THE HOLY SPIRIT (3)
[p. 36] THE HOLY SPIRIT (3)
John 14:15 - 17; John 14:25, 26; John 15: 26; John 16: 7 - 11
JT What we have previously considered in the meetings relates more to the individual believer than to the company. The scriptures we have read now speak of the Spirit coming personally to be in the company which is really the assembly. So He is called here “another Comforter”, which involves the thought that He has come to take the place of Christ, the One who has ascended into heaven. The first part of the gospel involves the understanding of this teaching so that we can understand what is presented here. In chapter 1 we read that Jesus is the One who baptises with the Holy Spirit. Baptism is introduced there, and so chapters 4 and 7 deal firstly with the deliverance of every individual from the world, while chapter 7 takes up the outward effect with a believer. The Lord says there, “He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”, John 7: 38. That part of the body referred to, namely the belly, means the development of emotions, which shows that a believer is delivered in his emotions unlike other men. So the lower organs of the body are used here typically in this connection. When it is a question of life it is more the lungs; that is, the Spirit is not looked upon there as water but as breath. In chapter 20 we see that the Lord breathed into them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”, John 20: 22. The thought there is more the breath of Christ, and that is really what the word ‘spirit’ means. So chapter 20 brings forward a higher order of life, whereas water has more to do with our lower feelings and satisfaction, so that instead of being trapped by the world through these lower feelings [p. 37] they are turned to God. Instead of the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, we have a fountain of water springing up into eternal life. But the thought of Christ breathing into us means that we have His Spirit and are capable of representing Him here. He said, “As the Father sent me forth, I also send you”. The rivers of living water flowing out (chapter 7) allude, I think, to our sympathy towards men. But in chapters 14 and 16 the Holy Spirit is spoken of as “another Comforter”. Just as the Lord Jesus undertook for His people here, so the Holy Spirit does now.
Ques Is the Spirit there more connected with the assembly, in that He acts for us in that connection?
JT Just so. The Lord says, “I will beg the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth”, John 14:16. So that the Lord Himself mentioned that, great truth that we have another divine Person to be with us down here.
Rem That would set us free from wanting human regulations.
JT It is an important thing to understand that. So we see that in Acts 13 when it was a question of sending out men in the service of the gospel it was not the assembly which did that but the Holy Spirit said, “Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them”, Acts 13:2. And then we read, “They therefore, having been sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia” (verse 4). We also see the same thing in Paul’s address to the elders of the assembly at Ephesus. He says, “Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, wherein the Holy Spirit has set you as overseers, to shepherd the assembly of God”, Acts 20: 28. And in 1 Corinthians 12 we read that “For also in the power of one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body” (verse 13), and we also see there that [p. 38] the gifts operate by one and the same Spirit. They are indeed spiritual gifts. We understand from this that man and his religious regulations are completely shut out as unnecessary and wrong. The Holy Spirit, a divine Person, is personally here and takes up everything which concerns the assembly.
Ques How do we understand that the Spirit is sent by the Father in chapter 14, by the Son in chapter 15, and in chapter 16 He comes of Himself?
JT I believe that springs from the fact that divine Persons are on an equality, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. As we might expect, the Father is mentioned first. It says in John 14: 26, “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name”, and in John 15: 26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father”. The Father sends Him in the Son’s name and the Son sends Him from the Father. A strong expression is used in John 15: 26. It says that He came forth “from with the Father”. This means that the Holy Spirit is sent by the Son from with the Father. Although this does not sound grammatical in our language we ought not to neglect taking notice of it. The meaning is plainly that the Holy Spirit who was sent forth from being with the Father is able to bring to us the Father’s thoughts about Christ. It is also a thought which runs through this gospel, that persons are sent forth from being with the one who sends them. So that it is not only that the Spirit comes with a message, but He comes as One who fully knows the Father’s thoughts.
Ques Have we this thought in the expression “and the Word was with God”, John 1: 1?
JT Yes, that is the same thought, and I believe it is the basis of being sent in the whole of John’s gospel.
Rem That was also the case with the disciples; they were sent from being with Him.
