The Holy Spirit is the presence of Jesus in our lives

Jesus articulates the amazing truth that it will be to the advantage of the disciples for him to leave them, for then the Spirit will be sent in his place. Although Jesus had been of such great importance to them, he now says that someone is coming who can be of even greater benefit (16:7) to them, and they will be active based on his strength.

In 14:12–14, Jesus identifies one of the benefits of the arrival of the Spirit. Jesus promises that the works (erga) that he performed will be achieved to a greater degree by those who believe in him. Such works are best identified as miracles and possibly also ethical acts.

It may be appropriate to recognize that anything that fulfils the will of God, as exemplified in the life of Jesus, may be identified thus. However, to suggest that believers will be able to perform greater miraculous works than Jesus, in terms of the dramatic impact they cause, is an unlikely interpretation of the text. Nor is Jesus promising that greater power will be available to believers than he had himself. 

The significance of the promise is simply, though remarkably, that such authoritative power will be granted to believers who, corporately, will continue the ministry of Jesus throughout the world, not being restricted to one country or lifetime. This is because of the ongoing presence and empowering of the Spirit. In the absence of Jesus, it might be wondered how the development of the gospel would be sustained, let alone enlarged. Without the power base associated with the King of the kingdom, its growth would be in doubt. However, the Spirit grants power and authority to believers, the quality of which is identical to that owned by Jesus.

The reference to the Spirit (14:15–18) indicates that he is the distinguishing feature in this promise. Even when Jesus has ascended, the purposes of God will still be made manifest through his followers because they will be living in the age of the Spirit. 

The ascension of Jesus did not signal the absence of divine presence. The emphasis in Jesus’ promise is on the fact that fragile followers of Jesus will have the dynamic authority to emulate him. Indeed, because there are many, the potential for more examples of such authoritative manifestations of his power is to be expected. Thus, the greatness of the works is best understood in terms of the new context in which they are achieved. As the Spirit remained with Jesus (14:10), so also will the Spirit remain with believers.

Jesus makes a subtle but crucially important statement in that he affirms that the Spirit is currently with them but that soon, he will be in them (14:17). Jesus is not attempting to suggest that a closer proximity of the Spirit to believers will facilitate a greater release of his power in their lives. T

The Spirit has the capacity to exercise his power and authority, whether he is a million miles or a whisper away. He does not function better or more easily by being closer to the area of need. 

The point that Jesus is illustrating is that the Spirit, until now, has never been described as being in anyone other than Jesus and John the Baptist (Luke 1:15). Not only will the Spirit be in the new Christian community, but he will reside in each member of that community.

Jesus is expressing the fact that if they thought that the presence of Jesus with them was remarkable, they should consider the consequences of the Spirit being in them. Similarly, the Spirit, who worked with Jesus and with the disciples before the ascension, is now described as working with the disciples but also in them. He is not a Spirit who simply anoints believers as the prophets anointed God’s servants in the past; he operates from within. 

He is not just poured out upon believers, but he also fills them and, through them, blesses others. This is a new era that is being celebrated by this preposition in. Concentration should not be placed on the identification or even the achievement of such acts, but more on the fact that they are accomplished due to the power of the present Spirit.

Rather than try to compare and contrast the work of Jesus in the disciples and the work of the Spirit in believers, it is more appropriate to see the former as providing examples of how the latter may function. In a real sense, Jesus is no less present in the life of the believer than he was present with his disciples when he walked in Israel. 

In fact, because he and the Spirit are inseparable, he is as much present in the believer’s life as is the Spirit. It is not that Jesus is in heaven, but the Spirit is on earth or that Jesus is our advocate there while the Spirit supports believers here. The Spirit is the presence of Jesus in our lives. The often quoted words that a believer is someone who has ‘asked Jesus into his or her heart’ is not as far from the truth as might be imagined. 

Although Jesus is not literally residing in one’s heart, it may be concluded that he is closer to believers than that; that testimony is simply an illustration of something much more intimate. The Spirit is in us, around us, alongside us and ahead of us; working in us, for us and through us; on our side and against our enemies; with us and ensuring that we are with him.