You and The Bible Pt. 2

​I want to lead off this post with a passage in John 14 and Jesus’ last words to the disciple before His arrest and subsequent execution the next day.  John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

In response to Judas’ question (not Iscariot, the other Judas) about how the Lord would manifest Himself to the disciples; Jesus Christ said the following:
 
John 14:23-26 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
 
The idea behind the word manifest is He would reveal or to make apparent His presence.  Here in John 14 Jesus Christ was speaking specifically to the disciples, but the big idea applies to everyone who has and keeps the Lord’s commandments.  Jesus Christ was actually expressing the same experience Paul wrote about in Galatians 5 where he referred to this as walking by the Spirit and the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit has now taken over for the Son, Christ Jesus.  The fruit of the Spirit is Him revealing His personality in us when we walk (live) in obedience to the Lord’s commandments. 
 
But read John 14:26 carefully.  The Holy Spirit did not download new information into the Disciples minds.  He brought to their remembrance the things which Jesus Christ had taught them.  He did reveal to them the meaning behind what Christ had said as they had not really grasped much of what they had been taught.   I believe that is true for us today.  Rather than give each believer a data dump of God’s word the Holy Spirit works in us to understand what we have read for ourselves.  Remember, we are commanded to study the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15, Deuteronomy 6:6-9).  If we don’t know what the Bible says then there is nothing for the Holy Spirit to recall to our memory.  God wants us to fill our minds with something new.  Something other than what this world teaches. 
 
Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit said it this way.  Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
​The renewed mind is operating with a new spiritual data base we up load from the Bible. That is fundamental to having and keeping Christ’s commandments.