“But the Helper, the Ruach ha-Kodesh (Spirit of God) whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you of everything and remind you of everything that I said to you”. – John 14:26
Back in the days before the birth of Jesus (B.C), the people of God had a distinctive lifestyle that differentiated them from the people of other deities (lesser gods). This unique lifestyle was a result of the implications (good/bad) that were demonstrated in their lives either as a reward or disciplinary consequence from God. Right from the days of Adam and Eve, we realize that the only considerable evidence that proved man’s relationship with God was how close man could be with the Spirit.
Adam as the first man, was close to divinity through the constant visitation of the Spirit of God in the garden until sin created a huge gap in that divine relationship. Though man through sin became distant from the Spirit of God, God still wanted to guide His children due to His unfailing love for His creation, so He still had to restore the broken relationship.
Until the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s covenant with His people could still not be effective until He gets His Spirit closer to man. Therefore, before God’s covenant could be effective for His children in the Old Testament, there had to be at least one man who carried His spirit, this led to the rise of prophets in the Old Testament. Reading about great men of God from the Old Testament like David, Gideon, Ezekiel, et al, there is one unique link between them which is the statement “…and the Spirit of the Lord came upon…”. This statement proves that the key symbol that sustains the covenant between God and His people is the existence of His Spirit among them.
In the days of Christ (Anno Domini), The Spirit of God still operated as in the Old Testament. Judging from the prophecy spoken by Isaiah the prophet in the book of Isaiah 11:2 – “The Ruach of Adonai will rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and insight,…”, God had an intention of creating a new covenant (new testament – the word testament means ‘covenant’) with man, and yet again He still needed to bring His Spirit (translated as Ruach in Judaism) closer to man to be able to establish this covenant. The prophecy spoken by prophet Isaiah spoke about the Messiah (Saviour) Jesus Christ through who’s death man is reconciled with God. The prophet spoke of Him as a carrier of the spirit of God (“The Ruach of Adonai will rest upon Him…”) to communicate to the people of God what essence this Person was going to be. Anybody who carried the Spirit of God is meant to hold a vision and to accomplish a sacred mission of God and anytime we hear the mention of God’s spirit, there is an expectation of a relationship with the Creator.
Finally, to prove that God’s covenants are initiated and sustained by His Spirit, let us look at the book of John 14:26 – “But the Helper, the Ruach ha-Kodesh whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you of everything and remind you of everything that I said to you”. In this verse, Jesus upon whom the Ruach of God rests had completed His task on the cross and had initiated a new covenant between man and God, yet before He ascended back to His Father, there was the need to remind us that the initiated covenant needs to be sustained. To sustain this covenant, we needed the Helper among us. The key difference between the covenant of the Old Testament and the new is the manner through which His commandments are fulfilled. Just like this new covenant, the people of the old were also saved by their faith. we will get into that some other time, but for now let us focus on sustaining our new covenant with God.
From the above readings, I believe you strongly agree with me on the importance of the Holy Spirit in the initiation and the sustainability of God’s covenant with us. It has been an argument by many infant Christians that the Christian life of the disciples of Jesus Christ was much easier than what we go through today for the fact that they walked with Jesus Himself and so had first-hand experience of miracles that boosted their beliefs and stood as a strong basis for their undying faith. However, that is not the case. The significance of the presence of Christ amongst the disciples is still relevant because Christ carried the Spirit of God and after He ascended, He sent back the Spirit (Ruach) our helper back to us.
Understanding this leaves us at a particularly important part of the covenant, and that is sustaining our relationship with God which demands our faithful walk with Him as our Father and our Faith in Christ as our Saviour and intercessor. These two are crucial requirements that walk together. If there was no need for the faithful walk, we would not need the Helper, just as we would not have needed Christ to intercede for us if walking faithfully with God was enough.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus Christ urged His disciples to gather and pray until they received the promise of the Father. They ought to do nothing than pray until the Spirit of God comes! The presence of the Holy Spirit is essential for the faithful walk with God, without Him, the faithful walk in the New Testament is impossible in the absence of Jesus Christ on earth.
Firstly, the Bible describes the Spirit of God as ‘The Spirit of Truth’. “The Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it does not behold Him or know Him. You know Him because He abides with you and will be in you”. – John 14:17
In the above scripture, Jesus first describes the Spirit of God as the Spirit of truth, He then goes ahead to indicate to them that the Holy Spirit abides with them (the disciples) ‘confirming the prophecy in Isaiah that “the Ruach of Adonai will rest upon Him“‘. In Jesus Christ was the Spirit of truth, and He abided with the disciples. He continues to say “…and will abide in you“. Jesus abided with the disciples, but after He is ascended, He now lives in us, glory!
As Christians, we must understand that the Ruach of Adonai (Spirit of God) that rested upon Jesus Christ is the same Spirit that lives in us. He is the Spirit of truth with whom Jesus raised the dead, healed the blind, and walked upon the seas!
In John 14:12, Jesus remarkably says “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“. We have a full assurance that as the Ruach of Adonai abides in us, we shall do greater works through our faith built on our belief in Christ Jesus, Hallelujah! Healing of the sick is not a reserved miracle performed by prophets, teachers, apostles, nor bishops alone, it is an inheritance every believer received from the ascension of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
You need to believe in Christ Jesus upon whom the Spirit of truth rested. Let your faith not be built on any preacher, but on Christ our solid rock! Through Christ, you are a healer, through Christ you can raise the dead. That is why the Apostle Paul said in the book of Philippians, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me“. My goal today is to remind you of how powerful you became the moment you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, and to open your eyes to the greater works you can do just by believing in Him and the fact that the Ruach of Adonai who rested upon Christ now lives within you.
We shall look into how to maintain that sweet relationship with the Spirit of God that lives in you for your faithful walk with God. Until then, let us say this prayer together:
Dear Father in heaven, as Jesus promised in John 14:12, I believe in Christ Jesus the Spirit of truth, please make me a carrier of your power, and exert your miracles through me. From today as I have believed, I declare that any broken person or thing I speak over or lay my hands upon shall receive full restoration in the name of Jesus! Amen.
If you just said this prayer with faith, I strongly believe that the promise of Christ in John 14:12 will manifest in you. Testimonies shall follow you wherever you go. God bless you.
Please do not forget to share this with your loved ones. We are building a generation of end time believers who will carry the faith of our fathers and the promises of God to all corners of the earth. leave your comments below or contact me directly by clicking Here.
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Your detailed outline on the necessity of the HolySpirit’s involvement in our covenant with God is remarkable.
Thank you for this word of wisdom, God bless you.
PS: I can’t wait for the next episode ☺️❤️