16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
In our verses for today, our Lord gives His guys this great and glorious promise through His encouraging words - as long as He is in heaven, they shall never want for a fresh supply of grace and comfort, wisdom and strength - given to them through the indwelling of the precious Holy Spirit. They shall never know the lack of a Comforter. This blessed promise was not only sure for them but also for every true believer in Jesus thereafter. The Holy Spirit will never depart from a true believer in Christ – we are sealed – indwelled until He returns. Sadly, Scripture also states we can both grieve and quench the Spirit within us through our poor choices yet the promise remains that He will never depart from us. We are red flagged regarding our actions through the pen of the apostle Paul:
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Eph 4:30 (NIV)
19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 1 Thess 5:19 (NIV)
Paul also writes that the Holy Spirit is our identification of ownership to God as well as our authentication and approval – our certification of genuineness so to speak:
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Cor 1:21-22 (NIV)
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory. Eph 1:13-14 (NIV)
Jesus tells His disciples a little later in this same chapter of John:
26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26 (NIV)
“When God designed the great and glorious work of recovering fallen man, and the saving of sinners, ‘to the praise of the glory of His grace,’ He appointed, in His infinite wisdom, two great means thereof: the one was the giving of His Son for them; and the other was the giving of His Spirit unto them. And hereby was way made for the manifestation of the glory of the whole blessed Trinity, which is the utmost end of all the works of God.” K. H. Von Bogatzky
“The gift of the Holy Spirit closes the gap between the life of God and ours.” Austin Farrer
Interestingly, when Jesus states the Father will give “another Counselor” the wording indicates another of equal quality – just as our Lord. While Jesus is presently at the right hand of God the Father as our permanent Priest – always living to intercede on our behalf - believers have been given the Gift of the precious Holy Spirit. The Spirit is poured out upon us, equipping us to be like our Lord – not just outwardly but inwardly as well. The presence of God in this world is to be the Spirit indwelling in the heart of every believer. We are the vessels of clay that carry around such a great Treasure. Paul states:
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 2 Cor 4:7-10 (NIV)
In contrast, the world cannot accept Him because they have chosen to neither be aware through careful observation nor come to know Him by experience or reason. Yet the Spirit constantly abides within the believer – equipping and comforting, encouraging and strengthening. Scripture warns us in Proverbs of the rejection of God’s wisdom:
22 "How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? 23 If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. Prov 1:22-23 (NIV)
29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, 30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. 32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm." Prov 1:29-33 (NIV)
“You cannot imagine how great is people’s foolishness...by hoping in themselves and putting trust in their own knowledge.” St. Catherine