles at the time Jesus was speaking to them – they were not able to bear what they still needed to receive. What was it He wanted to share with them? Who knows? Maybe info about the end of the ageThe close of the old covenant era, fulfilled in 70 A.D.—not the end of the world., maybe information on heaven, maybe details of their coming deaths? Maybe it was as simple as the fact that they were still full of religious traditions and the Holy Spirit would have to be the one to wash them from their hearts and minds. Whatever it was, He held back.

The Role of the Spirit of Truth

(verse 13)

13 “Howbeit” (however, Jesus says) “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

In other words, the Spirit of truth would teach them everything they needed to know – all truth, Jesus says – what should go and what should stay and what should happen in their apostolic mission to the early church.

It’s interesting when Jesus says: “for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. In other words, the Spirit speaks only what the spirit is told, declaring what he hears.

Understanding the Nature of the Holy Spirit

Now, there is no masculine article for the Spirit (or for the Father for that matter) in the Greek. The translators just added He to make the rest of the passage flow. If we read the passage without these masculine assignments, we would not be so inclined to think of the Holy Spirit as a separate individual. In any case, Jesus says that He will “not speak of himself,” (another idea that lends to the notion that it is a person with an individual personality of which to speak, like Jesus), “but will only speak what “he” hears (from God). Jesus adds, “of things to come,” again referring in all probability to events that would happen once Jesus ascended into heaven.

Verse 14 is an important line:

14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

All this time, Jesus has been doing everything to glorify the Father. But now, at this point, He says that the Holy Spirit’s job will be to glorify Him. That is major and is indicative of a few things.

First, it shows the deity of Christ Jesus as the Holy Spirit (sent by Jesus from the Father) glorifies Him. Secondly, it shows an inequality within the apparent three persons of the Trinity, as the Son glorifies the Father, and the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son, but there does not seem to be a scriptural precedence that suggests anything glorifies the Holy Spirit.

Christ and the Holy Spirit

When Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will “receive of mine,” He is literally saying that the Holy Spirit will “take from me," meaning He will receive His instructions as Christ’s ambassador. In other words, He will take His marching orders from the Lord. To show and support that this would be the case, Jesus adds:

15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This would not be possible if Christ was not equal with the Father, now that He was about to overcome the world. Now, we often speak of the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity, but scripture also describes the Holy Spirit as actually being the very spirit of God AND the spirit of Jesus.

Listen to Galatians 4:6 “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Have you ever thought of having the Holy Spirit living in you was the same as having Jesus Christ’s spirit in you. That is what scripture says – it’s the

Understanding the Spirit Within

Spirit of His Son. And if the Spirit of His Son is in us, then we are God’s Sons and daughters – because the Spirit of His only begotten is in us.

Listen to

Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Romans 8:9 speaks more about this Spirit of Christ, saying:

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

Peter refers to the Spirit being the Spirit of Christ and says in 1st Peter 1:11:

“Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”

The Presence of the Spirit

Listen, it is by the presence of the Spirit within us (the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Jesus) that we know we are God’s – because it causes us to love as Christ loves, to be Christ to our neighbors, to literally sense His presence working in and through us in SPITE of our flesh! Isn’t that radical? It one reason why it makes sense that when Jesus, after His resurrection, merely breathes on the apostles and they receive the Holy Spirit . . . and it plays – plays into my wonderment over the historical definition of the Holy Spirit being the third being or personage of the Godhead.

Articulation of the Holy Spirit

Okay let’s read on and see how far we can get beginning at verse 16. Now before we read this let me warn you, in my estimation this is some really badly written narrative. We have a tendency to think that when men wrote by the power of the Holy Spirit that the Holy Spirit gave them perfect articulation. Not so. The writing of scripture is truly a combined effort with God inspiring men who all possess different skills, insights, data-bases (so to speak) and experiences from which to draw as the spirit gives them the concepts to cover. We know this is true because of the vast differences between John, Peter and Paul’s writings. Completely different autographs – with some of them not being as fluid as others.

