The Father Himself Loves You, Because …

David W Palmer

(John 16:25–27 NKJV) “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. {26} In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; {27} for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.”

We all know that God is love, and that he loves the world (See: John 3:16, 1 John 4:16); but in this statement, our truthful Lord Jesus said that the Father loves us “because ….” In saying this, the Master reveals that there are conditions on the Father’s love for us. What are they?

• Because you have loved me
• Because you have believed that I came forth from God

The apprentices agreed that they believed this about Jesus and went on to give their reason:

(John 16:30 The Holy Aramaic Scriptures) “Now we know that you know every thing, and you don’t need that someone should ask you with regard to this. We believe that you have proceeded from Alaha (God).”

At this point, Jesus’s apprentices realized that Jesus was omniscient—knowing everything that can be known. What’s more, they had concluded that neither they, nor anyone else, needed to question him any further for evidence of this; to them, this truth about Jesus was already a settled fact. They knew that Jesus had come from God, and that he knows everything that can be known.

Without doubt, Jesus’s apprentice leaders knew and believed this truth about Jesus. But knowing and believing this about him does not mean that you have put everything he said into practice, or that you are acting as though what he said is true. For example, the disciples didn’t seem to act wholeheartedly on the warning Jesus gave them about their need to pray in Gethsemane:

(Matthew 26:41–56 NLT) “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” ... {43} When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. ... {47} And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. … “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” ... {56} … At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.

The Lord—who knew everything—knew without a doubt that his followers should have been praying with him in the garden that evening. Even though they believed and confessed that he knew everything, they still didn’t act as though what he said was true. Are we like this today? Do we really act like what Jesus says is true, or does our flesh, reputation, worldview, or pride stop us?

Jesus also said that his Father loved them because they had loved him. According to what he said in the following verses, this means that they had begun to obey him:

(John 14:15, 21 NLT) “If you love me, obey my commandments. ... {21} Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

As we saw in book 3 of this series—Supervised Assignments—after a shaky start, Jesus’s apprentices had become reasonably competent at obeying his illogical instructions. This was especially seen in the days leading up to the last supper: they obediently went and retrieved the donkey and colt in obedience to Jesus’s illogical instruction; and they had no hesitation in obeying him in following the man carrying the jug of water into the house, where they prepared the catering for the upper room Passover meal. They had eagerly responded with prompt obedience to his call to follow him, and in his many other instructions, including: cross the lake, give out bread and fish, make the people sit on the grass, etc.

Ask and You Will Receive that Your Joy May Be Full

David W Palmer

(John 16:23–24 NKJV) “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. {24} Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

At this point of their fellowship and deep sharing, Jesus gave his graduating class a prayer promise. This covenantal guarantee states that whatever we ask the Father in Jesus’s name, he will give us. Before stating this open-ended promise, however, Jesus had laid a firm foundation, including:

• Demonstrating his humble, servant’s heart by washing his disciple’s feet (John 13:3–15)
• Reminding them of the role of obedient servants (John 13:16–20, 15:20)
• Revealing his intentions to John, the disciple with his ear closest to Jesus’s heartbeat (John 13:21–26)
• Disclosing his new commandment— “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34)
• Reminding them not to worry (John 14:1, 27)
• Telling them that he is the truth (John 14:6)
• Revealing that he and his Father are one (John 14:8–11)
• Promising them that whatever miracles, demons, or things they command/demand in his name, he will make sure that what they say happens (John 14:12–14)
• But reminding them that the words and actions originate with him; he sends them to the disciples, and they speak, command, or demand them in his name (John 14:15)
• Exhorting them that if they truly loved him, they would obey his commands (John 14:15)
• Promising that he would send the Holy Spirit to be in them and with them, guiding them and leading them into all truth, and reminding them of what he said and says (John 14:16–18, 15:26–27, 16:7–15)
• Reminding them of the need to stay abiding in the vine and in his word (John 15:1–8)
• Giving them a second reminder to obey him, and thus be his loving friends (John 15:9–17)
• Revealing his new role at God’s right hand, having birthed a new dispensation of joy (John 16:19–22)

From what Jesus established in this foundation, we see that the “whatever you ask the Father” of verse 23 has nothing to do with self-motivated avarice, self-serving, or selfish ambition. On the contrary, it is completely about whatever you ask in the context of what he had just shared with them. That is, that it is in his character of humbly serving Father’s vision, that it is at his command as revealed by the Spirit of Truth, that it is something that springs to life as we abide in the living word of God, or that it is in total harmony with his new command to love one another as he loved us.

