Gospel of John, 16:7-24
John · Mike Doyle · Sep 14, 2008
Gospel of John (2008), No. 37
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/492611123110

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Lesson 30 and we've gotten down to talking about. I should make a mark as to where I am. And the question 11 is where I start. Question 11 and number 30. OK, so that being that, that being the case, we are. About verse nine or 10. Yeah. Very interesting verses. that we're covering because, and I think there's some misunderstanding about how the Lord works with this, but 7 through 10 or 11, and nevertheless I tell you the truth, it's to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper or the Holy Spirit will not come to you. But if I depart, I'll send him to you.

And when he has come, he will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. And then there's an explanation of sin, because they do not believe in me. Of righteousness, because I go to my father and you see me no more. And of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

We were talking last week about believers and non-believers and conviction of sin and sins. The non-believer is stuck in their sins. We talked about the sin nature being attached to a non-believer when he leaves the planet, so he goes and suffers the fate of the condemnation that the sin nature has received. So, we're down to the point of question 11.

What's the primary method that the Spirit uses for his work of conviction? How does he do it? We can say, well, I'll ask you, how does he do it? What's the primary method that the Spirit of God uses to convict the world of sin? Does he use the creation and your conscience? Like in Romans 1? What do you think? He speaks truth, the word of God. He speaks truth, the word of God, but what's the vehicle? Because these things don't show up everywhere. I think that's my own answer. I think he uses believers as the primary source. of conviction in the world. And I don't mean to say that we're to walk around and tell everybody that they're condemned. But, if you'll notice, the very presence of the Lord Jesus on the earth, he says they would have not known their sin, they would have not had sin had I not been here. He's gone. Spirits come. He's indwelled us. Is he still here? How is he here? Through the Spirit. And what vehicle does he use now? Conviction. He's in us.

So we walk around with the resurrected, glorified life of the Lord Jesus Christ in us, and you know the verses that talk about to those who are being saved, those who aren't being saved, that those who are saved have the smell of death. There is an aura about a believer that is convicting to a non-believer just by the presence in the room. Number one. Number two, we live and act and function in a certain way that is convicting to a non-believer.

And I think we are the primary method that the Spirit of God uses. He couldn't come up with anything else. What else would he use to convict the world of sin? He doesn't buy ads on CNN. And then you have to ask the question, well, what about people in some forgotten place where there aren't any believers?

Let me give you an example of that. Jim Poole talked about when he was in Thailand, His friend and wife worked in this one village for a couple of years and only had one or two people come to the Lord. They decided to move to a village that was across the valley up on the other slope on the other hill. And within two months that entire village came to Christ.

Who do you think did that? The Spirit of God did it, but who did he use? He used us people. So the spirit can convict a person or can do a lot of preparatory work within the heart and the soul of a non-believer, but I think it's the believer who's the one that God uses primarily, the spirit of God uses primarily, to convict the world of sin. I think he is.

But I'm open for discussion, unless you've got another idea. a lot of great biblical teachers, you know, who do this, and great, but then they fall. And, you know, what example of damage is done by using us as individuals? That's why it never puts stock in a man or any ministry or anything because it's human. Yeah, because he's going to fall. He's going to fall, or potential to fall. If you look at the verses here though, it says he's convicting the world of sin, one single sin, because they don't believe on me.

That information is transmitted by believers. See? I think you're right. I was thinking about Jim Elliot and the other missionaries who tried to reached the Indians down there and I don't think they came to Christ until Elizabeth Elliot and the other woman I can't remember her name, Marge, went to live with them and showed them what the life was like. I think that's right. I really think that's right.

There's plenty of printed material and all the tools that are used but there's nothing as effective for convicting the world of sin because they don't believe in Christ other than in the believer. That's the difference. best in them. So they have this conscience, the unbelievers alike, have a conscience inside of themselves that's not looking to outside.

And then in Romans 2 we find out that even among the alliance of believers. Yeah, and I think that's right. Romans 1 has to do with honoring God as God and being thankful, but Christ isn't in that equation necessarily. Romans 2, there's conviction of your standing before a holy God.

