SoiKosum

Q1. (John 16:12-15) In what sense does the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth. Does this promise apply only to the apostolic age to lay the foundations of the faith? In what sense does it apply to us today? The Spirit won't be teaching us new doctrines. Rather He will be reminding his is of what Jesus has already taught us. The Spirit will listen to Jesus and relay this to us, just as Jesus listened to the Father and relayed that to his disciples and only spoke what the Father told him to say. No, this promise does not only apply to the apostolic age. It also applies to us today. When we study the bible, we must not only gain 'head' knowledge. We must also seek to gain spiritual knowledge and truth. We can only do this through spiritual discernment with the help of the Holy Spirit.

(John 16:8) Through what means does the Holy Spirit convict unbelievers? Is it our job as preachers or lay Christians to convict unbelievers or backslidden people? If not, why not? What damage do we inflict on people when we try to do the Holy Spirit’s job? 1. We need the miracle power of the Holy Spirit, for it is one way that he convicts people of their sins and of Christ's power. 2. Through a prophetic word. 3. By taking a sermon, lesson, or an individual's testimony and convincing a person of the truth of it in their heart of hearts. 4. A fourth way that the Holy Spirit uses to convict people is through our righteous lives. 5. The Holy Spirit brings conviction is through patient instruction with prayer. No, our job is not to convict unbelievers or backslidden people of their sins. Our job is to bring God's word to them and pray that they will accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. By doing so, they will also accept the Holy Spirit in to their lives and it is the Holy Spirit whol will then convict these people of their sins and the need for repentance. If we take over the Holy Spirit's job, we could inadvertently alienate these people from God and lose their salvation forever. We do not have discernment of God's timing and purpose for these people and so we should leave the conviction to the Holy Spirit.

(John 16:5-7; 14:12) What benefit is there to the disciples that Jesus goes away? What promise do we have in John 14:12 concerning the Spirit’s power in believers? "... But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." (John 16:7) The benefits are: 1. Jesus' going to the cross and being raised from the dead is God's plan for their redemption, and that of the whole world, though this is unspoken here. 2. The Holy Spirit will be poured out on them after Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. The promise in John 14:12 is this - The Holy Spirit will not only guide, encourage, teach, and remind them, as Jesus had done, but He will also empower them. "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12) This is also echoed in Acts "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

(John 15:26-27) What does it mean to “testify”? In what way does the Spirit testify about Jesus? Can you testify from personal knowledge about Jesus, or only the apostles who were eyewitnesses? To "testify" is to confirm or attest something on the basis of personal knowledge or belief, bear witness, be a witness, offer testimony. The Holy Spirit presents Christ's case for Him before the believers and the world. The apostles are not the only ones who can give testimony. Though we were not eyewitnesses of the historical Jesus, we too must bear witness of what Jesus has done in our lives.

(John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13a) Why do we believe that the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force or power, but a Person? What kinds of functions that we attribute to persons does the Holy Spirit do? Why is it so easy to refer to the Spirit as “it” rather than “Him”? John sees the Holy Spirit as a Person, sent by the Father to replace Jesus' physical presence to be the Paraclete with his disciples.The Holy Spirit is a distinct person in his own right and performs functions we attribute to person-hood: - The Holy Spirit appoints missionaries - He leads and directs them in their ministry - He speaks through the prophets - He corrects - Helps us in our infirmities - Teaches - Guides - Sanctifies - Testifies of Christ - Glorifies Christ - Has a power of his own - Searches all things - Works according to his own will - Dwells with saints - Can be grieved - Can be resisted - Can be tempted It is easy to refer to the Holy Spirit as "it" because we cannot see Him. However, this is because the Holy Spirit is a gentleman and does not seek to impose His will on us. Nevertheless, He is very much a part of our lives and we can certainly trust Him to lead us, guide us and show us great and mighty things.

(John 15:18-21a) Why are Christians persecuted even if they haven’t hurt others? What about a faithful Christian’s life threatens non-Christians? Why does Jesus warn his disciples that persecution will come? What happens to our testimony if we give in under mild persecution? What does it say to persecutors when we don’t react to their persecution? Do they see us as weak or as strong? Closely related is the contrast in morals and values between disciples and people who have adopted the relative standards of society. If your values become honesty and putting in your full work day in a culture where people take sick days when they're not sick and come in late, you'll make others angry because your good behavior highlights their bad behavior. When worldly people find that Christians can't be seduced and controlled by money, sex, and power, they sense a loss of power themselves. Christians are viewed as "loose cannons" and are hated for it. Being a follower of Christ isn't "safe." Jesus reminds us that they will treat us the same way as they treated him. Yes, some will come to faith and have their lives transformed, but others will hate and persecute us, to one degree or another. If we don't react to persecution, our persecutors may come to believe that our faith in our Almighty God is strong.

