Christ On The Holy Spirit.
Time seemed to have stood still as the Passover celebration drew to a close. The disciples had finished the Paschal meal and Jesus had concluded a lesson on humility by washing their feet. Jesus had some last minute details to share with his disciples before he went home to be with his father. The disciples gathered around him, as he began to reveal what God had planned to do for them in their lifetime. Troubled and somewhat perplexed about the words Jesus was using, the information was becoming too difficult to absorb. Jesus was preparing them for the biggest trial they ever faced and after the trial he would not be with them to help them.
This is the situation as you begin to read John 14. Jesus must have had a lump in his throat when he told his disciples that would be dead before the sunset on the next day. Telling anyone that you are about to go away is hard enough to do, but a vigorous and healthy man telling his loved ones that he was going to die within hours - was utter nonsense. Jesus told his disciples all along that he was going to be crucified, but they could not believe him.
Jesus knew his death was just a matter of hours away and his time with his disciples grew shorter by the moment. The plan for his life was drawn up before time began, but the disciples believed that Jesus was going to set up the Kingdom of God on Earth - during their lifetime. None of the apostles were in harmony with God's plan, instead they believed that God was going to reinstate Israel to its former glory.
We can wonder what ruled the disciple's minds as the words of Jesus melted their preconceived notions of God's plan. Jesus wanted his disciples to know what God was going to do before their hope of his kingdom would be dissolved by his death on the cross. He was spending what little time he had left preparing the disciples for a future ministry of taking the gospel to the entire world.
The disciples could not fathom that Christ was going away as you begin to read John 14. At this time Jesus made a promise for the comfort of his disciples. If I go away, Christ said. I will prepare a place for you. Jesus reflected upon the custom of his time to tell them he was going away to prepare a place for his bride. It was customary for the Israelites when pledged to marry to establish the home before they were married. They did not rush off to get married; first they planted the fields and began to collect the building materials they needed. The groom added a room to his father's house where he and his bride would live. When the room was completed and ready to occupy, the groom returned for his bride and they were married.
The idea of marriage with God is not as far fetched as you would think. When you became the bride of Christ, you committed your life in service to Christ based on your need for eternal security. Immediately, God forgave your sins and you had a strong knowledge that if you were to die, you would go to heaven. With those vows, you agreed to love him and serve Christ the rest of your life. God is preparing a marriage banquet in heaven and you are in the process of adorning your gown with the expectation of living with Christ the rest of your life. However, Christ had to go home to prepare a place for you to live first.
After Jesus was resurrected, he went to heaven and began to prepare a place for you. Christ has been preparing a place for you for the last two thousand years, but are you still preparing for the wedding day.
One question comes to mind at this juncture. Did the disciples understand what Christ was saying? Since Jesus spoke primarily with parables and figures of speech when teaching his disciples which made his words hard to grasp. It is plain to see that Philip and the other disciples could not discern spiritual matters at this time. The words of Christ spoke required the guidance of the Spirit even when Philip had been with Christ for three and a half years. Philip was still asking Jesus to explain what Christ was saying.
Perhaps Philip’s was too doubtful because he wanted evidence that could be seen and be understood through his human senses. He saw the miracles Jesus had done, but he only had one reason to believe in God’s involvement, he heard Jesus credit his father for the miracles. While he had eyes to see and ears to hear he could not perceive the spiritual things of God. He could barely understand the truth Christ taught and needed an explanation often. Philip was not the only one who did not discern the sayings of Christ for Jesus said the same things to Pharisee's.
The Pharisees refused to believe that Jesus was God in human flesh even though Jesus had openly compared his character to his father in heaven. They saw a man born of a woman and were completely engrossed in accusing him of working on the Sabbath. The possibilities of his claims being true were dismissed because Christ worked on the Sabbath, which were against the Laws of Moses. The parables and figurative language of Christ made little sense to them because no one could grasp the wisdom of God without the Spirit’s help. Because of this, Christ's words sailed over the disciple's heads without discerning the truth.
