“But 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…” (John 16:7)
“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:13)
As I discuss in my book, The Kingdom Election, I believe there were many reasons Jesus made this statement in John 16 to His disciples prior to leaving this world, not the least of which were:
- His job was done. He hung on the cross, breathed His last, the payment for sin was made and He proclaimed, “It is accomplished!” He had come to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth, pay the debt we could not, initiate a new covenant, and with that reconcile God and man. This member of the holy Trinity had fulfilled His role perfectly. Done, finished, only the resurrection left to add the exclamation point!
- He was to usher in the age of the Holy Spirit—that “another” He called the Helper. Though those listening to Him did not have a clue who the Spirit was at the time, Jesus knew it was time for Him to step down and for them to get introduced.
- Most germane to this message, Jesus was letting go of them in the flesh, and wanting them to let go of Him, so they would continue to spread their wings in the spirit and mature to their fullness.
If I might quote my book,
“It would not do Jesus or His disciples any good for Him to remain here in the flesh any longer.
In fact, I believe He felt they would be harmed if He stayed because they would have clung to Him instead of going forth to be all they could be. He wanted them to discover their identities and step out in their own individual giftedness. That would happen through the Spirit, not Him. The gospel was over, and a new chapter in God’s book of new things was coming! This “I’m leaving and it’s better for you I do” moment can be likened to another where He was introduced as that new thing God was doing then. It was to His people’s advantage then that Jesus’ voice replaced the Father’s voice.
Matthew 17 records Jesus’ transfiguration into His heavenly glory. Moses and Elijah, the lawgiver and the prophet, appeared with Him. Peter asked Jesus if it would be good to build three tabernacles to house them. Suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed the mountaintop and the disciples fell on their faces. From the cloud God spoke, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased. Hear Him!” When the disciples arose, Moses and Elijah were gone.
What was the Father showing them and saying? “Here is My great lawgiver and one of My great prophets, but you are no longer to hear their voices. I have done an amazing new thing on earth by sending My Son. Now you are to hear Him!” In the same way, Jesus left and now the Holy Spirit remains standing on the mountaintop. Jesus said, “Here is the One I am sending who will take all I have to teach you from now on and reveal it to you. He will, from now on, guide you into all truth” (John 16). What was Jesus saying if not “from now on, hear Him?”
Should not we, as the church, embrace that same model? Hebrews 5-6 talks about certain “elementary teachings” that were keeping men as “babes” who were obviously old enough in the Lord to be “teachers.” He refers to those elementary teachings specifically as “repentance from dead works and faith towards God.” Well, what was Jesus about if not that? Please don’t misunderstand. What Jesus did was critical, and no one would enter the kingdom without embracing the elementary principles of the gospel. But even Jesus Himself proclaimed it would be a good thing for Him to go so the One who would come and take us beyond that point to maturity could arrive.
He knew if he stayed, He would become much like most of our “pastors” today, their flocks clinging to them year after year for their spiritual guidance when what Jesus wants is for us to leave the comfort of our pews and figure out how to walk with, and hear, the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew, as He wants us to know today, revelation is the language of the kingdom and there’s only one place we will get that: from an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit He sent to take us beyond the elementary teachings.
Jesus gave His men the solid foundation through both Word and example, but then knew when elementary school should let out and higher education from the One He called “Teacher” brought into session. Oh, it would always still be His teaching because He said the Spirit would teach only as He led, but it would be in a new way: from within with a message and gift unique to each one. And it would not be leading them away from community, but to make them all they could be within the community due to mature lives individually.
Oh, that the church today would figure this out! They’re good at converting the seekers with those elementary teachings, but soon after run out of challenges for them as followers needing to mature. Yet, they persist in keeping them in elementary school rather than letting them go—stepping back and demanding they go out as Jesus did!
Pastors can teach all the greatest, most intelligent, and inspiring lessons in the world, but the fact is the greatest lesson [how to walk in the Spirit] cannot be taught in a classroom. The greatest gift Jesus came to bring [the kingdom of heaven on earth] cannot be found there and the fruit He wants us to bear cannot be born there. The meat of mature disciples of Christ can only be found where He grew it: in the marketplaces outside of our comfortable temples, figuring out individually how to walk in and hear the Spirit.
Until our churches say to their considerable number of babes, “He must increase and we must decrease,” nothing much will change and elementary school will continue to remain in session long after its useful life has expired. The lost sheep in God’s house will continue to wander her halls, never knowing what could be. Have you moved on, graduated from elementary school and sought higher education from the Spirit? Do you spend “alone time” and lots of it figuring it out mano-a-mano “hearing Him?” Or are you still looking back when Jesus told you to look forward.
The Lord says through the prophet Isaiah that those who spent their time looking back to former glories will miss the new ones He is always providing (Isa. 43). Those who don’t graduate from the elementary school of the faith will never mature into the halls of the kingdom and will forever remain lost sheep, “babes,” in the house of God.
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