(John 15:12-15) What is required to be counted a “friend of Jesus”? What privileges do “friends” enjoy according to verse 15? What happens when we take for granted this privilege? Jesus is saying that you doing what he commands is an indication that you love him. Servants obey because they have to. Friends obey because they want to. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:1415) Jesus' friends have the privilege of sitting down with the Master and understanding his Kingdom. If we take this privilege for granted then we are no more than slaves. In effect this will make our relationship with Jesus a chore and ultimately this may cause us to fall away from Jesus.

(John 15:9-11) How are obedience and joy linked? Is obedience an obstacle to a joyful relationship between you and the Lord? Obedience cannot and should not be an obstacle to a joyful relationship with God. Instead, obedience sets us free to enjoy God's love. Only with children who are obedient can the parents relax in their joy with them. And this joy is what Jesus wants us to experience. As we'll see in verses 14 and 15, Jesus desires to move his disciples from the place of servants, who obey because they have to, to friends, who obey because they want to. Obedience from the heart, the cessation of rebellion, enables free flowing fellowship.

(John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate to define fruit as “souls saved”? What is the danger in this definition? If we abide in Christ and in obedience to His teachings, they we can ask anything in prayer and He'll give it to us. Why? Because we'll be praying according to His will and leading! We'll be requesting things that will expand His kingdom, not just selfish requests. As He gives us answers to our prayers, that is where the fruit-bearing will take place. Fruit applies to a new way of life, one's actions, to a way of living. Fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth." (Ephesians 5:8b9) Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:2223a) Abiding in Christ produces the fruit of righteous character especially of love and influence of this character that brings glory to God. It is very narrow and shallow to define fruit as souls saved. As per the above definitions, fruit must also refer to our character and way of living.

(John 15:4-6) Unbelievers can do many things. So what does Jesus mean when he says, “Apart from me you can do nothing”? What is the value of things done without Christ? What is the final end of things done without Christ? Abiding also involves utter dependence upon Jesus the Vine. If we branches don't continue intimately connected to the vine, our "sap" is cut off. We wither and whatever fruit might have been in the process of ripening becomes like dry raisins rather than lush grapes full of juice. We can do things by ourselves. We expend great human effort in doing so. But the things that last, that count for eternity, these we cannot do without his leading and his power. According to Paul, the final end of things done with or without Christ is this - "His work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Corinthians 3:1315)

(John 15:4-5) What does it mean “to abide”? What is the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints? How do these verses support it? What does abiding have to do with “mutual indwelling,” of a “personal relationship”? How well are you abiding? Abide means to "hold on to" or "continue in" and in this context to hold on to or continue in Jesus' teachings. In the metaphor of the vine and the branches, "abiding" refers to being intimately connected to and receiving nourishment from the vine. The perseverance of the saints means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God's power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives. If we don't hold on to Jesus' teachings, we will not be able to persevere until the end. Our foundation will crumble in the event of a storm and the house will be washed away. This mutual indwelling is part of the Father's relationship with the Son. The Father and Son are the exemplars of what our relationship is to be with Jesus constant living together, sharing a deepening relationship of love and (on our part) obedience.

(John 15:2b) How are we pruned or cleansed by exposure to and obedience to Jesus’ words? According to John 8:31-32, how does obeying Jesus’ teaching bring cleansing and freedom from sin? Jesus' Word has a moral and spiritual cleansing effect. The effect of obedience and "holding to" Jesus' teaching is freedom from the slavery to sin, and separation from evil. God's Word, when received, has a washing, cleansing, pruning, faith-producing effect on us. We are sanctified by Jesus' words which are true. By obeying the truth, we have purified ourselves.