This is the path to: “Ask and receive, that your joy may be full.” Full joy comes from unhindered and surrendered intimacy with the one in whose presence is fullness of joy:

(Psalm 16:11 NKJV) “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Today, my encouragement for you is to: stay close to Jesus’s heartbeat; love him with all your heart; abide constantly in his word, meditate in it day and night; develop surrendered intimacy with the Holy Spirit; mingle your heart with God’s in humble, surrendered, worship; adopt his vision, take on his passion, and imbibe his Spirit of holiness. As you do, you will know what he wants prayed. Then you can pray it in his name and see wonderful answers. You can literally “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Remember; asking in Jesus’s name in this context is not simply appending the phrase “in Jesus name” to the end of a prayer to suit our own ideas (even though this may have some validity for new or baby Christians.) However, we could summarize what it is by saying: “Asking in Jesus’s name is asking for exactly what he would ask for in the same situation. In other words, asking as led by the Holy Spirit”:

(Galatians 5:16 NKJV) “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

(Galatians 5:18 NKJV)

(Romans 8:14 NKJV)

Permanent Joy Follows the Pain of Labor

David W Palmer

(John 16:16–18 NLT) “In a little while you won’t see me anymore. But a little while after that, you will see me again.” {17} Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? {18} And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.”

These seem like reasonable questions for Jesus’s inquisitive disciples. They wanted to know more about Jesus, his intended actions and their outcomes. Wanting to learn more about Jesus is always a good idea. Let’s see how Jesus responded:

(John 16:19–20 NLT) Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. {20} I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.”

Jesus’s answer and explanation seemed to start with some more mystery. He hinted strongly at his impending death, but introduced new ideas: “you will weep and mourn,” “the world will rejoice,” and “grief … suddenly turn to wonderful joy.”

The Lord’s apprentices seemed slow at grasping the fact that he was talking about his looming death. After all, it’s not normal for a healthy life-filled person—especially one who had recently raised dead people to life on numerous occasions—to talk openly about dying so soon. However, this is exactly what Jesus was doing. He explained further with a simile:

(John 16:21 NLT) “It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.”

Jesus likened to the labor pains of birth what he was about to undergo. The indescribable pain of giving birth to something new is eventually eclipsed by the “joy” of bringing new life “into the world.”

Our Savior was obviously talking about his arrest, false trial, torture, and crucifixion. But he revealed to his friends that this was no ordinary death. Jesus wasn’t just going to die; he would simultaneously be bringing something fresh to birth—something that would bring new life to the whole world.

Jesus’s disciples could not possibly have grasped the significance of what was about to happen; that’s why they would initially weep and mourn. And naturally, they would have their grief suddenly turned to wonderful joy when they realized he resurrected. However, to fully appreciate, understand, and appropriate everything he achieved in those three days, would require supernatural revelation from the Spirit of Truth—followed by diligent mind renewal with what he revealed.

Perhaps, the apostle Paul was the first one to really grasp the depth and power of Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection:

(Galatians 1:11–12, 15–18 NLT) “Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. {12} I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. … I did not rush out to consult with any human being. {17} Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus. {18} Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days.”

