Different translations use different word for G3875 –
parakletos. In the above passage, my own
preference is that, Counsellor is the more appropriate word.
What does this
passage teach us?1. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the era that we are all in, He no longer would walk the earth like He used to, as a man; in His place, the Father God would send the Holy Spirit to us.
2. So, the
God with us - Emmanuel, did NOT end in that era when Jesus lived and died; God
with us, continues through the giving of the Holy Spirit, to be with us. The Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of Christ
or Jesus, so, in actual fact, although Jesus was no longer with us, as a man,
He continues to be with us, by His Spirit – the Spirit of Christ or the Holy
Spirit.
3. Jesus was
the Helper/Counsellor for the disciples of that era when Jesus walked the
earth. In the same way, the Holy Spirit
is the Helper/Counsellor to us all; only that this Helper/Counsellor, the Holy
Spirit, is NOT in the form of a man, but of spirit.
4. We have
to listen to the Holy Spirit. In those
days, the disciples had to listen to who?
Jesus, their Helper or Counsellor.
For us, who do we have to listen to?
The Holy Spirit. Jesus made it
clear that the Holy Spirit would be the one to teach us all things (of the
Faith), and would remind us (of the same).
Listen to the Word or the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is always in agreement with
the Godhead, and so, He does NOT contradict the Word or Jesus. He would also
never contradict God the Father. John
16:12-15 said this:
12
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he,
the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not
speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what
is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will
receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is
mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make
known to you.”
The Holy Spirit does NOT invent truths on His own; He hears
from the Godhead and tells it to us; He takes from Jesus, and reveals it to us;
He knows the mind of God (1 Cor 2:11), and so, can accordingly, instruct or
help us. He would only speak the
truths. The truths are always the same,
the truths of the Holy Spirit are the truths of Jesus, and are the truths of
the Father God.
5. The Holy
Spirit is given or sent in the name of Jesus.
Jesus made it clear that the Holy Spirit would be sent by the Father God
(upon His [Jesus] leaving [resurrection]) in the name of Jesus. In other words, one goes, another comes, but
the latter comes in the name of the former.
What does it mean? It means you
don’t get the Holy Spirit unless you have embraced Jesus. We have to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour
(enter into salvation, we say), before, and at which point, the Holy Spirit is
given to indwell us (Eph 1:13-14). All
believers have a deposit of the Holy Spirit in them. It is NOT some has, and some has NOT.
The disciples then, had Jesus; the difference was that some
of the disciples listened to Jesus more than the others (one, Judas Iscariot,
was often NOT listening). Just as Jesus
did NOT then disown Judas Iscariot, and cast him off, the Holy Spirit is still
with those who did NOT always listen to Him; only that those who do NOT always
listen, may be more vulnerable to be ensnared than those who listen (it does
NOT mean a believer cannot be apostate, but one does NOT get disowned easily).
6. The Holy
Spirit is the peace Jesus gives to us.
Now, there are those who interpret v27 in such a way as to
say, Jesus took His peace and gave it to the disciples; and for us, He has done
the same – took His peace and given it to us. Such then went on, to say, if you
do NOT feel the peace, it is you have let your heart be troubled or you are
afraid – that is the trouble (with you)! Such also
said, if you failed both – let your heart be troubled and you are afraid, you
are “dead meat” – no peace-lo! Support
citations included these verses: we are to guard our heart (Pro 4:23); we are
NOT given a spirit of timidity (2 Tim 1:7) (these 2 texts are of themselves, no
problem, of course).
On the contrary, the revelation I have, is peace is NOT had,
that way. Peace is NOT had like: You are
troubled, and you are afraid, for you have, say, did something wrong, like you
bribed a government official, and the entire process was video-recorded by
someone with a smart phone, and I now, give my peace to you, and you can be at
peace. Neither is it that, the day
before, I met you and I gave my peace to you, and so, despite what you have
done (wrong), you can never be out of sort (NOT at peace), and never be
afraid.
On the surface, such a preacher purportedly said that it is
NOT God’s fault - that it is NOT that, the peace God gave, does NOT work; but such
has wrongly taught the ways of God, insulted God even (that, God’s
righteousness is that way). In addition,
such also introduced unwarranted mystery into the ways of God, bringing
confusion even, to people – “imagine, he can still stay at peace and NOT be
afraid (having done a wrong); ah, how come I can’t!” Please-lah, if you have done wrong, you are
supposed to be out of sort, or lose peace, and be afraid, until ……
It is funny when such teaching comes from the mouth of
overly grace preachers who kept banging on grace and no works, and then, said things do NOT work out for you because you
have NOT done this (NOT let your heart NOT be troubled) or have done that - be
afraid). There is a part we have to
play, alright, but it is NOT simply you NOT let your heart be troubled or be
NOT afraid, regardless!
When we, and it is right for us to, read vv26 & 27
together, the peace, Jesus was referring to (that He said He was giving to the
disciples then, and also to us, now), is the Holy Spirit. The peace of Jesus is the Holy Spirit, which
is also His Spirit (Spirit of Christ), and so, it was correct for Jesus to say,
“Peace I leave with you (after introducing the Holy Spirit in the preceding
verse [v26]). My peace I give you (Holy
Spirit is Jesus’ peace, and is His Spirit).”
