Tag: The Father

Trinity (11) The Spirit

old bible

When you think of the Jesus with His disciples in the upper room, what do you think of?

  • Communion?
  • Or, maybe the announcement of coming betrayal?
  • While that is true, I want to inject another thought into your upper room thoughts…….
  • A trinitarian thought.

When you think of the upper room, think of….. the Trinity and specifically the Spirit.

The Spirit?  Yes, the Spirit!

It is in that upper room Christ gives us a promise that we would do well to consider.

John 14:16  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever…

I want us to consider 2 words from John 14:16 today.

1.)  Another

2.)  Helper

Let’s tackle the “Helper” first and then we will come back around to the word “another”.

Re-read John 14:16.  Did you catch the promise Jesus just made to His disciples.  That promise is not only for His first disciples, it is for ALL disciples of Jesus Christ!

Jesus is telling those 1st disciples that He is going to be leaving them.  Imagine the despair in the disciples hearts!  Imagine the fear, the hopelessness, and defeat these men felt at that moment.  Jesus, seeks to comfort them at that moment with these words –

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16).

Jesus is saying – I am leaving guys, but don’t despair.

  • I (THE SON) will ask the FATHER to send another HELPER (The Spirit)

Did you catch it?  The Trinity is at work seeking to bring comfort to His disciples!

Helper = Parakletos

In the original language the word Comforter here (or Helper depending on your translation) is Parakletos.  A parakletos was someone who advocated or stood alongside of another.

R.C. Sproul describes parakletos like this:

Some translations use the word “Comforter” instead of “Helper.” The Greek word that is translated as “Helper” or “Comforter” is parakletos; it is the source of the English word paraclete. This word includes a prefix, para-, that means “alongside,” and a root that is a form of the verb kletos, which means “to call.” So, a parakletos was someone who was called to stand alongside another. It usually was applied to an attorney, but not just any attorney. Technically, the parakletos was the family attorney who was on a permanent retainer. Any time a problem arose in the family…

Sproul, R.C. (2012-11-01). Who Is the Holy Spirit?: 13 (Crucial Questions Series) (Kindle Locations 290-297). Reformation Trust Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Jesus is saying to His disciples – yes, I am leaving you, but I will send ANOTHER Helper.  (Parakletos)  What incredible news for despairing disciples!  You are not alone!  I am sending you the Holy Spirit!

Another

Why does Jesus say:  Another Helper?

The first Helper is Jesus Christ.  He was our Helper by coming to us and taking on human flesh (John 1:14 “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…) God, in the flesh, walking among us!  wow!  Immanuel, God with us!  And, if that is not amazing enough…..  He then died for our sins, rose from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of the Father AND THEN He sent His Spirit to be ANOTHER Helper.

This Helper would not dwell among us, this Helper would dwell IN US!  Are you kidding me??  If this is not gloriously amazing, you need to check your spiritual pulse!!

The first Helper (Jesus) atoned for our sin

The second Helper (the Holy Spirit) empowers us to live our lives for Christ.

Thank God today for your 1st and 2nd Comforters!

 

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Trinity (7): The Father – By Steve Page

journal

 

Last post we looked at the importance of first knowing God the Father as the Father in the Trinity.  In part 2 we are going to build on that truth and see how this speaks to the wonder of God the Father for us.

The foundation of this truth is clearly expressed in Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24 (ESV)

We saw that God the Father elected and gave a group of people to the Son as an expression of His Love. Here we see that God the Son is asking that the elect be treated just as the Son Himself! Jesus wants us to see the glory (the life-giving, overflowing, super-abounding love) that the Trinity shared before the foundation of the world! (See 17:5 as well)

We are promised, by God the Son Himself, to be brought up into the Love that has been shared for all eternity within the Godhead. This is what Peter is getting at when he wrote that God “granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature…”(2 Peter 1.4).

We have a precious and very great promise: to be human partakers in the “perfect triangle of Love”; to be caught in the crossfire of the Father’s love for the Son and Spirit; to experience, in human form, the eternal love-relationship of the Trinity!

Let’s come down from the heights of this dizzying Love for a moment:

How does this look in day-to-day living?

Actually, let’s not come down from the heights of this dizzying Love- Let’s instead see our day-to-day living in light of it! This really changes everything…

We can look at Scripture and see how the Son:

  • obeyed and accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do (John 17; Phil. 2.1-11).
  • was a faithful Son (Heb. 2.17; 3.6)
  • with whom God is well pleased (Matt 17.5).
  • He perfectly did everything that the Father asked.
  • He failed in nothing!

This means that the Son ‘has it made’…and so do all those who are in the Son! Everything that makes up our true identity; everything like our forgiveness, favor, blessing and eternal life- has been purchased by the Son and sealed to us by the Spirit!

The Father, of the Son of God, is now our Father…

to quote the old King James: Believest thou this?

This is the beauty of John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” 

Every benefit that the Son enjoys is a benefit conferred upon those who are in Christ the Son!

The value of your relationships (husbands/wives/sons/daughters/friends/etc) are based upon the glorious success of the Son’s relationship to the Father: priceless.

Your standing before God the Father is not determined by your sin- it is determined by the Son.

The Father bestows his Love upon you- not because you’re as awesome as you think you are- but because the Son is more awesome than you know.

Our hearts should soar with Mary’s when she heard the words from the risen Christ “but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” John 20.17

Wow!  The Father is worthy of our worship!