TO CHEW ON: "'And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may abide with you forever.'" John 14:16
We cherish a person's last words, whether we hear them in person or read them in a letter or story. Here, through John, we are privy to some of the last teachings and conversations Jesus had with His disciples. They didn't know what was about to happen, but we do and that makes them all the more poignant.
Jesus, realizing He will soon be gone, pre-comforts his soon-to-be-bereaved disciples with words on which they will probably meditate a lot in the days to come. He will soon send them "another Helper" -- the Holy Spirit. We learn a lot about this third person in the Trinity from this chapter (and John 16).
1. Holy Spirit will be given to all. Jesus gave this promise to His assembled disciples, not one individual ( John 14:16).
2. Different Bible translations describe Him as "Comforter" also "Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby" (Amplified). Each of these names adds a layer of meaning to our understanding of Him (John 14:16).
3. He will live with them and be in them. What amazing intimacy (John 14:16-17)!
4. He will "abide forever" (John 14:16). In other words, He will be a permanent guest.
5. Jesus calls Him the "Spirit of truth" (John 14:17). In contrast, Satan, who is the "ruler" or "prince" of this world (John 12:31) is known for his lying (John 8:44). No wonder Jesus says the world wouldn't see, know or receive the Holy Spirit.
6. The Holy Spirit will continue to reveal Jesus to them even though He is physically absent (John 14:21).
7. He will remind them of what Jesus said and teach what it means (John 14:26).
8. The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin righteousness and judgment (John 16:13).
9. He will guide them into truth (John 16:13).
10. He will explain future events to them (John 16:13).
11. He will explain and glorify Jesus to them (John 16:14).
The thrilling thing is that this Holy Spirit is available to us today. He draws us to Jesus and as we give Him the controls of our lives, is with us and in us, just as Jesus described. We probably aren't aware of a fraction what the Spirit does in us, around us, hopefully even through us.
But we can also stymie His presence and activity in our lives. We can test Him, lie to Him, grieve, vex or sadden Him, resist Him, insult Him, and blaspheme Him (Acts 5:9; Acts 5:3; Ephesians 4:30; Acts 7:51; Hebrews 10:29; Matthew 12:31-32).
Let's let Him search us for anything that would hinder His presence and activity in our lives (1 Corinthians 2:10).
PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, thank You for being my constant companion. Please help me to realize this fully and, in the knowledge of it, live boldly. Amen.
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 109
The Bible Project VIDEO - John - Part 2 (Read Scripture Series)
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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