Benefits to Having the Holy SpiritНамуна

He Is for Your Good

In John 16:5–7, as Jesus is preparing His disciples for His departure, He says, "But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, “Where are you going?” But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 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 go, I will send him to you."

Of all the things I had missed about the Holy Spirit in my 35 years of following Jesus, what we’ll discover in our passage today is the one that struck me the most and spurred me to know Him better.

Jesus saw that sorrow had filled the disciples’ hearts because the words He spoke did not feel like good news to them at all. They might have thought, How could Jesus say it is for our advantage that He return to the Father? Being without Jesus could not possibly be to our advantage or for our good! 

The twelve disciples weren’t disappointed because they didn’t want the Holy Spirit. They were disappointed because it meant Jesus was going to depart. This was devastating news for the men who’d just spent three years by His side and under His leadership. This wasn’t how they thought it would go down.

Could the disciples have feared they’d be losing closeness and connectivity with Jesus? In reality, He would be closer and more connected to them than ever before because they would now have more than just His physical presence with them. His Spirit would now take up residence inside them.  

It is no small thing that Jesus’ revelation to His disciples remains true for us more than two thousand years later. And yet, we might be tempted to respond to this news as the disciples did. How could anything be better than you right here beside us? We want you, Jesus, not “just” the Helper, your Spirit.

I can’t help but wonder what Jesus would say to those of us feeling unsure, even now, about it being better to have His Spirit living in us than to have His physical presence beside us. I envision Jesus responding with tenderness, yet certainty, saying something like:

“My child, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are One. The Holy Spirit makes me even more real and beautiful to you. He takes up residence in your heart so you will never be alone and never be without what you need. He is making you more like me. And let me tell you what else He can do for you. Oh, just let me tell you how He is to your advantage!” 

Jesus said it was better that He ascend so that the Holy Spirit would descend. This is what most of us miss. The Spirit isn’t to be feared, but revered. He is for our good because He indwells us and ushers in a new depth and dimension in our relationship with God the Father and God the Son.  He enables us to love Jesus and live in His likeness, He emboldens us to share the hope of the Gospel, and He equips us to fulfill the unique calling on our lives. He is God the Holy Spirit and He is essential to us experiencing everything Jesus died and rose again to give us.