The Gospel of John: John 16.1-15

Read and meditate on John 16.1-15.
It won’t be easy following Jesus. That’s the message the Lord wanted to leave with His disciples. No wonder they sorrowed at His leaving. But He promised them a Helper, a Comforter, Who would convict them of sin and guide them into all truth. And thus He would be glorified in them.

¹“These things that I have spoken, I impart
to you so that you will not stumble. ²They
will put you out of synagogues; the day
is coming when whoever kills you will
consider that in doing so, the will
of God is being satisfied, and he
is serving God. ³Because they know not Me,
and do not know the Father, they will do
these things to you. ⁴But I have spoken to
you all these things, that when their time comes, you
may all remember what I said to you.
I did not say these things to you while I
was with you. ⁵Now the time has come, and I
must go away to Him Who sent Me here.
Yet none of you inquires concerning where
I go. ⁶But since I’ve said these things to you,
your hearts are filled with sorrow. ⁷It is true,
that it is better that I go away.
The Helper will not come here if I stay,
but if I go, then I will send Him to
you. ⁸When the Helper finally comes to you,
then He will judge the world because of sin,
make known the righteous way they should walk in,
and warn the world of judgment: ⁹sin, because
they do not trust Me; ¹⁰righteousness, because
I go unto My Father, and you do
not see Me any more; ¹¹and judgment, too,
because the ruler of the world is due
for judgment. ¹²I have more to say to you,
but you cannot receive it now. ¹³When He,
the Spirit of all truth is come, then He
will guide you into truth, for on His own
authority He will not speak alone;
but what He hears, this He will speak and He,
will tell you things to come. ¹⁴And thereby He
will glorify My Name, for He will take
what I shall give to Him and He will make
it plain to you. ¹⁵For everything is Mine
that is the Father’s. He will take of Mine,
therefore, and will declare it to you.”

- John 16.1-15

Reflect
1. Review verses 1-3. What’s the message here for new believers? That is, what should we tell new believers about the cost of following Jesus? Have you accepted that message as your own? Complete this prayer: Only strengthen me, Lord, whatever may come, and I…

2.  The Good News of the Gospel is both what Jesus has done for us, and what He will do in and through us by His Spirit. That is, salvation is both something we experience once for all, and something we experience increasingly, day by day. Explain. What is the role of the Spirit in this? Thank You, Lord, that there is always more of Your salvation to know and to enjoy, and that You…

3.  Meditate on Galatians 4.4-6, and John 16.8-11. What should we tell a new believer about what it means to believe in Jesus? What expectations for the work of the Spirit should we explain? In my life, Lord, I know Your Spirit is at work because…

4.  Truth is the fuel the Spirit uses to unpack the Lord’s salvation in our lives. That involves a process, summarized in Philippians 2.12, 13, which is called sanctification. How does the Spirit use truth to sanctify us? What is our responsibility in “working out” this sanctification? Thank You, Lord, for working in me to…

5. The end product of the Spirit’s work in us is glory. Meditate on 2 Corinthians 3.12-18. How would you explain to a new believer what to expect and what to seek where glorifying God is concerned? Bring together into one prayer the prayers you composed for questions 1-4.

Summary
“But with Christ’s bodily departure, both the Father and the Son, as well as the Holy Spirit, were spiritually present with them. For if Christ had left them so that the Holy Spirit replaced him rather than dwelling along with him, what would have become of his promise, ‘Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world’ and, I and the Father ‘will come to him and will make our dwelling with him’? He had also promised that he would send the Holy Spirit in such a way that he would be with them forever. Jesus knew, however, that though they were presently in a carnal condition, they would undoubtedly possess in a more comprehensive way both the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. But we should in no way think that the Father is present without the Son and the Holy Spirit or [vice versa].… Wherever any one of them is, there also is the Trinity, one God.” Augustine (354-430 AD)

Give thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Share with someone today what God’s Spirit has been doing in your life of late.

Closing Prayer
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the LORD.
Let your heart live forever!
All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the LORD,
And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.
For the kingdom is the LORD’s,
And He rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.

Psalm 22.23-31

Psalm 22.29-31 (Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth)
All the prosp’rous of the earth shall before His mercy fall;
Bending low before His worth, hear them humbly on Him call.
Even those low in the grave He will by His mercy save.

Let the generations all witness to His saving grace;
Let them to all nations call, “Bow before His holy face!”
Let the children of the earth hear of Jesus’ saving worth!

T. M. Moore
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.