Christian Education: John 16: 5-15

[ Background to the Passage & Three Lessons we learn from it ]:

The passage is part of a longer section in the 16th chapter of the Gospel; the whole section begins at verse 4 and ends at verse 33. In St. John 16:4-33 Jesus repeat some themes that he had previously spoken of in chapter 14. In 14:1and 14:27. Jesus offers assurance to his disciples’ troubled hearts.

Now in 16:5-7 Let us read it to see what Jesus is doing with the disciples. Here Jesus turns the disciples attention away from their sorrow and emphasizes the necessity of his going back to the Heavenly Father and how it will benefit the disciples.

In St. John 16:7-11 – we find the fourth of five promises of the Holy Spirit that Jesus gave his disciples throughout John’s Gospel. Let us look up the three promises of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus gave to the disciples and through them to the whole Church before he came to this the fourth promise. First person to find (14:16-17) read it; then 14:26; finally 15:26-27. What is another name for the Holy Spirit according to what we read in these promises?

In St. John 16:12-15, we are introduced to Jesus fifth and final promise of the Holy Spirit that is contained in this Gospel. From these promises we wish to highlight three very important lessons that we have learnt today about God’s Holy Spirit.

1. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth – this means that no one can claim to be guided or directed by the Spirit of God if there is any falsehood, dishonesty or hypocrisy in her or his life. Since each and everyone of us who has been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit then we have a responsibility to live and serve truth, honesty and righteousness so that we can actually live in the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. The Holy Spirit of God is the power that enables Christians to Continue to experience the presence of God that the disciples knew when Jesus was with them in the flesh. This means that we can be able to serve and please God as faithful Christians if we do not have the power of the Holy Spirit within us. The Holy Spirit comes into our heart and life with all His power when we accept Jesus as our Saviour and devote our lives to serving him as our Lord.
3. The Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son and in most powerfully at work when Christians live in together in love, fellowship, sharing and caring. The presence and power of the Holy Spirit is very weak or hardly known in the experiences of many persons who have been baptized, are confirmed and take their communion regularly; this is the case because those individuals are not deeply enough involved in and attached to the community life of the Parish. It is important that all of us get sincerely and deeply connected to the promotion of unity and fellowship within the Parish. These are very necessary ingredients for the release of the power of the Holy Spirit in our community under the Fatherhood of our God. The God whom we worship and serve is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the God and Father of us all. Brothers and sisters, let us unite to serve our God and to love and support each other.