Was it wrong for Jesus to say, “I do NOT give you as the world gives.”?
Jesus was absolutely justified to say that, because (1) the world cannot give
you the Holy Spirit; (2) the world does NOT give by grace, which Jesus did and
does; the world demands merit (the Holy Spirit is given us, by grace); and (3)
the world does NOT give peace by following the desires of the Spirit, for
desires of the world (flesh-gratifying), and the desires of the Spirit are
contrary (Gal 5:17).
The desires of the Spirit are to please God, and the Spirit
is already given us, indwelling every believer; and if we listen to the Spirit
(or be led by Him), we will have the peace – the peace, in and of the
Spirit. Now, the Holy Spirit is indwelling
every believer, but the question is whether each of us is allowing Him to live
through us, working His desires, which are to please God, through us. Only when that happens, that the peace, in
and of the Spirit, becomes ours.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Through Him we are reconciled with God. Yes, with reconciliation with God, we have
peace. Yes, Jesus gave us peace that
way, if we believe and trust in Him that His works wrought us reconciliation
with God. When we were yet reconciled,
we have NOT true peace, because we were “out of sort” with God, and we are out
of sort with God, firstly because we were NOT cleansed of our state – the sinner
state, and secondly, the propensity to sin, got the better of us, and we had
sinned, and those (filth)needed to be dealt with, and thirdly, our mind and heart were
NOT set to resist sins, and be inclined to embrace holiness, and thus, the
righteousness of God. In other words,
having been reconciled with God, moving forward, we need to be in agreement
with God, still. No one can give you true peace if you want NOT to be in
agreement with God, even when you are a believer.
In His earthly ministry, Jesus was always with peace; how do
explain that peace of Jesus? Consistent
with what is explained here concerning the Holy Spirit is the peace, Jesus’
peace comes from the Holy Spirit, comes from agreement with God, and comes from
a life of wanting to please God – doing God’s will. Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit (at His
water baptism), before His earthly ministry.
The Holy Spirit is the one who knows the mind of God (1 Cor 2:11), and
Jesus was full of the Spirit. The Holy
Spirit is the Spirit of the Father God, and consistent with what Jesus said -
that all that belongs to the Father has been given Him (John 16:15; John
3:32-35), the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) was given Him, Jesus; and so, it
was correct to say that the Spirit of Christ is the same Spirit of God or the
Holy Spirit (For full exposition of
this, read “Are
these the same, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of Christ?).
The Holy Spirit is peace, for He is always in agreement with the Godhead and He
always acts to please the Godhead, and so, when we listen to the Holy Spirit
(or be led by Him), we too, would be in agreement with God, and please God, and
have peace.
7. To stay
in the state of peace, we have to listen to the Holy Spirit or be led by
Him. This is already explained above - point
6. When 1 Cor 2:16 said that “We have
the mind of Christ”, where is this mind of Christ? No, it is NOT our mind is now replaced by the
mind of Christ; the mind of Christ is in the person of the Spirit of Christ or
the Holy Spirit.
8. Know the
right thing, do the right thing, and then rest in Him, and you need NOT be
troubled, of heart or be afraid. Jesus
was telling His disciples ahead of time, so that with right knowledge,
understanding, and doing the right things, His disciples could rise above the
fleshy tendency to be insecure and afraid, when uncertainties would confront
them subsequently.
This “NOT let your heart be troubled, and be NOT afraid” is
as simple as that; NOT to be expounded to the tune of “I am superior to you-le,
I can maintain peace and NOT be afraid, regardless; you cannot-le!” or “I told
you so-what, you let your heart be troubled, and be afraid – that is the
problem (with you), you got to tell yourself, NOT to be troubled, of heart, and be NOT afraid, regardless. I told you many
times-right, why can’t you just do it – don’t let your heart be troubled and
don’t be afraid!”
Through these words of Jesus, we are to understand that
despite Jesus is NOT with us, in person, as a man, we are NOT without His
counsel through the Holy Spirit or His Spirit, which the Father would give to
indwell anyone who would come into salvation.
Jesus has lived as a man, and He can empathize with us, and knows what
is that which is precious to the well-being of a man – peace. Jesus would give the means to that (peace),
and that means is the indwelling Holy Spirit.
When we be led by the Holy Spirit (no wonder He is called our
Helper/Counsellor), we will have the peace, in and of the Holy Spirit. When we have knowledge of this, and do the
right things (practise righteousness) and then rest in Him, we need NOT be
troubled, of heart, and need NOT be afraid.
In simple terms, it is heretic teaching to tell people they
can get the state of their heart NOT be troubled and be NOT afraid, simply by
“psycho-ing” themselves with “My heart is NOT troubled, and I am NOT afraid”,
when they are NOT doing or going to do what is/are consistent with the desires
of the Holy Spirit (which is the same as the desires of God or the Lord or the
Word).
