THE HOLY SPIRIT AS PRESENTED IN JOHN'S GOSPEL (3)
[p. 44] THE HOLY SPIRIT AS PRESENTED IN JOHN’S GOSPEL (3)
JT In the readings we have had we have been occupied with the Spirit descending upon Christ; then with His activity in new birth and the way in which a believer participates in Him; hence in chapters 3, 4 and 7, the Spirit is viewed in relation to the individual believer as born anew and drinking living water. In chapter 14, the Spirit is viewed in relation to the saints, as given in answer to the Lord’s prayer for us. In chapter 15, we see that He is sent by the Son Himself. Our subject therefore is the Spirit viewed in this personal and blessed way, as the Comforter or Paraclete. This follows on from what we have had before us previously; we shall speak of the Spirit, not theoretically, but practically.
Rem He is called “the Spirit of truth”.
JT “He will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth”. The force of this word is that the Spirit is here in connection with the truth; in verse 6, the Lord speaks of Himself as the truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, but in the epistle of John, He is said to be “the truth”, an important side of the question, which should enter into a meeting such as this; not only are true things said, but the spirit of the things is true. There is special power in this, so when the Spirit has His place the truth is there, and it is brought out.
Ques Does the term, “another Comforter”, imply that the first was the Lord Himself?
JT Yes, it means that the Lord Jesus was down here alongside His own. The meaning of the expression involves His presence in this way with us at this moment. Jesus was such for His disciples; now ascended to [p. 45] heaven, He is our Advocate with the Father; He is engaged with what concerns us.
Ques Why does it say, “the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified”? John 7:39 I suppose He is here as corresponding to the Man in heaven who glorified God on earth. The Lord Jesus said, “I have glorified thee on the earth”; then He asks the Father, saying, “glorify me ... along with thyself”, John 17:4,5. Hence the Spirit is down here in response to the Lord’s prayer in John 14. Chapter 7 refers to the public testimony of an individual believer. This testimony is rendered relative to Christ, not only as having been down here, as having died and been raised, but as having been glorified. Scripture makes a great point of Christ as He is now; the testimony of Christ is heavenly.
Rem Referring to chapter 7:39, “The Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified”, it has been said that that signifies that the believer does not receive the Spirit without knowing Christ glorified.
JT It does not say, ‘He shall not receive the Spirit unless he understands that Christ is glorified’. The statement refers to the present dispensation as a consequence of the glorification of Christ. “But this he said concerning the Spirit, which they that believed on him were about to receive”, John 7:39. It does not say that they believed in Him glorified. I fear that none of us would have received the Spirit, if we had had to wait until we understood that Christ is glorified. God gives the Spirit sovereignly to each believer.
Ques To what do the words, “having believed” in Ephesians 1:13, refer?
JT It relates to a state of soul. “In whom also, having believed, ye have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise”. God does that following a state of faith in the soul.
Rem The Spirit is received on believing the gospel.
JT “Having believed, ye have been sealed”; this [p. 46] is a statement of fact. It does not imply that a believer receives or ought to receive the Spirit automatically on believing. God gives the Spirit, but He gives Him in relation to a state resulting from a person having faith. It alludes to Acts 19:2: “Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye had believed?” They had believed but had not received the Spirit nor even heard if the Holy Spirit was come.
Ques Does that mean that they had not received the Spirit?
JT They had not; yet they had some measure of faith. It is often assumed that a believer receives the Spirit automatically when he believes; but there is no such guarantee in the Scriptures, for these twelve men at Ephesus had not received the Spirit, and yet, in a sense, they were believers. One would say that they had not believed a complete gospel. It is said that “when they heard that, they were baptised to the name of the Lord Jesus. And Paul having laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them”, Acts 19:5,6. They were not really sealed; but having believed, Paul then laid his hands on them. There were also those at Samaria who had been converted through Philip. He had announced the glad tidings concerning the name of Jesus Christ, and there was great joy in that city, but they had not yet received the Spirit (Acts 8:14 - 16).
Rem Those in the house of Cornelius received the Spirit while Peter was yet speaking.
JT That indicates the liberty that is exercised in giving the Spirit; it cannot be a thing that is effected automatically.
Ques How would you help someone in uncertainty, wondering if they have the Spirit or not?
JT I would tell such a one that the present time is one of giving; God gives the Spirit; so why not ask Him for the Spirit. “How much rather shall the Father who is of heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him”, Luke 11:13.
[p. 47] Ques What do you think about the laying on of hands, in relation to the present time?
JT There is nobody at the present time who can represent the Lord in this. It was a question of representing the Lord, which was done by the apostles. It was the way the testimony, such as had been rendered in Samaria, was completed, by the laying on of the hands of the apostles.
Rem It was power or authority coming directly from Christ, given to the apostles, but who do not exist today.
JT We might now consider verse 18 and the following verses, as showing the consequence of the presence down here of the Holy Spirit. Having spoken of the Spirit who would be in them, the Lord said, “I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you”. That is to say, that the Spirit would be the means by which He would come; the Lord was not suggesting that He would come to them corporeally; yet He would come.
Ques Is there a difference between this thought, and that in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them”?
