Just as Jesus is the emissary of God, the Holy Spirit is the emissary of Christ. Jesus calls Him the Advocate, though other translations use Comforter, Encourager, or Counselor. Interestingly, Muslims believe Mohammed to be the fulfillment of this promise. They do not believe in a triune God and therefore do not consider Jesus to be God, but rather a prophet of God. Verse 28 of John chapter 14 states that "I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am". Some, Jehovah's Witnesses for example, have interpreted this verse to mean that Jesus is not equal in deity with God the Father. But what Jesus was saying was that within the present confines of His humanity, He was less than God. He had relinquished His heavenly glory to become a man, while God the Father had remained fully glorified. Jesus was prodding the disciples to be happy for Him, since He would soon be restored to His full glory in heaven. They were resistant to the idea of His death and resurrection not only because it did not fit the model of the Messiah that they were expecting, but also because He was their friend and the idea of losing Him was unpleasant. In addition to promising the Holy Spirit and aluding to his impending glorification, Jesus also instructed them that He must go to Heaven in order to prepare a place for them. This does not mean that Jesus is in heaven building houses for believers, but that His going to heaven would make it possible for them, and us, to join Him there.
tomorrow's reading: John15:18-17:26
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