“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 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.” (John 14:16-17)
From the disciple’s perspective, it must have seemed like Jesus was always saying hard things, impossible-to-comprehend things, things that would not make real sense until several chapters later.
But this time, Jesus was telling them an impossible thing that would eventually make everything clear: The Spirit of truth in them. The Holy Spirit. He’s a person. He’s God. He is given to every person who trusts in Jesus. He’s a counselor who helps make clear to us what the world cannot possibly understand.
In this long goodbye speech, Jesus was promising the disciples would not be alone after he left. God would be with them—and not just in a general, fuzzy, “God is everywhere” kind of way. God the Spirit would be in them. He is in us. What does that mean for you?
Think: Be honest with yourself: Is it creepy at all to think of the Holy Spirit living in you as a Christian? Do you take the reality of the Spirit seriously? How often do you think about it?
Pray: As a believer in Jesus Christ, thank God for the gift of his Holy Spirit in your life. Ask him to help you to live as if his Spirit is real and active in your daily existence.
Do: Read about one way the Spirit in us changes us in Romans 8:9-11.