Why Did Jesus Need to Leave to Send the Holy Spirit?

Why did Jesus need to leave to send the Holy Spirit? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, it's Bill Meyer along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.

We have 25 minutes or so. That's 1-833-843-2673. Now, you can also post your question on our social media sites. In fact, we have a YouTube channel, and you can go to YouTube right now, watch Adriel live in the studio, and send him your question that way. And you can always email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Carol. I have a question for Pastor Adriel.

First of all, thank you very much for your ministry. I have befriended an individual whose child is going through an identity transition, and I'm just asking for advice on how we should approach that. One individual has asked us to refer to their child in the new pronoun identity, and I'm just wondering if he has words of wisdom about that.

Hey Carol, I'm sorry to hear about this situation. I think that you should have an honest conversation with your friend, from one friend to another, about why you as a Christian simply can't back her up on this or back the parents up on this. And I know that this is really, especially when we're talking about children and raising children, you know, it seems like when you have kids, everybody has an opinion about what you should do. But certainly there are instances where I think we do have to speak up as Christians. Proverbs chapter 27 verse 6 says, Faithful are the wounds of a friend. In other words, a real friend, a good friend, is willing to speak the truth to us even when that truth is hard, even when the truth hurts.

Of course, as Christians, we're called to speak the truth in love, but that doesn't mean avoiding the issue or not addressing the issue. I think, again, of King David, I mean, there's just wisdom here in saying, look, a good friend is someone who's willing to speak the truth to us even when it's difficult. I think of King David in Psalm 141 verse 5, he says, and this is, I think, the idea behind that. Proverbs 27 verse 6 says, you know, faithful are the wounds of a friend.

David said, Psalm 141 verse 5, let a righteous man strike me. It is a kindness. Let him rebuke me. It is oil for my head.

Let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds. David says, look, God, give me good friends, people who are going to speak the truth to me.

And I think that's what you should be to this individual, to this friend. We need people who are going to be honest with us. And right now, especially with regard to gender and sexuality, the world is telling a lot of lies. And we have to ask ourselves as Christians, are we going to reinforce those lies? And this particular lie is doing irreversible damage to countless children. And so this is why, you know, all the more reason why I think that it's important to have an honest conversation with this friend and say, look, I just can't back you up on this, and frankly, I'm concerned. Because, you know, as a Christian, here's what the Bible says about gender, about identity, about being made in the image of God, and here's what the world is saying.

What the world is saying is doing a lot of damage today. And so maybe God will use that as an opportunity for you to get to talk about the Lord, to get to talk about Christ. You know, sometimes in situations like this, when we're honest, people say, okay, I don't want to have anything to do with you then. Fine, we can't be friends.

And that's obviously just so difficult. You know, that's not what we want. But at the same time, we don't want to support people who are doing things, support decisions that are ultimately harmful and not helpful. And so, Carol, there's my advice for you, and I do pray that God would grant you wisdom in having those conversations and that this wouldn't be something that severs the friendship or the relationship, but that this person would really come to reconsider what they're doing in light of, I think, again, the truth of God's Word and the fact that there is a strong delusion out there right now that many people have embraced. So well said, Adriel, and you and I have talked before about the word tolerance and how it's been totally distorted by today's culture. It's actually a Christian virtue, but it doesn't mean that we accept sinful or, in this case, you know, really harmful behavior. No, we can't as the followers of Jesus, because at the end of the day, sin destroys.

It destroys lives. And so when we really love people, we will be honest about that reality. We don't want to see them go down that path. And so God help us. God give us courage. I mean, that's what we're going to need to be honest about these things, these sins that are out there in the culture, but even, you know, around us. And, you know, if you're going to be a good friend to your Christian brothers and sisters within the church, you have to be honest with them, too, at times. You know, hopefully it's not about stuff like this, but certainly, you know, there are issues where we do need to come alongside of each other and in love confront the sin for the good of the other person.

So well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, something maybe going on in your church that you are confused about or concerned about.

Hey, we're open to those questions as well. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Brian calling in from Missouri. Brian, what's your question for Adriel? How you doing, Pastor? I'm just kind of curious.

I'm single, and I've been dating, and I'm curious because some of the women that are out there, you know, got divorced from their husbands because they don't like them anymore. I just decided to change direction. Is that not considered adultery, being or marrying somebody with that background?

