Commentary on the Gospel of John

                                 Chapter Twelve

                                                                                                                                              Verses 23-27 continued

In the second part of Jesus' statement in John 12:25, He spoke about those who would hate their sinful natures while on the earth, and who would repent and believe in Him as their Savior while they were still alive in the flesh. Matthew 10:39. Those living humans become saved by grace. The Holy Spirit washes away all of their sins from their souls and spirits with the blood of Christ, and He annuls their spiritual deaths that cause them to sin in their souls and spirits, and He will give them the perfect, eternal life of Christ Himself by means of which God can accept them into Heaven to live with Him there forever. I John 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5; II Corinthians 5:21. Humans saved by grace can no longer sin in their recreated souls and spirits, but God will allow them to still be able to sin in their fleshly natures. I John 3:9; Romans 7:15-25. The Holy Spirit cleanses and forgives the fleshly sins of believers saved by grace with the water that Jesus shed on the cross as they daily repent of them. John 13:1-11; I John 1:8-9.

Jesus then described how persons saved by grace should lead their lives. They should simply follow Jesus. They should be guided by the Holy Spirit, who is Jesus in spiritual form, to read the Word of God in order to learn more about Jesus so that they can become more like Him. They should pray for Christ to show them what He wants them to do and to give them whatever they need to do His Will. They should go to church to worship and praise Christ for His salvation and goodness to them and for just being their Holy God. They should respond to the guidance of the Holy Spirit who will make them more and more like Jesus as He fills them with His love and compassion. In other words, wherever Jesus happens to be, His followers should also be. Galatians 5:22-24.

At the end of Jesus' sermon, He became troubled in His Spirit. He dreaded the terrible suffering and pain He would have to endure to save all of His living humans from sin, evil, and spiritual death. Not only would He suffer, but His Father and His Spirit would suffer as well. His Father would suffer in grief when He had to turn His face away from Jesus as He bore the sins and evil of the entire human race on the cross. Matthew 27:46. His Spirit had to suffer with His descent into the regions of death to leave behind all of the sins and evil of all humans who do not become saved by grace. Ephesians 4:8-10; Psalm 68:18. Not only did Jesus ascend to Heaven, but His Spirit also ascended from the regions of death to reanimate the perfect body of Jesus. I Peter 3:18. The Spirit had to have left all of the sins and evil that Jesus bore on the cross behind in the regions of death because He had to have ascended immaculate from the regions of death to resurrect Jesus. Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:25-31. Jesus wondered, as a man would, if His Father's Will could be that He should pray for deliverance from that awful trial, but as God, He knew that His Father had sent Him to the world to suffer and die in the place of all humans so that He could save the entire living, human race that He creates and loves from sin, evil, and spiritual death. Matthew 26:38-46; Matthew 26:53-54; I Corinthians 15:20-28; Colossians 1:15-20; Romans 8:18-23; I Timothy 4:10; II Peter 3:9; John 5:24; Revelation 5:11-14; John 5:28-29; Genesis 3:20-21; Genesis 8:20-21; Revelation 20:5; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 22:11-12.