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John 16
Joh 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
Notice how Jesus prepared His disciples because He knew everything they would be
facing in the future. He made sure that when they went out to preach the gospel
in the future, they wouldn't be surprised if their words were rejected. They
were not to allow rejection and persecution to cause them to doubt the Lord or
to blame the Lord for the consequences which comes when the gospel is preached.
If Jesus had not have prepared them, they might have quit at the first rejection
of the gospel.
Joh 16:2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that
whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
I grieve continually that not only did the heathen persecute those that brought
the true gospel, but the religious Jews and the so-called church persecuted
people also and even thought they were doing God a service. The heathen didn't
know any better but those that thought they were doing God a service did know
better.
First of all, we should love and respect our church leaders and those that went
before us to preach the gospel. I thank God for the brave reformers who reminded
us that we are saved by the mercy and grace of God. Yet, saying that, I see also
that we tend to esteem them a little too high and do not realize that they were
human subject to roots of bitterness and temptation. As great as Martin Luther
was, he had serious flaws. He and others before him brought the church out of
much that was very bad like the sale of indulgences which supposedly bought
souls out of purgatory. Yet he didn't go far enough. When others read the
scriptures and pulled father away from church tradition and tried to live by the
scriptures, the first reformers thought the newer reformers were heretics and
began to do the same thing to them that the Catholic church did to the first
reformers. I know we are at the mercy of historians here but if in fact the
stories of the reformers are true, John Calvin meant well I'm sure, but got into
serious error and allowed the root of bitterness to cause him to use his
influence to put a so-called heretic to death by burning at the stake.
So many esteem Calvin and Luther as great men but they had problems. That
doesn't mean that we cast them aside and assume the Catholic church was in the
right because they were not, but it does mean that we must not put any human
being on so high a level that we assume every word they write or say just has to
be truth. We must search the scriptures ourselves and not take the whole word of
any man or woman.
Joh 16:3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known
the Father, nor me.
Those that do those things do not know the Father and do not know Jesus.
Listen up church world. Jesus said if we persecute, kill and destroy other human
beings who try to bring us the truth, we do not know the Father or the Son. We
are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. We may assume we possess all
truth like the Pharisees believed they did, like the Catholic Church believed
they did or like the Reformers believed they had the monopoly on truth, but we
are human and are subject to falling away, roots of bitterness and error. We
must never be high minded and boast against others assuming they are wrong and
we are right. Does it make sense to hate someone who rejects Christianity? We
can't make a sinner, born again by our own efforts or words. It takes the power
of the Holy Spirit to change the inner soul and spirit of a person. We will
never win a soul to Jesus Christ by hating them. We may force them to outwardly
acknowledge Jesus but we can't make them "born again" or "saved". Many middle
age churches made that mistake. True salvation or true Christianity cannot be
forced by law. Jesus did warn against false prophets though but we must be
careful to have discernment but with love and patience so that we don't harm the
innocent who truly may be bringing the word of God. To be the one that
does the persecution is a bad sign.
Our government has to punish those that murder, steal and commit crimes that rob
the innocent of their lives but we as a church are not to harm one hair on the
head of a dissenter.
We can rebuke, exhort, correct, love, teach and comfort but we are never to harm
any one of their freedom to live unmolested on their own property. Neither do we
rob them of their free will to choose our way or refuse our way. God will judge
them in His own time. We are to preach the gospel and love them. Whether they be
Jews, Muslims or even who we think are heretics, we are to show them love.
Jesus said to love our enemies and do good to them that hate and persecute us.
Is condemning someone to burn at the stake love? Is taking the property of
someone who is a heretic, love?
Because we do not learn from history and I believe it could happen again. It is
better to be the ones persecuted than to be the ones that do the persecuting.
Jesus said if we do those things (hate, persecute, harm) we do not know Him.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have
love one to another.
A sign of true faith is loving one another. Jesus said though in another place,
that we are to love our enemies also or who we think is our enemies.
Joh 16:4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye
may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at
the beginning, because I was with you.
Joh 16:5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me,
Whither goest thou?
Joh 16:6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your
heart.
One sign of a true believer is that we miss the physical presences of the Lord
and desire His return. He is with us in spirit now but we should rejoice in the
hope of His return visibly and physically. I can't wait.
Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go
away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I
depart, I will send him unto you.
Jesus left and sent the Holy Spirit which can be within each and every believer
in Jesus Christ. He is not limited to one place, one group of people or one
individual. He will come to anyone who is born again by the spirit of God and
the Holy Spirit then will abide with us forever and continually. We are never
alone.
Joh 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment:
When a group of believers are gathered together in worship, there should be
present conviction of sin if there are anyone who is present that has not
repented or turned from sin. If there is present one who does not believe the
Holy Spirit should be present to convict them of sin and bring them to the
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Joh 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
I noticed that when a neighborhood has true believers who live holy and obey the
word of God, the evil in the neighborhood is suppressed.