I think here what the Lord Jesus is saying is that the world is under condemnation for one reason, and it's because they don't believe in Christ. Well, that's all well and good, but how do you know? Do you understand what I'm saying? I don't think Christ is revealed to a conscience of a non-believer. I think that information has got to be communicated.

And that's why I think that believers are the ones that are the primary tool that the Spirit uses to effectuate that condemnation in the world. Not to discount what God is doing and preparing and that kind of thing. But isn't it ultimately the Word that convicts? Well, sure, because we're the one that carries the Word with us.

You know, Sam Belton used to always carry around the little tube, you know, that we're just a conduit. That's right. That's all we do. But the conduit is having the Word, you know, rock through the world. That's right. It's eventually the Spirit of Truth, the Word, that convicts. Yeah, that's exactly right. And we are the conduit. There's no question about that. Okay, then I ask, is this conviction for individual sins only? According to what we're studying here, the condemnation is based on one issue, and that is Christ. So it's interesting.

When you look at Acts 2, and Peter stands up and gives his first sermon, right? He says to those Jews, you need to repent. And repentance means to have a change of mind. What are they supposed to have a change of mind about? About who Christ is. Who is this man? It isn't have a change of mind about your sins. That's a foregone conclusion. You know, if anybody was convicted of sin, it had to be a Jew being under the law system. The deal was, is you Jews need to change your mind about who Jesus of Nazareth is.

Is he a carpenter? Is he just a guy that, you know, got mad at and put him on a cross and killed him? Or is he the Messiah, the Savior of the world? Is he the Son of God? That's what you need to change your mind about. So he immediately, in the very first sermon given after Pentecost, the issue is who Christ is. And that's always the issue, I think. Who is he? He's a community organizer. He's a community organizer?

I'm sorry. Scratch that for me. Well, and Pontius Pilate was the governor. I'm sorry. That's OK. Read the same email right now. It's been all over. Let's see. What's the conviction of righteousness mean? Notice in verse 10 he says that the world is convicted of righteousness because I go to my father and you see me no more. So he's convicted the world of sin. That's a third of it. The second third is he's convicting the world of righteousness. What does that mean? What's the word righteousness mean? Freedom of sin. Say that again. Freedom of sin. So freedom of sin.

Right standing before God. If I'm righteous with Jack, means I have a standing with Him. So, if the Spirit of God is convicting me of not having any righteousness or of righteousness and He says the reason you're convicted is because I'm going to the Father, put those pieces together. Do you see the connection? Here's the thing.

Has there ever been a man other than God declaring them righteous, who was righteous before God? There's one man. So now there is a man and this representative man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is righteous before God and he goes to be with them. And he has standing, in and of himself he has standing, because of what he's done. The world is convicted of righteousness because if they're not aligned with him, they don't have any. You see that? He represents the entire race of people who belong to him.

So really you can make a case for the two Adams here. If you're of the first Adamic race, you have no righteousness and no standing before a holy God whatsoever. Not because you ever did anything, just because you come from Adam. But now there is a man who is righteous before God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you're in him, you have righteousness. If you're not in him, you're convicted about not having it. Because he's gone to be with the Father. A man. A human being. Okay? But that goes back to Peter and what the other is this unbelief in who he is. Yeah. Let's see. I've got a quote. Let me read this quote.

It's been suggested that the world, being reproved of righteousness, John 16.8, means that the message of the need for accepting God's grace will be made known by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.

Along with the coming of the Spirit, the ascension of Christ itself proves that he had finished the work he had been sent to do. So, it's interesting. I don't think we put enough emphasis on the work of Christ in terms of how it relates to God, how man relates to God because of the work of Christ and how it affects every single human being on the planet. From this perspective, God works from that premise only. He doesn't work any other way. He works based on what Christ has done.

The reason we are offered salvation and God loves us and can demonstrate his love for our lost world is because the sin issue has been resolved. The issue of man's separation from God has been resolved. All of the issues that God has against a sinful mankind have been taken care of by his Son and so now God can act totally in grace. And like in Hebrews it says, to reject grace is a much greater thing than rejecting the law.

How shall we escape who reject the grace of God? We can say, I've never been one of those people who have been nervous about, well, how does God get the message of salvation and of grace to someone who lives way out of the mainstream of communication?

