Not Orphans
Hi there...I'm back after a longer than expected gap. It's Pentecost week. I thought I would do a mini-series on who the Holy Spirit is and what He does and over these next four devotions I'm going to plumb the depths of just one passage about Him.
I do hope it is helpful...
| "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." ... "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. (John14:15-31) |
Many Christians struggle to describe the nature and person of the Holy Spirit. Some even talk about "What" instead of "Who". We talk a lot about what He does, like helping us bear fruit, giving us gifts and so on.
But who is the Spirit and what is He like?
Here's our first thought: The Holy Spirit is the one who ensures we are not orphans.
Jesus was preparing the disciples for His death, resurrection and ascension. They were devastated at the thought of His departure.
Jesus assures them. He talks about the Holy Spirit as the paraclete ("para"=alongside and "cletos"=the One who is called). The disciples knew the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the Spirit came upon people for a season, enabling them to prophesy or to perform mighty deeds like Samson did.
But now Jesus promises them that they will not be orphans.
The Spirit will come to fill the "God-shaped vacuum inside us" (This is a phrase used by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal.)
As we read the passage carefully, we realise that the Holy Spirit is the One who connects us to the Father and the Son. He lives in us, He is the embodiment of Jesus' presence and peace. He is the expression of the Father's care.
Paul expresses it beautifully in Romans 8 where he indicates that the Spirit's presence in us enables us to connect to Almighty God as "Abba" ("Daddy").
Who is the Holy Spirit?
He is the connector - the one who will ensure that we never feel like orphans.
He represents and mediates the love of the Father and Son to us.
But He's not a "force" or a "connection" - He is the third beloved member of the God family who whispers to us about the Father and Son and whispers to them about us.
