God Moves Closer

Bible Reading: John 16:1–11

 Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; 

but if I go, I will send him to you.

 John 16:7

In John 16, Jesus prepares His disciples for sorrow, opposition, and confusion. Yet He does not speak of His departure as abandonment. As Eugene Peterson observes, Jesus repeatedly tells them two things: He is leaving, and the Holy Spirit is coming. The Son returns to the Father, but the disciples will not be left alone.

Jesus weaves the Father and the Holy Spirit naturally into His conversation. He is going to the Father through the cross, resurrection, and ascension. Then the Spirit—the Advocate, the Friend, the Spirit of Truth—will come to dwell in them. God’s presence changes form but increases in nearness. Through the Holy Spirit, the Triune God moves from walking with the disciples to living within them.

The Spirit’s ministry is centered on Christ. He convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. He exposes unbelief, reveals the righteousness of Jesus, and announces that the ruler of this world has been defeated. Everything Jesus said and did is now to be continued through His people by the power of the Spirit.

To know God in Three Persons is to know we are never abandoned. We are loved by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sustained by the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ absence becomes the Spirit’s presence, and His life continues in us.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help us to know You in the three glorious expressions of Your being—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—that we may share in Your one and eternal glory. Amen.