3rd PersonSample

The Spirit is with us. N.T. Wright says that, “The Holy Spirit is the presence of God himself, living within the people of God, making them His new Temple.” When we have this kind of assurance that the spirit is not only with us, but also in us, we then learn obedience in the same way that Jesus did. We endure the hardships of life, but we are assured and guided by the spirit within us. Jesus teaches that the Spirit will guide us into truth. As we learn obedience, we are then guided to the truth. The truth comes from the words, actions, and perfection of Jesus that are all still at work now. The truth is that through the Holy Spirit, we can see past the brokenness of ourselves and the world around us and live in the glory of the kingdom of God. Jesus assures them that He must go so that the spirit that is living within Him can indwell His disciples so that they may live in the truth that led Jesus to perfection in the middle of a broken world. Jesus is offering a deep kind of connection through guidance that can only come from Himself. He is leaving so that His spirit may come and be not only with us, but in us. This truth specifically that He speaks of is that of the person of Jesus and the significance of what He did and said on earth. In J.I. Packer’s Keeping in Step with the Spirit, he says, “The Spirit’s message is never, ‘Look at me; come to me; get to know me,’ but always, ‘Look at him, and see his glory; listen to him, and hear his word; go to him, and have life.’”The work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Jesus to us. The disciples were left in confusion; they had no idea of Jesus’ coming arrest, death, resurrection, and then His ascension. They were left expectant yet confused. This kind of confusion would carry on until the day of Pentecost, when Jesus’ words were fulfilled and the work of the Spirit began in the body of Christ. So in the middle of confusion, in the middle of this broken world, we have the Holy Spirit. God’s never-ending and perfect grace has reconciled His people back to Himself through the Holy Spirit. We have a guide that leads us through the wreckage of the world, knowing that all things are being and will be fully reconciled back to the Father. We are guided to the truth of Christ, and then He empowers us to make that known to those around us.

• In times of trouble and angst, how can you rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you?
• How have you seen the Holy Spirit’s guidance in your life?