The Holy Spirit is the best kept secret in Christianity mostly because His purpose and role have been misunderstood. The Holy Spirit is not a grand show master who makes it possible for you to do really cool stuff, or at least appear really cool so people are impressed.
The Holy Spirit actually works in the background, like the bios of your computer. You never see it but you know it’s there and without that Basic Input Output System your computer wouldn’t be able to do anything. And the Holy Spirit works for one purpose, to bring glory to God, not to you.
The Holy Spirit is a foretaste of heaven. He is the beginning of what it is like to live in God and have God live in us. Verses 15 – 24 are what the Holy Spirit is to us. Verses 25 – 31 are what the Holy Spirit does in us.
The Spirit gives us assurance of belonging to God’s family, and assistance to live in God’s will.
15
It all starts with a relationship with Jesus. While this verse could sound like a rules based religion, that is not it at all. But loving Jesus means becoming like Jesus. Becoming like Jesus means thinking and acting like he thinks and acts.
John would later write about it in one of his epistles:
1 John 5:2-5 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
So to walk backwards through this: 1) believe in Jesus, that’s 2) faith which leads to 3) overcoming the world which is the result of being 4) born of God – that “overcoming” is not doing what the world wants and doing what God wants. In simple terms, that is loving God and obeying his commandments.
16 – 17
The Father would send another (another of the same sort, not “different” heteros) counselor, suggesting that Jesus was the first.
The Greek parakletos means “called to one’s side”. It was used in a court to mean a legal assistant or a counsel for the defense, an advocate. It denotes someone who comes alongside to care at the appropriate time.
The roles of the Spirit mentioned in this section:
• Advocate (16)
• Truth (16)
• Teacher (26)
• Reminder of Jesus (26)
The Spirit’s role and relationship in our lives:
• A gift (16)
• Always with us (16)
• Someone to be known (17) that the world (kosmos) cannot receive (see 23 for how you can know the Spirit)
• Dwells with and in us (“in” is future here) (17)
• Makes his home in us (23)
The Holy Spirit – Companion (vs 17), Confirmer (vs 26), Comforter, Counselor (vs 16)
18 – 21
Jesus in a sense is saying that he is not going to abandon them. Although he is going to the cross and will no longer show himself openly to the world, he will show himself, alive again, to his disciples and the resurrection life he possesses he will freely give to those that love him.
And what are the commandments of Jesus? Love one another (13:34). Notice how this flows: in verse one he says “if you love me you will keep my commandments.” Now in verse 21 he says “if you keep my commandments you love me.” Is this double speak? No. Basically he is saying “if you love me, I will be in you and will teach you and transform you into a person that wants to and actually does act and think like me.”
22 - 24
But one of the coolest things in this section is found in verse 23. It starts with love. If you love Jesus. That’s all it takes. This is followed by three “wills” – three things that will happen as a result. He WILL keep my word, the Father WILL love him and both Jesus and the Father WILL come and make a home in him. That’s the Holy Spirit—the “three in one.” God is making his home in you. The word means “a staying” or a residence. Want to know what is so cool? The other place this word is used is in earlier in this chapter “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places”. That’s what it is like to be in the Father and the Father in us. We will experience what Jesus did. It starts with loving him and then His Spirit comes and takes up permanent residence in our hearts then we take up permanent residence in his heart in heaven!
On the other hand—those that choose not to love Jesus will not become like him on their own, no matter how hard they try.
25 – 26
The Spirit is the Son’s representative even as Jesus was the Father’s representative.
• He will be with us forever (14:16).
• The world at large cannot accept him (14:17).
• He lives with us and in us (14:17).
• He teaches us (14:26).
• He reminds us of Jesus’ words (14:26; 15:26).
• He convicts us of sin, shows us God’s righteousness, and announces God’s judgment on evil (16:8).
• He guides into truth and gives insight into future events (16:13).
• He brings glory to Christ (16:14).
27
This verse is among the most precious things Jesus ever said. You can be sure that the disciples were pretty upset that Jesus was leaving. Not only did He promise to send the Holy Spirit to comfort them but that comfort would come in the form of peace. Not just any peace, either, but Jesus’ peace. Paul later called it “The peace that passes understanding” (Phil 4:7).
Peace in the world is the absence of conflict. Peace in Jesus is the presence of the Spirit in the midst of conflict. Are you agitated or afraid today? It need not overwhelm you if you have the Spirit of Jesus living inside of you.
That’s because he promised never to leave, to bring us safely to be at his side, and that with Jesus there is no enemy that can really defeat us.
28 – 31
Don’t hold on to the physical Jesus. He can do so much more by going back to the Father through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
I think part of Jesus’ message to his disciples is “expect the Holy Spirit.” We as Christians I think sometimes act as if salvation is like getting a ticket to a cruise. We hold on to the ticket, do some packing, but nothing really happens until we turn in that ticket and climb on board and go to heaven.
But Jesus wants us to expect his Spirit to invade our lives, to take up residence and not just as a silent roommate but as an active partner. How much do you sense the presence of the Spirit, ask for the Spirit’s guidance, look for the Spirit’s work in and through you?
As you consider that, consider this: The Holy Spirit will never tell you to do anything contrary to the words of Jesus and will always act in a way that stays in the background, showing the spotlight of glory on Jesus, not on Himself.
Lessons:
Make the Holy Spirit a more active part of your life by loving Jesus. He then becomes:
An ozonator against sin
A PhD for knowledge of God
A GPS for direction in life and work
A massage and calm music for the soul in troubled times
A spotlight for Jesus
For more Bible studies, visit our website at: www.CalvaryChapelNewberg.org
