The Importance of the Holy Spirit

Lesson #233

As Jesus continues to prepare his disciples for his departure, he says: “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you” (John 14:25 ESV). For over a year we have studied the things Jesus said and did and to us we understand because we have the New Testament to learn from and we have the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. The disciples were before all of this and to the natural mind they were not able to understand these spiritual applications. Jesus wanted them to hear what he was saying and even if they didn’t understand, they will one day. This understanding will come when they meet Jesus after being raised from the dead and especially when they receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is the hope Jesus again tells them about.

Jesus continues: “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” (John 14:26 ESV). The disciples are struggling to understand and Jesus is trying to encourage them by telling them that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in his name, will one day give them understanding. The Holy Spirit will teach them all they need to know when they need to know it. One of the joys of Bible study, especially in preparing these lessons, is being taught by the Holy Spirit. Not only does he teach me new things about verses, but he brings to mind things I learned in the past. I notice this even more as I age and have more trouble remembering things of normal life, but find that my recall of spiritual things continues to grow.

How might “bring to your remembrance” apply to the disciples? First, I think it applies to remembering the things Jesus told them. There was much information that needed to be remembered in order to write the gospels and for the edification of believers and the church. Second, the Holy Spirit would teach them the meaning of those things which Jesus had spoken of that they didn’t understand when he was with them, even though he repeatedly told them. Remember, God chose the Jews to be a light to the Gentiles, but they kept God to themselves. The Gentiles were to also have hope in the name of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit used Peter to help establish an understanding of this in Acts 10:44 – 48.

I decided to ask Google the question, “What is the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives?” to see what I would get for an answer. I browsed through the information retrieved and chose to look at this link, which provided a list of 50 things the Holy Spirit does.

Prayer

Father, as I think about a closing prayer for this lesson, I am reminded of how we misuse the tools you give us for ministry. We need to be reminded over and over again that you chose us and assigned kingdom work for us to do and gave us tools to use. Three of these tools are prayer, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. We usually use prayer, asking you to meet our needs and to establish greater comfort for us and others. From the Word we are nourished and find directions in how to do our work, but we tend to leave it on the shelf or table. We often seek the Holy Spirit for our enjoyment, not for the purpose of guidance, strength and understanding in doing our assigned work. Are we not like the person who was given the one talent who did not invest it? Father, have mercy on us.