Now I don't think we should entirely leave John 14 without a closing word concerning Holy Spirit. Certainly, in my lifetime, I have had no small amount of confusion at times, as well as a host of unanswered questions regarding this mysterious Person, third in the Godhead...the very essence of Jesus the Christ Himself, and the very Agent of Father God! And He has a definite personality, infinite power, and a permanent relationship with the Believer.
He was Jesus' promise to the twelve, that when He returned to the Father, He would ask that they (and we!) be sent Another, Who would fill them, comfort them, and empower them for a lifetime till eternity come. Now that, would be Divine, because He is as Jesus, Himself...the very Spirit of very Truth, by, and of, the great I AM! So don't let your heart be troubled!
And this Person will have a permanent relationship with the Believer...for the rest of your life? No...into eternity itself! I believe that when this Holy entity comes in, He comes to stay...through thick and thin, as we say, which is the exact point stated by Jesus to the twelve. Ready, willing and able to give us precisely what we need, for when and what we need it. And if that seems impossible to you today, you need to get on your knees and have another little talk with Jesus!
Secondly, Holy Spirit has at least, a fourfold purpose for His presence in His people. And they are, first of all, to indwell us; to be a part of us from the moment that we believe...at that moment upon which we become a living stone in the living temple of the living God! Just think on that for a minute, because I fear that most of us have become so familiar with bible truth, that it has lost much of its luster; it lacks the "punch" that it one had for us. But this is a great truth...that there can be no greater resource, than that of God dwelling in you! And He wants to be in the way of every move you make.
Next, His purpose is to invest all that He has and is, in order to enrich and empower the life of the Believer. It's not a bit of an exageration to say that, without His investment in my life, I would amount to no more than a mere mineral deposit! Do you realize that without Him, anything that is accomplished for the faith, brings only glory to self...nothing for God? No glory for Jesus' sake; nothing for Kingdom growth; no jewels and no crowns...just a hearty handshake and maybe a half-hearted thank you.
But Jesus' purpose in sending His Holy Spirit to the church is also to instruct us in the things of God; to teach us spiritual truths; to reveal to us the depths of the faith, and to take us to our fullest potential, on behalf of the One Whose servants we are.
And finally, His goal is to inspire us; to literally, encourage us in our duty; to be for us as well as in us, what we cannot be on our own; to keep us moving in His direction, and to gather us out of the shade and off the shoulder. To inspire us.
Those disciples were easily discouraged, but He is the Prince of Peace, vs. 27...and we still have that assurance today! Our world may be on track for destruction, but we have given to us and for us, the peace that surpasses all our understanding. What a mighty God we serve!
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