Wednesday, 21 February 2024
HE CAME TO US IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:3).
Many still grapple with what the Lord Jesus meant in the verse above when He said, “...I will come again, and receive you unto myself.” Some think He was referring to the Second Coming or the Rapture, but that’s not what He was talking about in that verse.
To understand what Jesus meant, you’ll have to stay in the context and understand His message with your spirit, not with your senses. When you study the full chapter you’d observe that He continued the same interesting discourse till He got to the 16th verse where He said, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.”
The term “another Comforter” is the Greek phrase, “Allos paraklētos,” meaning another of the same kind. Jesus introduced the Holy Spirit at that point. Then He said, “…ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:17). How did the Holy Spirit dwell with them at the time? Wasn’t He supposed to come on the Day of Pentecost?
That tells us something. He wasn’t talking about the Holy Spirit alone; He was also referring to Himself! To drive that point home, He went back to what He said in our theme verse, “...I will come again, and receive you unto myself...” Then in verse 18, He said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” How and when would He come to them?
In the 20th verse, He said, “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” What day was He talking about? Evidently, He was talking about the day when the Holy Spirit comes. So, when He said, “I will come to you,” He meant “I’ll come to you in the Holy Spirit.”
And thanks be unto God! On the Day of Pentecost, He fulfilled that precious promise: “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). He’s in you today in all His fullness. Praise God!
PRAYER: Thank you blessed heavenly Father for the fullness of the Spirit in me and the glory and excellence of my life as a result of your indwelling presence. By the Holy Spirit, my faith is strengthened and stirred to do the will of God and fulfil God’s purpose for my life, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY:
John 14:23; John 14:15-20
1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Mark 5:1-20 & Leviticus 19-21
2-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Acts 20:13-24 & Psalm 33-34