City Life Starter

The Word

¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹ Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Exegesis

Jesus makes a promise to us as Christians. Given that we love Him and keep His commands, we will have a Helper, an advocate that will be with us forever. It is the essence, the spirit of Truth. So, what are some things that we can understand about the Holy Spirit in regards to what Jesus is saying in the passage above?

1. The Holy Spirit is an Advocate

The Holy Spirit will help take the place of Jesus here on Earth. As we see by Jesus speaking of the Holy Spirit as “another” advocate. He will guide you in Truth and help you live righteously. It is almost impossible to live a Holy life and live as a Christian without the help of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is there to lift you up, help you in the time of need, and speak Truth in your life. This is exactly what Jesus did to help the disciples on Earth.

2. The Holy Spirit is a Person and has no Direct Physical Manifestation

Jesus says that the world cannot accept Him, because they neither see Him nor know Him. When we talk about the Holy Spirit and what He is doing in our life, we may get blank stares or questionable expressions from our friends. They do not understand how the Holy Spirit is working through us and around us. When we see a miracle, they may think it’s luck. When we see an answered prayer, others may take it as a coincidence.

3. The Holy Spirit Will Live in You and You Will Know Him

It is impossible to understand the Holy Spirit or what He can do in our lives without first accepting Jesus as our Savior and our Lord. It is then that the Holy Spirit will come and reside in us. We will know Him because we will know Jesus. It is an extension of the will of Jesus and the Father in Heaven. We will be able to follow Jesus through prayers directly to the Father, discerning and understanding Scripture, and rely on Him when the going gets tough. This is what the Holy Spirit will do as He will reside in us and live with us.

Application

We are never alone in this life. We have each other, and more importantly, we have the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised. We have the power and the strength to live in this life and pursue God and others. Let us not forget that. Let us also remember that we know The Father because we have the Holy Spirit and accepted The Son(Jesus) as our Lord.