JT That agrees with Matthew’s gospel, which does not speak of the ascension: “I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age”, Matthew 28:20. This indicates the constant presence of the Lord down here. In John the Spirit is the intermediary in all this, John having before him a certain aspect of the truth. The Lord’s presence is here by virtue of the fact that the Spirit is here. John has a particular way of speaking of the Lord coming to us; in John 14:18 - 20, normal conditions existed, as in the early times after the Spirit was given; whilst verses 21 to 23 relate to a period coming afterwards, when He would manifest Himself to an individual believer who kept His commandments. They have by extension an important bearing [p. 48] upon the present time. If a few believers in this locality keep Christ’s commandments, He will not fail to manifest Himself to them.
Ques Does this correspond with the thought of the overcomer in Revelation 2 and 3?
JT Actually an overcomer is one who keeps the Lord’s commandments, and to whom the Lord manifests Himself. “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me”. If anyone says he loves Christ, he proves it by keeping His commandments, even as the one who does not keep them shows that he does not love Christ. “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 14:23. In verse 21, the one who loves Christ keeps His commandments, in verse 23, he keeps His word. To keep His commandments seems to suggest that one abstains from everything that is contrary to His commandments and answers to the claims of the Lord; to keep His word is a deeper, more inward matter, conveying the thought that there are tabernacle conditions enabling the Father and the Son to come and make their abode in the one who keeps His word; marvellous fact, available to one person. Here we have the Father and the Son entering into my circumstances, because they afford tabernacle conditions. If I keep the word of Jesus, this abiding is made possible.
Rem It was so when the three men came to Abraham.
JT Exactly; the desired conditions existed. Jehovah had spoken with Abraham, and it says, “He left off talking with him”, Genesis 17:22. He broke off the conversation, having commanded Abraham to circumcise every male in his house, which he did immediately; he kept the commandment of Jehovah, whom he loved. Then he sat at the tent door in the heat of the day, a pilgrim position; the conditions where he was by the oaks of Mamre, were suitable for a divine visitation, so [p. 49] that three men came to him. That is quite in line with what we have here.
Ques Is there a difference between, “I am coming to you” and “I ... will manifest myself to him”?
JT “I am coming to you” suggests what is collective, at the beginning of christianity; but after the failure of the church in early times, everything depends upon His commandments being kept. That is why the Lord says, “If any one”, not all the company. It is therefore well for us to look for this in our local meetings, that we keep the Lord’s commandments as those who love Him; we shall find that He will manifest Himself to us.
Ques What do you think about the last verse of Matthew’s gospel, “I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age”? Matthew 28:20 Matthew does not record the ascension; he stresses more the fact that the Lord would be with His own. He does not deny the ascension, but he does not mention it, in order to stress another point. The Lord is with us, because the Spirit is down here. He is here by the Spirit, not corporeally; but He is none the less here, and in a greater way than if He were here corporeally. “For where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them”, Matthew 18:20. Matthew does not speak of His coming but of the continuation of Christ down here. John says that He comes; how attractive is the thought of His coming!
Ques Does He come on special occasions?
JT That raises a question, the answer to which will be known by the experience that each will have individually. I think that when saints are together, keeping His commandments and answering to His desire in breaking bread, He will come into their midst. If we are remembering Him at the Supper, it would be a suitable moment for Him to come.
Ques Do we reach this in John [p. 50] 20?
JT We have a fuller thought there which corresponds with verses 18, 19 and 20. In John 20, no conditions are spoken of except that the disciples were there, and the doors were shut; He came there, where the disciples were, and this corresponds to verses 18, 19 and 20. In verse 21 a subsequent period is in view, when His commandments would be neglected; the Lord so values one who keeps His commandments, that He manifests Himself to him.
Ques Can it be said that He seeks every possible opportunity to come thus?
JT The doors being shut are an indication of suitable conditions. Nothing is said about what the disciples were saying; it is a matter of what they were to Him. In Luke 24:34, they were saying, “The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon”; that is, they were speaking of the resurrection of Christ. Grace marks the new order of things; He appears to a man who had denied Him; grace characterises the moment. Those who had returned from Emmaus were relating how the Lord was made known to them in the breaking of bread, and Jesus “himself stood in their midst” (Luke 24:36), thus honouring what they were saying. But in John it is not so, it is more a question of what we are, “where the disciples were”, it is this which constitutes an invitation to Him to come.
Ques Are there not two thoughts: “I am coming to you”, that is to the company; and “I ... will manifest myself to him”, that is to an individual?
JT Yes, the fact that it is said of a single individual is in view of a state of departure, and is calculated to strengthen each of these persons, making them overcomers.
Rem It is a characteristic company here, and the statement, “I am coming to you” would apply if what corresponds to the assembly is reached: then He will come.
JT I think that is right. In chapter 15:26, there is another thing, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father ... he shall bear witness concerning me”. It is evident that this applied directly to the disciples, but because of the way it is placed in the chapter, I believe it has in view the last days also, when we have need of teaching about all things, and need reminding of what the Lord has said, because it has been forgotten.
Ques Do you mean that the Spirit would bring to our notice all the details of Scripture?
JT So many things have been forgotten! The readings and addresses that the Lord is giving us at this moment provide an opportunity for the Spirit to bring out things that have been there all the time; none of the words of Jesus can be lost, hence the importance of such meetings. Brethren coming together in dependence on the Lord give the Comforter such an opportunity. He is here in the name of Christ, teaching us all things, and bringing to our remembrance all the things that the Lord has said to us.