When Paul met Jesus, he invested three years alone with the Spirit of Truth in Arabia. This is how he received the amazing revelations and truths he disclosed in his letters—which make up over half of the New Testament’s books. As we read them, the same Spirit of Truth that inspired them can bring revelation to us. We can then receive his truths, meditate on them—ingesting them into our spirits until t

(1 Tim 4:13 )

The Spirit of Truth Reveals Plans and Ownership

David W Palmer

(John 16:13–15 APE) “... he shall speak whatever he shall hear and he shall reveal the future to you. And he shall glorify me, because he shall take that which is mine and shall show you. Everything that my Father has is mine, therefore I said to you that he shall take that which is mine and he shall show you.”

In this passage, Jesus brings out important revelations about the Holy Spirit—God’s Spirit of Truth—and what he is sent to do. Like Jesus, he will speak only what he hears. Also like Jesus, he will “reveal” the future—God’s intentions and plans. 

Jesus says that the Spirit of Truth will “show” you—bring revelation to your inner man. This is his language—the way he communicates his amazing truths and messages to us. This will put us into the same advantage Jesus had when he was operating here:

(John 5:19–20 NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. {20} For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does …”

The Father “shows” the son his intended actions; the son sees them in his spirit, and then he “does” them “in like manner”—or imitates what he sees with his Father. In a similar way, Jesus said that the Spirit of Truth will “reveal the future to us. In other words, he will show us Jesus’s intentions about what he wants done. 

Jesus also said that the Spirit of Truth “shall take that which is mine and shall show you.” When he says, “That which is mine,” what does he mean? Thankfully, he gives a very broad and all encompassing answer when he says: “Everything that my Father has is mine.” This is limitless:

(Hebrews 1:1–2 NKJV) “God … Has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.”

Father God appointed Jesus as the inheritor of all things. To put it simply, our Lord and Savior owns everything. Jesus is both man and God; he owns heaven and the earth—without reservation. When we are in him, we share in this ownership:

(Romans 8:32 NKJV) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

(Romans 8:17 NKJV) and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

(1 Corinthians 3:21–23 NKJV) Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: {22} whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. {23} And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

In this amazing list, Paul says that, in Christ, “all things are yours”; this includes “the world.” However, at the end of the list he reminds us that Jesus not only owns everything—including heaven and earth—he also owns us (See also: 1 Cor. 6:20 NKJV).

What Jesus was explaining to his apprentice / friends at the Last Supper was the role of the Spirit of Truth in bringing the revelation of this ownership to us. What’s more, like Father did with Jesus, the Holy Spirit reveals it to us with the intention of having us possess it, receive it, or do it. Let’s look at the Holy Spirit’s own explanation of this through the apostle Paul:

(1 Corinthians 2:9–12 NKJV) But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” {10} But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. {11} For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. {12} Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to

The Amazing Spirit of Truth, Our Ally

David W Palmer

(John 16:12 NKJV) “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.”

During the three years of intense training through which Jesus led his apprentice leaders, and even following the disclosures of the Last Supper, he still had “many things” he wanted to say to them. But he left them unsaid at that time; he gave the reason—as translated from Greek here—as “you cannot bear them now.” This literally means that they couldn’t carry it at that time. 

In the Aramaic translation, the word chosen to transmit Jesus’s meaning is the word “grasp”:

(John 16:12, 13 APE) “I have much to say to you, but you are not able to grasp it now. But …”

Putting these words together leads us to understand that Jesus’s friends couldn’t grasp at that point the truths that he still needed to say, so they couldn’t retain it. If they couldn’t grasp and hold onto it, they certainly wouldn’t have been able to carry it with them—in their minds and hearts. If so, they wouldn’t be able to live by it, or to teach it to others. 

On the surface, this appears to be a sad statement; Jesus would finish his training contract with his apprentices with “many” of the things he wanted to say to them left unsaid. However, we notice that his very next word is “but.” The word, “but,” changes everything; it denotes that what follows it is in stark contrast to the impression left by what was said before it. In other words, what looked like an uncompleted part of Jesus’s desire and mission is about to be completely reversed. So what does he say after the, “but”?

(John 16:13 APE) “But whenever The Spirit of The Truth comes, he will lead you into the whole truth …”

(John 16:13 NIV) “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth …”

Wow! This is a remarkable promise. Jesus said that the Spirit of Truth—the Holy Spirit—will guide us into “all the truth.” Amazing! 