Additionally, as Norman Geisler points out, the writers of the Bible employ various literary devises to aid them in their efforts to communicate. Says Geisler: “Human language is not limited to one mode of expression. So, there is no reason to suppose that only one literary genre was used in a divinely inspired Book. The Bible reveals a number of literary devices. Whole books are written as poetry (e.g., Job, Psalms, Proverbs). The Synoptic Gospels feature parables. In Galatians 4, Paul utilizes an allegory. The New Testament abounds with metaphors (see 2 Cor. 3:2-3; James 3:6), similes (see Matt. 20:1; James 1:6), hyperbole (see John 21:25; 2 Cor. 3:2; Col. 1:23), and even poetic figures (see Job 41:1). Jesus employed satire (see Matt. 19:24; 23:24). Figures of speech are common throughout the Bible. It is not a mistake for a biblical writer to use a figure of speech, but it is a mistake for a reader to take a figure of speech literally. Obviously when the Bible speaks of the believer resting under the shadow of God's "wings" (see Ps. 36:7) it does not mean that God is a feathered bird. When the Bible says God "awakes" (see Ps. 44:23), as though he were sleeping, it means God is roused to action.”

However what we discover here in chapter 16 is not so much a literary devise but redundancy – which, in my humble estimation, shows that the mss. came from inspired mortal men and not from a collective effort to provide the cleanest presentation of content around.

A Little While

What am I talking about? The phrase, “a little while,” is what I am talking about. We’ll lets read from verse 16 to verse 19 where John has Jesus say:

16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
19

The Promise of Joy After Sorrow

Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?

Seven “a little whiles” to explain folks. Which I’ll do in . . . a little while. Just kidding.

So let me quickly run through it. Verse 16

16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: (this would refer to His deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God.) and again, a little while, and ye shall see me (referring to His resurrection), because I go to the Father.
17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?

Understanding Jesus' Illustration

At this point let’s just read Jesus response to what He meant. (verse 20)

20 Verily, verily (HE says, speaking of His death), I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. (When He rises from the grave).

At verse 21 Jesus gives them an illustration for what they and what He is about to go through, saying:

21 A (pregnant) woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

This is really a radical comparative when we think of it. In it Jesus takes a woman who, entering into labor, begins to experience the pains of childbirth and likens this to the apostles and the pain they are about to experience in and through His death and departure. They will be in disarray and pain beginning tomorrow night, but it will only last until He has been delivered, and then like a woman who has been in painful labor . . . But, He says, as soon as she is delivered of the child she remembereth no more the anguish . . .

So it would be with them, once He is delivered from death and the grave they would remember no more their anguish WHY? (last line) In the case of the laboring woman her anguish would be wiped away . . . “for joy that a man is born into the world.” Guess what. It would be for this very same reason that the apostles would forget their anguish over His death and resurrection . . .!!! “for Joy that a Man is born into the world.”

This is a profound statement because since the creation of Adam there has never been a real man in the world. But when He rises up from the grave the disciples will be filled with joy because they will know that a REAL MAN is born – from the grave – into this world. A man that they could wholly trust and look to and rely upon because this real man has overcome this life, the cross, sin, the grave and is brought out of the womb of the earth . . . again.

Assurance of Eternal Joy

Jesus adds

22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

Can you imagine the strength these men will experience in their labors for Christ once they have witnessed His overcoming the beating and death they watched Him endure? All that He has taught them, all that He has promised, all that He has shown them could be wholly trusted.

An amazing witness that would empower these men. Along with the Holy Spirit they would need it because they were gonna face some really horrendous opposition.

Jesus adds:

23 And in that day (that I have been born as a man back into this world as a resurrected being) ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

The Concept of Asking in Jesus' Name

“Ask” could mean one or two things or both. To ask as by way of a question or to ask by way of assistance. While He was with them they seemed to have relied on Him as their teacher of truth (information and inquiry) and for assistance (on how to fix matters and overcome situations like being in a stormed tossed sea). In other words, and I don’t know if you have ever thought of this, but while He was with them the apostles asked Him questions – and He went and prayed to the father for strength. Off the top of my head I don’t recall there ever being a time recorded where the apostles prayed to the father for help or information.

