[Jesus said,]“I have yet many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. However when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.†John 16:12-13 (WEB)
Here is another one of those words from Jesus that may be seen by some as something that they do not want to read. I think if we are honest we would say that we all have parts of God’s Word that we wished weren’t there! We must acknowledge all of God’s Word. I believe that means we must have more than just people who agree with us as part of our fellowship. We must grow into our ears to hear truth and discern what is a new revelation and what is – not.
Verse 16 is a statement that shows another facet of the depth of God’s love. Jesus has things He wants to tell us but His delivery of the message will be in perfect timing. Yes, there are times that I cannot bear what Jesus has to tell me. It is the Holy Spirit that knows my spirit and brings the message in His timing and with His truthful words. The Spirit gives God’s message – straight from the throne room of the Father.
Jesus says here that the Spirit will be bringing messages. God’s Word is not finished. He continues to communicate with His children. Just as He did not stop talking when Moses died or Jesus came back to heaven, God isn’t finished yet. Jesus says that the Spirit will be telling us about things to come.
Prophecy, words of knowledge, and discernment are ‘tricky’ things. We must apply the wisdom that God gives us when we receive a ‘new thing’ from God. It is a wonderful experience to hear from God. Yes, there is much to hear from God in the scripture that we know. There is more. And it will reflect the character of God that we know. Just as the ‘dots’ from the Old Testament connect with the ‘dots’ of the New Testament, so will ‘new’ words from God connect with what we already know.
“Most certainly I tell you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow, because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn’t remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.†vv.20-22
There are difficult, very difficult things happening and that will happen. The Holy Spirit does not bring happy news. He brings us news that will correct me, discipline me, encourage me, and teach me. Just as there were hard teachings in school, there are hard teachings to be learned from my best Teacher.
Let us commit our hearts and minds to God so that our ears become tuned to only Him. Let us be open to what God has to say to us. Let us be obedient to the path He has for us, knowing that Jesus promised that the Spirit would supply us with all that we need for whatever is to come.
