John 14:18, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
Before Jesus promised His disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus made this promise: He would not leave them as orphans, but surely come to them. The Holy Spirit fulfills this twofold promise: He adopts people as children of God (Galatians 4:4-6) and brings Jesus to us (John 14:20).
This promise is for you and me, too. In our sin, we are orphans; we are alienated from God our Father. Yet Jesus sends the Spirit to adopt you as the Father’s son or daughter and to bring Himself to you in the Spirit that you might know God the Father. God does not wish to be an absent father, so He sent His Son to die and rise for you, who sends the Spirit to bring you to the Son, who then shows you the Father.
The Lutheran Column 