Dear Explorer,
Read John 14:15-18
Jesus has just been talking about returning to Heaven and was telling His disciples that they could pray, and He would provide for them. Today we will continue to look at His final teachings.
What does Jesus say in John 14:15?
If we are not obeying Him, what does that imply?
I believe there might have been a long pause between John 14:15 and John 14:16 as Jesus looked into the faces of the men and women who had followed Him and that He would soon leave. I believe if I had been there, I would be thinking…What commands? Jesus taught so much, how do I know where to begin? How will I remember all the things He taught? What were those rules again? Maybe you are thinking that right now!
Then Jesus tells them more of God's plan. He's already told them that He is going to be the Lamb sacrificed for the sins of the whole world. Now He tells them that after He is gone, He will send them the Holy Spirit to live inside of them.
Remember that this is brand new to the disciples. They have not heard it before or experienced it yet.
Some translations say in John 14:16 that God will send them a Helper or Comforter. But a better translation is “advocate”.
What is an advocate?
An advocate is someone who speaks or represent another person (like a lawyer), or idea (like black lives matter), or thing (like a product spokesperson).
So, the Holy Spirit represents or speaks for God to us AND the Holy Spirit represents or speaks to God for us. Wow!!!!
Super cool! He is our Advocate and He is God's Advocate. Because of the Holy Spirit, God can hear our prayers and we can hear His instructions. Double wow!
What will the Holy Spirit do? What did He do in Jesus' life?
He helps us keep Jesus' commands. He helps us to grow spiritually. He helps us to become all that God intends for us, He shows us God's ways and God's thoughts, He helps us to understand Scripture. Yeah, I'd say we need this helper!
And He will be with you forever. When your physical BODY dies, it is the Holy Spirit that escorts the SELF to Heaven. And we're told He will never leave us.
What name is He called in John 14:17?
The Holy Spirit will never lie to you! Now we may get confused and mistake SELF or even Satan for His voice. We often get off track – but the Holy Spirit will guide us and show us how to get back on track and return to obedience. But He will always lead us with truth.
The world, meaning those who are empty, will not understand the Holy Spirit at all! In fact, trying to explain that you hear His voice inside your head could land you in the funny farm – (people may accuse you of being crazy – just like they did Jesus!)
This is the first time that Jesus has told them that they, too, would be filled with the Holy Spirit just like He was. He assures them that this will happen after His death and the Holy Spirit would always be with them. In fact, it was 50 days after Jesus' death before the Holy Spirit was sent to indwell the followers – but we'll get there later.
Look carefully at John 14:18. What does Jesus mean when He says, “I will come to you”?
Some people think He was talking about His 2nd coming. I think He's talking about something different that is really neat.
Throughout this study, I have stated that you can invite Jesus to live inside of you. I have said that we can feel God inside of us, I have said that it is the Holy Spirit living inside of you.
I have also said that we follow God's instructions, Jesus' instructions and the Holy Spirit's instructions. Can all 3 be used interchangeably? Why?
Yes. Remember we serve 1 God. But because He has 3 personalities, I can refer to any one and mean all 3!
Here I believe Jesus is saying, “Hey guys, I'll be there with you. I'll be right there inside of you guiding you – not physically, but spiritually.”
I can't think of a sweeter promise to hear from Jesus.
Jesus will always, always, always be with you because you invited Him into your life, and He has come in to stay for all eternity!
In His service, dale
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