Lacking discernment was the reason Philip asked Jesus to show us the Father. Oddly enough Jesus used an illustration that his disciples could understand because all they had to do was to look at his personal appearance. Jesus said,
No doubt there are subtle differences in the appearance of Jesus Christ and God the father. Those subtle differences would help you to distinguish Christ from his father, but this is only speculation until we see God with our own eyes. Christ was the Son of God made in the image of God, but Jesus was also made in the likeness of men and considered to be the son of Joseph and Mary. To the disciples Jesus was a representation of God, but still Christ was the Rabbi that they sought instructions from. The disciples considered every word of Christ was truth and Christ taught that if you have seen him you have seen the very image of God himself.
Christ became flesh in the body of a newborn baby and entered the world system in the way that all men do. Mary had a baby shower when the magi from the East came bearing gifts. However, the people Jesus was sent to save did not recognize him as the messiah, instead, the world Christ lived in, thought of him as another fanatic out to save the world. The world saw Jesus Christ like every other man, but to those who were close to him, seen the scriptures unfolding before their very eyes and perceived Jesus as the messiah, the anointed one. Those who recognized him listened to the prophets who foretold his coming and saw the prophecy unveiled in Jesus Christ.
God wanted a relationship with man made in his image, but sin had corrupted the nature of man and the image God wanted man to project. Jesus Christ's work on the cross did not change the appearance of man, but his work gave man the opportunity to have a relationship with God. His death on the cross and his shed blood covered a multitude of sin and provided a method of forgiveness that restores our relationship to God.
You may have an idea of what Christ looked like in your mind, but that idea is not what Christ wanted to depict. The physical description of Jesus Christ was unimportant to God, as he does not look upon the outward appearance of man, but described Christ in this manner.
No one ever described Christ as a handsome or debonair man, instead the God’s word spoke of Christ as a person of strong and noble characteristics. He was a king among men who prudently ruled his life and person with dignity. Jesus Christ was God in human flesh so why does God's word reflect more on Christ's character than his appearance? You may not be able to describe his eyes, nose or other facial features of Christ, but you should be able to, describe Christ by his personality.
Certainly Jesus was not speaking about his appearance, but his likeness to God was the illustration being used when he said anyone seeing him would see the father. Today you are seeing God the father through Jesus Christ’s words and deeds. Christ added, alone I can do nothing, my father does the work you see me do. The effectiveness of Jesus Christ was based on teamwork. During his lifetime Jesus devoted his life to purposes and goals of his Father.
Christ wanted everyone to believe that his father did the miracles even though through the eyes of man it looked as if Jesus had done them. As the miracles occurred, Christ gave his father the credit and glory due him. The disciple’s had seen the sick healed, the lame walk, and dumb speak, through their eyes but even though God was not visible to the disciples Christ revealed that his father performed the miracles.
The disciples did not have the insight of the Spirit world to learn spiritual truths that comes after the born again experience. Like the disciples you and I ask God to explain the parables that Jesus used. That was not the first time Christ discussed his relationship with God and named God as the person that did the miracles. He reveal that he would return as the disciple’s personal counselor in plain terms and allowed the disciples to come to grips with the truth.
Christ was concerned about his disciples after he went back to the Father and he knew that after his death his disciples would lose the counsel of one who taught them how to live. Jesus chose to reflect his father’s word through the illustration of children that had lost their parents in one way or another. In the three and half years prior Jesus became the example that guided the disciples in the same manner that parents guide their children how to live. Although Christ was going away and he did not want to leave his disciples alone and without guidance. To comfort his disciples, Jesus promised them he would come back.
Whenever Christ spoke about the Holy Spirit, it was about the relationship of God to men with one exception. Christ read from the sacred scrolls on one Sabbath about the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord being on him from Isaiah 61:1. Other than this time, Christ did not mention of the Holy Spirit's involvement with his ministry even though the Holy Spirit had descended on him like a dove. Instead, Christ clearly pointed to his father as the true power that accredited and supported his ministry. Just as it was as in the days of Christ,
Christ always glorified God by pointing to the power that was at work in him - he gave his Father in heaven the credit due him.
Christ had a personal commitment to be in one accord with his father, which goes beyond our human ability to comprehend. The human instinct has a strong desire to be in charge, but following Jesus Christ demands that we deny our personal interests to serve those in need. Jesus loved his father and was so devoted to his father that he wanted to please him in every way. Serving his father's needs meant he had to deny his comfort, personal plans, and when he had finished his earthly ministry, serving the needs of God and man, demanded his life. In serving the need of others he provided the only way man could be reconciled to God.
