Jesus last words promise His followers the presence and power of the Holy Spirit...

This week, we are looking at a part of the final conversation that Jesus had with His closest followers before His death, which is recorded for us in John 16. Wednesday, Jesus revealed the reality that the Holy Spirit functions like a great prosecuting attorney that provides the evidence that will result in a guilty verdict for those who oppose God and reject the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

Today, we see Jesus transition from explaining the role that the Holy Spirit would play in the lives of those who oppose God to explaining the role that the Holy Spirit would play in the lives of those who follow Jesus in John 16:13:

 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

To understand what Jesus is communicating here, we first need to understand how the Holy Spirit engages followers of Jesus. The Bible teaches us that God captures and transforms a person’s heart through the power and activity of the Holy Spirit, so that we would receive and respond to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. Now the big 50 cent theological term for the Holy Spirits activity in our rescue from selfishness and rebellion is the word regeneration.

Regeneration simply means that God gives us a new heart. As the prophet Ezekiel promised, God, though the Holy Spirit removes our heart of stone that resists and rejects the claims of Christ and message of the gospel and gives us a new heart that results in us responding to the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

At the moment of regeneration the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our lives, which is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as being baptized by the Holy Spirit. And as the Holy Spirit dwells within us, Jesus explains that He will guide you into all truth.  In other words, the Holy Spirit is truth and guides and leads followers of Jesus to the truth.

In addition, Jesus explains that the Holy Spirit communicates the truth of God from God to His followers. The Holy Spirit does not communicate a message that is different from God. For example, the Holy Spirit will not tell you to go kill someone. The Holy Spirit proclaims God’s message to God’s people and enables God’s people to understand God’s message.

In verse 14, Jesus also reveals for us the reality that the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by authenticating that He was the Messiah that would rescue humanity from selfishness and rebellion. The word glorify here literally means to cause to have splendid greatness. The Holy Spirit makes much of Jesus in a way that makes Jesus great. Through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence and activity in the life of followers of Jesus, Jesus is made much of in a way that advances God’s kingdom and enhances Jesus reputation.

 And it is here that we see Jesus, in His final words to His closest followers, reveal a timeless promise for His followers. And that timeless promise is this: Jesus last words promise His followers the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.  Just as it was for the disciples, Jesus promise to His followers is that the Holy Spirit will take up residence in their lives in a way that unites and connects them to Him.

Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will provide them the power to live in a way that reveals and reflects Christ in our character and our conduct. The Holy Spirit provides us spiritual gifts that motivate us to meet the needs of others in a way that builds them up spiritually. The Holy Spirit guides us to the truth and empowers us to live in a way that reflects that truth.

You see, the Christian life is not easy. The Christian life is not difficult. The Christian life is impossible apart from the Holy Spirit’s presence and power. Throughout the accounts of Jesus life that are recorded for us in the Bible, we see that Jesus lived His life here on earth in the power of the Holy Spirit. And here we see Jesus promise that His followers would also experience the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives.