And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.John 14:16-17
What a blessing it is to have the blessed Holy Spirit of God so close, so accessible, so personally involved in my life. This is what Jesus wanted for His disciples. It was His request of the Father to give the Helper, the Spirit of God to be with us forever. And in this simple request, I see so much of what I have in relationship with God.
First, the Spirit is a Helper. He is meant to assist me as He glorifies Christ in me. This is Helper, not in the sense of servant or employee. This is Helper in terms of Counselor or nurse or physician. I can't make it on my own. I am a spiritual cripple and I need assistance. And the Holy Spirit comes alongside me (the literal meaning of Helper) to assist me.
Secondly, the relationship with God through His Holy Spirit never stops. Jesus requested that the relationship with His disciples last forever. That is a really long period of time! It has no end. What has been begun in me in my salvation and known in the Spirit's daily work of sanctification will not end, even in glorification when I stand complete before God. The Spirit will always be with me, and I should walk in Him and with Him.
The third observation has to do with the fact that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Truth. Jesus is the Truth. The Father is Truth. The Spirit is Truth. The only way I will experience what is true and right is to walk as the Helper leads me to walk. And this truth is exclusive. Jesus said that the world cannot receive the Spirit of Truth and cannot see nor know Him. Only those who have surrendered to Jesus as Savior and Lord my know Him because they are indwelt by Him. This exclusive relationship with the Spirit of God is a distinctive of Christianity. It is not about wild charismatic gyrations. Jesus says nothing about that. It is about truth, and honest living, and being the people who walk with God in the cool of the day once again.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.John 14:16-17
What a blessing it is to have the blessed Holy Spirit of God so close, so accessible, so personally involved in my life. This is what Jesus wanted for His disciples. It was His request of the Father to give the Helper, the Spirit of God to be with us forever. And in this simple request, I see so much of what I have in relationship with God.
First, the Spirit is a Helper. He is meant to assist me as He glorifies Christ in me. This is Helper, not in the sense of servant or employee. This is Helper in terms of Counselor or nurse or physician. I can't make it on my own. I am a spiritual cripple and I need assistance. And the Holy Spirit comes alongside me (the literal meaning of Helper) to assist me.
Secondly, the relationship with God through His Holy Spirit never stops. Jesus requested that the relationship with His disciples last forever. That is a really long period of time! It has no end. What has been begun in me in my salvation and known in the Spirit's daily work of sanctification will not end, even in glorification when I stand complete before God. The Spirit will always be with me, and I should walk in Him and with Him.
The third observation has to do with the fact that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Truth. Jesus is the Truth. The Father is Truth. The Spirit is Truth. The only way I will experience what is true and right is to walk as the Helper leads me to walk. And this truth is exclusive. Jesus said that the world cannot receive the Spirit of Truth and cannot see nor know Him. Only those who have surrendered to Jesus as Savior and Lord my know Him because they are indwelt by Him. This exclusive relationship with the Spirit of God is a distinctive of Christianity. It is not about wild charismatic gyrations. Jesus says nothing about that. It is about truth, and honest living, and being the people who walk with God in the cool of the day once again.