Maybe you can think of one. But while He was with them their petitions seemed to all come to Him. When Lazarus died they sent for Him, when they had no wine or food they petitioned Him, when men were possessed with devils they came to Him. But now He tells them that from that time forward their requests and needs were to be made to God in his name, and that he, by the influences of his Spirit, would make known to them what Jesus would himself do if He were bodily present.

Transitioning to Direct Petition to God

Listen closely to the emphasis again:

23 “And in that day (when I have been born back into this world by resurrection) ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.”

Then in the next verse He addresses this practice of asking God for things in His name, and He says:

24 Hitherto (before now) have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

We might assume from this (and could be wrong) but we might assume that when the disciples DID pray during Jesus three year ministry they prayed directly to God and did NOT include Jesus name in the petition. But this great new insight was now being revealed to them – “approach God now in my name.”

Maybe the fact that He had yet to overcome sin and death He was not in the position to mediate for all of humanity. But once He resurrects, He will, having overcome all things on our behalf, be the one upon whom all Christians rely to mediate before the Father on our behalf. So now, at this point in the ministry He clearly explains this to them and tells them: “Ask – and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

The Unique Role of the Apostles

I get in trouble sometimes when I appeal to context so strongly but I do believe it is important to remember that Jesus is speaking to His eleven chosen and trained apostles here. It is quite customary to read these words and then assign them to our own lives and walk and to teach the same principles. We have to consult all of scripture and locate other passages that speak to us about asking in Jesus name and the like before we can take these passages and claim that they apply to us. His apostles were certainly in a very unique position and assigned to do some really important and difficult work in His name. They would also give their lives for their witness and were the first to receive the Holy Spirit internally of the entire human race (with the exception of Adam).

It is my opinion that when Jesus says these words to them: Ask, that you may receive that your joy may be full it MAY apply to us. But in the face of what other passages say, like: Ask, in Jesus name, and if it is right and within the will of God, it will be done and then our joy will be full.

Jesus explain his past communications with them as compared to these now, saying

25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.

In the past and even right now, Jesus says, I have spoken to you in a manner that might appear obscure, enigmatic, and difficult. You know, for us reading today with hindsight into the whole situation but for these men, who had 1500 years of history pressing upon their minds the words of Jesus could be really hard to comprehend.

We see this all the time in our own lives, right?

Struggles with Faith and Understanding

A call from an LDS man in San Francisco last week. He had come to see all the issues with the LDS church for the first time since returning home from his mission. We talked for a minute and then he said:

“I’ve come to the point now that I think I see clearly. Either the Church (the LDS Church) is true (which it’s not) or there is no God.”

I have heard this so many times since being in ministry – and it is really said with all sincerity.

“Explain to me how you have arrived at this either/or proposition?” I said.

“Well, the Bible makes a lot of sense in the way I have been taught as a Latter-day Saint. I understand the importance of the priesthood, prophets, and the apostasy. But now that I can see the claims of Mormonism are false in terms of history, how could I EVER believe in the Bible. And if I can’t accept the bible, I can’t accept God – or any kind of God.”

It’s the old scorched heart and mind condition and it can be brutal in some cases for people to overcome.

The Role of the Holy Spirit

Here Jesus tells the apostles that in the past He has spoken to them in parables BUT the time would come “when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.” I believe the time Jesus is speaking of is when He ascends into heaven and then sends the Holy Spirit to them to teach them all things.

After the guy's either/or proposition, I said:

I want to tell you three things. First, I have heard your stance hundreds of times – you are not alone in thinking this way. Secondly, you have been taught to read and understand the Bible in a specific manner . . . the LDS way . . . and until you are able to read it in another fashion you may believe that your only other option is atheism. Third, you have to do something before you will ever discover this alternative method of reading the Bible – you have to have God reveal Himself to you.

