ODJ: the Spirit’s power

November 12, 2014 

READ: John 16:1-33 

It is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you (v.7).

The effects of an ice storm led to the loss of electricity to my house one morning. Late that night, as we returned home from showering in a nearby leisure centre, we pulled into our street and saw our lights were back on. Yes! We hadn’t realised how dependent we were on electric power until we lost it, and we resolved not to take it for granted again.

The episode reminded me of the Holy Spirit, who is the power of God in our lives. He is God Himself, the third Person of the Trinity (Matthew 28:19), and He dwells within all of us who believe in Jesus. We are travelling temples, for our bodies are “the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in [us]” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Spirit baptises us into the body of Christ, joining us with other believers who “share the same Spirit” (12:13) so that we become one united “temple of God” (3:16-17).

The Spirit made us alive when we were dead in sin (Titus 3:5), then sealed us to guarantee that we will persevere to the end (Ephesians 1:13-14; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22). The Spirit “shows us God’s deep secrets . . . so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:10-12). He groans for us when we don’t know what to pray (Romans 8:26), and He fills us so we may understand God’s Word and obey (Ephesians 5:18; Philippians 2:12-13).

There isn’t enough space in this article to discuss how He gifts us to serve His church (1 Corinthians 12:4-11,28; Ephesians 4:11), but from the above thoughts we can understand why Jesus said it was better that He leave us and send the Spirit to take His place. It’s easy to take the unassuming yet dependable Spirit for granted, but it’s impossibly hard to live without Him. —Mike Wittmer

365-day plan› Acts 22:30-23:22

MORE
Read 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 to learn who the Holy Spirit is and what He does for us. 
NEXT
Where do you need the Spirit’s help today? Tell Him you’re counting on Him, and don’t forget to include areas you might take for granted.