Almost every one has heard the words if you ever need anything, call me any time of the day or night. It is wonderful to have friends who are willing to commit their time and efforts on a moment's notice especially when you need them. From the human standpoint you may regret you ever made this promise, when the phone rings at 3 AM and a friend needs your help. That’s when you are so tired you it's all you can do to think. God has made the promise that he would always be at your side even if it is 3 AM. Your father in heaven is committed to be at your side - twenty-four a day - seven days a week the rest of your life. Promises like - call me any time of the day or night - are not made to complete strangers, but to people you know and love. God made two promises to masnkind, one for those who are willing to repent make time to know him and another to those who refused to repent - a place reserved for the fallen angels.
If there was ever a catch 22 to meet a conditional promise of God - here it is. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command. If this command is taken to heart there must be a recognized system of authority that you are committed to. This of course refers to our personal system of authority that changed on the day we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord. Although we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord your commitment has to be a determined effort to maintain his authority in our lives.
Jesus said true worshippers would
Your life outside the church demonstrates the true authority you are committed to. Those who worship God devote their time and make a determined effort to fulfill God’s commands. Your oath was made on the day of your salvation and that oath included a promise to serve God the rest of your life. Keeping your word to God is not done at your convenience, it is a mater of making a determined effort to fulfill your word to God,
God has a moral standard of honoring his word and is faithful to fulfill every promise he has given to man. As your heavenly father he expects his children to adopt the standards that he believes in and lives by. God makes a determined effort to keep his word and he expects anyone who makes on promise to him to fulfill them quickly.
Those who received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior were given the right to become the children of God. However, God expects his children to keep their commitment (vow) to serve God the rest of their lives. No matter the cost or what transpires in your life God wants his children to remain faithful to his word. Accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior placed you into the family of God with the rights of children. Serving God requires the effort to give your father the respect due him and do whatever he asks of you. The simplest way to honor your father in heaven is to obey him.
From a human prospective the Father and Son relationship are understood and have been established in every culture around the world. In affect God is our Father and head of the household and we have become a part of his family. Just as human parents have the expectation and demand their children obey them, so does God. Parents reward their children when they obey and punish when they do not, so God disciplines his children in a similar manner. This system does not alienate the children from their parents, but helps the child to gain respect for the parent’s authority. Obeying the commands of our Lord and Savior is a demonstration of your love and shows where your loyalties lie.
Have you ever given a promise to someone you didn’t know? Doesn’t a promise represent your character and become a vow that others can depend upon? God made his promises to those that would acknowledge him as Lord and accept his authority. Those who rebel against God's authority are excluded from the plan of redemption. Worldly men show contempt for God in their language and reject the Lord’s instruction. They live as they see fit and without their knowledge these men obey their father Satan. They use their authority to create stress, unrest and chaos to achieve their goals. They will seek anything in this world that give them temporal pleasure, but will not accept the peace God gives.
The things of the spirit realm are nonsense to the people of the world. They believe that God exists, but are not willing to seek God. Those in the world would rather boast about his or her possessions, elevate them self above others, and live in a self-made environment. While they are included in God’s promise, honoring God with their love and obedience is not on their list of things to do. Ultimately the world does not love God or obey his teaching and their actions say I don’t want you as my king. They will receive the reward that their deeds warrant in the near future.
You may wonder why God has promised to reward every man according to his deeds. Don’t you reward your children in the same way? You may not want to know why the other boy has the black-eye, but the reasons behind black-eye tell you why you need to address the issue of the black-eye hoping your child will learn a lesson. At the same time, you are your worse enemy before God as your deeds determine your punishment or a reward for the way you live.
Honoring your parents is an Old Testament promise that may not sound like a conditional promise, but long life is the benefit from obeying this commandment. God endowed the mother and father with the authority to raise their children to stand on their own in hopes that someday they would be able to survive as parents themselves. Yet to those who believe in Jesus Christ and receive him as Lord, God gave them the right to become children of God. Christians mentally accept the idea that God is someone they call "Father" in their prayers, but fail to see him as a true father or hold him with the same respect as the father that raised them in life.
Parents demand a specific behavior from their children as they make promises based on how children respond to their demands. Parents have that expectation and demand their children to obey them. They reward their children when they obey and punish when they do not. This system does not alienate the children from their parents, but helps the child to gain respect for the parent’s authority. Parents often tell their children they can play after they do what they have been told to do. Jesus also demands that you do what he asks before you can do what you want. Obeying Jesus will demonstrate that you love your father in heaven and are willing to honor your father’s wishes.
