John 14:16-17, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
It’s so precious that the Holy Spirit forever dwells with us and is in us. The Father, the Lord and the Holy Spirit are “One”; They are inseparable. Therefore, the Spirit of the Father and the Lord are also in us. Christ in us is the hope of glory. Christ lives in us.
John 14:18 reads, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” The Lord will come to us, to our hearts.
“Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me.” (John 14:19) I see Him every day. That’s why I told you to behold the Lord, and to realize that He’s in glory and in our hearts at the same time. Songs of Solomon makes many references to eyes. It’s so precious that our eyes overwhelm Him. When we love the Lord, our minds will be on Him as well. The eyes of a dove always focus on its companion. Similarly, we fix our love gazes on Him; behold and look upon Him. Therefore, our eyes are very important when beholding Him. Our minds will be on Him. We will be able to see our relationship with Him. When we attend to Him, our hearts will be at peace without disturbance. We’ll also be more in tune to His will and guidance.
The last part of John 14:19 reads, “Because I live, you also will live.” When He comes to us, He helps our hearts. He doesn’t only dwell in us; He causes us to be alive. The saints in the old testament had God’s Spirit in them as well. But the difference is the Holy Spirit could leave them. It’s not the same as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit nowadays. He dwells in us forever. The author of Psalms 119 mentions eight times that God gives him life. He treasured not only God’s words, but also his heart’s relationship with God. He wanted life in his heart. You should know whether you have life in your heart, or if it’s dry and in despair. Apart from Him, we’ll be like a withered branch.
Psalm 22 talks about the Lord’s crucifixion. He endured the greatest pain. Yet, it’s very precious that the first sentence spoken by the Lord was “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” (Psalm 22:1) We’ll never fully understand what happened amidst the Trinity God, and the suffering that’s endured. Later in the Psalm, it talks about the victory of the Lord. God would answer Him. God would deliver His soul from the sword and the mouth of the lion. I think this relates to Hebrews 9:14 “…who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God,” The Lord was able to endure the pain on the cross with the help of the Holy Spirit. Being without blemish, He offered Himself to God, and He accomplished the perfect salvation. He had offered for all time a single sacrifice. He endured great suffering and gained great victory.
The Father had answered Him, and the church appeared. “I will tell of your name to my brothers;” (Psalm 22:22) So precious that we are the top priority in His heart when He went on the cross. After His suffering, He immediately talked about us. We are the reason why He went to suffer on the cross, and He gained the victory.
“I will tell of your name to my brothers;” (Psalm 22:22) This was the first time He called the disciples brothers. He is the first-born. We are co-heir with the Lord and will inherit all with Him. Furthermore, this is a life union. He’s not ashamed to call us brothers. Isn’t it so precious?
“In the midst of the congregation I will praise you.” (Psalm 22:22) The congregation is this assembly. David wrote Psalm 22 about three thousand years ago. It’s a psalm of prophecy. He prophesied that He would praise God in the congregation, which is the church meeting. How does the Lord praise Abba now? The Lord dwells in us and shows us the preciousness and love of the Father. The Lord continues to reveal the Father so we will praise the Father. When we see the preciousness of the Father, we voice out our praise to Him. The Lord praises Abba through us and with us.
When two or three gather unto His name, His special presence will be with us. Today, we enjoy His special presence. He’s also in our hearts. He reveals about Abba, and opens His heart to us. He speaks to us and reveals His words. And His special presence is with us. When we gather in His name, put Him as our center, He’ll be in our midst. In addition to living in our hearts, His special presence is with us. This 3000-year-old prophecy has been fulfilled. When the Lord cried out “It’s finished,” the fruit of salvation has come upon us. What the Lord spoke that night has been fulfilled on us.
The Lord is more than a historical figure. His words didn’t just come to pass. He’s more alive than anyone. He’s the eternal God. He lives in your heart. He can uplift us from any situation. And He gives us life. He’s the eternal life. All forms of life come from Him. He becomes our glorious life in us, and He can help us everyday. We can’t leave Him for any length of time, not even for a blink of an eye. Apart from Him, we can’t do anything –we’ll stay in sins and won’t be able to rise again. He is the true vine and we are the branch. We need to be united with Him and in Him. The branch needs nourishment from the vine or it’ll die. In the same manner, He nourishes us and we live. We all know that a branch will wither and die when it breaks off from the plant.