Peace (G1515 – eirēnē) is having shades of meaning; and one of
it, is this - felicity. What is
felicity? It is the state of blissfulness or blessedness. This state obviously includes tranquillity
(or peace) and joy. So, in Scripture,
peace could include joy; and we also find joy being associated with the Holy
Spirit or that both words were used together with the Holy Spirit. For example, Romans 14:17 – 18 … the kingdom
of God is about righteousness, and peace and joy of the Holy Spirit, and those
who serve God in this way, please God, and find agreement with men. This text of the Book of Romans is therefore,
one of the most important indications of how a Christian life is to be
lived.
Matt 6:33 gives us the saying to seek first, God’s kingdom
and His righteousness, and this Romans text further tells us who is the bearer
of (having) God’s righteousness, and how we live out that righteousness. The Holy Spirit holds the key; when we let
Him, the Holy Spirit, lives through us, have His ways in us, His peace and His
joy will be ours, and our lives would be pleasing to God.
What about the Word?
Yes, the Word is key, too, but the Word turns rhema by the Holy
Spirit. I venture to say, the difference
between general legalistic OT obeying of the laws and commandments of God, and
the NT obeying of the laws and commandments, which is still commanded, is that
the latter is heeding the Word, in and through the Holy Spirit. The contrast is that the motive of the Holy
Spirit is always the same – loving and pleasing God (there is always love of the Holy
Spirit for God, for within the Triune God, there is perfect love of the Father,
Son, and the Holy Spirit in manifest).
The NT call of obedience to laws and commandments is “loving and
pleasing God” based.
A simple metaphor – felicity is had when one is
loving and pleasing another. In fact,
felicity is had for both the giver and the receiver of such manifest
affection. Isn’t right, when you love
someone and manage to please the person, you (the giver) are very happy, and
the person (the receiver) would be very happy too! It is “no sweat to live on bread
and water alone”, in such a state, goes the common love-saying, is it not? What more, your lover is the El Shaddai!
Before we end, let me talk a little more about the scenario
of “But I am in a difficult situation, with uncertainty, trial and tribulation
even, can I still be with peace?” The
point is that Jesus was telling the Disciples ahead of such. In other words, it was so that the Disciples
would be of peace when the time (bad time) came. So, what was said was NOT just meant for
swell circumstance!
There are those who argue there is NOT a single thing a
believer need be bothered about (well, the same people could still be telling,
you should NOT let your heart be trouble or be afraid! Is that NOT doing
something; how contradictory!); God would automatically take care of
everything, and voila, you have peace (if you believe it so – automatic and
voila!). Just say your Sinner’s Prayer
(to enter into salvation), and just bask all the way, in grace, and peace (and
joy) is yours and NOT leave you!? No.
You will NOT get
caught in lousy circumstances, bad times, difficult times, afflictions, trials,
persecutions? No, there is no such
promise of easy and swell life all the way, till you pass on. Live life as you like? No, you cannot; please, liberty in Christ Jesus,
does NOT mean you can do what you like!
We can get into nasty situation due to our fault, including sinning, or
we can get into the same, through no fault of ours (someone stabbed you in the
back, for example); what do you do, in difficult situation and in the
uncertainty of the situation? You begin
to be trouble of heart, and afraid; losing peace, what do you do? Do nothing, like they tell you? No.
When you have walked into a deep quick-sand (as a metaphor), do you do nothing? No.
Yah-what, people say, to do nothing, don’t move. You can do that, do nothing; given enough
time, you will still go under, under your own weight! I am NOT going to teach people how to get out
of a real deep quick-sand, but there are things you could do and should do to
get yourself out (shift to buoyancy posture for example, is one thing to do;
you don’t know what that is, just ignore!).
Now, can you do nothing? You can,
if you know someone is on hand to help you or you are expecting someone to come
by. So, what must you do when you are in deep shit! Call on God (or Jesus) or the Holy
Spirit. It is NOT you do nothing, there
is a thing all of us can do, and that is we pray, and ask for Divine Help. Phil 4:6 reads:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Phil 4:6).
You need to do that. And if you get into the deep shit, because
you are in disagreement with God, His Word or His ways, you got to reflect on
that; repent, confess, and ask God for forgiveness, and with a humble and
contrite heart, ask God for help. One
just cannot demand God to help while insisting he is right and God is wrong;
and that he would still do whatever that had caused him to be in the deep shit,
in first place, when he gets out! People
like to claim verse 7, without taking verse 6 above. Phil 4:7 reads:
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7).
If you don’t get right with God, that peace of God which you
received at your conversion, just is NOT sustained. Can it be refreshed? Yes, but if you are NOT
going to get back right with God, or NOT wanting to be led by the Holy Spirit,
you are hampering it. Sure, God is love,
and there is grace of God, but God cannot be mocked, the love of God for men is
love unto righteousness (`ahab love), and the grace of God is NOT for us to
profane, and men’s volition is NOT meant to be over-written by God all
time. For all of these, one needs to gain
understanding, and meditate on them to appreciate how they all bear on our
living on earth.
Anthony Chia, high.expressions
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