The Promise of the Spirit (John 14:16-18)

Big Idea: Our spiritual lives rely on the Holy Spirit, who resides in believers, transforms them, and empowers them to live for God's glory.

Tony Evans tells the story of a man who went to buy a refrigerator. He bought the most incredible refrigerator you could imagine. It had all the bells and whistles you would expect, and then some. It cost thousands of dollars more than a normal refrigerator, but what could you expect for such a fine product?

The store delivers the new refrigerator to the man's home. Excitedly, he fills it with everything he can think of and then retires for the evening. The next morning, he rushes into the kitchen excitedly, but finds spoiled milk, leaking ice cream from the freezer, and discolored vegetables. The refrigerator is not working.

The man calls the store to give them a piece of his Christian mind. The man at the store says, "I don't understand. Open the door and see if the light comes on." He opens the door; no light. "Put your ear up close to the refrigerator and see if you can hear the hum of the motor." No hum. And then the man says, "There's a cord at the back of your refrigerator. Please check to see whether it's been plugged in." Sure enough, our friend finds it wasn't plugged in. He comes back to the phone and said, "You're right, the cord was not plugged in. But for the kind of money I paid for this refrigerator, that shouldn't matter. This thing should work anyway."

Refrigerators depend entirely on an external power source. No matter how expensive or well-designed, even the finest refrigerator with all its sophisticated components remains useless without electricity. Leave that cord unplugged, and your food will inevitably spoil.

Friends, our spiritual lives will not work without the Holy Spirit's power. When God saved us, he gave us all the component parts necessary for spiritual life and victory. We are dependent beings. We have not been designed to work on our own. Only as we are empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit will we produce what our lives are supposed to produce.

Introducing the Holy Spirit

Between now and Palm Sunday, we want to study the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not some nice addendum to the Christian faith. He is at the heart and core of it. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, God himself.

Some people have taught that the Holy Spirit is merely a force. But the Bible is clear the Holy Spirit is a person. He is not a force or an "it." The Holy Spirit has all the components of a personality: intellect, emotion, and will. And there are Scriptures that demonstrate this. And the Bible is also clear that the Holy Spirit is God.

To live a faithful; Christian life, it is essential to understand the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit. That's why our study will not be an intellectual one. Our goal is that we will experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit and that it will transform our Christian lives and those around us.

Our Need for the Spirit

Let's begin by considering the disciples. They were a handful of unlikely misfits, as one person writes, a "rather ragged aggregation of souls." They do not impress us as being key types of men. None of them occupied prominent places in the Synagogue. None of them belonged to the Levitical priesthood. For the most part, they were common laboring men.

Somebody has written a fictional management report to Jesus, describing the lack of potential apparent in the disciples.

To: Jesus, Son of Joseph
From: Jordan Management Consultants

Dear Sir:

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully.

As part of our service and for our guidance, we make some general comments, much as an auditor will include some general statements. This is given as a result of staff consultation and comes without any additional fee.

It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

Sincerely yours,
Jordan Management Consultants

These seemingly unqualified disciples would change the world, not due to their skills, but because of one key factor: the promised presence of the Holy Spirit. To understand this transformation, we need to examine the pivotal moment when Jesus revealed this promise.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

The Gospel of John sets the scene for us in John 14 and on. Please open your Bibles to John 14.

It was hardly a great time to be a disciple of Jesus. Everything felt spiritually stagnant. Judas was about to show himself to be a traitor. Peter had just been told in the next twenty-four hours, he would publicly deny Christ. The Jews wanted to get rid of Christ and all his disciples. Then, Jesus struck with the most devastating blow. He said:

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going. (John 14:2-4)

The disciples were stunned when Jesus told them he was leaving. Thomas, in essence, responded, "Jesus, you can’t be serious! We’ve staked everything on you, and now you’re leaving? We’ve struggled enough with you here—how could we possibly manage without you?"

In this context, Jesus said:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)

Jesus promised them that his replacement would be "another Counselor," literally another legal advocate. This is the promise that Jesus gave to us. This morning, I want to explore the power of the promise Jesus made.

