Wednesday 11/06/13
Topic: The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Series – The Fear of the Lord:
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit.mp3
Key Text:
John 14
John 15
John 16
John 17:1-5
Jesus passes the baton to the Holy Spirit…
This week we read through and commented on John chapters 14-17, where Jesus talks with His disciples as they walk from the upper room where they just took the Seder meal, to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was to be betrayed.
It seems clear that the disciples must have known that something was up. Yes, Jesus had been telling them for weeks that He was going to be betrayed into the hands of sinners and die, but they scarcely seemed to believe it. In their world, Jesus seemed larger than life and had always been untouchable up until this point. These facts and their recent revelation of Jesus as the Christ made talk of His demise seem unlikely, yet, here they were walking from the upper room with a shadow cast upon what should otherwise have been a joyous evening.
That they were sad, was apparent by the first words Jesus spoke to His disciples on their track from the upper room to the garden. He began with, “Don’t let your hearts be trouble and don’t let them be afraid…”
It was during this talk that Jesus outlined to them His Own departure and the entrance of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He told them He was going to have to go away to His Father and that it was actually to their advantage to have it so. He promised that He would not leave them orphans bu that He would come to them in the person of the Holy Spirit and that even though He was gone, they would come to know Him better than they had while He was physically among them.
These words seemed unbelievable and rather than their hearts being encouraged their hearts became all the more despondent.
Phillip had asked the Lord to reveal the Father to them. Jesus spoke lovingly but very direct to Phillip and sked Him in apparent astonishment, “Have I been such a long time with you Phillip and yet you have not known Me? He who has seen Me has seen the Father!”
He Then began to speak to them of His oneness with the Father and that when He left, though they could not imagine it now, the Holy Spirit would cause them to really know what Phillip had reveal he sis not know – that Jesus and the Father where ONE. however, Jesus did NOT stop here – he went on to tell them…“At that time you will know that I am in my Father, and that you are in me, and that I am in you.” – John 14:20
Then He began to tell them of this new union they would enjoy by way of an analogy. He told them,
“I am the Vine–the True Vine, and my Father is the vine-dresser.” ~ John 15:1
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” ~ John 15:5
After explaining the nature of their soon to be “new relationship” with and in Him, re returned to the subject of His immediate departure.
Sprinkled throughout this entire dialog, Jesus kept on mentioning the Holy Spirit and His role as the “new” paráklētos… “The Comforter” Whom Jesus was promising to send in His Name (meaning representing all that He is). He would abide with them forever. He was the spirit of Truth Whom the world could not receive because they could not see Him nor progressively and experientially know Him!
Jesus ended His dialog with the disciples by praying to the Father out loud before them. They heard Him speak these words…
“Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” ~ John 17:1-5
This was the One Whom Jesus would pass the baton of Divine earthly ministry into the hands of – once for all!
This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit!
What we took from these chapters were the following:
- The Holy Spirit is ALL ABOUT revealing Christ – John 16:14
- He is here to convince us of our reconciliation or oneness with Jesus and the Father – John 14:20
- He convinces us of the abolition of death – Eph. 2:15; 2 Tim. 1:10
- Death (separation) has been swallowed in victory – 1Cor. 15:54
- He has brought judgement to victory (vanquished separation)- Matt. 12:20
- He is here to co-partner with us in establishing the Kingdom of God.
- 1st within by our victory over sin – (will cover next week).
- 2nd without by our active and fervent love of our brothers (-will cover next week).
This is the beginning of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit!