THIS IS BETTER FOR YOU Larry W Peebles March 5, 2021 21.09
Much has been written and said about Jesus, the Son of God who came to earth as a man in the flesh. The Bible, the most widely distributed and read book in the world, contains the history of the people He not only created, but descended from. As strange as that statement may sound, it is true. The Bible contains the ancient prophesies of the coming of Jesus, and the stories from His life, death, and resurrection while here on earth. The Jewish people knew He would come. They called Him Messiah, the Anointed One. They knew He would come as the ultimate Ruler, Law Giver, and Judge. (Isaiah 33:22) He would rescue His people and lead them into a better existence. They did not recognize Him when He came, but He came for all, including the non-Jew.
The New Testament Gospels contain much of the detailed accounts of His works while on the earth. He spread the good news that the kingdom of God had come to earth. The Bible says He went about doing “good” (Acts 10:38), healing all the sick, cleansing the lepers, casting out demons, and raising the dead. These maladies do not exist in Heaven, and that is why the Kingdom of Heaven was needed on earth. He was so compassionate regarding the people, noting their poverty, and observing they were like sheep without a shepherd. He was a light into the darkness of the Roman oppression of the land and people of Israel. Jesus gave them hope and practical help. He gave them a fresh and personal introduction to their God and Creator of the universe. He spoke to them of sin, forgiveness, and the right way to think and conduct themselves. Jesus identified Himself as their Shepherd (John 10:11), and their Light (John 8:12), and the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). These are bold proclamations. For example, Jesus did not say He would lead them as a shepherd, He said He was The Shepherd. Similarly, He did not say He would tell them or show them the truth, He said He was The Truth. He also said He was the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25), then following His crucifixion He was resurrected from the dead to prove His mastery over life and death.
This good, loving, perfect and only Son of the Father did more for the human race than any man who ever lived. Unlike you and me, He never harmed anyone. He never lied, stole, cheated or acted immorally. He lived the perfect life, simply demonstrating it was possible to do so. He went out of His way to find the one person no one else wanted to associate with. Such a man as this was the only suitable and acceptable sacrifice for the sins of the world. He willingly laid down His beautiful life to save the rest of us from the consequences of our sin. It is hard to imagine such a sacrifice.
Knowing the history-changing contribution He had made while here on earth, and that crucifixion was coming by His own choice, He made a most interesting statement. He said in John 16: 7- “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” He had led a good and perfect life. He had volunteered to sacrifice His life in order to reconcile us back to the Father. Yet He announced to His disciples that it would be better for them if He went away. If He went away, He could send us a Helper. This statement had to arouse the curiosity in His disciples. How is it possible that Jesus could replace Himself with someone to help us who would prove to be to our advantage?
The Bible tells us that Jesus traded the worship of the Heavenly hosts for the rejection of His own people. He left every honor in Heaven to come struggle with us and for us for 33 years on earth. Only the last three years of His life were spent in ministry, where he identified Himself as the Messiah Son of God, and established His purpose on earth—to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10) Sin had turned the earth over to Satan, and he had the people of the earth under heavy condemnation, guilt, oppression, poverty, and sickness. Jesus never intended to stay indefinitely. He intended to give His life to correct all that destruction, defeat the devil, and return to Heaven. But He never intended to leave us alone. In fact, he said He would never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
So how could He work all that out to our advantage, such that His leaving the earth would actually be better for us? He would send the Holy Spirit. After his crucifixion and burial, He rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples (and others). He told them –“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you, but tarry [wait] in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49). Luke recorded that message again in Acts 1: 4-5- “And being assembled together with them [the disciples], He [Jesus] commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, which He said, ‘you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” When God makes a promise, it carries the full weight and power of His supreme authority, because the Bible says He puts His word above His name. (Psalm 138:2) He obligated Himself by His own word. This promise is important and powerful.
Going back to John 16, in addition to telling His disciples this would be better for them, He also told them “The Spirit of Truth [Holy Spirit] would come to guide them into all truth.” (v.13) The One who is the Truth was sending the Spirit of Truth. Going forward, the Holy Spirit would provide the power and the truth to convict the unbelieving world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Those who would hear, confess and repent would be forever changed.
So the Holy Spirit is the Promise of the Father, and is the Spirit of Truth. What are some other ways His coming would be better or advantageous after Jesus ascended back to Heaven? Here are eight additional things the Holy Spirit does, according to Scriptures, although there may be more:
- He is the believers’ Helper-John 14:26- “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name.”
- He indwells the believers and seals (guards, guarantees) them until the day of redemption. Ephesians 1:13-14- “Having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession (you and me), to the praise of His glory.”
- The Holy Spirit assists believers in prayer. Romans 8:26- “For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
- The Spirit comforts the believer with joy in a hostile world. 1 Thessalonians 1:6- “And you have become followers of us and the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit.”
- He causes the believer to trust the Lord and overflow with hope and peace. Romans 15:13- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”.
- The Spirit sets Himself against the desires of the flesh, so that the believer can be led into righteousness. Galatians 5:16- “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
- The Holy Spirit is a gift-giver. 1 Corinthians 12:4, 8-10- “For there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit…word of knowledge…gift of faith…gift of healing…miracles…prophecy…tongues…interpretation of tongues.”
- The Holy Spirit gives believers wisdom. 1 Corinthians 2: 11-12- “No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”
Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover. He was the ultimate Passover sacrificial Lamb. Fifty days later, at the Jewish Feast of Weeks/Harvest, God fulfilled His promise to send the Holy Spirit. Still in Jerusalem, the disciples were gathered together for the Feast with other believers when the events of Acts 2: 1-4 occurred- “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly, there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” God fulfilled His promise. The power to do what Jesus had asked them to do, namely spread the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, had come. The power had come to enable us to do the works of Jesus. John 14:12- “greater works than these [the works that Jesus did] he [who believes in Me] will do.”
Their help, their wisdom, and their power came and never left the earth. The Holy Spirit is still operative today. He is not merely available, He is essential. We must believe in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will come to live inside us. This is for our own personal benefit. Then we must receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit, which is a separate event according to Acts 8:14-17. This is the Holy Spirit resting upon us and anointing us for the benefit of others. When Jesus said He would never leave us, He meant His Spirit would be with us forever. My wife and I have seen the work of the Holy Spirit in our ministry. We have seen blind eyes opened, and demons driven out of the possessed. The Holy Spirit comes on us with the power to demonstrate the Gospel, as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 2:4. We pray all will ask and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It will be better for us if we do.
