Today I continue where we left off last time on Abiding in Christ. In the first post we covered the following.
1.Jesus gave the disciples a new commandment : to love one another just as He loved them . Remember He gave His life for His friends. That is the truth of His great love for us!
2. We will be known as His disciples, if we love one another.
3. Jesus is the one true Way, the Truth, and the Life.
4. If you know me you will keep my commands.
5. And very importantly If you have known me, You know the Father. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. He only said What the Father said. IN truth, the Father and the son are one, yet in two entities. It is because the Father abides (stays, remains, ) in Christ... next He will introduce another part of God , the Holy Spirit through which God can abide in His children!
One important thing to know at this point is that the Disciple John is writing to Christian’s and can only be received by Christians. If you are on the fence regarding God, then I doubt you will understand this deep concept that is made simple for those who believe because of the power of the Holy Spirit in us!
So John 14:16 introduces the Holy Spirit, the third entity of the Trinity, as the Christian’s Helper, who will be with us individually, forever. Known as the Spirit of Truth whom the world, unbelievers, cannot receive, because they do not know Him or see Him. But believers do know Him because He abides in you, and will be with them, always.Now why, the future tense here, the Holy Spirit did not come until Acts 2 which is after Jesus’ ascension. Remember, Jesus is speaking here, right before the Roman soldiers arrest Him. Jesus is sharing so much super important information to His stunned disciples right before the midnight hour.
But then, Jesus goes on to tell his friends, vs. 18, I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. Let’s continue, 19 After a while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live, also. In that day you will know ,that I am in my Father , and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, is the one who loves me.; and he who loves Me, will be loved by the Father!, and I will love him and disclose myself to him ….vs 23 , If anyone loves Me, He will keep My Word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him.He who does not love Me, does not keep My Words, and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.
But the Helper , the Holy Spirit, , whom the Father will send in My name , He will teach you all things , and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
I pray that at this point several things are understood .
Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Father are the same ( God) yet exist in 3 persons.. By the way , they were all present in Genesis 1. The Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters, the Father actually was the architect of the world, but it was Jesus who created (spoke it into being) and it is He who holds everything in place. You might remember the text says the God said, let us create man in our own image.
Next, it is very important for Christians to stay true to God’s Word, to follow Jesus’ command to love one another, and live a life that demonstrates what you believe. It is difficult in these days to stand strong on the Word of God becaiuse forces beyond our control, evil forces keep pushing the envelop you might farther and farther away from God’s plumbline . There is only one Truth , that is the Word of God and Jesus is the Word!
It is when we are faithful in the Word and Jesus commands that God abides in us. I believe from my own experience, that when I have drifted away from God then, when I seek Him, He seems far away. So I have learned to stay close, and when I am tempted and am in many ways, I try to be strong in the Lord and deny the flesh and the enemy who only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. My prayer for us all is that we live lives close to the One who loves us most and only desires the very best for us! God bless!
