When I read Christ’s words in John chapters 12 to 17, as He prepared the disciples for His imminent death and departure, these words among other treasures in them, are so clearly an expression of His understanding the depths of His responsibility, of His love for the Saints, and of the revelation of God in a body of flesh & blood made by Himself.
The disciples had become very attached to Christ, who himself, submitted substantially to the constraints of His physical body, in which He walked through crowds, met at people’s homes for fellowship over dinner, spoke to a woman while He sat on a well, challenged the leaders of Israel, enlightened all who had ears to hear, and bore the sins of many on the tree.

As I consider Christ’s humility in submitting to the will of His Father by taking on the body of His own earthly creation; and yet when ridiculed, beaten and crucified by man, He didn’t express the judgemental power of His intrinsic being in the terms which many a man would express in a selfish way if granted God’s power for a day. My perception of power is likely to be expressed in some self glorifying display of harnessing the natural elements and turning them to bring fear to fellow man, or to the miraculous benefit of others for my own glory; but this form of power wasn’t expressed by Christ, He let it be known that He could call on His Father to send 12 legions of Angels (60,000) if He so willed, or He could have called down fire from heaven as Elijah did in 2 Kings 1:10 “But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.” : But He chose rather to show a greater expression of His power: Love. How eternally amazing is this power! It’s broken the power of sin for billion’s of people, and made peace with God through reconciliation by His blood!

When Christ prayed The Father to send Holy Spirit to the Saints for teaching & comfort regardless of their location, whether among crowds, at a well, in a prison, on a hill, in a valley, or at a table He’s prepared in the presence of our enemies, He’s present in every place at every hour, ministering to the Saints the glorious merciful plan of salvation and reconciliation through Christ:

Our ways are as clear as our need, and God who created us in His image, has perfectly planned the restoration of man to that image.

  • Man given responsibility.
  • Man’s failure.
  • The law to highlight mans depravity and need.
  • Christ our salvation sent to fulfil the righteous requirement of God.
  • Holy Spirit provided as the presence of God with His people and as reproof of the sin of the world, through Christ.

John 14:16-17 And I’ll pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; who the world cannot receive, because it doesn’t see him, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It’s expedient for you that I go away: for if I don’t go away, the Comforter won’t come to you; but if I depart, I’ll send him to you. 8 And when he’s come, he’ll reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it to you.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, who the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Although we don’t presently have the visible physical presence of Christ with us, we’re not at any disadvantage to the people who walked and sat with Him in Jerusalem and the surrounding regions; Christ said it’s better that He left, so that we can benefit from the presence of Holy Spirit who guides us in all truth, showing us things to come, glorifying Christ, comforting us, abiding with us! He said “blessed are those who haven’t seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

When we open the Word, Holy Spirit’s with us each individually, daily, to open our understanding of the Truth, raising our hope, restoring our joy, increasing our faith and lighting our path. Psalm 84:10 “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;” So we can say with Peter…

“to whom shall we go? you have the words of eternal life.”



Opening picture of verse Credit:
Thank you dear Mum (Eileen), who went to be with our Lord on the 4th of March 2020.
Mum posted the verse on the wall at our shop where she selflessly assisted us for over 14 years
Sometimes when we see just a little of our own depravity, it can be hard to conceive being changed to be more like our dear Lord Jesus Christ, but to see His characteristics in the Saints is a treasure, Mum is a gentle lowly kind beautiful selfless portion of Christ, but now that she is in His presence, I look forward to next seeing her and joining her in praising and enquiring of our dear Lord God in an incorruptible body.

APO14April6Dec2019March2020