The Holy Spirit - Our Heavenly Counselor

The Holy Spirit - Our Heavenly Counselor

Genesis 40-42 | Psalm 14 | John 14

The 14th, 15th and 16th chapters of the Gospel According to John uniquely contain Jesus' most distinctive and extensive teaching on the Holy Spirit. For this reason, today's and the next few days' message will be devoted to exploring the Biblical teaching regarding the Spirit. (In the passages from John, Jesus is speaking to His disciples about the Spirit who will come on them, but it is safe to apply this teaching to all believers for, among other reasons, 'all receive the one Spirit' [1 Cor. 12:13].)

First we see that, according to Jesus' words in verse sixteen of today's reading of John, the Spirit to come is "another Counselor" - i.e., the Spirit is to in some way replace Jesus. He is to come as a representative of Jesus, and in many ways His substitue, enabling the disciples to carry on effective ministry without Jesus' immediate physical presence.

We also see that the Spirit's presence is permanent (v.16) and inward (v.17) - the Spirit lives in us, enabling and helping us to lead a Christian life, pleasing to God and glorifying to His name. Generally speaking, the Spirit provides guidance and instruction to believers, 'teaching us all things and reminding us of all that Jesus said' (v.26), but also helps in more specific ways.

The Apostle Paul tells us in his Letter to the Romans that the Spirit helps us when we pray: "...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." (Rom. 8:26-27). The unique position of the Spirit as God within us allows His perfect understanding of our thoughts and feelings to be passed on to God the Father. F.F. Bruce exclaims: 'Those longings and aspirations which well up from the depths of our spirit and cannot be imprisoned within the confines of everyday words are instead prayed by the Spirit within us, whose mind is understood immediately by the Father to whom the prayer is addressed.'

The Spirit also works within us to sanctify us - that is, to constantly help us change ourselves and become more like God - more holy. This is a life-long task, and it is often frustrating knowing that purity (perfect accordance with God's Will) will not come until we are in Heaven with God. Nevertheless, to counter the sinful nature within us while on Earth, the fruit of the Spirit is "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal. 5:22-23).

Finally, the Spirit's impact in our lives can be said to include the "making real" of God to us. In prayer, spirituality and worship, the Spirit makes the presence of God felt and helps us to remain focussed on Him at all times.

Pray for the continued working of the Spirit within you, molding your life to the Will of God; and praise God for His gift of the Spirit, our helper and guide, our True Counselor. 

The Revelation of the Spirit

The Revelation of the Spirit

Genesis 43-45 | Psalm 15 | John 15

The words of Jesus recorded in today's reading of John begin with two analogies where Jesus and believers are represented by a vine and its branches (respectively). In the imagery of these analogies we can see that just as branches are part of a vine, believers are part of Jesus. Believers, like the branches of a vine, are not independant - they have no source of life within themselves, but rely on Christ. Tasker exclaims, "Believers in Jesus are 'limbs' of His body, and share in the life which results from the sacrifice of that body on the cross".

Through these analogies we see that as believers we are to "be fruitful" - i.e., live for the glory of God, doing His will. We also see that if we "remain in Jesus" (that is: trust always in our need of Jesus for true life) we will be fruitful - indeed we cannot be fruitful outside of Jesus.

The Spirit helps us to remain in Jesus and be fruitful as was discussed yesterday, but also helps through various forms of revelation. Firstly, living within us and being God (the Third Person of the Trinity), the Holy Spirit is uniquely in a position to reveal God to us; and in revealing God, reveal His nature, His will and His truth. By this, we may "know Him better, love Him more, and please Him in all that we do".

We also see that the Spirit reveals Jesus to the world, testifying to His truth (v.26 cf.16:13). It is only through the Spirit that the Good News of Salvation through Jesus is revealed to any one person - it is only through the revelation of the Spirit to a sinner that that sinner may understand their need for Jesus and be saved (therefore another reason why prayer is imperitive when wanting others to find salvation in Christ). The Apostle Paul explains, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14). Furthermore, this revelation continues all of our Christian lives, with the Spirit imparting wisdom and knowledge to understand the Scriptures, and to apply them to our lives (1 Cor. 2:6ff.).

