Day 93: Why Was the Holy Spirit Given to Us?
We have been blessed with many gifts from Father God in Christ. On top of all the priceless gifts we have been given, The Holy Spirit has been given to us to lead us up and into the love of the One True God. His presence and empowerment will be the foundation on which we face our many spiritual struggles that we will begin to explore next week.
John 14:16-17
“…I (Jesus) will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever 17 the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you…”
On the night of His betrayal, before His crucifixion, the Lord Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure back into Heaven. However, He made it very clear that His ascension would be of great benefit because He would send them another Advocate – The Holy Spirit.
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be with His first disciples forever by indwelling them and empowering them for their mission. So also Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to us. The Holy Spirit works to draw us up into the divine love of Father God and Jesus The Son so that their glory and joy becomes the satisfaction of our lives.
Notice what Jesus goes on to say:
John 14:18-21
I will not abandon you as orphans, I will come to you. 19 In a little while the world will not see me any longer, but you will see me; because I live, you will live too. 20 You will know at that time that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you. 21 The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.”
Earlier, Jesus had emphasized that He and the Father were one. To see Jesus, is to see the Father (John 10:30; 14:9). By this, Jesus meant that He and the Father were completely united in love, purpose and desire. Where Jesus is present, the Father is present as well.
In this passage, Jesus also makes it clear that wherever the Holy Spirit is, there He is as well. This is why he says “I will not abandon you. I will come to you.” As Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower these first disciples, Jesus Himself would be present. Just as with these first disciples, Jesus through the Holy Spirit now dwells in your heart if you are in Christ. You have complete and total fellowship with the Lord Jesus through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit.
Notice also what Jesus says in 14:20 – He is in the Father, we are in Christ, and Christ is in us. We are completely and totally included in the glorious and loving relationship of the Father and Son. The Spirit draws us up into that relationship and makes it real in our experience.
To be united with Jesus through the Holy Spirit is also to be completely united in fellowship with the Father. In John 17, Jesus prayed that his first disciples would “one”—united in love, purpose and desire—just as He was “one” with the Father. Not only did Jesus pray this for the first disciples, He also prayed this for all of us who have believed their message. Take a look at the following verses:
John 17:20-23
“I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, 21 that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 22 The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one 23 I in them and you in me that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.”
Take note: in 17:23 Jesus prayed that the Father would reveal to us that He loves us just as as He has loved the Lord Jesus? Pause for a moment and consider how much the Father loves Jesus as His “One Unique Son.” You are loved that much too!
Paul also developed this theology in many of his letters. Observe how he greets the church at Thessalonica:.
1 Thessalonians 1:1
From Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you!
Paul considered that this church was “in the God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” They had been totally included in the Divine love and purpose of the Father and Son through the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit. So have we!!!
We have spent this week focusing on the Holy Spirit because knowing who He is and how He now lives in and empowers you will give you comfort and encouragement as we think about spiritual warfare.
Take a few minutes and give thanks for all the things you have learned this week and especially for the presence of the Spirit in you, in Christ.
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
