WORD TREASURES 6/25/23
"I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you." (Jn. 14:18) (ESV)
Can we Christians believe that God loves us so much that we have become His address and His Spirit lives in us? The above scripture is a bit odd, or so it seems. But Jesus was desiring to make plain the promise of His living inside His disciples, and so He uses a curious, yet when considered, a powerful illustration of what God is actually doing for them. Jesus is leaving; shortly after His resurrection, He would ascend into heaven to sit at the right hand of God! The life with Jesus being with them as a man was coming to an end. They would be tempted to feel terrible about this--like orphans=abandoned with no parents and alone to face life!
And so, Christ proclaims that He would not leave them as orphans. What exactly is an orphan? An orphan is one who is bereft of parents. For the orphan, somehow a distinct tragedy has occurred, removing from them the normal way children are raised, with loving parents! The situation of an orphan is not only tragic, it is inherently quite dangerous. These kinds of children no longer have access to their parents' guidance, wisdom, experience, and input. They no longer have parents' protection/provision. They no longer have parents' identity or social position in the society in which they exist. They no longer enjoy or can benefit from their parents' company and love. They are forlorn and without the love/care that most children experience. They are on their own. When the disciples became followers of Jesus, they put their lives into the hands of Almighty God and His servant Jesus Christ! Now that Jesus was about to ascend into heaven, it seemed they would be on their own--orphans! But God in Christ foresaw this and had an amazing plan.
BELIEVERS are not to be like that! When Jesus ascended, He sent the Holy Spirit. He did this so that these disciples and those who would follow in their footsteps would NOT BE LIKE ORPHANS. Jesus, by the presence of the Holy Spirit, would live within each believer and we would never be alone again--never be as orphans! The comfort and assurance that we belong to the Lord would become our greatest joy! The infilling of the Holy Spirit is not an option but a necessity, just as water and air are to our natural lives!
Jesus would leave/ascend into heaven but send the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit! We believers would never be bereft of a parent's care. Our Father, Jesus His only begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit would come to live inside every follower of Christ! This constant Presence would never leave or forsake us--NEVER! Jesus, though ascended, would come to us. By the way, how can Jesus be any other than God Himself? Who else could make good on such claims?
Jesus, the Lord, would come to live within each believer so that we could do the works that He always did and more! The question is: Do we believe that? Jesus lives within to help us pray and get the answers from the unseen God as He did! Do we believe that? Jesus lives within to strengthen us morally and bring about the obedience to God in our character, motives, and actions that He practiced! Do we believe that? This is what Jesus was proclaiming to His disciples. This was God's master plan--Jesus within, so that His disciples would never be orphans but instead would have God as their Father and would become where God actually lived--God's address! This is spectacular news! We who believe have been adopted into God's family. Race, age, gender, background, earthly abilities, station in life, none of these matter--we believers are now in God's family forever--Halleluiah!
Next week we will examine the work Jesus has called each of His children to. Each Christian can now say as Jesus said of Himself so long ago--"I must be about my Father's business." (Lk. 2:49) Christian, hear this, "I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you." (Jn. 14:18) (ESV) This is the Christian's reality! God is my Father, Jesus my elder brother, and the life and power of God Almighty, the Holy Spirit, lives in me always. Believe it, count on it, depend on God within, and watch your life grow in grace and the knowledge of God!
Pastor Mike
