Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: John 14 and Psalm 47

Having reflected on John 12 and 13 in Holy Week, we now skip forward to John 14. Jesus and the apostles were in the Upper Room (although Judas Iscariot had already left to betray Jesus), and Jesus began to speak of what life would be like for them when He was gone. Some of what He spoke about relates to life after physical death, but most of it was about the eternal life we live this side of physical death.

In John 14, Jesus painted a beautiful picture of the intimacy He enjoys with the Father. There is such intimacy and unity between Jesus and the Father that to know Jesus is to know the Father (v.7), to have seen Jesus is to have seen the Father (v.9), to have heard Jesus is to have heard the Father (v.10), and to have witnessed Jesus’ miracles is to have witnessed the power of the Father at work through Him (10-11). They are so deeply united that Jesus can honestly say, “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” (v.10-11).

Then, incredibly, Jesus promised that those who believe in Him will receive the Holy Spirit, Who will live in them (us). He continued, “On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (v.20) Jesus was saying that we will enjoy the same kind of indwelling unity with Jesus (by His Spirit in us) as Jesus enjoys with the Father. From within us the Holy Spirit will remind us of all that Jesus taught and will grant us the revelation of Jesus’ will (v.26), so that we are able to express our love for Jesus by living obedient lives – lives that are pleasing to Him. And as the Holy Spirit empowers us, He will grow and develop us in the fullness of our relationship with Jesus, taking us ever deeper in intimacy of knowing and relating to Jesus.

Life application: And could it be that one day we will be so in sync with the Spirit of Jesus that to see our lives is to see Jesus, to hear us speak is to hear Jesus, to witness our works is to witness the works of Jesus through us? Oh, may it be so, Lord! Let’s aim for that today.