One of the things that has happened because Jesus has ascended to heaven is that the Holy Spirit has come in a different way than He did before the crucifixion. Jesus promised His disciples “I will ask the Father and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever”. John 14:16. He explained “the counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of everything I have said to you” John 14:26.
Jesus said to them a second time, “when the counselor comes who I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify of Me”. John 15:26. Then a third time Jesus who was very concerned to let them know that, although He was soon to leave them, they were not going to be left alone, said, “but I tell you the truth; It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. John 16:5-7.
Jesus explained to His disciples that the Spirit had been with them; they had clearly seen Him at work in their lives casting out demons and healing the sick, but now He was going to be ‘in them’, John 14:17. They had been operating under Jesus anointing and with His authority, when He sent them out two by two, Luke 10:8,9,17. Soon because of what was going to be accomplished by the cross and the resurrection, the Spirit was going to come and reside with them, He was going to live in them. This was to be an essential part of the ‘new life’ He was offering to all who would follow Him.
After the resurrection, when Jesus appeared to His disciples, He breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit”. John 20:22. Then before Jesus ascended back to His Father in heaven He confirmed these promises about the Holy Spirit, telling His disciples “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit”. He also told them “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses…. Acts 1:4,8. He was leaving them to go to His Father, and from the throne of heaven Father and Son were going to send the third member of the trinity, the Holy Spirit, to indwell those first disciples and all of us who would later be born again.
One of the key things that the indwelling Holy Spirit is sent to do for us is to ‘intercede in accordance with the will of God’. Yesterday we were enjoying the truth that Jesus ‘ever lives to intercede for us’, so today let us be thankful that, not only is Jesus is praying for us in heaven but also that the Spirit, who has been sent to live in us, ‘helps us in our weakness. We don’t know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.’ Romans 8:26.27. We know that there is complete unity and harmony between Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so that what Jesus is praying for us in heaven, is resonating with what the Holy Spirit is praying for us from deep within our spirits.
Yesterday we were celebrating the fact that we could have absolute confidence that whatever situation in which we find ourselves Jesus is praying for us. So today let us thank our Heavenly Father that He has also sent the Holy Spirit to pray from within us, also in accordance with the Fathers will, and that even when we don’t know how or what to pray, we have an on board intercessor who is in complete agreement with Jesus and the Father.
I believe as we turn our hearts in thanksgiving to the Lord, no matter what is happening or how challenged or perplexed we might be, we can find ourselves being built up in our faith, as our spirit prays from deep within. God has thought about everything and given us all we need to grow and become more like Jesus. Jude encouraged some early Christians who were being troubled by ‘scoffers’ and men with divisive doctrines, with these words – ‘build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit’ Jude 20. We too can take his advice for our difficult situations.
What an incredible salvation we have. Jesus has paid the price for our sin, He is praying for us in heaven and He and the Father have sent the Holy Spirit to pray for us from deep within. No wonder that Jude could finish that same letter with the wonderful doxology, ‘To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages and forever more! Amen.’
