15th March 2026 Question box

OK, so tonight’s question is:

Why did Jesus have to leave for the Spirit to come? Couldn’t they have been around at the same time?

Good question; I have wondered it myself. The question is picking up on something Jesus says in John 16:7: “Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you (John 16:7). In that passage it’s clear that the Advocate is another name for the Holy Spirit. But the question is: couldn’t they be around at the same time?

Well, there’s a verse in the passage that we’re going to read tonight which helps answer that question. In John 7:38 Jesus says: “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” And then John explains what Jesus is talking about: “39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” And so the answer is that the time for the Spirit to be sent is the time when Jesus is glorified.

OK, but why? Well let’s step through this in chronological order.

• First come Jesus ministry on earth. This is the time of Jesus’ humility. It’s a time when Jesus refuses to be made into a king, because people don’t understand what sort of king he is. It’s a time when Jesus is on his way to the cross to pay for our sin, and then to rise again and go back to the Father in victory. See we need to remember that when Jesus says: “unless I go to the Father…” he talking talks about going by the way of the cross and resurrection. This is how Jesus will be glorified.
• Then comes the next stage: Jesus is glorified, he is king of the world. But he is not yet enforcing his kingship by judging the world. He has delayed his appearance in power and glory. And he has delayed because in His mercy, he sends his Spirit to empower the church in mission to world. To proclaim the good news of his death and resurrection and glory. To draw people from every nation to come to Jesus before He appears in glory, to judge the world. It’s a time of “now, but not yet.” This is our time,
• But our great hope is that one day Jesus will physically return to judge and to make all things new. And on that day the Spirit will remain with us, we will continue to be the dwelling place of God. But completed and upgraded.

And so can Jesus and the Holy sprit be around at the same time? Well, they can, they are able to. But in the plan of God, the time for that is not yet: First the Son comes in his humility Then the Spirit comes to meet us in our humility. Before finally the presence of the Spirit and the Son together transform us with his glory.

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This question was originally answered in our evening service on 9 November 2025. I’ll aim to post another question and answer next week. You can read about how our question box works here.