Sensing - Life Application Study Bible Devotional
Sensing
John 14:16-21, 25-26, NLT
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them. . . . 25I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Setting the Scene
Jesus promised his followers they would experience his presence more fully and intimately because the Father would send them the Holy Spirit. The expression “another Advocate” implies that Jesus was the first and the Spirit would be the same kind of “Comforter.” When Jesus would no longer be with the disciples physically, the Holy Spirit would be with them and in them, and he would lead them “into all truth.”
The power of the Spirit came on the disciples just before his ascension (John 20:22), and the Spirit was poured out on all the believers at Pentecost (Acts 2), shortly after Jesus ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God, helping all believers live as he wants and building Christ’s church on earth. Jesus taught these truths about the Spirit:
• He will be with us forever (John 14:16).
• The world at large cannot accept him (John 14:17).
• He lives with us and in us (John 14:17).
• He teaches us (John 14:26).
• He reminds us of Jesus’ words (John 14:26; 15:26).
• He convicts us of sin, shows us God’s righteousness, and announces God’s judgment on evil (John 16:8).
• He guides into truth and gives insight into future events (John 16:13).
• He brings glory to Christ (John 16:14).
This coming would be “soon,” after Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. After the Resurrection, the disciples would realize by their own experience that Jesus lived in his Father, they themselves lived in Jesus, and Jesus lived in them. They would begin to know what it meant to live in God and have God live in them. The Spirit would continue the ministry of teaching and would remind the disciples of what Jesus had taught.
Getting Personal
When do you sense the Holy Spirit working in and through you?
How has the Holy Spirit helped you understand and apply the Bible?
Jesus did not leave the disciples, and us, alone. He is with us through his Spirit, encouraging, assuring, convicting, guiding, enlightening, and empowering. We need to depend on him, listen to him, and follow his lead.
Talking to God
It’s part of being human to feel isolated or lonely at times. Thank God for the incredible gift of his constant nearness to you. Ask him to help you “practice” his presence by remembering him all through the day. Thank God for the gift of his Spirit to teach you, to convict you of sin, to lead you into all truth.