That's his job. That's his job. And he'll get it to him. Miles Stafford used to say that if a person would acknowledge Romans 1, that they would honor God as God and be thankful, that God would make sure the gospel message got to that person no matter where they were. It's kind of cool. Would he? Sure he would. Does he have any barriers or restrictions? What, if they cancel the flight, that means the kid isn't going to get saved? I don't think so.

All right, is there an accuser, a judge, or an executioner still after us? Based on judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. So what I'm after is, is there an accuser, or a judge, or an executioner that's still after us? No. What about Satan? I'd say Satan is the god of this world and he's after unbelievers for sure. So I think there's a premise in which you've got to understand that he's still the accuser of the brethren. He still would judge us and execute us if he could, but he can't. So he has to go away rebuked every time. Because of what? What's the reason? Cross. You know, Donna was listening to somebody on the radio a couple weeks ago, and it's a very interesting statement.

I had never thought of this before. She said, here's what this person said, when Satan was able to get Adam and get him to sin, that he thought in his mind that all the human race now would turn to him and adore him. What he didn't realize is that when man fell, they all adored themselves. Isn't that cool? I thought they were all going to like me. And they don't, they like themselves.

Because that's the way he is. So the accuser and the judge, they all have to go away because of the work of the Lord Jesus. Now let me ask you a question here. Let's say, put it in real time, Courtney sins, Satan goes before God and says, he's condemned, and the Lord Jesus is there, what does he say? What's that?

Well his sin has already been paid for, so you think that little transaction goes on all the time? Now into eternity it's an accomplished, finished act. So you have to wonder, you know, didn't Satan get the memo? Why does he function that way? I mean, don't you think he knows that it's a lost cause? That he can't accuse Courtney of anything because even the sin he's going to commit this afternoon he was paid for 2,000 years ago. Wouldn't you think he'd get that figured out and say, well, why do you think he continues to act that way? He's still prideful. He is what he is. He's the original leper who can't change his spots. That's right.

Do you think a non-believer can stop sinning just because they've got a lot of culture around them? No, sin is sin and a sinner is a sinner and that's all they do. Satan is who he is, and that's what he does. The cool thing about what God has done with Satan is the fact that he uses him for the growth of the believer.

That's what he does. That must make him a little hot. You know? To know that all of his efforts are really promoting the spiritual enhancement of those that he's picking on. It's like a jolt. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's really cool, from a grace standpoint, how God does all that. So is the judgment of Satan complete? I think so, but he's still allowed to be active. It's a position condition question. Positionally, yeah. Conditionally, the judgment hasn't been carried out yet.

He isn't, you know, like he's going to be locked in a dimension for a thousand years and then end up in the lake of fire. But yeah, I think it's important for us to understand from a salvation standpoint and talking to non-believers that judicially the trial is already over. Mankind has been judged guilty and been sentenced to death.

We're just waiting the carrying out of the sentence. That's all that's going on right now. So when someone believes in the person and work of Christ, they leave death row, so to speak, and end up in Christ in life. So there isn't any trial coming up. There isn't any of the, well, we'll see how you did and balance it out at the end. The trial has already happened and the condemnation has already been pronounced. We're just waiting for the carrying out of the sentence.

Can Satan influence a believer by Satan or his own will? What do you think? Who is the his there? Satan. Can Satan influence a believer by his own will? In other words, can Satan decide to pick on you, Winnie, and he can say, that's what I'm going to do.

I'm picking on Winnie today. You're my target. I don't think so. Doesn't he have a will? God's got to allow it. Yeah, there you go. See, there's a verse that says not a hero of the child of God can fall without God's permission. Satan is an unintentional instrument to accomplish God's will.

So, a funny story, maybe I've told it before. Quite a few years ago on Tuesday, we had our buddy Sharm come in and I asked for prayer and he said, well pray for me. He said, Satan's been really after me all week long. I've had a very tough week. And I said, Satan, huh? He said, yeah. I said, you know what Sean, Satan doesn't know your name, nor does he know your address, and he could care less where you live. He said, no, he's been picking on me. I said, so you're the most important human being on the planet, and Satan came to Denver just to pick on you because you are such a huge threat to him. Well, no. He said, well, Satan's not omnipresent. He said, yeah, but he's got all these guys working for him. I said, trust me, he doesn't know your name. And the reason he doesn't know your name, what does he need?