JT Yes. It says, “And he appointed twelve that they might be with him, and that he might send them to preach”, Mark 3: 14. There are persons today who are sent out from organisations in Christendom as missionaries, but before they are sent out they are trained at schools and universities, but that is not the thought in Scripture. The question is, are we with the Lord Jesus before we are sent out? But now to go on with our brother’s question concerning the three ways in which the Spirit comes, we see that the Lord formally says that He will send the Spirit “But I say the truth to you, It is profitable for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go I will send him to you” John 16: 7. But stress is also laid on the fact that the Spirit comes of Himself. So the Lord continues in verse 13, “But when he is come, the Spirit of truth, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but whatsoever he shall hear he shall speak; and he will announce to you what is coming”. I believe, therefore, that chapter 16 has specially in view the position that the Lord has as Mediator, that is, He operates from that position in heaven as the One who controls everything, and He sends the Spirit from up there to continue the testimony here. That preserves the public position of the believer in a scene where there is conflict.
Ques Is there any difference between the expressions “Spirit of truth” and “the Holy Spirit”?
JT Yes; there is a difference. The Spirit of truth is mentioned to begin with: “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will beg the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see him nor know him; but ye know him, for he abides with you, and shall be in you”, John 14: 15 - 17. In verse 26 in the same chapter the Lord speaks of the Holy Spirit.
[p. 40] I believe that the Spirit of truth is here in contrast to the moral confusion which is found in this world. Of all that God first set up here there is now nothing that has not been brought into disorder. If, for example, we take the marriage relation or government, these things were set up by God, but we find that all is brought into a position of moral confusion. The presence of the Spirit of truth here involves the thought that there should be a recovery of everything in the assembly into conformity with the truth. The thought which is in “truth” is measure and balance, that is, a perfect pattern is seen in Christ who Himself is the Truth. That is just what He says in chapter 14, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (verse 6). So the Holy Spirit is here in relation to all that as the Spirit of truth. It is not only that true things are found among christians; most Protestant creeds contain true things, but true things in themselves are not the same as the Spirit of truth. The Spirit of truth in this is somewhat outwardly unnoticed and inexplicable but it is through the presence of the Spirit that we can judge error. The Holy Spirit in verse 26 is another side. God’s nature is holiness and the Holy Spirit will unceasingly maintain holiness among God’s people. It is well to note that it says that the world cannot receive Him; for they neither see Him nor know Him. That clearly shows that christianity is completely separate from the world. There cannot be any mixture. The world cannot receive the Spirit of truth; they do not see Him or know Him.
Rem It says in verse 8, “And having come, he will bring demonstration to the world, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”, John 16: 8.
JT He brings to the world the demonstration of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. That is another important matter which I think we can look at later. In the meantime there is one point which [p. 41] we should notice, that He brings demonstration to the world of these things. Demonstration means that the position is laid bare. From the beginning here we see how the world is shut out from having any part in the Spirit of God, whereas the world is recognised in the great, so-called religious parties. It is nothing but giving the world a false lustre.
Ques After the resurrection of the Lord He was seen by His own only. Is that the same thought?
JT Yes. It says in verse 19, “Yet a little and the world sees me no longer; but ye see me; because I live ye also shall live”, John 14: 19. “Judas, not the Iscariote, says to him, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us and not to the world? Jesus answered and said to him, If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him”, John 14: 22, 23. The difference between the world and us is that we keep Christ’s word, something which the world does not do. So the Lord says to Philadelphia, “Thou hast a little power; and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name”, Revelation 3: 8. From this we understand how the true saint of God is separated from the world and because we take heed to the word the Father and the Son come to us, but the world sees Him no longer. “If ye love me, keep my commandments”, John 14:15. In this connection He speaks of begging the Father “and he will give you another Comforter”. So we have something else in verse 26: the Holy Spirit reminds us of the Lord’s word. “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and will bring to your remembrance all the things which I have said to you”. One should take that to heart, every single one for himself, that in the acceptance of teaching or in remembrance of these things, the natural mind can so easily sneak in. But the thought is that [p. 42] holiness in the Spirit should prevent that; the Spirit is the One who teaches and brings to our remembrance.
