_CHRIST’S SORROWFUL SURPRISE_ ‘None of you asketh Me, Whither goest Thou?’ John 16:5 As we think over these words, spoken by our Lord on the night before He died, we may seem to discern through them a tinge of many feelings, no one of which completely characterises them. Sorrow and reproof and pi... [ Continue Reading ]
_CHRIST AND HIS PEOPLE_ ‘It is expedient for you that I go away.’ John 16:7 We are almost tempted to wonder whether He could not have remained with us, as He remained with the disciples during those forty days. Then, perhaps, when our hearts were heavy we might have hoped to meet Him just where t... [ Continue Reading ]
_BEFORE PENTECOST_ ‘It I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.’ John 16:7 The men who had spent three and a half years with Christ would have been left utterly desolate and comfortless unless enriched by the advent of the New Comforter. But... [ Continue Reading ]
_CONVICTION OF SIN_ ‘When He is come, He will reprove (convict) the world of sin.’ John 16:8 I. THERE IS NOTHING IN THE WORLD MORE DIFFICULT THAN TO CONVICT ANY SOUL OF SIN, or to be convicted of sin ourselves; and that for four reasons. (_a_) _ Because of the deep-seated self-complacency which... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORLD_ ‘And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.’ John 16:8 We are prepared to understand how it is that our Saviour should put His finger, as it were, upon _ the_ sin of the world, that He should have declared unbelief... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE REPROOF OF THE COMFORTER_ ‘And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin … because they believe not on Me.’ John 16:8 How does the Comforter convict us of sin? It is written, ‘Of sin, because they believe not in Me.’ I. THE SERIOUS ELEMENT IN ALL SIN IS THAT IT MEANS THE REJECTION... [ Continue Reading ]
_MANY THINGS TO BE REVEALED_ ‘I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.’ John 16:12 Limited knowledge, even on the most deeply interesting subjects of human thought, is a necessity of our present state. These limitations on our knowledge of Divine things are for our pro... [ Continue Reading ]
_GUIDANCE INTO TRUTH_ ‘When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.’ John 16:13 The coming of the Holy Ghost was no mere isolated event in the history of the Kingdom of God. It was a great epoch—the opening of a new era in the life of man, the ushering in of a new disp... [ Continue Reading ]
_SPIRITUAL REVELATION_ ‘He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you.’ John 16:14 There can be no doubt that the words used, ‘He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you’ (R.V.), are selected with care. I. CONSIDER WHAT THE WORD TRANSLATED ‘TAKE’ REALLY MEANS.—It is repeated wit... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE FUNCTION OF THE PARACLETE_ ‘He shall glorify Me: for He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you.’ John 16:14. (R.V.) These promises have not passed away. They remain as true now, as capable of fulfilment now, as when they were first uttered. Let us try to realise what this teachin... [ Continue Reading ]
_ABSENT AND PRESENT_ ‘A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me.’ John 16:16 In the first part of the sentence our Lord evidently referred to the time during which His bodily Presence would be hidden from them by reason of His death and burial. So far... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING_ ‘Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.’ John 16:20 What a tremendous problem suffering places before us! There are many who never have any doubts about the truth of their religion, whose faith is yet sorely tried when trouble comes upon them,... [ Continue Reading ]
_JOY WHICH ABIDES_ ‘I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.’ John 16:22 Why is it that the word ‘joy’ has nearly dropped out of our vocabulary? We speak of happiness, cheerfulness, good humour, and so on; but these are all words which have their ex... [ Continue Reading ]
_‘IN MY NAME’_ ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name, He will give it you.’ John 16:23 I. THE CHURCH OF GOD HAS REVERENTLY ACCEPTED THE LORD’S OWN PROMISE AS TO THE EFFICACY OF PRAYER.—And of prayer not merely for blessings described as spiritual, but for... [ Continue Reading ]
_TWO CONTRASTED CONCEPTIONS_ ‘In the world’; ‘In Me.’ John 16:33 These words are part of the closing sentences of our dear Lord’s last address. They tell of a life the disciples must inevitably lead. I. TWO CONTRASTED CONCEPTIONS.—‘In the world’; ‘In Me.’ The matter treated of is the life and e... [ Continue Reading ]