Parents want the respect of their children and discipline their children to have it. It is in obeying the commands of Jesus Christ that shows your respect for your heavenly father’s authority. Your love, trust and respect towards God are a compelling reason that drives you to commit your life to serve the needs of others. Actions speak louder than words and your actions demonstrate that you love and respect God more than your words could ever say. Your behavior in life is a demonstration of where your loyalty lies within your system of authority and your obedience is a form of worship that honors your father in heaven?
The promise of Jesus to ask for another counselor was conditional on whether you placed the authority over your life in God’s hand. To some the wonderful idea that they would receive the gift of the Counselor could cause them to overlook the word "another." Jesus Christ was already counseling the disciples in his ministry and was asking for another counselor to help him.
The word "helper" helps to clarify this point (the word Helper is used by other Bible versions. If you were to ask for another helper, you would expect at least one more person to work beside you. If you were to ask for another advocate, you would expect one more person to support your beliefs. Jesus said he would ask his father for another counselor and from Christ’s perspective this person would assist him as he protects God’s family from the evil one and encourages God’s family to do good deeds.
Christ asked the father for another counselor to come to his aid and work beside him. As you should know, two people can work together do more work than one person can do. Another counselor would strengthen his position when he deals with the needs of the children of God. This should tell you that you have more than one person of deity indwelling your body that has an expressed purpose of advising you how to avoid evil and be acceptable to God.
Isaiah prophesied about the birth of the messiah.
Isaiah prophesied that Jesus Christ would be called Wonderful Counselor. Jesus was the first of two counselors sent to guide man into a holy life. In the passage above the word wonderful describes the Counselor with a distinctive attribute, or quality. A counselor (yow'eets) is a person of honor who stands near princes and kings as their adviser. The President of the United States has a national council of advisers that he meets with on a daily basis. Still, Wonderful Counselor expresses the tremendous wisdom needed to guide and direct the human race into a moral life. Therefore, it is reasonable to consider that the second counselor would meet the same standard set forth by scripture. At the same time let’s remember that the child of God is a king in training and needs a qualified counselor.
The people, who study the word "another" is quick to point at two words in the Greek language that have been rendered as "another." These words are "Allos" and "Hetros." Vine, while defining another, compares the differences of "Allos" with "Hetros" with in the same paragraph. However, this process of teaching "Allos" and "Hetros," together, the meaning of "another" is somewhat clouded. John used – Allos - in John 14:16 and used the word "Allos" almost exclusively, of the fifty-three times he used the word "another," fifty-two were "Allos." In John 14:16 - Allos expresses a numerical difference and means "of the same sort." It meant one more person like Jesus Christ. We must ask who was like Christ when Jesus said, if you have seen me you have seen the Father?
However, Christians like myself has been taught that God is a triune God as far back as they can remember. To some people, the word "another" requires that God would send a third person, confirming a belief in the trinity. However, through grammar, this case does not show the involvement of a third person. Grammar demands that two people are involved with asking the father for another counselor. Jesus is the only person asking the father for him to send a second counselor / helper / comforter.
The request must be seen from the perspective of the person asking for help. If we are to see the other side of this petition, the father is the person that will respond to the prayer of Jesus. The word "another" clarified the request of Jesus for one more person of his kind. God the father had a choice of whom to send and there may not have been another person of Christ’s caliber. God chose to send the partner Christ had before the beginning of the world.
This counselor had to be a person like Jesus, but not necessarily a third person of the divine. Let us consider another passage But for Adam no suitable helper was found. Genesis 2:20. What kind of helpmate did God create for Adam? Wasn’t Eve compatible with Adam and of the same kind?
Orphans are children that lack parental care and advice while growing up. Jesus made a promise saying that he would not leave the disciples as orphans. To anyone who believes in Christ, God gave them the right to become children of God. On accepting Jesus Christ as Lord you enter the family of God as adopted children. Jesus responded by bringing his father with him when he entered your heart and life. You are no longer an orphan because God has adopted you and accepted you as his child. This counselor would empower you to live by the Spirit.