Rem It is remarkable that although the Spirit has such a place not only in us but among us, we should not pray to Him.
JT Yes, the position of the divine system is that the Lord is in heaven. We worship the Father and the Son there. Even the Lord when He was here did not teach His disciples to pray to Him, but said, “Thus therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in the heavens”, Matthew 6: 9. And when He was about to leave this world, He said, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, this will I do”, John 14: 13.
Ques Is the thought then that the Spirit does not speak for Himself?
JT Yes, the Spirit is here as sent.
Ques We should not address ourselves to the Lord with every sort of prayer?
JT No; we should pray with understanding. This scripture stands in connection with the testimony. When we pray in our homes regarding temporal things, I believe we should turn to the Father, but I would pray to the Lord regarding the testimony. He indicates that He Himself in heaven is the Object for our faith, as the Father is: “Ye believe on God, believe also on me”, John 14: 1.
Rem I suppose we should pray to God for the gospel.
JT We are not limited for it is the gospel of God, the service of God and the testimony of God. All that concerns God; but the thought of God is more embracing, while the Lord is Lord in connection with the testimony. As Lord He also stands related to the kingdom, all that concerns the kingdom of God. When we pray about something which has to do with our bodies or our temporal circumstances I think that it is right to connect all that with God as Father. But we can pray to the Lord about everything [p. 43] which concerns the kingdom, the testimony, or the assembly.
Rem Romans 8 speaks of the Spirit coming to help us in our prayers.
JT That shows us what the Spirit’s service is. When we do not know what we should pray for as is fitting, the Spirit Itself makes intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered. That shows us that His intercession is perfect; this groaning is completely understood by God who searches the hearts.
Rem We also have the thought of praying in the Spirit (Ephesians 6).
JT That is, that we are in that position, but Romans 8 shows us what a great advantage we have in that the Spirit joins Its help to our weakness. He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. It is with groaning which cannot be uttered, but He who searches the heart knows what is in the mind of the Spirit. Therefore we have in the Spirit, who dwells in us, a Person who intercedes perfectly whom God understands because He searches our hearts. There is therefore much more intercession than that which is expressed in words by the saints. Intercession is not limited to what is expressed in words. Abraham’s servant prayed in his heart, and likewise Hannah; only her lips moved. There must have been a putting together of words but it was not audible. What resources we have in that the Spirit makes intercession for us in groanings that cannot be uttered! How much use in intercession may the Holy Spirit make of saints who are on sick-beds or who spend sleepless nights! We do not even have to say anything.
Ques Could we have a word about chapter 16?
JT The time has almost gone, but we should notice that the Holy Spirit teaches us all things and brings all things to our remembrance, so that John [p. 44] says in his epistle that we have no need that anyone should teach us. The Spirit reminds us also of everything Christ said here on earth, so that nothing is lost. He said, “He shall teach you all things, and will bring to your remembrance all the things which I have said to you”, John 14: 26. I often think of the things that the Lord said, all the Lord’s great utterances. We know from our own experience how forgetful we are and we can understand how the wonderful utterances of Christ might have been forgotten had it not been for the Holy Spirit. But the presence of the Comforter here means that each word that the Lord said to His own is preserved. How right it is that none of Christ’s holy words should fall to the ground! I would desire that my heart should be a treasury of all these precious jewels. In the pattern of the temple which David had from the Spirit there were treasuries. In 1 Chronicles 28: 11 we read that “David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of its houses, and of its treasuries”. Treasuries are places where treasures are kept, so the thought plainly is that this feature is found in the assembly. The Holy Spirit reminds us of all things that Christ said to His disciples. What can be greater treasures than these communications of love which He gave to His own. The apostle Paul took out of his store when he said to the elders of the assembly at Ephesus, “I have chewed you all things, that thus labouring we ought to come in aid of the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive”, Acts 20: 35. This word of Jesus is not mentioned in any other place, which shows that Paul himself was a treasury. The Holy Spirit thus wants to remind those who belong to the assembly of everything Christ said to His disciples. Nothing is lost; everything comes forward in one way or another through the development of the truth in the assembly.
