Jesus sends the Holy Spirit

Many times I hear two people tell about the same incident, but the stories are not exactly the same. Neither person is fabricating; they just have a difference of opinion on what is most important.

One example is an account of a fishing trip. The husband tells me of the trip to the fishing hole, the bait they used and the size of the catch. The wife put more emphasis on the fun they had, the scenery they saw and the people they met.

Critics ignore this principle and attack the first four books of the Bible because they are not exactly the same. For instance, someone determined that 92 percent of the material in John was unique and consequently only 8 percent was material held in common with the Synoptic Gospels. These critics say that these books cannot be relied on for that reason.

However, I’ve read them all many times and there is no conflict, just differences in priorities and perspectives. John’s unique perspective includes a private meeting Jesus had with His disciples. It is called the Upper Room Discourse where Jesus told them that His departure was near and they could not come with Him, but He would return and receive them into His Father’s house.

He also told them the Holy Spirit was coming to be with them. They would not be alone . . .

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. (John 14:18–20)

Whatever they might have understood about the Holy Spirit, Jesus did give them a thorough description. This Spirit would be far more that a mysterious power. He would be another “helper” — a word with a wide range of meaning such as advocate, mediator, comforter, suggesting this helper would be all they needed.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16–17)

Not only would the Holy Spirit be with them and meet their needs, He would teach them and remind them of all that Jesus had taught them. The Spirit would also be their source of peace and the One who would enable them to witness to the world what they knew about Him.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:26–27)

But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:26–27)

Perhaps the most important work of the Holy Spirit would be guiding them in truth, speaking the things of God to them and glorifying Christ through them.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13–15)

Reading this fills me with confidence. God gave the disciples all that they needed to do all that He wanted them to do. This is also His promise to me. Without God’s Spirit, I cannot even know the things of God, never mind carry out His will for my life. I’m humbled by my lack and astonished with gratitude at His provision.

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Lord Jesus, You know what lies before me this day. You know all the times I will need the power of the Holy Spirit to talk, to respond to others, or act in line with Your plans. Fill me up that I might please and glorify You.

It’s Greek to me . . .

In the fullness of time, God sent His Son into a world that, for the most part, spoke Greek. Some used this language as early as the 14^th century BC. As with all languages, it evolved over the years. During the time of Christ, it was called Koine, the language used in the New Testament. Later, the church used Byzantine Greek when making copies of the New Testament.

Fluency in Greek was required not only for political, military, economic, and religious leaders, but for anyone — merchants, traders, farmers — who would interact with those who lived in cities, towns, and their surroundings. Koine Greek held remarkable consistency over hundreds of years and thousands of miles even though many Jews spoke Aramaic, perhaps Hebrew, among themselves.

Common Greek differed from Classical Greek in that it was simplified. Biblical Greek has enough of these and other differences that can confuse readers about the writers’ intent. Also, parts of Scripture are conversational Greek, some are literary, some are in the local vernacular. This alone explains why Bible translation is challenging and why there are many English versions of it today.

Because of this, criticism often flares up. How do we know it is true? Did God say that? Was is merely the ideas of men? Are any of the translations accurate? Many questions have answers yet they are not always accepted. For some, the problem is not with understanding the difficult parts but with accepting the truth of the parts that are easily understood.

This is where the Holy Spirit comes in:

. . . No one comprehends the thoughts 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 understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:11–16)

When I was thirteen years old, I started reading the Bible every day because that was what my mother did. I assumed that this was a mark of being a woman, so copied her example. The problem was that I didn’t understand it at all, even after more than a dozen years of reading. Then one day, the Lord Jesus Christ came into my life. It was as real an event as the neighbor coming for a visit. Only this Visitor stayed. He gave me His forgiveness, righteousness and life. He also gave me His mind and suddenly I began to understand His Word. It was no longer human attempts to translate Greek, but God using His Book to speak into my heart and life.

I do not understand how that works other than God says it does. As a ‘natural’ person, the things of God made no sense at all. As a believer in Jesus Christ, the words of God not only make sense but give life and hope. They are alive. The common language of Greek was important yet that did not negate the necessity of the Holy Spirit who makes sense of whatever the Lord is saying. Terms like Christ, redemption, church, wisdom and word are rich with significance because the Holy Spirit opens my mind to understand them.

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Lord Jesus, I read, write, talk using words . . . and so do You. However, with the addition of the Holy Spirit, everything changes. You ‘read’ me because the Spirit understands me to the core. You wrote the Bible using human hands but inspired by Your thoughts and promptings. You speak through it to thousands by the power of the Spirit who not only interprets it but applies it to daily needs and problems. The NT was once “Greek to me” but because of Your grace, it is now life and power from Your very heart and mind, making language that gives music and joy to my heart and mind. Thank You.