Jesus said to His disciples “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:21) Sounds like a tall order. The nation of Israel had been breaking the commandments of God from the days of Moses. How did Jesus expect things would be any different for the disciples?
The Holy Spirt.
Right after the above verse Jesus said “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—” (v.16) Jesus was saying “Yes if you love me keep my commandments. I know you cannot do it on your own so I am sending you the person of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the paraklētos, which literally means “called to one’s side, esp. called to one’s aid.”
The prophet Ezekiel talked about the day when we would be enabled by the Holy Spirit to keep the commandments.
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, [a]though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their [b]hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Ezekiel 31:31-34)
This revelation should free us from feeling like we must somehow keep the commands of Jesus. We have a helper, the Holy Spirit, who is happy to come along side us. He gives us strength, teaches us, leads and guides us. I encourage you to get to know the person of the Holy Spirit beyond the wonderful gifts He gives. He is an ever-present help.
Now see the promise to the person who keeps the commands of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21)
We will be loved by Jesus and He will manifest Himself to us. To “manifest” means “to cause to shine.” There is a difference between the omnipresence presence of God and His manifest presence. God is at all times and in all places. But He chooses how He will reveal His manifest presence. Think about, for example, when Jesus was transfigured before the disciples in Matthew 17. That was His manifest presence while on earth. We can and should be asking for His manifest presence in our lives.
image credit: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holy-spirit/what-does-it-mean-the-spirit-of-the-lord-is-upon-me.html
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Last Updated: December 9, 2021 by I am a VOICE Ministries
Holy Spirit – the Helper
Jesus said to His disciples “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:21) Sounds like a tall order. The nation of Israel had been breaking the commandments of God from the days of Moses. How did Jesus expect things would be any different for the disciples?
The Holy Spirt.
Right after the above verse Jesus said “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—” (v.16) Jesus was saying “Yes if you love me keep my commandments. I know you cannot do it on your own so I am sending you the person of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the paraklētos, which literally means “called to one’s side, esp. called to one’s aid.”
The prophet Ezekiel talked about the day when we would be enabled by the Holy Spirit to keep the commandments.
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, [a]though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their [b]hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Ezekiel 31:31-34)
This revelation should free us from feeling like we must somehow keep the commands of Jesus. We have a helper, the Holy Spirit, who is happy to come along side us. He gives us strength, teaches us, leads and guides us. I encourage you to get to know the person of the Holy Spirit beyond the wonderful gifts He gives. He is an ever-present help.
Now see the promise to the person who keeps the commands of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21)
We will be loved by Jesus and He will manifest Himself to us. To “manifest” means “to cause to shine.” There is a difference between the omnipresence presence of God and His manifest presence. God is at all times and in all places. But He chooses how He will reveal His manifest presence. Think about, for example, when Jesus was transfigured before the disciples in Matthew 17. That was His manifest presence while on earth. We can and should be asking for His manifest presence in our lives.
image credit: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holy-spirit/what-does-it-mean-the-spirit-of-the-lord-is-upon-me.html
Category: The Holy Spirit Tags: Holy Spirit, manifest
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