You can’t listen to me tell you He is listening nor can you trust your Bishop. So this means you have to go to Him and ask Him to open your eyes and ears to truth. When He teaches you from a spiritual place that transcends the world, you will have a spiritual witness directly from Him on what to think about Him and His purposes and existence. Don’t be afraid to open up your everything to Him – and ask Him to reveal Himself – once He does, and your eyes have been opened, and your ears have heard from HIM directly, you will begin to understand the Bible in a manner that was lacking prior.

He got it. Took the challenge.

This was the deal with the apostles. To us, the declarations of Jesus are clear but they came to the table loaded for bear with religious traditions. It would be the Holy Spirit that would make such things plain to them – the same Holy Spirit that has been making Jesus plain and known ever since to the world. I am convinced that when Jesus says that He will then “show them plainly the Father,” he is speaking of showing them the nature of the Father (who is spirit) by and through the Spirit whom He will send.

Restoration of Relationship with God

Then Jesus explains something really important to them in verse 26-27. These will be our last verses for today. Before I read them we have to remember that the reason came to the world was to save it. From what? Eternal separation from God which occurred when death was introduced in the Garden and God’s direct relationship with man was lost due to sin. We might say that in the garden that God had such a relationship with Adam and Eve that they were friends.

Has God ever lost His unconditional love for Man? Apparently not as John 3:16 says that God so loved the world (agape loveSelfless love marked by patience, mercy, and humility—central to living in spiritual liberty. – unconditionally loved – the world) He gave His only begotten Son to save it. Nevertheless, it does seem that the relational, friendly type of love God had with man was lost in the Garden and this needed to be restored for there to be relationship again.

So how does fallen man enter into a relationship with God again where there is not only His abiding agape love present but true friendship as well?

Real Friendship and Reconciliation with God

Is a relationship, real friendship, real almost brotherly love between God and us possible?

Listen closely to what Jesus says here:

26 At “that day” (when He will rise from the grave and the apostles will have great joy) ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: (27) For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.”

Now, it seems that Jesus is saying that after He has overcome all things, He will no longer be petitioning the Father on their behalf because the Father will Himself love them because they have believed on His Son and that He came from God.

But we have other passages that suggest He continues to be our mediator to the Father now. For example, in Hebrews 7:25 we read, speaking of Jesus:

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

The Mediatory Work of Jesus

Now, we have used a lot of rhetoric to describe the mediation work of Jesus on our behalf as Christians. We have said that Satan the accuser will come to God like He does in Job and point His finger at us, but that Jesus will step in and say, “No, Father, these are all okay?” Ever heard that? I’ve heard it AND taught it. But what Jesus says to these apostles suggests something different.

What does it suggest? Listen to what He says to them again:

26 At “that day” (when He will rise from the grave and the apostles will have great joy) ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: (27) For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.”

I would now suggest that once the mediatory work of Jesus has been accepted by believers by faith that reconciliation is complete, and Jesus is not constantly petitioning on our behalf of the Father, but that once a person receives His mediation by faith God becomes our friend, and we are reconciled back to Him in relationship like there was in the garden of Eden with He and Adam.

Reconciliation Through Faith

I justify this stance in two ways: First, the Greek. We know that God so loves the world (agape love). But when Jesus says:

26 At “that day” (when He will rise from the grave and the apostles will have great joy) ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: (27) For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.”

The word for love in the line “For the Father himself loveth you" is not agape but is phileo – He loves us as friends, He loves us as we are in relationship then, and Jesus says the invisible God of consuming fire loves us this way HIMSELF! Of course, it is because we have loved His Son and believed He came from God! For me, the walls and need for constant mediation have come down at this point and permanent reconciliation has occurred between the believer and God SINCE HE HIMSELF loves us as a friend.

How to justify Hebrews 7:25? Listen to it again carefully:

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Seeing “He ever liveth to make intercession” for who? For those “that come unto God” by Him. In my estimation, Jesus ever lives to reconcile and make intercession for people as they approach God by their faith in Him. But once this has occurred, His intercessory work is complete, and we then stand as friends of God.

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