Thanks. This is an excellent question. I have a few thoughts. So first, is that considered adultery, this person who, you know, maybe there wasn't anything that really dissolved the marriage, like an affair, but they just chose to say, well, we don't want to be together anymore. And so, you know, through the state, they ended up getting a divorce. Well, Jesus says something very interesting in his Sermon on the Mount. He says in chapter 5, verse 31 of Matthew's Gospel, it was also said, whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. And right there, Jesus is assuming that this woman who's been divorced for some unbiblical reason is still actually technically married, even though she received this certificate of divorce. No, if you go and be with that person, then there's an affair that's taking, then you have real adultery that's taking place. Now, we're getting into the complexity of, you know, what does actually dissolve a marriage and what doesn't dissolve a marriage. But what I would say is, if you're having conversations with people, is you're seeking a partner. And it's clear that they don't have a high view of marriage, that for them, it's just like, well, I don't love this person anymore. They didn't work out for me. Then that's probably a red flag to begin with. You don't want to be with somebody who doesn't have a high view of the marriage relationship.

C.S. Lewis, I would recommend this, in his book, Mere Christianity, he has a discussion on Christian marriage, and he talks about, in particular, love, and the love that I think strengthens and grows a marriage. He says, look, a lot of people just have this idea of falling in love, and we sort of think of love as like, you know, a cold that you catch.

I got love, and then I lost it, and now I'm no longer sick with love. And then they decide, well, I don't love this person anymore, so I'm not going to be with them. They don't view it as this commitment, this binding commitment to another person that's not dependent upon your feelings, but this covenant that you've made before God, this pledge. And Lewis does a great job in that chapter on marriage, on Christian marriage and mere Christianity, highlighting the fact that our loves, they grow as we're committed to each other.

They mature, and they develop, and we discover these new wonders in the relationship. And the sad reality is that so many people don't have that view of love today. And so, as you desire to find a partner, someone in Christ, I mean, that's what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7, you know, those who are single, you're free to marry, but so long as the person is in Christ, don't be unequally yoked. But you also want to pursue someone who isn't just going to say, yeah, sure, I'll go to church with you, I believe in God, but someone who is committed to Christ and who views marriage, I think, in a biblical way, who sees this as not just, well, you know, I've fallen in love with somebody, so I feel this, so I'm going to go with it because of my feelings. No, you're making a commitment, a lifelong commitment before God, you know, this one flesh union that, sadly, in our world today, people don't take seriously. And so we, as Christians, have to lead the way by taking this seriously, and by honoring the Lord and pursuing relationships and marriages that are going to glorify Him and exhibit His goodness to the world. And so, Brian, may God bless you and give you wisdom, and God, may He provide for you as you seek a godly spouse, may the Lord be with you, giving you contentment as you're pursuing this, but also providing that wife for you.

Hey, God bless. Hey, just a follow-up question for you, Adriel, I don't know if this would apply to Brian's situation or not, but let's say a person goes through a divorce when they're not a Christian and then later come to Christ. They've trusted in Christ now, they are a believer. What would that situation, I mean, is that a situation where it would still be considered adultery? That person obviously made that decision pre-Christ.

Yeah, excellent question, Bill. This is where, you know, we're getting into the complex discussion about, you know, okay, when is a divorce legitimate, illegitimate? By the way, maybe a couple, right, there was an illegitimate divorce, they didn't have a high view of marriage, and then later, you know, the individual recognizes, man, that was wrong, that was sin, they confessed that sin, they can still, I mean, they're forgiven, right? I wouldn't say that they're forever bound to not get married because of that sinful decision. We could repent.

Isn't that wonderful? Praise God, we can repent of our sins and receive Christ's forgiveness. And so, but again, you know, there are all sorts of factors that we have to think about, and that's certainly one of them, Bill, you know, is this person, they weren't in Christ, they, you know, made these decisions, you know, without even thinking about the word of God or caring about the word of God.

Yeah, sure, that definitely does factor in as well. And so, you know, people who listen to the broadcast frequently, you know, when we get questions about marriage and in particular, you know, is it okay to get divorced in this situation? We oftentimes point you back to your local church, where hopefully there are pastors and elders who know you and are working together with you, with your family, because it's really hard from where I'm seated to be able to say, well, here's exactly what you should do. We're trying to apply, you know, principles from the scriptures, give wisdom, but the fact of the matter is, is, boy, you need people close to you in your life who can really give you guidance and counsel and encourage you to be faithful to the word of God.

