Holy Spirit Obedience

“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”* (John 15:9-10)

Jesus came to earth to bring an end to man’s disobedience and bring forth a glorious obedience in our lives. There was something about the obedience of the saints of the old covenant period that was not complete or perfect. It did not fully satisfy the heart of God; it was not the full expression of obedience that He created man to have. The words “even as I” in the above text carry powerful meaning for our lives. Jesus came to give us the example of perfect obedience that man can give, and He came to produce that very obedience in us. John had this experience, and thus testified, “as He is so are we in this world.”* (1 John 4:17) This is exactly what Jesus came to accomplish for us—to bring this testimony from our lives: “as He is so are we in this world.”

The burden of this message is to express the extreme importance and necessity of the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit to bring about this type of obedience that Jesus came to produce in us, and a solemn warning against any attempt of the flesh to fulfill this calling.