If every believer has a sin nature that's striving to be actuated through the believer's body, and it's got its own energy and its own life, what do you need Satan for? I mean, we found the enemy within the camp, guess who it is? It's me. My sin nature is the problem. I don't need any help from from Satan. So if you recognize that premise, and then number two, that Satan is a defeated foe.

So what do you do with defeated foes? You put them to work for your benefit. You know, in wartime situations, if you capture prisoners, at least if your enemies capture you, what do they do? They put you to work. They make you work for them. Well, Satan is a defeated foe, so he is the unintentional worker for God's purposes. Isn't that something? Even as the most powerful being that God ever created actually works, expends his effort for the enhancement and the growth of the Christian. It's really neat. Mike? Yes?

Can you speak a little to Ephesians 4 when Warren says don't let the sun go down on your anger so as to give a place to the devil. If he's saying that, that implies that it's possible to give place to the devil. What verse in 4 do you know? 26 and 27. Be angry and do not sin, don't let the sun go down on your wrath, or give place to the devil.

He's talking to Boise. Yeah, sure is. Let him who stole steal no more, steal no longer, but rather... What's that? Oh, I'm just talking to myself. Okay. Sorry. I do that too. How do you give place to the devil? in the flesh. I don't believe it's possible walking in the spirit, obviously, but conditionally walking in the flesh, I think that the devil can take interest. Oh, I agree. And you give place to sin, which is his domain and his environment, and yeah, absolutely. I think that the understanding there has to be that in the context of John, the Spirit of God has been sent.

And it doesn't address it in this specific one, this specific passage, but he talks about his job is to reveal Christ to the believer. That's his primary job. But he's also the restorer when someone does walk in the flesh. So, Malloy used to say that when you use those two words in James, documas and parado, that we are tempted of our own desires to sin, to condemnation.

But God, through the Spirit, will intercept, I use the word intercept, or use that to approve us. And I think that's what happens. We're not to give place to the devil. In other words, you're not playing Russian roulette with the devil, trust me. You're not doing that.

But when you walk in the flesh, you do give him, because the sin nature controls you and manifests and functions through you, and so you sin continually. But you can't discount the work of the Spirit in the middle of all of that. to use that to restore you to fellowship. It's very interesting how that whole thing goes together. There's fellowship, there's life, there's light, and that's the believer's environment where he lives and functions all the time.

But the writer, John, isn't ignorant about sin. He says, if we say we don't sin, we're lying, and the truth isn't in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So the point that he's making is that, yeah, you have the sin nature in you, and if you get out of this fellowship or get out of this light, God has made a provision for you to get back into it right away. and it's through the confession of your sins. I like that in the sense of, yeah, do I give place to the devil when I sin? Boy, no kidding. I really do. Because sin, the flesh, is all his domain.

It's like the Brethren write lots of material about the difference between being heavenly minded and earthly minded. And they make a distinction that if you're earthly minded, you're functioning in a domain of state. because he's the prince of the place. He runs it. So to have a value system that's earthly based is really to walk in the flesh. Now you have to spend some time reading their stuff. Okay.

Contrasted with that, Colossians 1, since you be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. Set your affections, your mind, and things above, and not in things of the earth. We're to be heavenly minded because that's where our life and environment is. It's where Christ is in the heavenlies. And so when we don't function there, we do give elbow room or place to the devil.

Let's see. John Darby made this quote, If we are walking by faith, as risen with the Lord Jesus Christ, Satan, the world, and the flesh are under our feet. Okay? Alright. Streaking ahead here. Lesson 31. Starting with verse 12. I'm going to read 12, 13, 14, 15.

I still have many things to say to you, but you can't bear them now. When He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak of His own authority. But whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine, therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it unto you."

So, in verse 12, why can't the disciples bear the information at the present time? Why would the Lord say, I've still got a lot of things to tell you, but you can't bear them now, you can't grasp them. How come? By the way, he says this three or four times through these verses, and I'll probably ask it every single time.

They don't have the indwelling of the spirit. They don't have the spirit. They're not new creatures in Christ. So they're not on the same level. They're not born again. They're not believers. Well, they are believers, but they're not in Christ and they're not indwelled with the spirit.