When the people move out, the neighborhood will become corrupt.
We can be a godly influence if we stay full of the Holy Spirit and do not allow
our prayer life to diminish.
Joh 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them
now.
Joh 16:13 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 show you things to come.
The Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus and will never lead anyone astray or to
depart from the already written word of God. He does not operate separate from
the Father and Son.
There have been times when I write or think about something that a scripture
will come into my mind concerning the subject I'm thinking of.
He is the teacher as well as the one who reproves sin.
Joh 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show
it unto you.
He glorifies Christ, not the messenger.
Joh 16:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he
shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.
Joh 16:16 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.
This could mean that He would be in the grave three days and then they will see
Him before He returns to the Father but I think it means that they will not see
Him after He ascends to the Father but will see Him at His return. To God this
would be a short time. To us it seems like a very long time. Then also this
could refer to the receiving of the Holy Spirit and they will see Him by the
spirit.
Joh 16:17 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?
Joh 16:18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we
cannot tell what he saith.
Joh 16:19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them,
Do ye inquire 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?
Joh 16:20 Verily, verily, 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.
Joh 16:21 A 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.
Joh 16:22 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.
Here we have a hint that Jesus will go away but they will see Him by the spirit
when the Holy Ghost is poured out on the day of Pentecost. There was joy at the
receiving of the Holy Spirit. Whenever the Holy Spirit is poured out on
believers both then and now, there is joy. I've seen this myself through
the years. I've seen the Holy Spirit move in such a way that one will go
across the room and be reconciled to a believer they formerly had problems with.
Perhaps one reason that many of us have problems loving the brethren is that we
reject the infilling of the spirit and and do not receive all that God has for
us to equip us to resist roots of bitterness that come to try to destroy
brotherly love. When we first receive Christ we are usually full of love.
When one is first baptized in the Holy Spirit, he will have love. If we do
not stay full of the spirit but allow the things of this life to keep us from
prayer and fellowship with God, we may be tempted to yield to those roots of
bitterness and things that defile us and cause us to lose our testimony before
the world. I say all this, not because I've arrived and have overcome
these things but because I've been through some of these things. I've felt
the beginnings of roots of bitterness. I know it can happen.
There is talk in recent years of Martin Luther's ranting against the Jews which
gave Hitler justification for the holocaust. Again I repeat, we are at the
mercy of historians to be telling the truth. Lets suppose that it is true
for the sake of making a point. First of all Luther did the world a great
favor by reminding us that we are saved by grace but Luther was not perfect and
everything he said or did is not to be taken as gospel. At first Luther
supposedly had compassion on the Jews and wanted to preach the gospel to them.
Lets say that the Jews rejected the gospel and rejected the words of Luther.
Humans do not like it when someone rejects them. It is human nature to
strike back. I know we as Christians are commanded to love our enemies and
do good to them that hate or reject us, but it is not easy. Luther may
have allowed that old enemy of our souls to place within him that root of
bitterness against the Jews causing him to rant and rave against them long
enough for someone to write it down or repeat it so that those awful words later
could be used to justify the holocaust. It only had to happen one time to
do the damage. I would hope that before his death Luther would have repented of
this deed but the damage was done.
This may be one reason the sign of tongues accompanies the Baptism of the Holy
Spirit at least in some cases. Some teach it in all cases but I'm not
going to discuss that at present. It could be that the tongue can do so much
damage that God used tongues as a sign that we need to give that over to Him by
the power of the Holy Spirit. We must allow the Holy Spirit to control our
tongue so that we don't say things we later regret.
Joh 16:23 And in that day 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.
Joh 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive,
that your joy may be full.
Now we see that because of Jesus, they can ask the Father in His name and
receive.
Joh 16:25 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 show you
plainly of the Father.
Joh 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I
will pray the Father for you:
Joh 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have
believed that I came out from God.
Joh 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I
leave the world, and go to the Father.
This we can rejoice in. Before Jesus no one could expect to go directly to the
Father and petition Him in prayer unless he or she was a special chosen prophet
of the Jewish faith. Now because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus
which broke down the barrier between God and man and took away the sins that
separated us from God, we who believe can pray to God directly in the name or
authority of Jesus.
Even Gentiles are included in this if they turn to God and believe in Jesus as
savior.
Joh 16:29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and
speakest no proverb.
Joh 16:30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any
man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
Joh 16:31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
Joh 16:32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered,
every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because
the Father is with me.
Joh 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome
the world.
We have to be careful of our boasting. They boldly made the statement that now
they believe and know that He came from God. Jesus knew their human weakness
though and warned them that they would be scattered with fear when He (Jesus)
would be captured by the officials and taken for trial.
We can't do it though, but through yielding daily to the spirit of God, God can
help us overcome the world. We must recognize our limitations and our dependency
upon Him.
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