Saturday, June 03, 2023

           ^1-4 “I am telling you this now so that your faith in Me may not be shaken.  They will excommunicate you from their synagogues.  Yes, the time is coming when a man who kills you will think he is thereby serving God!  They will act like this because they have never had any true knowledge of the Father or of Me, but I have told you all this so that when the time comes for it to happen you may remember that I told you about it.  I have not spoken like this to you before, because I have been with you; ^5-11 but now the time has come for Me to go away to the One who sent Me. None of you asks Me, ‘Where are you going?’ That is because you are so distressed at what I have told you. Yet I am telling you the simple truth when I assure you that it is a good thing for you that I should go away. For if I did not go away, the Divine Helper would not come to you. But if I go, then I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convince the world of the meaning of sin, of true goodness and of judgment.  He will expose their sin because they do not believe in Me; He will reveal true goodness for I am going away to the Father and you will see Me no longer; and He will show them the meaning of judgment, for the spirit which rules this world will have been judged. John 16:1-11

       In this passage, in preparation for His departure, Jesus speaks to the Disciples about three Persons – “the Father,” “Me,” and “the Divine Helper.”  We often hear “Well, the Bible never uses the word, ‘Trinity’” and that is an accurate statement.  However, this is one of those passages where all Three Persons of the Trinity are mentioned as “Co-equals” and cooperating.  And this passage also identifies different roles or different functions for each of the Persons.  The Spirit comes to “reveal true goodness” and “convince the world of the meaning of sin” and “show the meaning of judgment.”

       When I consider sinfulness, I tend to downplay my involvement.  Certainly, I think, I’m not a sinner.  I don’t have sin in my life.  Yet, sin is there and one of my sins, pride, is revealed by such thinking.  Like the man who said: “Yes, Lord, I’ve sinned, but I have several good excuses.”  The Holy Spirit’s presence – if realized and listened to – reveals a lot about the believer’s private life.  Thoughts and motives are laid bare through the work of the Spirit.  Spirit of the Living God, search my heart today; see if there is any hidden wickedness, any ignoring of Jesus the Messiah; and lead me to true repentance and holiness of heart and life.  Amen!