So what's interesting about this is that when you study Acts, what you see in Acts is that Well, rather than make a statement, let me ask a question. What is the distinguishing mark of a believer from a spiritual standpoint? What's he got to have that shows that he's a Christian? He's got to have the spirit. That's the deal. That's the mark. That's the hallmark of who a Christian is.

We just talked a second ago about heavenly-minded and earthly-minded or heavenly-focused. There is no understanding on a human being's part about anything that has anything to do with the things in heaven without the Spirit of God. None. Can't know them, can't comprehend them. Conversely, the Spirit of God has been sent specifically to do that.

So the Lord Jesus, through 14, 15, 16, 17 is telling them some heavenly stuff and they can't get it. Yet. Yet. They're going to get it and he's trying to encourage them by saying I'm sending the spirit and he'll remind you and you don't worry about it if you're a little nervous about not understanding. Now you will be able to and the reason you will be able to is because I'm sending my spirit to reveal everything about me and the heavenlies, the Father, everything. So what is the Spirit of God or what has the Lord Jesus kind of taught them so far?

And by the way, I think we're right now down to the night before he gets crucified. I think we're either walking to Gethsemane or we may already be there. I think we're walking to it. The Lord has talked about in reference to the church age is coming.

Soon to be, he gave a new command to them that they should love each other in the same way that he loves. That's a huge thing. He opened up a new hope for them, a place that he would prepare and he would take all believers. He told them that. He promised another helper or paraclete who would minister in a number of ways. Enlightening, advising, exhorting, enabling, comforting. interceding, convicting, teaching, etc. He unveiled new relationships, the Holy Spirit in them, not just with them. Believers in Christ, Christ in believers, and that's coming up. You see that?

That's entirely new information. The Holy Spirit will be in them, not just with them. he established a new basis for prayer, which we'll talk about in a few minutes. So, you think all these differences are really that different than what they're used to or what they know? You think they... this is radical information that the Lord Jesus has given them, which is more than just changing a couple of things about Judaism. He's talking about an entirely new system, a new operational system, so to speak.

It would be like all of us functioning and working on Microsoft and somebody comes and says, we're all going to switch to Mac. That's a whole new deal. And it's so radically different. We're going to have to learn it from the ground up. We're going to have to start from new because all the principles are different.

That's what he's telling these guys and he's given them so much information that even if they were spiritually alert, if all of us were walking around with the Lord Jesus on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane, how much of this would we have picked up even though we're indwelt by the Spirit? We wouldn't have gotten it all. I don't think. I don't think we would have.

So, when he says However, when He, the Spirit, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak. He will tell you things to come. What is all truth? What Jesus has revealed to us in Scripture. What Jesus has revealed to us in Scripture. Anybody else? God's Word and Will. God's Word and Will. Anybody else? I'm looking for it quickly.

In Colossians, it says, Colossians 2.9 For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power. That's not what I'm looking for. Hold on. The verse I'm looking for is that in him dwells all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. So would you say that all truth is what he reveals to us? I disagree.

It would be like me saying to you, I'm going to give you my memory stick, you go stick it in your computer and all the wisdom and knowledge is here. But when you do this, I'm not going to be at your house with you, you do this on your own. And the Word of God says, but the Word of God says, in me, me, I'm wisdom and knowledge, I'm the treasure. Not what I can tell you what I am. That's the difference. Ego me. I am wisdom and knowledge.

So when I say what is all truth, what am I asking? I should have said who is all truth? Because we think dualistically, that's the way we function. I'm going to get this knowledge, put it in my mind, I'm going to have it, maybe you'll keep it, But we don't understand, at least early on, that the truth is a person. And intimacy with that person is to possess all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We think sequentially, right?

God has all knowledge in play at one time right now. All the knowledge, all truth is in play right now. So if you're in Christ, positionally, guess what? What a resource. But it isn't all knowledge, it's Him. Every opportunity I can get, I always ask a question that points to Him. And I phrase it in such a way that it may sound like what I'm talking about is Well, he's got the book of knowledge under his arm and if you go to him, he'll give it to you. No, him. Do you see that?

