John 16 - Why the Disciples Didn't Get It?

John 16 - NIV 

Enduring Word Commentary

Verses of the Day

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Commentary 

The disciples could only handle so much of what Jesus was teaching them. In a lot of ways they weren't getting what Jesus had already taught them. They misunderstood why he was going to the cross. They misunderstood the kind of kingdom he was ushering in. They misunderstood that three days after he died, he would rise from the dead. They misunderstood that they would be the ones to lead the church into the future.  

Part of the reason the disciples were not getting what Jesus was teaching was that they did not yet have the Holy Spirit. The bible says, 

"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit." 1 Corinthians 2:14

The Holy Spirit always guides us into all truth. There is nothing the Holy Spirit will say to us that will not be in alignment with what Jesus taught or the future apostles will teach. Paul and the other apostles led by the Holy Spirit would take the teachings of Jesus and apply them to the early churches in places like Romans, Galatia, Philippi, and Corinth. 

We also see the Spirit works in conjunction with the Father and Son. People say the doctrine of the Trinity is not seen in the bible, but this is just one of many verses which demonstrates the Trinitarian nature of God. Jesus says, 

"All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Note to the Holy Spirit will make known what "is to come". We know that all scripture is inspired by the Spirit. This is why the prophecies of the Old Testament spoke of the coming Messiah and all of them were 100% accurate. If one of them were wrong, it would have shown that they were not revealed by the Spirit. 

In the same way the Holy Spirit led the apostle John to the island of Patmos to write the "Revelation",  which describes the end times and the second coming of Jesus. While it is very difficult to interpret the book of Revelation, it is one of the ways the Spirit has made known to us what is to come. 

The Spirit also works through the gift of "prophesy". The gift of prophesy is one of the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit distributes to individual members of the body of Christ. Some prophecy is "predictive", as it predicts things that are going to happen in the future. I haven't seen this gift used very much. Many people have predicted things in the church saying, "The Spirit told me this was going to happen on this date". Unfortunately when these predictions were shown to be false, it was obviously not the work of the Holy Spirit.

The other use of the gift of the prophesy from the Holy Spirit is what we call "prescriptive". This is where the Holy Spirit is making known or "prescribing" to the body of God's will in any given situation. Again one has to be very careful when they say, "Thus sayeth the Lord". But the Holy Spirit in many practical ways. The Holy Spirit speaks through sermons given by the pastor. The Holy Spirit speaks through bible studies when people are led to speak truth into each other's lives. The Holy Spirit speaks when we pray often giving us a word, image, or feeling that builds up a brother or sister in Christ. These are also called "words of knowledge". But again it can never be something contrary to the scriptures.   

The bottom line is that until Jesus returns, we need to rely on and be guided by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enlightens, empowers, and equips us to bring God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.. 

Application:

1. Do you sense when the Holy Spirit is speaking to you? It could be at church in a worship service or bible study. It could be in your own prayer time or studying God's word. 

2. Do you seek the Holy Spirit and ask him to reveal to you God's will in any and every situation? Remember the Holy Spirit will never guide or lead you to anything that is contrary to the clear teaching of the bible. 

Prayer

Jesus, send Your Holy Spirit to fill us and empower us to hear from you. By the power of the Holy Spirit help us to obey Your teachings. As we wait for you to return, send Your Spirit to the Church so we can accomplish all you have given us to do! Amen.   

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