Jesus called him, “The Spirit of Truth.” Names of God show his nature and functions. In other words, one of the wonderful functions the Holy Spirit does for us is to lead us into the whole truth—everything Jesus wanted to say to his apprentices, but couldn’t at that time as they were unable to grasp and carry it with them. 

Now that we have the supernatural help of the Holy Spirit, this is reversed. We are able to grasp the whole truth because he is also the “Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation” (Eph. 1:16); he can reveal truth deeply into our spirits—bypassing the need to have it processed and stored by our amazing but limited brains. God is a genius.

Jesus continued by revealing that the Holy Spirit is humble, servant-hearted, and submissive to Father’s will—just like he is:

(John 16:13 APE) “But whenever The Spirit of The Truth comes, he will lead you into the whole truth, for he will not speak of his own will, but he shall speak whatever he shall hear …”

During their Last Supper together before his crucifixion, Jesus had declared to his apprentices that he is “the truth” (John 14:6 KJV). Now he is talking about the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of Truth.” In other words, as a humble servant-hearted trinity member, the wonderful Holy Spirit doesn’t speak “of his own will”; his role is to “speak whatever he shall hear” … presumably from Jesus, “The Truth.” Jesus, in turn, only ever spoke what he heard from his Father (John 8:28). So the Spirit of Truth is not an independent operator; he is a supernatural spokesman and revealer on behalf of the Trinity.

Let’s get excited today; we have the infinite power of the Holy Spirit residing in us, coupled with the purest hotline to heaven’s truth ready and willing to reveal the whole truth to us. God is holding nothing back. This truly is something to rejoice in and celebrate. “Thank you Jesus!” 

Having said this, Jesus then went on to explain an additional benefit of having the amazing third person of the godhead resident in us:

(John 16:13 APE)

"Successfully Resisting with a Humble Heart" - David W Palmer (2025)(Ephesians 6:12 NKJV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.(James 4:4–8 NKJV) ... {7} Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Jesus, Lord, Holy, Spirit, Father, God, end times, glory, manifestation of Jesus, visitation of Jesus, outpouring of the Holy Spirit, revival, awakening, perseverance, persistence, overcome, breakthrough, salvation, sinner's prayer, repent, repentance, worry, anxiety, fear, overcoming, end times, spiritual warfare, prayer,

The Ruler of this World Is Already Judged; Living Humans Still have Time to Repent

David W Palmer

(John 16:8–11 NKJV ) “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” 

Someone once asked me, “Can the devil be saved?” Jesus gives us the first part of the answer here: “... the ruler of this world is judged.” The devil is already judged, and his verdict and sentence are settled and permanently written in God’s eternal, unchangeable word:

(Revelation 20:10 NKJV ) “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” 

God has already decided and settled Satan’s judgment. And, although it is an event that is in the future (our time), God wrote it here as a past fact. In other words, in God’s mind the devil’s judgment and sentence is a decided, determined fact that cannot be changed. Can the devil repent and be forgiven? No! It is too late for him; his judgment is written. But it is not too late for any human alive today:

(Hebrews 9:27 NKJV) And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.

God doesn’t want any human to go to hell, so he gives us time to repent:

(2 Peter 3:9 NHEB) The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

So, why does the fact that “the ruler of this world is judged” enable the Holy Spirit to convict the world of judgment? In other words, how does Satan’s decided and written sentence convince unbelieving sinners that they will be judged? We can search out the answer by beginning here:

(John 12:31–32 NLT) “The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. {32} And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”

In this interesting passage, Jesus said that the world system, and Satan its ruler, were judged at Jesus’s death and resurrection. What’s more, our Lord said that Satan was thrown out. But first, Jesus disarmed him and stripped him of his authority:

(Luke 11:20–22 NKJV) “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. {21} When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. {22} But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.”

(Colossians 2:15 NLT) “In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”

(Hebrews 2:14 NLT) “Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.”

