Wednesday, March 7, 2007
John 16:7-11 "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. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."
OUR ADVANTAGE (Part II)
That it is better for the apostles and for us that the Holy Spirit be given is very evident from the lives of the Apostles who although they walked with Christ and talked with Christ, yet understood so little of what He said to them. For the mind of man is incapable of understanding the mind of God, "For who has known the mind of the LORD?"
Therefore let no man say, "I will understand the things of God." For if any man sets about to ponder out the deep things of God He will not find the truth about God, but only the imaginations of his heart, and this god will seem like a good and worthy god to him, but this is only because it strikes harmony with his own heart for it is a god that came from his heart. Nor let any man say, "I will ponder out the mystery of the cross and I will teach myself the truth of Christ's passion." But let every man be honest and say, "I can not understand nor can I figure it out but you O Lord send me the Holy Spirit as you have promised and you O Lord be my teacher."
For this reason the Lord "ascended on high . . . And gave gifts to men." And chief among these is the gift of the Holy Spirit. So we rejoice that He has gone for while He was here we could not understand. But since He has left, He has sent the Holy Spirit who testifies within us concerning the things of God and teaches us to understand what Christ taught and what He did. Therefore let no one approach the Holy Scriptures saying it is impossible for me to understand, but let us rejoice that such a gift has been given and learn to pray, "Lord enlighten me with Your Spirit that I may learn all things that are written for my edification."
