September 24th, 2024
This week, I’ve been thinking about the gift of the Holy Spirit. We often talk about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but He Himself is a gift. In John 14-16, Jesus teaches some very important truths about this. I’d read these chapters many times before, but this time I was astounded by the number of times Jesus referenced the Father in relation to the Holy Spirit. I’d recommend reading these chapters in their entirety, but we must understand that the Holy Spirit always moves in agreement with the word of God (Jesus) to display the heart of the Father. John 15:26 says,
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about me.”
Often, people highlight the differences between the Old and New Testaments, as if God is forced to be nicer to us since Jesus died on the cross, but everything Jesus said and did was what He saw His Father doing. For God so loved the world that He sent Jesus. The age we live in does not contradict the God of the Old Testament. The life of a New Testament believer is the fullest picture of the Father’s heart!
The Holy spirit is the promise of the Father. Luke 24:49 says,
“I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 11:11-12 says,
“What father among you, if his son ask for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."
We can trust our Heavenly Father to give better gifts than the best earthly Father. The greatest gift He’s given is not the demonstration of the Holy Spirit (prophecy, healing, tongues, etc.) but the Holy Spirit Himself. He is a covenant gift that comes with salvation. Ephesians 1:13 says,
“When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, [you] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”
We are sealed by the Holy Spirit when we believe and call on the Lord in faith. He is the mark of our salvation!
John 14:16-17 says,
“ I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” He will dwell with you and in you.
The truth that the Holy Spirit abides in us has the power to absolutely change our lives. Do we live like we carry the Spirit of God?
He’s the same one that spoke worlds into existence. He’s the same one who transcends time and space. He’s the same one who parted the red sea with a blast of his nostrils and drives out darkness by His finger. He’s the same one about whom the angels have been crying Holy for eternity. There is no one like Him!
By His mercy and grace, by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, He’s made a way to dwell in you. What would happen if you lived like the Holy Spirit will do the same things through you that He did through the disciples of the early church?
In the book of Acts, we see God’s intention for His people. They healed the sick, just like Jesus. They cast out darkness, just like Jesus. They raised the dead, just like Jesus.
Jesus said His church would do greater works, after He ascended to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit. Even the shadows of the newly spirit-filled disciples healed the sick. There is so much more that God wants to do in us and through us!
John 14:1-2 says,
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
This is a powerful verse, a promise that when Jesus ascended, He would be preparing a place for us. However, that truth should not make us complacent. We can’t live only with an expectation of heaven and endure life on earth. The word for “rooms” in the verse above can also mean “mansions” and is translated that way in many versions of the Bible. The word means a large dwelling place. I was fascinated to learn that the word is used only one other time in the Bible, and it’s just a few verses later. John 14:23 says,
“Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
The word for mansions or rooms in John 14:1 is the same word for home in John 14:23. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jesus did this.
While Jesus prepares a home for us in heaven, the Father prepares a home for heaven on the earth. It’s His people! We cannot take this truth for granted! 1 Corinthians 6:19 says,
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.”
We, the church of Jesus Christ, are temples of the Spirit of God. The promise of the Gospel is both that we have a home waiting in heaven and that heaven has found a home on earth. He dwells with us and in us. We cannot live like the world because our bodies are the home of the God of the universe! We encourage you, even now, to live like you are the dwelling place of God. The Kingdom of Heaven comes through His Spirit-filled people! You are a child of God and a demonstration of the Father’s heart. You were made to live in God’s presence and carry that same power to the people around you. You were made to dwell in God’s house and for His glory to dwell in you. You are the home of the Holy Spirit!
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about me.”
Often, people highlight the differences between the Old and New Testaments, as if God is forced to be nicer to us since Jesus died on the cross, but everything Jesus said and did was what He saw His Father doing. For God so loved the world that He sent Jesus. The age we live in does not contradict the God of the Old Testament. The life of a New Testament believer is the fullest picture of the Father’s heart!
The Holy spirit is the promise of the Father. Luke 24:49 says,
“I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 11:11-12 says,
“What father among you, if his son ask for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."
We can trust our Heavenly Father to give better gifts than the best earthly Father. The greatest gift He’s given is not the demonstration of the Holy Spirit (prophecy, healing, tongues, etc.) but the Holy Spirit Himself. He is a covenant gift that comes with salvation. Ephesians 1:13 says,
“When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, [you] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”
We are sealed by the Holy Spirit when we believe and call on the Lord in faith. He is the mark of our salvation!
John 14:16-17 says,
“ I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” He will dwell with you and in you.
The truth that the Holy Spirit abides in us has the power to absolutely change our lives. Do we live like we carry the Spirit of God?
He’s the same one that spoke worlds into existence. He’s the same one who transcends time and space. He’s the same one who parted the red sea with a blast of his nostrils and drives out darkness by His finger. He’s the same one about whom the angels have been crying Holy for eternity. There is no one like Him!
By His mercy and grace, by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, He’s made a way to dwell in you. What would happen if you lived like the Holy Spirit will do the same things through you that He did through the disciples of the early church?
In the book of Acts, we see God’s intention for His people. They healed the sick, just like Jesus. They cast out darkness, just like Jesus. They raised the dead, just like Jesus.
Jesus said His church would do greater works, after He ascended to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit. Even the shadows of the newly spirit-filled disciples healed the sick. There is so much more that God wants to do in us and through us!
John 14:1-2 says,
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
This is a powerful verse, a promise that when Jesus ascended, He would be preparing a place for us. However, that truth should not make us complacent. We can’t live only with an expectation of heaven and endure life on earth. The word for “rooms” in the verse above can also mean “mansions” and is translated that way in many versions of the Bible. The word means a large dwelling place. I was fascinated to learn that the word is used only one other time in the Bible, and it’s just a few verses later. John 14:23 says,
“Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
The word for mansions or rooms in John 14:1 is the same word for home in John 14:23. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jesus did this.
While Jesus prepares a home for us in heaven, the Father prepares a home for heaven on the earth. It’s His people! We cannot take this truth for granted! 1 Corinthians 6:19 says,
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.”
We, the church of Jesus Christ, are temples of the Spirit of God. The promise of the Gospel is both that we have a home waiting in heaven and that heaven has found a home on earth. He dwells with us and in us. We cannot live like the world because our bodies are the home of the God of the universe! We encourage you, even now, to live like you are the dwelling place of God. The Kingdom of Heaven comes through His Spirit-filled people! You are a child of God and a demonstration of the Father’s heart. You were made to live in God’s presence and carry that same power to the people around you. You were made to dwell in God’s house and for His glory to dwell in you. You are the home of the Holy Spirit!
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