To Joy (part 11)
The second thing the Holy Spirit does to bring glory to Jesus is to fill his disciples with Jesus’ “righteousness,” his nature, transforming them into Jesus’ likeness.
The purpose of which ties in with Jesus telling his disciples in John 16:8 that “when the Spirit comes he will convict the world,” verse 11, “in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”
This is the third thing the Spirit does to bring glory to Jesus through his disciples. It’s opening their eyes to the invisible spirit masterminding this world’s unsolvable mess, and the joy of realizing we can be free of it, because through Jesus’ death this evil spirit “stands condemned.”
First of all, then, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the stark reality that “the whole world is under the control of the evil one,” 1 John 5:19. How awful, that most people have no idea there’s a power behind the scenes influencing and distorting their thinking. But it’s obvious such a power exists, by the weird and destructive attitudes people have, that no amount of time or human brilliance have been able to solve. And so the world stumbles blindly along, year after year, trying one ideology after another, pouring out an endless stream of “new and improved lifestyles,” none of which offer any lasting or effective change in our behaviour.
What a tragedy, therefore, that people do not know that “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work,” 1 John 3:8. Jesus came so we could be free at last from the frustrating futility of never getting mastery over our selfish, destructive nature. The ioy for Jesus’ disciples, therefore, is proving it’s true, that we humans really can be free of the wrong habits and attitudes that rule our lives, because we ourselves are free of them.
What God intended through Jesus’ disciples, then, was the impact of our transformed lives proving “the prince of this world now stands condemned.” Which in turn brings glory to Jesus, because he is the one who made it possible.
There are three things (John 16:8-11) the Spirit does in the life of Jesus’ disciples, therefore, that tell of another wonderful power at work…(continues Friday)
Buck To Basics 