But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. John 14:26
John by far is the most mysterious in his writing(s) in the new testament. Most scholars believe John’s writings were the last to be written after all the other apostles had written their accounts and letters.
What made the ‘belief’ of the Pharisees different than those of the disciples? Was there any difference after the ‘event’ of Jesus ascending into the sky and the disciples gathered all together in a home… and this happened…
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4
Is there a difference between belief and real spiritual faith? Is there a difference between intellectual knowledge and actual tangible experience? What did John the Baptist (Jesus’ cousin) say about Jesus?
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matthew 3:11
So is your knowledge of the Holy Spirit intellectual or experiential? Have you encountered Him … dramatically? Did He move in you beyond your understanding? Did or does any of His gifts cause any difference in you? Can you tell anyone about any of His gifts He has used through you in the last week? Are you personally offended or uncomfortable with the Holy Spirit and how He makes you feel? Does He convict you of sin or issues you don’t want to deal with? Does He show you your idols? Does He call you to step out of your comfortable religious life? Is your relationship with the Holy Spirit increasing? Is He teaching you new things? Or is all of your ‘new’ spiritual knowledge coming through ‘third party’ sources? (Sermons, books, podcasts, videos, etc.) Do you ever go to the Holy Spirit for Him to teach you, counsel you, guide you, and instruct you? Who should be your first Source of all these these learning modes in your life? Can you hear Him directly?
What exactly is your ‘spiritual’ source? Church service attendance? Your daily ritual of Bible reading? Do you recognize when He is ‘highlighting’ things to you? Do you at that moment make Him a priority and stop and ask further questions of Him? Is He really your greatest desire or not? What do your actions and prayer in the past week say to Him? How spiritually hungry are you? Are you content exactly where you are in your knowledge of Him and His Kingdom? Do you no longer need His help … in anything?
Be courageous and actually seek out a brother or sister in the family of God and ask them some questions — that you are pondering. Go to someone who you know will really listen to you. Who do you know is a real friend that you can ask deep spiritual questions? Are all your friends… ‘surface’ relationships? Make some friends with whom you can discuss deep spiritual matters. Those are the real ‘connections’ in the Body of Christ.
How hungry are you for the Kingdom of God?