(John 15:2) How does judicious pruning benefit a grapevine? What happens to productivity and health when a vine is left unpruned? What does God use to prune our lives? What does God use to prune our congregations? Why do we resist pruning? What can we do so that the eventual pruning isn’t as severe? The purposes of pruning are to: - Stimulate growth, - Allow the vinedresser to shape the vine, - Produce maximum yield without breaking the branches with too many clusters for them to bear, - Protect against mildew, - Produce better quality wine, with more highly concentrated and flavorful grapes. Without pruning, the fruit for the new season will be dramatically diminished, and the vine will begin to grow wild, producing some grapes, but making it hard for the plant to get enough light and making it difficult to harvest what few grapes are produced. You may be spending lots of time in activities that are fruitless. Sometimes we suffer losses and grieve about them, but find that God is redirecting and healing us. We can trust the Vinedresser and must be obedient, if we want his skill to make us whole and fruitful. Churches, too, need pruning. How many activities are continued because "we've always done that," long past the time when they are effective in advancing the Kingdom? Sometimes people need to be removed from leadership and others moved into leadership. Some churches experience a painful time when a number of members leave over some issue. But when this loss is surrendered to God and forgiveness is sought, this "pruning" can become the impetus for new growth. We resist pruning because it can be painful. To make the eventual pruning less severe, we must surrender to God's will and ask for His forgiveness and be obedient to His word.

(John 14:30-31a) How does Satan take advantage of our previous sins to control us or make us fearful? In verse 31, how does Jesus stay free from bondage to Satan? How can we free ourselves from bondage to Satan and fear of exposure? By playing on our minds that we have sinned and that we will be found out. Furthermore, he makes us feel guilty that we have sinned and is not worthy of God's forgiveness and love. In addition, he makes us feel lousy about ourselves because of our past sins. Satan has no hold over Jesus because does no sin and He loves God the Father and that He does exactly what the Father commands. We can free ourselves from bondage by repenting of our sins, confessing our sins, asking Jesus to forgive us and by sinning no more.

(John 14:27) If it doesn’t mean cessation of conflict in our everyday lives, what then is the peace that Jesus offers us now? Jesus' peace is not like worldly peace. It is not absence of conflict. Jesus' peace is a state of peace and goodwill with the King of Kings; it is "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ". It is also wholeness. Jesus' peace is a promise that He is with us forever.

(John 14:25-26). What do we learn about the Paraclete in verses 25 and 26? Who is he? Why is his teaching/reminding role important to the apostles? We learnt the following about the Paraclete in verses 25 and 26: 1. The Paraclete is sent by Father in name of Jesus. "In the name of" may suggest that the Spirit is Jesus' personal emissary. 2. The Paraclete refers specifically to the Holy Spirit. 3. The Paraclete will teach the disciples all things. 4. The Paraclete will remind the disciples of what Jesus taught. 5. The Paraclete is spoken of in personal terms. The Paraclete is the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes He will help the disciples remember so they can understand and interpret correctly for the church what Jesus had taught them. The Holy Spirit doesn't bring a new revelation. Instead He represents Jesus and makes Jesus' teaching clear.

(John 14:15, 21-25) How is obedience to Jesus linked to loving him? When Jesus emphasizes obedience, what keeps this from being the heavy burden of a new legalism? Can we love Jesus and not obey him? If so, how? Love and obedience go hand in hand. Loving one another is one indicator of being a disciple. Observing Jesus' teachings in the way we live our lives is an indicator of our love for him. If we love someone, we don't have difficulty doing the things we know they want. Keeping Jesus' teachings can be one clear evidence of our love. Yes, we can love Jesus and not obey Him. Obedience sometimes comes about by other motives than love. For example: - We can obey out of fear of getting caught and being punished. - We can obey out of hope for advancement and favor. - We can obey out of a sense of moral uprightness (which could edge into self-righteousness) without any real love for Jesus. Jesus says that if we love him, we will obey or keep his commandments and his teachings.

(John 14:15-17) What do you think is the best way to describe the Paraklētos that Jesus sends? In what sense is the Holy Spirit “another” Paraclete? Who was the initial Paraclete? In what way can the Holy Spirit replace him? The Greek word Paraklētos has been translated as the "Comforter" (KJV), "Counselor" (NIV, RSV), "Advocate" (NRSV) and "Helper" (ESV, NASB). Based on these translations, the Paraclete can be considered another Paraclete as Jesus was our Paraclete when He was on earth i.e. Jesus was the One whom God sent to help us and be our Advocate to the Father. It is because Jesus went back to the Father that He was able to send us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will replace Jesus as our interior presence, always with us, to guide us and instruct us.

(John 14:6d) Is it intolerant to believe that no one comes to God except through Jesus? How does Jesus’ death and resurrection atone for the sins of the Old Testament saints? Why are some Christians uncomfortable with the statement that “No one comes to the Father but by me”? He (Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2) The "whole world" includes the Gentiles and the Old Testament saints. Their forgiveness was contingent upon what Jesus would do on the cross. It is not intolerant to believe that no one comes to God except through Jesus Christ. There are questions that do not have an answer. For example what about those people who have not heard about the Good news and died. Such questions would undoubtedly make some Christians uncomfortable with the statement that "no one comes to the Father except by me". Our job is to believe and have faith in Jesus and be obedient to His word. Jesus is that Narrow Gate. Jesus is that Narrow Road or Way. Exclusively! To get to our destination, the Father's House, we must follow him and him only. The reason Jesus is the exclusive way to God is because he is the Unique Son, the Only Begotten, the Co-Creator, the only one who has been given the authority to have life in himself.