Amen. So critical for all of us to be plugged into a local Bible-believing church that, again, you mentioned this earlier, where people will speak the truth and love to us about even difficult situations like divorce and remarriage, so thanks for that. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and we have a new resource for you that focuses on Christ's ascension.

Yeah, I'm excited about this resource, Bill. It's called The King is Crowned, 10 Ways Jesus's Ascension Matters for You. And a lot of times within the church, we sort of minimize the doctrine of the ascension.

We talk a lot about the vicarious atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, we talk about his resurrection from the dead, but we don't talk about the significance of the ascension of Jesus as a part of his redemptive work, getting ready to pour the Holy Spirit out upon the church. And so if you want to learn more about the ascension, head over to corechristianity.com forward slash offers to get your free digital copy of The King is Crowned. Once again, you can find that and all of our resources at corechristianity.com. Take a moment or two to browse through, look at some of our core questions, our core guides, which are free downloads, and we have our great core Bible studies on books from both the New and Old Testament.

So check that out, corechristianity.com. Well, we do receive voicemails here at the core. You can call us 24 hours a day and leave your voicemail question. Make sure you let us know your name and where you're calling from. And the number is 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Here's a voicemail that came in from one of our listeners named Jeanette. I wonder why the Holy Spirit could not be given until Jesus left the earth. The Holy Spirit has been at work in the earth all the time and people all through the Old Testament. And I know that, you know, after Pentecost, the Holy Spirit indwells us, but why couldn't he indwell us before Jesus left the earth?

Thank you. Jeanette, you are picking up on something really interesting. There was this sort of redemptive historical development post Christ's redemptive work. So in the Old Testament, you know, oftentimes the Spirit of God would fill the priests and the prophets and, you know, they would prophesy and do any number of things, right? It seemed like there was a sort of limited communication of or pouring out of the Holy Spirit on these very special people within the covenant community, within Israel.

That doesn't mean that people in the Old Testament were saved in a different way than people are today. I think it's not necessarily the quality of the work that was happening, but quantity, you know, the scope of the Spirit's ministry among the covenant community. Because when you read passages like Joel chapter 2 where the prophets, you know, foretold of a day when the Spirit was going to be poured out on all flesh, there's an emphasis on what we might call the democratization of the Holy Spirit. In other words, it's not just the kings and the prophets and the priests who are going to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But now all flesh, the entire covenant community, young and old, you know, men servants, female servants, everybody. You know, Joel is picturing a day when the Spirit is poured out on all flesh. And of course, that was fulfilled in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost.

Now, why wait? I mean, the Spirit is the eternal God, you know, the third person of the Holy Trinity. He's always been at work, sanctifying and working in creation and among the people of God. But there was something unique that Jesus won for us through his redemptive work. Jesus won for us the gift of eternal life through his work of redemption. Purchasing for us what we might call eschatological life, eternal life. This life is applied to us by the Holy Spirit who indwells us, who is with us, this gift. And it's this life that Jesus showered upon the church at Pentecost. So think of it as Jesus winning for us through his redemptive work, the promise of eternal life for all those who trust in him, and then showering that upon his people on the day of Pentecost. And that was something special. That was something unique.

It had never been done like that before. And so that's why you see in places like John chapter 7, you know, this kind of language. John chapter 7, verse 38, Jesus said, Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Now this he said about the Spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. It attaches the giving of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost to the glorification of Jesus, the consummation, the completion of his redemptive work. And so really, I mean, wonderful when we think about all that Jesus did, what he won for us, and how he applies it to us. And that's the work of the Holy Spirit today, brothers and sisters. The Spirit of God today is applying the grace of Jesus, the life of Jesus, the work of Jesus to you, sanctifying you, strengthening you in your walk with the Lord.

It really is a wonderful thing. We oftentimes, when we think about the work of the Holy Spirit, you know, too often our minds go straight to, well, they're miraculous, you know, healing and speaking in tongues and prophesying. And yeah, the Bible talks about that, but the primary work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Jesus and to apply the benefits of his redemptive work to the Church through the proclamation of the Gospel, through the sacraments of grace, baptism, and the Lord's Supper. That's what the Spirit is doing today at work in our presence, in our churches. And we give thanks to the Lord for that. And of course, this really ties in with the resource we're offering on the ascension, because it wasn't until after Christ's ascension that then the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles.

