Lessons from John 16: Our Home is in Heaven

Aug 9

Please open your Bibles or Bible apps to John 16 where we pick up this week’s lesson. In verse 5, Jesus, gathered in the Upper Room with His disciples, stated, “But now I am going to him who sent me.” Jesus was referring to His home in heaven where His Father resided.

The Father in heaven sent Jesus to complete the mission of redemption.

The word redemption means to buy back or free from slavery. It’s a word borrowed from the commercial world of the ancient near east (where slaves were bought and sold).

In the biblical sense, if we go back to Genesis 2 we are told in verse 1, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.” Yet, verse 5 of Genesis 2 tells us that, “…there was no one to work the ground.” Verse 7 then says, “the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

Verse 8: “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, of Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.” Then if you drop down to verse 15 of Genesis 2 we are told, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” But there was one restriction in verse 16-17, “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.'”

(Side note, but could it be this is the reason that in the center of the word “death” we find the word eat.)

After these instructions, we are told that God allowed Adam the privilege to name every living creature. But for Adam, we are told there was no suitable helper. And so God created Eve from Adam’s own being, to be his helpmate. The two were to become one. One in holy union with God. They were given the privilege and responsibility to rule over God’s creation.

Yet, that’s where sin entered in.

They were not focusing their minds and attention on what God had given them to eat and do. Satan entered into the picture and tempted Eve to doubt God’s word. Not only did she bite into the lie of Satan hook, line, and sinker, she also led Adam to take hold of Satan’s lie. And he too bit into the forbidden fruit, which God had instructed them not to.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command and took hold of Satan’s evil ploy, it was as if they handed the title deed of their hearts and minds and that of the land and all that was in it over to Satan. For that is when sin entered the world and Satan took temporary dominion over the world.

Yet, what’s amazing to me is that God knew from the beginning that mankind would fall into Satan’s evil ploy. But God did not say, “Forget it. It’s not worth creating such disrespectful, disobedient people.”

God the Father already had a plan of redemption.

It was a plan in which Jesus Christ would knowingly and willingly leave heaven’s throne. He would remove His robes in exchange for a manger and flesh. He would later be stripped of everything and would be nailed to a cross. Crucified not for what He did wrong, but rather for what He had done that was right and holy and pure.

Jesus was crucified as a criminal though He knew no wrong. He died and bore the sins of the world for lost sinners like you and me, that we might gain access to heaven and the God of it.

Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins and set us free from Satan’s hold and sin’s curse.

And that, my friends, is the reason Jesus needed to go to the cross. Jesus did not come to earth to stay here. He came that He might make a way for lost sinners to be saved. Without the cross, there is no salvation. Without salvation, there is no way to be saved or set free from Satan or the sins that so easily hold us captive.

Yet, as Jesus spoke of His departure, John tells us that the disciples became filled with grief. No one wanted to fully say what they were feeling or thinking, however.

But because Jesus, who is always aware of things spoken and unspoken, openly addressed their fears. He brought their thoughts and concerns out into the open. John 16:6-7 says, “Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

The disciples did not understand that though Jesus was present with them, He would be able to do and accomplish so much more when He returned to heaven. Jesus, though fully God, came as fully man and when He did, He also took on human limitations.

Jesus was bound by time. He too experienced times of coming together and times of separation. Jesus was also limited by space. He could only be in one place at a time. And He was limited in the number of people with whom He could speak and teach.

Jesus also became weary and needed rest and sleep. He also experienced hunger and thirst and thus required food and drink.

But through the person of the Holy Spirit, Jesus becomes even more real and personal than ever before. He indwells each believer!

In fact, Jesus tells us that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the world brings conviction in regards to sin and righteousness and judgment.

I want to stop here for a moment and try to unpack what Jesus is saying:

First, in regards to the guilt of sin, hopefully you can see that conviction of sin is for a purpose. It causes people to see that their thoughts, actions, and words are unholy apart from Christ. Therefore, the desired result is that the sinner grieves their sin and then moves on to confess and repent before our holy God.

Second, in regard to “righteousness,” it is right living. It cannot be compared to anyone or anything except the holy and perfect life of Jesus Christ. There is no other plumb-line by which we measure our lives. Everything and everyone pales in comparison to Jesus Christ!

And thirdly, the Spirit of Truth brings with Him the conviction of “judgment.” You see, Jesus’ victory over death brought about the eternal judgment of Satan and anyone else who refuses God the Father’s gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore His judgment is inescapable unless Jesus Christ is their Savior.

The problem is clearly not God or the truth of His Word. The root of the problem lies within the heart of people. It is their desire to live for self, selfish ambitions, and selfish desires apart from the God who created them. Therefore those people who remain in their sin and continue in their unholy living will indeed face the judgment of God. It will happen unless they bend their will and bow before their Creator and confess they are a sinner in need of a Savior.

And the only way this can happen is under the influence and conviction of the Holy Spirit, who leads unbelievers into the truth of God’s Word.

The question is, have you indeed confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? And if not, what sin is holding you back? The sin of pride or rebellion? Won’t you confess your sin before Him? Will you ask Him to create a desire within to be more like Him and less like the world in which we live?

And if you have confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, allow His Holy Spirit to remake you every day into a person who reflects Christ and lives for His glory and others’ good.

This is how we know the Spirit of God is living inside of us! He leads us not to live for self, but rather for God and His will for our lives.

What is He calling you to do for His kingdom today? Always remember, our home is in heaven!

Terri Hamman