(John 14:13-14) What does it mean to pray “in Jesus’ name”? What happens to prayers that are out of his will and purposes? Are there any practical limits to this promise of answered prayer. To pray in Jesus' name is to pray in accordance with His will and character. Prayer is not about arm twisting God to give us our hearts' desires. Instead, prayer is about seeking Him and His will with the intent of seeing His will come to pass in our lives. In effect, there are no practical limits to the promise of answered prayer. The promise in open-ended. The only criteria are (i) praying in Jesus' name i.e. believing and having faith in Jesus and (ii) so that God can be glorified.

(John 14:8) What happens after Jesus’ “glorification” that enables believers to do greater things than Jesus? Is this promise limited to the apostles? Why are Christians today uncomfortable with this promise? After Jesus' glorification and ascension to heave, He sent the Holy Spirit to us. It is with the Holy Spirit in us that enables us to do greater works that Jesus. This promise is not limited to the apostles but extends to all who believe and call upon the Lord Jesus. Christians are uncomfortable with this promise because they believe that the age of miracles have passed. Undeniably, Jesus is still working miracles in our lives today. Christians who do not believe are just using it as an excuse for unbelief. Jesus please help us in our unbelief.

(John 14:1b, 6-11) In what sense is trusting Jesus the same as trusting God? How accurately does Jesus portray God’s actions and words? What does it mean that Jesus and the Father are one (John 10:30)? Trusting Jesus is the same as trusting God because Jesus said that "... the words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me..." (John 14:10-11) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." (John 1:1-3) Jesus is the Word, the Logos, the clear expression of the Father's words.

(John 14:6) In what sense is Jesus the Way to God? What does it mean to “follow Jesus”? In what sense is Jesus in himself God’s Truth? What are the implications of this for us and our world? In what sense is Jesus God’s Life? How does this affect us and those we speak to about him? As we follow Jesus and are obedient to what He teaches us, then He will lead us all the way to the Father's presence. Jesus is the Word, the Logos, the exact Expression of God himself, the one who speaks the Words of God i.e. the Truth. Jesus brings eternal life. He is the very source of life both physical life as Co-Creator, but eternal life as well. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life - no one can go to the Father unless they follow Jesus and allow Jesus to lead them to the Father. Because when we believe in Jesus, we also believe in the one who sent Him i.e. God the Father.

(John 14:2) What is the “Father’s House”? What does verse 2 tell us about what Jesus will do, and what is provided for us? How does that comfort us? The Father's House refers to God's heavenly dwelling. Paul makes reference to it as "... we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." (2 Cor 5:1). Jesus is going to prepare a way for us to get to Heaven i.e. by dying on the Cross to take away our sins and rising again on the third day to give us victory over satan and sin and giving us eternal life. Thank you and praise you Lord Jesus.

(John 13:35) In what sense is love for one another an indicator to all of our status (or lack of status) as Jesus’ disciples? Why do we sometimes avoid living in an intimate Christian community in favor of only a large-meeting expression of our faith? Why is it so difficult to love people in an intimate Christian community? How does your church or group measure up by the indicator of love for one another? How do you measure up? There is a car bumper sticker which reads - I love you Lord but it is your people I cannot stand! Jesus' disciples are exalted to love one another. If we do not follow this commandment, then we cannot profess to be Christians. It is easy to love our friends or people whom we like. However, when it comes to strangers and people who we do not like or who have hurt us, then it is a different story. In such situations, our Christian faith is opened to be judged by all. Often we opt for large group meetings so that we can avoid having to become close to people and "love" them. In my opinion, many church congregations and cell groups fall far short of this measure that Christ has set for us. They only "love" members who share the same thinking and regularly attend Church meetings. Once you are out of that group, love becomes non-existent. This is the sad reality. I will always remember Jesus' words - if you have lost 1 sheep, will you not leave the 99 sheep to look for that 1 sheep? And when you find it, you will rejoice. (Luke 15:4-6) Many church groups practice loving the 99 sheep instead of looking for that 1 lost sheep! I myself am certainly guilt of not measuring up to Jesus' standard of love.