[p. 45] Ques Do not the four gospels show the truth of what the Lord said?
JT Yes; that is just what the four gospels express. The principle in this is to remind us of the Lord’s word to the disciples, but what is written in the gospels is only a small part of what the Lord said. It is not intended that what is not written in the gospels should not come out, for John says, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world itself would contain the books written”, John 21: 25. That shows the greatness of it and the Holy Spirit sees to it that nothing is lost.
Ques Do we understand that what is written is the kernel of the Lord’s words and actions?
JT Yes; that is right. For faith there is sufficient in the gospels but it was not intended that all should be written there, for the principle of brevity is a great feature with God. It shows that He can express things in a few words and yet leave out nothing that is needful for us.
Ques Do we see this in connection with Philip in Acts 8? The Spirit said to him, “Approach and join this chariot”, Acts 8: 29. Then he heard what the eunuch was reading and he began from that scripture and announced the glad tidings of Jesus to him.
JT That is important to notice, that God does not have before Him any richness of words in the Scriptures but they contain sufficient for us. On the other side John remarks that the whole world could not contain the books which might be written. He says, “books” in the plural, and the Lord says, “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and will bring to your remembrance all the things which I have said to you”, John 14: 26. It is all things.
Ques.
When it says, He “will bring to your remembrance all the things”, does it mean that the word is living for us?
JT Yes; that gives us the understanding of the great ministry in the word which has taken place since Pentecost. The Scriptures are necessarily what prove everything, but what is said now is by the Spirit. “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies”, Revelation 3: 13.
Ques Does not the Old Testament really contain the details of what the Lord said?
JT Yes. We have the details there. At the end of chapter 15 the Holy Spirit is sent from with the Father, so that we have One who is able to witness to the Father’s thoughts in relation to the Son. It says, “He shall bear witness concerning me”, John 15: 26. In this scripture it is a question of what the Spirit will witness concerning Christ, but in chapter 16 He is sent by the Lord Himself, and the first thing He does as thus sent is to expose the world; that is, He brings in among the saints a perfect conviction of the three things, “Sin, righteousness and judgment”. And then the Lord says, “I have yet many things to say to you, but ye cannot bear them now. But when he is come, the Spirit of truth, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but whatsoever he shall hear he shall speak; and he will announce to you what is coming. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you. All things that the Father has are mine; on account of this I have said that he receives of mine and shall announce it to you”,
John 16: 12 - 15. From what we have considered, dear brethren, I believe that we shall be able to understand the Spirit’s activities more plainly as the One who has come to the company.
Ques In Hebrews 1 it says that God has spoken to us in the Person of the Son. Is that connected with your [p. 47] subject?
JT In Hebrews 1 we have the truth presented in its greatness and completeness and the fact that God in these last days has spoken to us in the Person of the Son is set in contrast to the prophets. In Hebrews emphasis is laid on the great authority which He is in possession of, for He Himself is God. It says that God spoke in the prophets, in men like us, but in contrast to that in these last days He has spoken to us in the Person of the Son. In the original it says “in Son”. From this we understand that there is authority in what He says, and the apostle says, “How shall we escape if we have been negligent of so great salvation”, Hebrews 2: 3.
Ques We are warned not to quench the Spirit. Is that a word to the assembly?
JT There are two things: to quench the Spirit and to grieve the Spirit. To quench the Spirit would mean that we allow a condition which quenches His activity and His speaking. He is very sensitive — a thought which is presented in the type of the dove. We are also warned not to grieve Him.
Rem It says that He will announce to you what is coming.
JT Yes, it says that in verse 13. I believe that the Holy Spirit has brought in light in relation to what is coming so that we have the whole fulness of the truth announced to us. We know the end from the beginning.
Rem It says of the little children, “The unction which ye have received from him abides in you, and ye have not need that any one should teach you; but as the same unction teaches you as to all things, and is true and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, ye shall abide in him”, 1 John 2: 27. Is not that a quality of the assembly?
JT Yes; and the Spirit even gives us knowledge of coming events that God will do in the future.