Jesus’s resurrection proves for all time that Satan’s legal authority over the earth has ceased; God has judged him guilty of treason and of being a disloyal pretender to the throne. Jesus is now legally the King of the whole earth. You see; Jesus could not have risen from the dead if his own blood wasn’t innocent. Seemingly, the devil didn’t know what Jesus’s death at the hand of the High Priest would accomplish—the shedding of the innocent blood of God’s own Lamb paid for all sin for all time—or he would not have wanted him dead:

(1 Corinthians 2:7–8 NLT) “No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. {8} But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.”

Convicting the World of Righteousness

David W Palmer

Jesus was nearing the end of the Last Supper, where he had been sharing the intimate details of his heart with his 11 remaining disciples. He had called them to begin following him as his apprentices three years earlier; but during this intimate time around supper, he called them his friends. Now, as his conversation with them is drawing to a conclusion, he gave them some profound doctrinal insights regarding the Holy Spirit and his work. What he revealed to them can help us immeasurably:

(John 16:8–10 NKJV) “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: {9} of sin, because they do not believe in Me; {10} of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more.”

Today, we take another look at the Holy Spirit’s work of convicting the world of sin and righteousness. Jesus showed his angle in this: “because they do not believe in me.” The only way to have our conscience cleared of guilt is through faith in Jesus and the innocent blood he shed as the Lamb of God. Otherwise, the manifest presence of God’s Holy Spirit will only heighten our guilty conscience—the deep inner witness that we have fallen short of his standard through sin:

(Romans 3:23 NLT) For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

(Romans 10:9–10 NKJV) That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. {10} For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Here, the Holy Spirit shows that faith in the heart is the only way to get rid of sin and its guilty stain; true faith receives God’s righteousness. His righteousness is like pure white light; it totally eliminates the darkness of guilt:

(Romans 4:5 NKJV) But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

Because of Jesus’s death as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”; and because his innocent blood was shed on our behalf; we become the “righteousness of God in him” when we believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead:

(John 1:29 NKJV) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

(2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

No earthly power can cleanse a human conscience completely from the stain of guilt over sin. There is no natural soothing of a guilty conscience; only one cleaning agent can expiate it and restore the human conscience to purity:

(Hebrews 9:14 NKJV) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The Holy Spirit is amazing—note his name is “Holy” Spirit; he can not only accredit to us Jesus’s right standing with God, he can also empower us with his holiness. This means that he can give us his unlimited power to live free of sin:

(Romans 8:13 NKJV) “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

In John 16:10, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will convict the world “of righteousness because I go to my Father and you see me no more.” Why is it Jesus’s resurrection that the Holy Spirit uses to convince the world of righteousness? This is because when Jesus died, he died for us—paying the price for our sin; he also died as us—taking our old sinful nature on himself; and he died as sin:

(2 Corinthians 5:21 APE) For he who had not known sin made himself to become sin in your place, that we would become the righteousness of God in him.

When our amazing Lord Jesus went to the cross, by faith he took on himself every evil thing about us—our old nature, the

God’s Covert Conviction Operative

David W Palmer

(John 16:8–9 NKJV) “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: {9} of sin, because they do not believe in Me.”

Jesus spoke to his apostles about the Holy Spirit, and the functions he would perform when he came to work with them and in them. Here, he lists three supernatural actions that he performs on “the world”: He convicts them of “sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” The first of these is that he convicts the world of sin. The reason he gives is because “they do not believe in me (Jesus).”

The first important point we note from this is that the Holy Spirit convicts people of their sin; we don’t. We can cooperate with the Holy Spirit in what we say, pray, and do; but only he can bring people under conviction and draw them to faith in Jesus. For example, in the following passage he gives us a very illogical way of effecting burning conviction—but not by directly confronting the sin:

(Romans 12:17–21 NKJV) Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. {18} If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. {19} Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. {20} Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” {21} Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Wow! “Overcome evil with good.” Overcoming is extremely important for Christians. In the book of Revelation, we are told eight times about the rewards God gives to those who overcome. Here, he is showing us how to be overcomers against evil; he says to “overcome evil with good.” Jesus gave us a similar approach to dealing with certain types of sin against us:

(Matthew 5:39–42 NLT) “But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. {40} If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. {41} If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. {42} Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.”

