4/19/11 John 16:12-18 Experiencing God

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.”
¹⁶ Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
¹⁷ At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

(Rainbow around the Bend)

Thoughts: Jesus was concerned that the experience of God the disciples had would not dry up, and that their hope would not wither.  So He spoke of the Spirit guiding us, leading us into the future.  While Christ would not be seen, this was not a permanent condition.  After the cross is the resurrection. After the valley of the shadow of death there is the prepared table in His presence.  Our hope does not depend on our emotional experience of God.  His promise and His Word keep us strong when our feelings are weak. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to put my hope in you, and not fade. 

John Calvin Abridged: He did not want to overwhelm them, so his object was to give them the hope of progress.  The Spirit had led the Apostles into all truth, and the Spirit passes on the wisdom from one generation to the next.  Whoever thinks that something must be added to their doctrine as if it were half perfect or unfinished not only accuses the Apostles of dishonesty but blasphemes against the Spirit.  If we do not wish to be ungrateful to God, then let us find satisfaction with the writings inspired by the Spriit (2 Tim. 3:17).