Were there conditions laid down by Jesus in order to have verse 13 to be true? Verse 13 said, However, when the Spirit hath come, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak of his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will tell you things to come.

Conditions? But the condition's not there when he comes. Christ has to die. I should have been clearer. Any conditions on my part? None. This is a grace deal all the way. He's going to do all the work. That's right. Christ is going to die. But I don't have to do anything in order to... I don't have a condition other than believing, which is not meritorious, to enter into this whole thing. Does the Holy Spirit occupy me with the work, with the spiritual growth he's doing in me? What do you think? Another trick question. Now you have to think hard about this one. This is a never who question.

He occupies you with Christ, not with your spiritual growth. That would be, remember in 15 he talked about the vine, The branch and the fruit. Here I am, the branch. Where's my focus supposed to be? Over here on the vine. What do I really have a tendency to do? That's what I'm doing all the time. And so when I ask the question, does he occupy me with the growth? That means I'm doing a lot of this, you know, rather than here. Say that again. Sure. Yeah. Sprucing up the branch, maybe expanding its capacity. checking the fruit to make sure it's working.

If I'm occupied with the work He does in me, I'm not walking in the Spirit. Now, we kind of chuckle at that, but trust me, when a young believer enters the path of spiritual growth, it's all about their spiritual growth, isn't it? I don't say this from a blaming standpoint, it's just the way it is. When a believer starts to grow spiritually, it's all about the growth. After a while they begin to suspect, hopefully because they have good teaching, that really what it's about is the person of Christ, not their growth. There's a joy that you know that you're growing spiritually, but the degree and the speed is the degree and speed of which you're beholding Christ. And the Word of God is designed and the Spirit of God has been sent to accomplish that purpose in the believer's life, that Christ would be all in all. It would be not I, but him. And as you're walking in the spirit, I've asked this question a thousand times, when you're walking in the spirit, what's going on behind your eyeballs? What are you seeing? What are you occupied with? What are you doing? You're beholding. You should be. Okay. All right. Let's see. Six.

How much focus is there by the three persons on the principles in verse 14. Verse 14, he will glorify me for he will take of what is mine and declare it to you. I wrote down a bunch of verses. Well, I'll give them to you. The Father directs our attention to him, Matthew 17, 5. The Spirit would occupy us with him. It's all over the place. I wrote down Acts 7 and 55. The Word of God testifies of him.

He is the object of faith, He is the object of love, He is the object of hope. And the faith or love or hope that does not make Him the object is without reality. The risen Lord Jesus is all for my path, all for my growth, all for my service, all for my worship unto you therefore which believe He is precious. That's what Peter says in 1 Peter 2. unto you therefore who believe he is precious.

We have such a system of learning in our country, but I think it's probably true in every society. that we really buy into this, I've got to learn facts, as important as the facts are. But if I accumulate the facts and bring them into my mind and sort them out, then I will be the beholder of and the expounder of truth. Nowhere in any university in this country that I know of would anyone stand up in front of a class and say, truth is a person. Would they say that? No. Knowledge is a person. They wouldn't say that.

But the Word of God says that all three persons of the Godhead are engaged in this one enterprise, and that's to reveal the person to each individual believer. When we get to 17, you're going to see that. Do you think it's possible that the Spirit of God would develop in every believer's life the same kind of intimacy with the Father that the Lord Jesus had? where you could walk around and you could just go be alone with your father. Think he'd do that? Think he's done it? Sure. It's a person. It's always personal with God. That's why we're persons. So we can deal with Him who is a person. See? Okay.

When it comes to Christ's fullness, is there anything that will not be given to us? Say yes or no question. And if you say no, I'm going to say there's one thing you're not going to get. Do you know what it is? Deity. You get everything else. You get everything else. Maybe put it this way. Deity.

Before God created, there were three persons, right? What were they doing? Before they created, what were they doing? They were hanging out with each other, fellowshipping, right? Guess what we'd get to do? We'd get plugged into that fellowship for all eternity. All right, let's go. Our dear Father, how we thank you for your word and your spirit and to understand and comprehend and to rest in the fact that you and the three of you are engaged in revealing your dear son to us that we would know him, behold him, and find him precious father. We thank you, we pray in his name. Amen.