Holy Spirit Promises V

The transcription discusses the fifth promise of Jesus concerning the Holy Spirit, which is found in St. John's Gospel. This promise emphasizes the relationship between the Spirit, the Son, and the Father, and how the Spirit guides believers into truth and glorifies the Son. The Spirit's role is to make alive and effective the words of Jesus in the lives of believers. The promise assures that Jesus will never be far from us because of the active presence of the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit, Jesus' words and deeds become living and meaningful for us today. The transcription concludes with a prayer and encourages the listener to embrace and claim the promise, asking Jesus to reveal his faithfulness in bringing it to life. Greetings, friends. What a joy to share the Gospel. As we continue to celebrate the Easter mystery moving toward the great feast of Pentecost, we have been reflecting together on what are commonly called the five Holy Spirit promises in St. John's Gospel. We come now to the precious, culminating promise of Jesus concerning the Holy Spirit. This fifth and final promise is found in St. John's Gospel, chapter 16, verses 12-15. Jesus said to his disciples, I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine. For this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. This promise of the five is so distinctive for its richness and the multiple directions the Holy Spirit moves within the disciple. The Spirit will guide into all truth, will speak what he hears, will declare and glorify the Son. Notably, the juridical tone that dominates the first four promises is gone from this promise. No more to testify, no more convicting, no more judgment. In this promise, all is relationship. The relationship of the Spirit to the Son, which is the same as that between the Son and the Father, all shared now in relationship with the disciples. There is then in this promise an overarching melody that offers a glimpse into the eternal interrelationship of the Trinitarian God and the disciples share in that Trinitarian life. The Son glorifies the Father by revealing his loving, saving plan for all people. And now the Spirit will glorify the Son by filling the hearts of believers with affection and trust for the Son. My friends, when you pray, pause, give space to the Spirit, ask the Spirit to give you a sensitivity to that movement he is creating within you, leaning, directing your heart in affection for Jesus Christ. Notice the affection, the tenderness welling up within your heart for the Son. That is precisely the place of the Holy Spirit working in your spirit. As the Father withholds nothing from the Son, for all eternity of course, so too does the Son withhold nothing from the Spirit, who in turn graciously pours this everything into the hearts and minds of believers. Eternal love is glimpsed here and the promise of being drawn into this love is given. A tall and wide picture window is opened up unto the eternal love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the promise of being drawn into this love is extended to each one of us. Now this promise, further, makes precise the action of the Spirit in relationship to the words and deeds of Christ. Once again, Father Ignace de la Poterie puts it well. He says, quote, the future of the paraclete consists in making alive and effective in the lives of believers the word of Jesus. One can therefore say, in a certain sense, that it is Jesus himself who continues to speak to the disciples, but from now on in a new and interior manner by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit's role, Father de la Poterie concludes, is to ensure in the church the living presence of the words of Jesus. Added dimension to the particular role of the Spirit is found in that opening line of this promise. Recall Jesus saying, I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. The Spirit, you see, does not simply repeat what has already been said or even sustain what Jesus has previously taught. In fact, the role of the Spirit is to unfold the inner mystery of Jesus' life and teaching throughout every age of the church. This is not, importantly, an adding to Jesus' teaching, but a piercing into and making presently effective its richness and significance for the believer and the whole community. This is done specifically in the concrete circumstances that confront us as we go forth bearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Once again, we see that the Spirit comes to make the teaching of Christ accessible to the believer precisely at the moment the believer is most ready to receive and appropriate that teaching. This final promise offers us the beautiful assurance that because of the active presence of the Holy Spirit, Jesus will never, ever be far from us. As a matter of fact, precisely because Jesus has gone and given way to the Spirit, made space for the Spirit, Jesus has become more interior to us than he ever could have been simply by remaining a physical presence within history. By the Holy Spirit, Jesus' words and deeds, accomplished once for all in the distant past, are made living, present, and meaningful for us exactly where we live and act today. Jesus, my friends, by the power of the Spirit, abides within us. Because of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus promised, we know with absolute confidence, Jesus Christ is alive. Once again, let's share from John 16, verses 12 through 15. Jesus said to his disciples, I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine. For this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Friends, perhaps it makes most sense at this moment to pray together. Loving Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we ask you to renew the gift of the Holy Spirit in us at the intercession of your Son, Jesus. Respond to his prayers for us, his disciples, that you would send us another Paraclete to teach us, to reveal to us the truthfulness and faithfulness of your word, your promises extended to us in the life, ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ. Allow the Spirit to glorify your Son deep within our spirits. Allow the Spirit to incline our hearts in deep affection and love for Jesus Christ, who is Lord forever and ever. Let me encourage you, friends, to sit with the promise for this week ahead. Claim it. Oh, embrace the promise peacefully within your spirit. Ask Jesus to reveal his faithfulness to bringing this promise to life in you. And friends, it is a joy indeed to share the Gospel with you. Amen. Amen. Amen.