Daily Devotion|Day 257
“And you also will bear witness, for you have been with Me from the beginning” (John 15:27, NKJV).
Truth is sacred. So is the testimony about the truth. Jesus mentioned two people who would testify about Him when He left the world. In John 15:26, He mentioned the testimony of the Spirit: “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”
A credible witness is one who knows the truth about something and can accurately communicate it.
The Holy Spirit is a reliable witness for Christ. Why? Because the Holy Spirit knows the truth about Jesus. He was involved in the Messiah’s conception and birth (see Luke 1:35). He was at Jesus’ baptism and temptation (see Matthew 3:16; 4:1). We could cite more examples of the Spirit’s presence in Jesus’ life.
In today’s opening passage, Jesus says that His Apostles also will bear witness. He explains why they will (and can be) His witnesses. He says they have been with Him from the beginning. Being with Jesus implied that the Apostles had known Him intimately. Therefore, any witness they gave about Jesus would be credible.
The point here is that Jesus wants us to be not only His followers, but also His witnesses. But the ability to be Jesus’ witness depends on our intimate and accurate knowledge of who He is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what he shall do. We risk being false witnesses for Christ if we haven’t known Jesus intimately.
The power and effectiveness of your witness depends on your knowledge of the Lord. This is more than accumulation of information about Jesus. Even satan can give accurate information about Christ (see Mark 1:23-24), but he is not a witness for Christ.
To be a witness for Christ, it means you have first submitted to Him. It means you have allowed Him to train you, mold you and transform you. And based on this transformation, you can testify that Jesus is who He says He is. The Holy Spirit in you will assist you, because He is Jesus’ primary Witness.
Let Jesus teach and change you so that you can be His witness.
Blessing: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you today. Amen.
For further study: Acts 5:17-42
Higher-Self Realities 