Jesus is Essential
John 14:15–18: “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
He does not say that the world would not receive the Spirit of truth. He says the world cannot receive Him. Oh, if we could learn this! The Spirit of God can take the Word of God and open it to the believer, but the unsaved man must first believe in Jesus Christ as his Savior.
The man of the world cannot see Him because He is seen and worshiped in spirit and truth. He is seen with the spiritual eye. It is only by the Spirit of God that these eyes and ears can be opened to understand the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is the teacher to lead and guide us into truth. Without Him, the Bible becomes a book of history, a book of facts. The Holy Spirit teaches the truths of the Bible. The Holy Spirit has been in the world, but Jesus says that now He “shall be in you.” 1
Walking with Jesus
Jesus issued a challenge of love based on obedience. How well do you keep His commands? Have you asked the Helper for help? Perhaps we would be more obedient if we asked the Holy Spirit to lead us into truth and to give us a willing heart to obey.
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14
The advantage of a Christian is the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit within.
Praying
Lord, thank You for the Spirit of truth in these days of great deception.
1. McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (John 11-21) (electronic ed., Vol. 39). Nashville.
