With You and In You

May 24

I Samuel 22-23

Psalm 65:1-8

Proverbs 14:15-16

John 14

With You and In You

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him.  You know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” 

John 14:16-17 LSB

The night before Jesus’ death, He shared a meal with His disciples, washed their feet and then tried to explain to them what was about to happen.  He knew He only had a little bit of time left with them so He needed to tell them the most important things He wanted them to remember after His death.  He predicted Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, and His death and resurrection.  He reassured them about who He was and that His death would not change that.  He knew they didn’t understand what He was telling them then but hoped that they would remember His words and understand them later.  He then gave them the promise that we find in our passage today.  He promised that after He left, He would send another Advocate to be with them forever to abide with them and in them.  Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection is the most important event in all of history. It has had a more profound impact on the course of human history than any other moment past, present or future.  The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is the second most important event.  Jesus’ death and resurrection paid the penalty once for all to provide the means by which mankind can come to God.  He satisfied the sacrificial system completely replacing it with a New Covenant of grace for all who believe in Him and choose to follow Him. 

The Holy Spirit existed with the Father and the Son from the beginning of time.  He has always been present, working and active.  He participated in creation (Genesis 1:2, Job 26:13, Isaiah 32:15).  He came upon judges, kings, and prophets in the Old Testament giving them power and wisdom: Joshua (Numbers 27:18), Gideon (Judges 6:34), Samson (Judges 13:25, 14:6), Saul (I Samuel 10:9-10), David (2 Samuel 23:2) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 2:2).  But what Jesus promised here was entirely different.  In the Old Testament we find the Holy Spirit coming into people’s lives briefly for a specific time and purpose, but He did remain in them permanently.  He would come upon them for a time and then leave.  In the Old Testament, we see that God’s people had a very difficult time remaining faithful.  They could be good for a time, but they were easily swayed and led astray.  This cycle of faithfulness, being led astray, sinfulness, repentance, and renewed faithfulness repeated itself over and over.  The sacrificial system God established provided the means for them to repent, offer a sacrifice and be restored, but it had to be repeated over and over because it was not permanent.  The Messiah, Jesus, provided a new way.  He offered Himself as a sacrifice to atone for all the sins of mankind past, present and future.  And then He sent the Holy Spirit to abide with and in the believer to give us the ability to live godly, holy lives that are pleasing to Him.  Instead of just coming to us occasionally, He abides with us and in us permanently.  The moment we believe and accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts.  He begins the process of sanctification where He changes us from the inside out. Unfortunately, we still have the sin nature living in us as well, but little by little He transforms us.  We do not have do it on our own.  He is with us every step of the way guiding, supporting, comforting, convicting, and helping us through any situation we face.  We are able to do what the Old Testament saints could not because we have the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit with us continually.  On our own, we do not have the strength to be faithful, but with Him living in us, we can.  The Holy Spirit is the game changer.  We have access to His power, wisdom, and strength to carry out God’s purpose for our lives.