Amazing! Jesus says, “Do not resist an evil person!” He instructs us to offer no physical or verbal resistance to those who render evil against us in these ways. He even goes as far as to use the word, “love,” in the way we are to respond to those opposing us:

(Matthew 5:44 NLT) “... love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”

Our wonderful, ingenious Lord is giving us a way to cooperate with the immaterial, but infinitely powerful, Holy Spirit. When we do as Jesus says, and when we cooperate completely with the prompting of the Holy Spirit, he can reach into the heart of the person who opposes us or who is evil towards us. The Holy Spirit alone can do something powerful and inescapable in their hearts that convicts them inwardly of their sin. This is the only way they can be brought to repentance. 

No wonder Jesus tells us to love them; our love releases the Holy Spirit to go to work on them. It is also why he tells us to pray for them; prayer also releases the Holy Spirit’s unseen action. If we were to retaliate against the evil person without prayer or love, we would simply be releasing more evil; this would make the situation worse, not bring a solution to sin.

Several years ago, one of our students went out for something to eat. He noticed a group of young men standing outside the food outlet eating their take-out meals. He simply stood near them and couldn’t help overhearing their conversation. Fresh from the classroom, and clothed in Holy Spirit power, he listened with amazement as he too ate his meal.

At first, the group of young men were proudly bragging about all of their evil deeds, mischief-making, and sinful ways. But while our student simply stood there—s

Working with the Holy Spirit to Reconcile Blinded People to God

David W Palmer

(John 16:7–8 NLT) “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. {8} And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”

Clearly, Jesus wants his followers, apprentices, disciples, friends, and apostles to preach his gospel. Here he says that the Holy Spirit has a major part to play in producing the results; he does the convicting. So what is our part?

(Ephesians 4:17–18 NKJV) This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, {18} having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.

Through the apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit explains that our challenge with un-born-again people is that their understanding is dominated by darkness. In other words, they simply cannot see what is so plainly obvious to those of us who are already born again. The Holy Spirit gives the reason: “because of the blindness of their hearts.” In other words, the eyes of their understanding haven’t been opened (See: Eph. 1:16–18). 

When Jesus first called the apostle Paul—at that time, Saul of Tarsus—he gave him the following assignment:

(Acts 26:18 NKJV) “Open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”

Paul testified that he had followed this instruction throughout his ministry life. So the first step in transforming the dark heart and blind understanding of any sinner is to open their spiritual eyes. This miracle of healing from spiritual blindness, allows the light of the glorious gospel to shine into their hearts. To have this miracle happen, we need to preach the gospel; but first, we need to pray for their eyes to be opened and to stand against the one who has blinded them:

(2 Corinthians 4:3 NKJV, 4 AMPC) “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, {4} For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers’ minds [that they should not discern the truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God.”

Satan is the “god of this world” (or god of this age). He is responsible for blinding the minds of those he has captivated—those he uses to perpetrate his evil will on earth. To fix this problem, we must deal with him first—like Jesus did before he began his public preaching ministry (See: Mat. 4, Luke 4.)

Once we have confronted and removed the enemy’s blindfold from people’s inner eyes, then we want God’s light to shine in. We do this through preaching the glorious, radiant good news of his gospel: 

(2 Corinthians 5:18–19 NLT) And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. {19} For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

Putting all of this together implies that we reconcile people to God with a message full of revelation from him. This cannot simply be done with an Old Testament style message of rules and prohibitions—telling them everything they are doing wrong; Paul said that God is “no longer counting people’s sins against them.” It is best achieved by announcing God’s love, and by allowing the glorious light of his gospel message to shine into their hearts. So, our role in reconciling people as God’s ambassadors is to preach the good news of the gospel. We do this by focusing our message on God’s love and goodness: