THE SPIRIT HERE IN THE PLACE OF WITNESS
[p. 250] THE SPIRIT HERE IN THE PLACE OF WITNESS
Christ had been here as the witness to the Father. Now He was going, and the Spirit would be here in the place of witness. The disciples were to be here as the vessel of the Spirit’s witness, and as such they were to be suitable; chapter 15 shews that they were to be marked by fruit-bearing.
Chapter 16 shews that they were to have intelligence. The Spirit would shew them things to come and they would have intelligence as to all that belonged to Christ. Hence it was a very great and important change that was to take place in the state of things and so He tells them not to let their heart be troubled. He was about to be an Object for their faith. The Comforter is spoken of as a divine Person, not as an influence, so you get here the Father, the Son and the Comforter. The latter is presented here as a Person: the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of truth — the last may be characteristic but He is the Comforter, a Person. By Him they had access to the Father — you could not have access if you had not a place. Access involves heaven. The Father’s house is necessary to the thought of access. They knew the way morally; they knew the Father really in knowing Christ. They said, “Lord to whom shall we go?” They appreciated Him and thus knew the Father. His place is our place; He really is the place, access is really in the appreciation of Himself. Christ is the place of the church, the husband is really the place of the wife — it is difficult to speak of, but Christ is the place of the church. Christ presents the church to Himself; there are the friends of the bridegroom, but Christ Himself is the place of the bride. In knowing Christ they knew both the Father and the way to Him. The Father really characterised Christ and so in knowing Christ they knew the Father, He is “the way, the truth, and the life”.
[p. 251] People think that as they believe on Christ therefore they have access to the Father, but it is really the appreciation of Christ that gives access to the Father. All outside of Christ is death: Christ and life are bound up together. Outside Christ is falsehood, lawlessness and death. Christ is the way for us because there is nothing lawless in Christ.
In verse 11 you get that Christ was in the Father and the Father in Christ. In verse 20 a change was coming in, they were to know in the Spirit’s day that He was in the Father, and they abiding in Him, and they were to present Christ in the way of testimony and unity by the Spirit. So the Corinthians were Christ’s epistle; they presented Christ. That is really quickening — “Christ in you the hope of glory”. In Colossians 3 you see the way Christ comes out in the saints, bowels of compassion and so on. “We in Him” — we are not lawless, we abide in Him and then He comes out in character, and all by the Spirit.
Christ is all as Object and in all as Life. Christ will have an entrance in the world in spite of the world’s rejection. “I will come to you”, He is brought in by the Comforter — not again and again exactly — the Comforter brings in Christ spiritually. Christ is the source of life to us and we live in His life. The Father too comes here, everything divine is brought to us in the presence of the Comforter. You cannot separate divine Persons, all the fulness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell in Christ. Where a test is brought in then it is individual: “if a man ..”. His presence must be realised, Christ is the Covenant, He is the perfect expression of God’s disposition towards man. A purged conscience means that I can view myself apart from the man that did the bad work. There is no such thing as a forgiven sinner, because the man is retained; a purged conscience means that the man is gone, so we read of “a man in Christ”. When forgiveness is preached, then faith sees it is there in Christ and then I get the Spirit. Christ has accomplished righteousness for Himself, that He may occupy [p. 252] a certain position for man: He has seen fit to take up man’s liabilities so that He might be Head, that for the glory of God He might occupy a certain position as Head of every man. The question is now, Will man have Christ as the last Adam?
Was Christ to take up a position as the last Adam? If so, what He did was for Himself. All that He accomplished was in order that He might take that place as Head for the glory of God. Christ is the test, so it is the glad tidings of Christ. Will men accept Christ? As to chapter 16: 23 they had made enquiry of Him and they would have such intelligence by the Spirit that they would not need to enquire then. Fruit-bearing is evidence of vitality, it is moral; they were to be here morally according to Christ, and then intelligence would follow. The instructions of these chapters are perfect. Fruit, that is every quality of Christ — love, joy, and peace, for this to be brought forth there must be abiding in Christ. God looks for fruit in life, Christ is a life-giving Spirit, we live by Christ and He lives in us; the evidence of life is seen in fruit. Sunshine and rain are needed for fruit and you must be in the shining of Christ; so Ephesians 5: 14, “Arise up from among the dead and the Christ shall shine upon thee”.