Jesus poured divine revelation into the hearts and minds of his disciples for three years. As he prepared to leave and go back to the Father, Jesus said that he had much more to reveal to them but they weren’t ready. This was an act of grace by God. He knew the disciples would need time to process the coming events of the cross and Christ’s resurrection before they could absorb further revelation. Once Jesus returned to the Father, he promised to pour the Holy Spirit upon them. All that they still needed to understand, to proclaim, and to record for posterity, would be revealed to them then by the Holy Spirit.
Beginning with the Spirit’s arrival on the day of Pentecost, all the things Jesus had promised began to be revealed to the disciples. The Spirit guided them in all truth (that includes the message of the cross, salvation by grace, and the awesome love God has for his people). Secondly, the Spirit told them of things to come (that includes all of divine prophecy through the end of the age and beyond). Finally, the Spirit declared to them that which glorifies Christ (including his second coming as King of Kings and his eternal reign at the right hand of the Father). The summation of what the Spirit revealed to the apostles is recorded in the writings we know and treasure as “the New Testament.”
The Holy Spirit continues to serve as a teacher, guide, and counselor to his people in each generation. He illuminates our understanding of the written Word, guides us in God’s will, and may even choose to speak to us on an individual basis. In God’s wisdom and grace, he doesn’t tell us everything awaiting us in the years to come. He wisely reveals it to us as we need to know. The wonderful news is that, no matter what your age, God is never finished with what He can do in your life. As the Master painter, God sees your life as a canvas on which he’s waiting to do some of His finest work yet! May your spiritual eyes always be open to the work of the Master’s hand and may you rejoice in each new stroke of the brush he reveals.
Pastor Dave Korinek