Finally, predicative prophecy and the word of God recorded in the Bible are inspired by the Holy Spirit for our guidance and wisdom. In our reading of John tommorrow, Jesus tells His followers that the Spirit will reveal further truth, which is undoubtably a reference to the New Testament which we are now reading, as well as truth and understanding revealed to Christians accross the Millenia.

But how does the Spirit reveal this truth? From an increased understanding of the Scripture and greater aptitude and insight to apply it in your life; to a greater natural acceptance of the wisdom and rightfulness of God's will; to manipulation of events and your environment to 'direct you indirectly'; to outright communication of some form; to other ways of guidance that God only knows: all are possible to the all-powerful God. While few experience direct communication of the Spirit, all believers are led by the Spirit to grow and "be fruitful" in their Christian lives.

Praise God for all that has been revealed to you by the Spirit: an understanding of the grace of God, an understnading of His word in the Bible, an understanding of your own need for salvation, an understanding of the work of Jesus, and an understanding of the love of God. Without the Spirit these all would seem foolishness to you, and you would indeed be lost.

The Glory of Christ

The Glory of Christ

Genesis 34-36 | Psalm 12 | John 12

Today's reading from John speaks of great contrast in glory. Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly, seated on a donkey as the crowd placed palm leaves in front of Him and praised Him as the king who came in the name of the Lord. He was being glorified and praised... yet He was sitting on a donkey - an "Ass" - not exactly a 'noble steed'! If you consider it further, Jesus didn't even enter the world 'regally' - He was born in a stable to 'average' parents. There is no doubt that Jesus' entry into Jerusalem was triumphal, but it's also clear that what made it so was the people's attitude to Him, they accepted that He was sent from God and didn't seem to look at his mode of transportation.

There are further examples of this contrast in glory. In verse 23, Jesus speaks of His soon-to-come death as the hour of His glorification. Read that again - His coming death is where He will be glorified! In verse 32 He even shows that He knows how He is going to die - on a cross. This was the lowest of the low of deaths to die. This was the punishment reserved for the worst of criminals. Nailed to a cross and left naked, slowly dying. Yet Jesus saw this as His hour of glory!

Of course He explained that like a kernal of wheat which must fall to the ground and die before more can grow from it; so must He die so that others can live. We see in this again, that the measure of glory given to Jesus at His death comes not from physically impressive things (for there was none at the cross!); but from the act of saving the (eternal) lives of others in accordance with God's will.

Jesus' life and death (and resurrection) taught us all a great many things, but today I have chosen to concentrate on this one issue of glory. Being respected, recognised, praised; it's something we each seek, it's something none of us deserve, but it's something promised to us in Christ nevertheless. What's your idea of being glorified? Is it impressing people with possessions or skills? Or is it being treated by God the way Jesus should be treated? The people in Jesus' day were obviously confronted with this problem. You see, many believed in the message Jesus proclaimed, but "because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God." (42-43)

Many today similarly ignore the truth of grace in Christ. They dismiss the words of the Bible as unimportant, dismiss the message of God as irrelevant, and dismiss Jesus' death as unproductive. I suggest that there are two (general) reasons why such views are held. The first is that these people try to provide the glory they crave through fulfilling their own desires; they glorify themselves in their own eyes. The second is that they seek glory in the form of recognition from others around them; they glorify themselves in others' eyes. But if we've learned anything from Jesus today it is that these are empty forms of glory. These are the immaterial. Seeking your glory from yourself or from others is like believing that the people of Jerusalem were impressed with Jesus because He rode in on a donkey. No. In what (let's face it) must have been the work of God, those people recognised the divine and ignored the material. Although they saw a man on an ass, they recognised God as He enetered. So must we.

At some point, if your faith is in Christ, you must have reached a point where you knew you didn't deserve anything. No praise from men, let alone praise from God! You made a commitment to serve Christ, to seek His glory; and making that decision freed you. But one of the greatest struggles I have as a Christian is to remember this. Are you the same? Jesus has promised us future glory with Him. But it's so easy to want worldly glory now as well. Jesus said, "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." True glory will come when we enter heaven and God may say of us, "Well done, good and faithful servant".

Praise God for His glory revealed in His Son - a glory so much more perfect than any earthly glory; and pray that you may live in such a way in that Jesus' glory is seen through you.