Yeah, that's right. Well, given in that way, and that's certainly what that text in John 7 was referring to. You also think of what we sometimes call the upper room discourse of our Lord Jesus in John 13 through 17, where he's giving a series of teachings to the disciples, and he's talking about the fact, hey, I'm leaving, and they're afraid, they're concerned.

Wait a minute, where are you going? And Jesus says, but look, I got good news for you. The Spirit is coming. I'm going to send the Spirit upon you. It's good for you that I go, actually, Jesus says. And so that language of sending the Spirit, the comforter to be with the Church for all ages, I mean, that's what we receive even now and today.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Here's our phone number if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life. It's 833-THE-CORE, 1-833-843-2673. And you can feel free to leave a voicemail at that number as well. Let's go to Pat, who's calling in from Missouri. Pat, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, Pastor Adriel and Bill. I have a question about a prodigal granddaughter right now.

She is 19. I see in Luke 15 that the father of the prodigal child did not go after him. Is that, are there other scriptures that would say yes, go after a prodigal child, or do we allow the Lord to work in their lives? Pat, thank you so much for that question, and may the Lord give you wisdom and may He work in this prodigal, drawing them back to Him by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

May He strengthen you and encourage you. And I would say, yeah, we do pursue and seek. Certainly, you know, we read something like the parable of the prodigal son. It's not meant to be a, you know, how to win the prodigal back, that sort of a thing.

It's really exhibiting a number of things. One, the love of the father. Two, you think of also the jealousy of the older brother. There, the older brother really stands for the Pharisees, the scribes. You look at the beginning of Luke chapter 15, it says, Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus, and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them. So he told them this parable. And these parables that follow in Luke 15 are really sort of highlighting that relationship, Jesus' relationship towards sinners, and then also the scribes and the Pharisees, who are sort of standing by and watching in judgment, and judging Jesus because, you know, he eats with these tax collectors and sinners. And the very first one that he, the very first story that Jesus tells, or parable that he tells, is what? Luke 15, verse 4, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? And then when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

Man, God is so good. God is the good Father and the good Shepherd who pursues his wandering children. And so what I would say to you is it's totally appropriate for us, and we have a prodigal, to pursue them.

Now, what does that look like? I think it just depends on the situation, but certainly keeping that door open, speaking the truth in love, coming alongside of them, helping them however we can, never condoning sin, but always just demonstrating, look, I'm here for you, and Jesus is calling you home, and I'm praying, and continuing to pray. So I would say, you know, don't read Luke 15, the parable of the prodigal son, and think, well, I guess we're not supposed to pursue those prodigals who have left the Church, and we're just kind of supposed to wait to see what happens.

No, I think you take that whole chapter together, and you see the love of the Father, his willingness to receive and embrace this one who has wandered away, but you also see the diligence, the tenacity of the good Shepherd who doesn't sleep but goes in pursuit of his wandering sheep. And brothers and sisters, we were all those wandering sheep, and if it wasn't for Jesus, the good Shepherd, pursuing us with his grace and his mercy, we would have just been lost. And so we give thanks to the Lord for that, and I think also we do pursue those who are wandering. We seek to come alongside of them. And again, Pat, may God give you wisdom and bless you as you seek to do that, and may he be with this prodigal and with all prodigals, bringing them home. God bless you. Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Here's an email from Deborah.

It really ties in with our resource today. She says, at what point in Jesus' ministry were the disciples saved? In John 13, 10, Jesus speaks of the disciples being completely clean. I was told by a Bible study leader they were not saved until the Holy Spirit came on them at Pentecost. However, I'm thinking each one would have had their time to believe, but it must have been before Jesus said they were completely clean in John 13.

That's an interesting passage, right? In John 13, when Jesus is washing the disciples' feet, I think you kind of have this baptismal imagery there leading into the Lord's Supper. They're going to have Holy Communion. Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper there in the upper room as well.

And so you have this sort of baptism, Lord's Supper tie together. And the fact that Jesus refers to them as clean, I think that that is indicative of the fact that they were saved. So I don't know that I would say, well, it wasn't until the day of Pentecost that they were totally saved or something like that. We see in this unique time of redemptive history the application of the Spirit in unique ways, I would say.

So it's tough to say, well, it happened at this moment or that moment. But they believed, and they were saved just like we are today. Hey, God bless. Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, go to corechristianity.com forward slash radio. Or you can call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, let us know how we can be praying for you. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.