Jesus promised us the indwelling of another advocate. Because Jesus knew that the disciples' need was complete, he promised them another "Helper" after he left. In Greek, the term for "helper" is paraclete. It is translated differently in various Bible translations because it is such a rich term. The best understanding of this word is probably that of "advocate" in a legal sense. In the ancient world, a paraclete was someone summoned to give assistance in a court of law. And the text in John 14:16 says he is "another paraclete." In other words, he was going to pick up where Jesus left off. The word "another" in the Greek means another of the same kind. Just as Jesus had come alongside and dwell with them.

The text highlights a profound truth: the Holy Spirit continues the ministry that Christ had among the disciples. Just as Christ was present with the disciples during his time on earth, the Holy Spirit is now present with us. While Jesus walked with his followers, the Holy Spirit now resides within us, providing constant help and guidance through all our challenges. This indwelling presence is a remarkable gift, ensuring that we are never alone.

Not many days after Jesus gave this promise, it was actually fulfilled. The Holy Sprit took permanent residence in the lives of the disciples. The Holy Spirit was and is, from the day of Pentecost on, present in the lives of all believers.

Think about that. Not even in the lives of Old Testament greats was this true. You have an advantage that they didn't have. And it's this: the Holy Spirit has taken permanent residence in you. It's what we call the indwelling ministry of the Spirit of God. When a believer turns to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit enters their life and becomes their helper.

The most powerful resource for every challenge resides within the believer: the Holy Spirit himself. Although Jesus is no longer physically with us, he has given us the Holy Spirit. For those who believe, this Helper dwells not merely nearby but within, creating an intimacy that surpasses all human relationships. Scripture shows that the Holy Spirit fully embodies what Jesus was to his disciples, rather than being a lesser presence of Christ. This indwelling Comforter remains constantly present, never departing from those who belong to Christ.

The promise of the Holy Spirit was a profound assurance to the disciples in their moment of fear and uncertainty. Just as Jesus had been their constant companion, the Spirit would now dwell within them, offering guidance, comfort, and power. This promise, fulfilled at Pentecost, remains foundational today, ensuring that we are never alone and always equipped for the challenges we face.

The Transforming Work of the Spirit

In John 14:12, Jesus made an astounding statement:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Though Jesus was fully God, in his humanity he could only be in one place at a time. His ministry was limited to his local area; he rarely traveled far from home or preached to more than a few thousand people at a time. Yet, he declared that his followers would do greater works than he did. How is that possible? The Holy Spirit now lives in every believer, giving us power wherever we go, not because we can perform greater miracles.

Consider Pentecost: Peter preached, and three thousand people believed in one day. Jesus, as far as we know, never saw that kind of immediate response during his ministry. This is the power of the Holy Spirit at work. Because the Spirit resides in us, his presence is not confined to one location but is active wherever we are.

All of God’s power and presence that we could ever need is already available to us in Christ. There’s no situation where one believer has more access to God than another. In the Christian life, our defeats aren't due to having too little of the Holy Spirit, but rather because the Holy Spirit has too little of us.

Jesus’ promise about the Holy Spirit also includes his ministry to us. John 16:13-14 reveals that the Spirit’s primary role is to glorify Christ: “He will glorify me” (John 16:14). The Spirit elevates Christ above all else, guiding us into truth (John 16:13) and teaching us all things (John 14:26). He brings to mind the words of Jesus, intercedes for us, sanctifies us, and equips us with spiritual gifts.

Jesus instructed the disciples to wait for the Spirit’s power, and when the Spirit came, their lives were transformed. These once petty, competitive individuals became bold, confident servants of God who “turned the world upside down.” This transformation was entirely through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The unplugged refrigerator illustrates an important truth: we need to be connected to the Holy Spirit to function as God intended. But here’s the gospel’s good news: Jesus didn’t leave us to figure this out on our own. Through his death and resurrection, he rescued us from sin, reconciled us to God, and gave us the gift of his Spirit. He is the ultimate source of life and power.

If you’ve trusted in Christ, the Holy Spirit now lives in you, guiding and empowering you to live for God’s glory. If you haven’t yet trusted him, the invitation is open. Jesus offers forgiveness, new life, and the indwelling presence of the Spirit. All you need to do is turn to him in faith.

So today, let’s thank God for the incredible gift of the Holy Spirit. Let’s commit to living in his power, not our own. And let’s remember this: because of Jesus, we are never alone. The Spirit is with us, within us, and working through us to accomplish more than we could ever imagine.