WHEN GOD REPEATS HIMSELF

You know if God repeats Himself it is important.  If, in Scripture, you happen to discern a keyword or key-phrase repeated three times then some would equate that to “knocking you over the head” with an idea.  Hopefully by then you would have received the message.  However, how do you process a topic emphasized five times over?  For the topic at hand, God, through John, wrote five times within three chapters about what Jesus had to say concerning the coming of the “Counselor” – The Holy Spirit”.  This demands our attention!

REASONS THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS SENT

·         John 14:16-17 – Spirit of Truth

·         John 14:26 – Bring Scripture to Mind

·         John 15:26-27 – Help Us Testify

·         John 16:7-8 – Convictor of Sin in our Lives

·         John 16:13-14 – “Guide you into all truth” + “Tell you what is yet to come”

My chart I supply above is a quick “cliff notes” or what I call “headliners” of the Scripture beside it.  Below is a more detailed look at the verses.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” – John 14:16-17

The first verse and reason the Holy Spirit was sent was to provide us with “another counselor”.  Jesus was our first counselor, but now we receive “the Spirit of Truth” to live within us and counsel us!

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“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” – John 14:26

Three things need magnification here.  The first point is that there is no other name under heaven by which humanity can be saved (Acts 4:12).  Therefore, there is only one name that the Holy Spirit can be sent by, under, and through – Jesus Christ (“whom the Father will send in my name”).  Secondly, the Holy Spirit “will teach you all things”.  If you, as a believer in Christ, allow yourself to be controlled daily by the Holy Spirit and submit to God’s plan for your life, then as some say, “Katie bar the door!” – The Holy Spirit promises to teach you “ALL things”.  Last time I checked, all meant all.  Finally, the Holy Spirit will remind us of what Jesus said in Scripture.  There are so many situations and circumstances we face in life that we truly can answer the question – What Would Jesus Do?  Just read The Word!  As a bonus, if you are in The Word daily or put another way - reading The Bible regularly - then you have an awesome foundation upon which The Holy Spirit has to draw from when you need a word on the spot.  So, get in The Word today and stay there, it’s healthy and wise!

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"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.  And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” – John 15:26-27

Jesus is speaking here and says some of the first things we hear in the previous verse - John 14:26.  However, look at “he will testify about me.  And you also must testify…”  Knowing now that The Holy Spirit lives within each believer, Jesus said “he [The Holy Spirit] will testify about me”.  How will this come about?  “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." – Mark 16:17-18 (By the way, allow your God given common sense to prevail and don’t go looking for a snake to pick up or looking for poison to drink in order to prove this verse!)  The verse also says, “And you also must testify”.  Here is where we, as believers, get to tell our story – our journey to salvation – what our life was like before we knew Jesus as our personal Savior and what life is like now with Him as Savior and Friend.

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“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.  When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:” – John 16:7-8

Number one, if Jesus says that something is “good” then I’m all ears.  In addition, He said “It is for your good [my/our good] that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come; but if I go, I will send him to you.”  Again, with Jesus saying it, I’m like “alright Jesus, well if you gotta go, you gotta go, don’t let a cloud hit you on the way up!” (A little holy humor)  Number two, “when he [The Holy Spirit] comes” He will be the convictor of sin in our lives.  I have been praying a prayer lately everyday that goes something like this – “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.   See if there is any offensive way in me, [gut it out of me] and lead me in the way everlasting.” – Psalm 139:23-24

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“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all 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.  He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” – John 16:13-14

Everything you ever wanted to know the truth about just ask The Holy Spirit to guide you in that regard for “he will guide you into all truth”.  The Holy Spirit also acts as The Revelator – “he will tell you what is yet to come” AND “making it known to you” the things that are God’s which are evidently still hidden in Him.  Wow!  Just think, the uncertainty some have concerning the books of prophecy in the Bible - The Holy Spirit will "guide you into all truth" concerning those and "tell you what is yet to come" and make it "known to you" the meaning.
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I know the Holy Spirit loves us more than how I have described He loves us in the above ways.  However, for Jesus to mention The Holy Spirit and His purposes so many times (5x) and in between brief reading distances (within 3 chapters), I thought it imperative that I extract what God, through John had to say were the Reasons the Holy Spirit Was Sent.