Manifested Love Pt 13: Spirit will come

John 14:15-17                        15“If you love me, keep my commands. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Romans 8:26-27                    26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Another

One word—a word which carries so much meaning—is used to describe the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  It is impossible for any human being to understand God; it is something we take on faith.  But to understand the Holy Spirit is at a whole other level.  We can sort of grasp that Someone Greater Than Us is the source of all life and all creation.  I have a friend who describes the Holy Spirit as “a little bit of God” that God places in our hearts.  But the question remains:  Is the Holy Spirit a ghost, a source of energy, a power, an essence?  The word ‘another’ carries the connotation one like myself, so when Jesus says it, the word means that the Holy Spirit is a person.  Although non-corporeal, the Holy Spirit is a distinct individual, separate from the Father and Son, but proceeding from the Father and the Son. 

God the Father is perfectly righteous and holy and so does not have interaction with evil or sin.  The entire salvific plan is about cleansing the world of sin so that the Father can have contact with his children, hence the coming return of Jesus.  Jesus is now and forevermore a physical person—God the Son in human form.  But when believers sometimes say a person has Jesus in his heart that can be hard to understand.  The 2nd Law of Physics (which was itself created by God) says that two objects can’t occupy the same space at the same time.  So a human being cannot indwell another human being.  This must then mean that it can’t be the body of Jesus which indwells the believer, but the Spirit of Jesus which does so.  So I conceive of the Holy Spirit as the essence of the Father and the essence also of the Son in yet a third separate but equal Person of the Godhead who brings both Father and Son present into the heart of the believer in the here and now,

Advocate

The word translated Advocate in this passage is difficult to understand because it has such a wide range of meanings.  It can be translated ‘comforter’, ‘teacher’, ‘advocate’, ‘counsellor’, ‘helper’ and ‘guide’ but these are so disparate that none of the translations encompass the full range of meaning.  Nonetheless, all of those meanings have been used at various times.  The overarching thrust of meaning is probably best expressed as One who given to help believers through their various struggles.

The sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus is absolutely necessary to affect the cleansing of sin from the heart of the believer.  The washing away of sin and the defeat of Satan is not possible if Jesus didn’t die and resurrect.  But it means Jesus had to leave the disciples.  The spreading of the Gospel to all nations would not have been possible if left exclusively to the efforts of the flesh.  Divine help is needed, and that is why Jesus says he will not leave the disciples as orphans (next posting).  The Holy Spirit is needed in any and all situations and he provides whatever help is necessary.  All of those meanings associated with Advocate can be applied to Jesus as well, so it is apparent the Holy Spirit is being sent to continue the supernatural support of the disciples.

Even more importantly, when Jesus said God will give another Advocate he meant believers will now have two:  One in Heaven (Jesus) defending us against the accusations of Satan, basically presenting our case before God.  The other (Holy Spirit) is on the earth, communicating God’s truth to us, basically presenting God’s case to us.

The world cannot receive

Today I met a man for the briefest of moments.  He was a world traveler, had two passports, and had been almost everywhere.  But the thing that got my attention was that he was Catholic, but had one son who was a Buddhist and another that was a Muslim.  Sometime during our conversation he said he had the necessary three ladders to heaven secured, yet as I prayed for him at the end he seemed to dismiss the prayer.  It was clear this man did not have a salvific relationship with Jesus and had not raised his sons to have one either.  This sort of thinking is everywhere in the world; it’s called Universalism and basically says all people get to heaven no matter their belief system.

That’s why the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit; it doesn’t know the Sender.

But you know him

When the Spirit comes at Pentecost, it comes to indwell the heart of every believer and collectively it makes the Church, the Body of Christ, its home.

28“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29)

Everything changes when the Spirit comes.  All of a sudden the nascent church grows up; leaves its infancy behind; becomes an international expression of the love of God; becomes the Body of Christ.  The presence of the Holy Spirit is the defining thing that unites all believers; it breaks down walls of separation and unites believers in one love of Christ.

14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups (Jew and Gentile) one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in one body to reconcile (all who believe) to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. (Ephesians 2:14-16, modifications mine)

What about me?

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and all of a sudden everything changes.  The Holy Spirit helps us mature as believers because although when we first accepted Christ the direction of our lives changed, we were still burdened by old habit patterns and sin nature.  Now, though, we have the Holy Spirit to help us.  God, through the Holy Spirit doesn’t force us to do anything; he just suggests, urges, and guides.  We have to be willing to listen.

This means that more than ever we must cultivate quiet time with God.  But the thing I’ve learned over the years is that if you don’t schedule a regular time with him, it won’t happen.  Now, believer, you are part of something much bigger than you; don’t squander the opportunity; let the Spirit help you grow up in Christ.