Daily Devotions
John
Directing the flow of love for Jesus
Text: John 14 : 12 - 31
DIRECTING THE FLOW OF LOVE FOR JESUS
Jesus must have felt the sorrow of His Disciples keenly. He knew that they would feel the way they did because of their love for Him. That sense of love was good and healthy. However, there were many ways of directing the flow of love that the Disciples felt in their heart. Jesus sought to direct their love for Him in the following ways.
1. If they truly loved Him, then they must let go. They must let Jesus fulfill all that He came to do. They must not be overcome by their sorrow.
2. If they truly loved Him, then they must focus on the work that He had left behind for them to do. They must attempt even greater works for His glory.
3. If they truly loved Him, then they must keep in touch with Him through prayer. Each time they prayed, and in faith appeal to the Father employing His Name, they would express their love for Jesus indeed.
4. If they truly loved Him, then they must do their utmost to keep His commandments.
DIVINE COMFORT
Jesus gave many words of comfort to His Disciples. He sought to fill their hearts with comfort. If the Disciples fathomed the words of their Teacher, they would find the deepest comfort.
1. There was the promise of a home in heaven.
2. There was the promise of the Presence of Jesus with them.
3. There was the promise of answered prayer.
If the Disciples had just one promise from Jesus, that would have been sufficient. But no, their gracious Teacher sought to give them promise after promise so that the sorrow felt in the heart would know divine comfort indeed!
THE GREATEST PROMISE EVER
Each promise was truly breath-taking! The most outstanding of all was the one related to the Person of the Holy Spirit. Let us take time to ponder over the gracious words Jesus spoke to His Disciples.
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you
another Helper, that He may abide with you forever…”
John 14:16
Jesus introduced the Person of the Holy Spirit as “Another Helper”. The word “another” used in the Greek text suggests that Jesus was thinking of the Holy Spirit as One who was His equal. As Jesus helped His Disciples to understand God, so the Holy Spirit would be able to do exactly the same thing. As Jesus strengthened and empowered the Disciples for life and ministry, so the Spirit of God would be able to that same work! He was “Another Helper” of equal power and ability.
Jesus had just completed explaining that He would be able to be of immense help to the Disciples when they prayed. As if to highlight this point, He spoke of how He would pray to His Father, who will hear His prayer request. He will ask the Father to give to the Disciples “Another Helper” and that request will surely be granted.
MORE ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
Jesus went on to explain more about the Helper that He was requesting His Father to give to His Disciples.
“…that He may abide with you forever-
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees Him nor knows Him;
but you know Him, for He dwells with you
and will be in you.”
John 14:16-17
Jesus may have to leave the Disciples, at least temporarily, for He would take up a new ministry in Heaven as the Great High Priest. However, the Helper that He had requested would be permanently with them. He will abide with them forever! The Disciples would be able to understand and recognize the Helper fairly easily.
1. “The Spirit of Truth”
The ministry of the Spirit of God would be characterized by TRUTH as Jesus was similarly characterized. Jesus was a fearless proclaimer of the truth. The Spirit of God would only speak nothing but the truth!
2. “You know Him”
Jesus said that if the Disciples really knew and understood Him, then they should also be able to speak of knowing the Father. In the same token, if they had really known Jesus, then they too would be able to know the Spirit of God! He was after all the Third Person in the Triune Godhead!
3. “He dwells with you”
How did the Disciples comprehend the Word of God that Jesus taught? Whether they were conscious or unconscious of it, the Presence of the Holy Spirit was felt. He dwelt among the Disciples even as Jesus ministered to them. The Spirit of God came upon Jesus in fullness of power. Each time the Disciples saw the power of Jesus released and miracles were performed, that was the ministry of the Holy Spirit in action! He dwelt among them, even as Jesus dwelt among His Disciples.
4. “And will be in you”
This was a truly wondrous promise indeed. The same Holy Spirit that filled the life of Jesus would soon fill the lives of the Disciples.
The Disciples must learn how to appreciate the significance of the Gift of the Spirit of Truth. This gift was not made available to the rest of the world that had not known Jesus nor received Him as Saviour. However to those who had trusted Jesus as their Saviour and Lord the gift of the Spirit of truth would be theirs forever! What a wondrous gift Jesus promised!