LIVING BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. (Part 5).
John 14. Verses 16-18 read:
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Having understood that the new birth is the means by which one accesses the life of the spirit, we want to turn our attention to the identity of the Holy Spirit, that is, his person or nature. Jesus had a very intimate walk with his disciples while on earth. A strong bond of fellowship had been established between them. This was largely the result of how Jesus handled them; his teaching, care, and how he made God real to men. He helped them to discover:
- The value of their lives.
- How they could live for God.
- God’s purpose for their lives and how they could fulfil this purpose to the glory of God.
News of Jesus’ departure was very disturbing to the disciples, given the positive influence Jesus had on their lives. The disciples needed an assurance that they would not be left in dejection when Jesus was gone. Knowing how the disciples were feeling, he gave them the assurance of sending them another comforter of his calibre in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus described the Holy Spirit as another Comforter. In other words, he was going to provide them with the same measure and quality of comfort, his presence provided. The only difference was that Jesus provided comfort through a human vessel, but the Holy Spirit would do so as an unseen spirit.
As the Comforter, the Holy Spirit would abide with believers forever and provide them with the needed assurance and encouragement for daily living. The Holy Spirit is also described as the spirit of truth, whom the world of carnal men can not receive because he is a spirit and not physically tangible. As the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit upholds what is true and of God. There is no falsehood or deceit in him. As a spirit, the Holy Spirit indwells and remains with the believer. Due to the potency of the operation of the Holy Spirit, Jesus could tell his disciples that he would not leave them comfortless, but he would come to them. He did this by means of the Holy Spirit. May we permit the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, and the spirit of truth to reign in our lives to the glory of God.
SHALOM 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