Jesus was familiar with the stubborn nature of man to yield to higher authority. Man is reluctant to obey anything he can not see or understand with his or her senses. The aide Jesus asked for would have a like character and has the moral fortitude of Christ. When you think about that thought, the father was of the same sort as Christ and Christ was the mirror image of his father. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words describes "another Comforter" as one another like Himself. When thinking about the phrase "anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father," you can see Jesus Christ pointing his finger at his father saying my I am just like him and he is just like me.
John was the only New Testament writer the Holy Spirit inspired to use the word "paracletes." Paraclete was translated words such as Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, and patron (John 2:1 Darby.) In John 2:1, "Paraclete" was rendered into the word "advocate and Jesus Christ is the advocate - with the father.
A Paraclete is qualified person called to your side to give advice and looks at what you have done to put your mind at ease or advises you what to do to correct the situation you are in. This person relieves the worries and anxieties you have and guide your decisions, he stands by you in thick or thin to help as you need him. Then he will defend the decisions you made at his request. A Paraclete is also an intercessor or a qualified person who can stand between you and God and pray on your behalf. Today a Paraclete could be an attorney, financial adviser, doctor, mechanic, pastor, carpenter and a parent that is capable of giving advice. Your mother and father are personal advisers - a Paraclete to their children. Consider this you are God’s children and always in need of advice, who better to receive wisdom from than your father in heaven. Consider this, Jesus Christ and your Father in Heaven are the equivalent of your spiritual parents that will raise you in the admonition of the Lord.
These three verses contain the word - with - a preposition defined as being in the company of, alongside or next to, but Paraclete with a similar meaning is defined as called to one’s side. Consider this, the combination of these two words reflects a relation of closeness God wanted to depict. The phrases - the word was with - an advocate with -and He was with God. all speak of being next to or at one’s side.
The following phrases show Jesus Christ and God the Father at each other’s side.
Jesus also used the preposition "in" is to express his relation of closeness to his father by saying that he was in the father and the father was in him. John 10:38, 14:10-11. These words - in - at - and - with - all express a closeness of being by, near or in the presence of a specific person.
There is no sign or clue that the father ever left the side of Christ until he was crucified for our sins. God’s word revealed that the Father and Son are working together as a team for your salvation. Whether it is Christ who works along side the Father or Jesus Christ is in the father and the father is in the Son, they come into your life to work as a unit. Their purpose is to help you make sound decisions and live an upright life before God. Ultimately, God desires to bond with his children while enjoying a personal relation for the remainder of your life. The counselor sent by God would defend his children as they stand before their adversary in their fight of faith. Still there was another purpose for indwelling the saint.
Through Jesus Christ, God planned to fill his children with joy and a secure hope for eternal life.
God comes to live in you to unite with you to form a more perfect union to make you productive for his kingdom. This is a loving act of a father who wants you to be successful in life and aid you so you may be found worthy of eternal life. God’s promise was poured his spirit into your life and doing so he became one with you.
The fourteenth chapter of John contains the promise of the counselor that would come to guide Christians into all truth. However, between the promise John 14:15-17 and receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) what did Jesus talk about? Jesus said
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18. If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:23 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. John 14:24
The world refuses to accept the authority of God. however, for those who will accept the authority of God in their lives Jesus said.
the Holy Spirit, will remind you of everything I have said to you John 14:26. Jesus said, I have spoken while still with you. John 14:25
We can assume that Jesus was speaking of a triune God and the that Holy Spirit is a third person of the divine. However, the fourteenth chapter of John, Jesus does not speak of a third person, but does speak of the father who comes with Jesus Christ to make their abode in those who obey God.
Incorporated within this command was the same condition of obedience when Jesus said.
However, you may not see that when God makes his home in us - you, the father and the Son are all under the same roof. Your body is the temple of the living God where God lives by his spirit. This creates asetting where the immediate family resides, the father, son and you in the same temple. Jesus said that he would not leave us as orphans. Orphans have lost their parents, but the born again experience changes the relationship we have with God and because we have been adopted into the family of God we would live in the same house with our father. We have a picture of God the Father and Jesus Christ fulfilling the spiritual duties of parents .
We have an examople in Jesus Christ. God was with Christ every day guiding the steps of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ knew the Holy Spirit through a personal experience. This promise was not for Jesus Christ alone, but for everyone who would accept Jesus Christ as Lord.
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