THE HOLY SPIRIT AS PRESENTED IN JOHN'S GOSPEL (4)

^[p. 52] THE HOLY SPIRIT AS PRESENTED IN JOHN’S GOSPEL (4)

John 15:25 - 27; John 16:1 - 15

JT We were saying yesterday evening at Valence, that the Holy Spirit as the Comforter is viewed as with the saints collectively, in chapter 14. In chapters 3, 4 and 7, the Spirit is seen in relation to individual believers; but now, as the Comforter, He is with us collectively. In chapter 14, it is what He is for the saints; whereas in chapter 15 He is connected with testimony; “he shall bear witness concerning me”; and in chapter 16, connected with conflict. So this subject is presented under three headings: firstly, what He is for the saints; secondly, what He is in the setting forth of the testimony; and thirdly, what He is in conflict.

Ques Would you say we begin by apprehending what He is for us?

JT Yes, certainly. We have to experience what He is for us, before we can be with Him in testimony and conflict. We were seeing yesterday evening that He will be with the saints as another Comforter. The Lord Jesus was the Comforter when He was down here, but He was about to leave them, so the Spirit would be another Comforter during His absence. By virtue of the presence of the Spirit here as Comforter the Lord will come to us, to His own, to His disciples. It then says, “He shall teach you all things, and will bring to your remembrance all the things which I have said to you”, John 14:26. So chapter 14 teaches us what He is for us, and as was said yesterday evening, verse 26 has a special bearing on these last days; in assembly history many things have been forgotten, hence the importance that He should bring all these things to our remembrance.

Ques Why is He called the Holy Spirit in verse 26?

JT You mean He is not called the Holy ^[p. 53] Spirit earlier in the chapter, but is referred to as the Spirit of truth? What is contemplated in verse 26 is what we have already touched, that is, that during the history of the assembly many defiling things have entered, and I believe it is because of this defilement that we find the expression used in this verse. The temple of God is holy, and according to 1 Corinthians 3, it has been corrupted; in view of this it does not seem strange that the appellation ‘Holy Spirit’ is used. The Holy Spirit will “teach you all things, and will bring to your remembrance all the things which I have said to you”. The holy things taught by the apostles were corrupted by the defiled mind of man, and the Holy Spirit is now occupied in recovering them for us. It says, “all things” and then, “all the things which I have said to you”. Divisions have taken place in the history of the church; in each division certain parts of the truth have been pressed, whilst other parts have been neglected; hence the expression, “all the things”, repeated here, is important. There are some who say that certain things are not essential to the truth; but everything in the truth is essential.

Rem There are two thoughts; the Spirit “shall teach” and “bring to your remembrance”.

JT Yes, teaching is in view of making the truth penetrate our souls by means of gift, the Holy Spirit fitting persons to teach the saints. Then He brings to our remembrance the things the Lord has said, implying that they may be forgotten.

Rem In the letter to Philadelphia, the Lord presents Himself as the holy and the true.

JT Yes, and He says, “Thou hast kept the word of my patience” (Revelation 3:10), that is to say, the things had not been forgotten. The thought of remembrance is linked with the Supper, where the object is to remember the Lord Jesus; and if we remember Him, we must recall what He has said, and the Holy Spirit helps us in this. We all know how poor our minds are, and how easily we forget ^[p. 54] things, so it is an encouragement to see how the Spirit recalls what we have known, but have forgotten; so chapter 14 is very encouraging, showing what the Spirit is for us.

Ques What is meant when it says of the Spirit, ‘’that he may be with you for ever’’?

JT Is it not an encouragement to think that He will never leave us? The Lord Jesus has gone away; the apostles are no longer here; brothers who were leaders have been likewise removed, one after another. All that causes sorrow; but the Spirit abides with us for ever, so John speaks in Revelation of the Spirit and the bride saying “Come” to Jesus.

Ques What do you understand by the expression “for ever”?

JT The thing continues, it has no end. If it says that the Spirit will be with us for ever, it implies that others go, but He never goes away. We have the blessed Comforter with us till the end of the assembly’s sojourn down here. That should encourage us, and the proof of it is seen in that things are constantly called to our remembrance. Honoured men in earlier times have served the Lord in ministry; others have followed, and the Holy Spirit uses them as well.

Rem I suppose it could hardly be said that these are new revelations, but that He shows things in divine light; they were there, but had been forgotten.

JT Just so; however, in the letters to the seven assemblies, even to Laodicea, the last, it is said, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies”, Revelation 3:22. It is a matter of “what the Spirit says”. It may be that He presses certain parts of the truth that have been forgotten, or foreseeing certain conditions which have not yet arisen. He uses the truth to enable saints to meet them. For instance, when Peter, referring to John, asked, “What of this man?” the Lord replied, “If I will that he abide until I come, what is that to thee?” John 21:22. They then thought that the Lord ^[p. 55] meant that he would not die, but “Jesus did not say to him, He does not die”, but the thought remains that something is left for the saints right up to the Lord’s coming. John abiding until the Lord comes suggests that, when He comes, there will be those dwelling here till then, and to that moment there will be provision for the saints in all that the Spirit provides. Thus the Lord says in Matthew, “I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age”, Matthew 28:20. The Lord Himself is with us until that time, not corporeally, nor is He here in Person, but we have His presence in the Spirit.

This truly is very encouraging and strengthening, so we ought not to give up, for the Holy Spirit is with us. At the end of chapter 15, we see that the Comforter is sent by the Lord Himself; “whom I will send to you from (with) the Father”. This is to encourage us. The divine conditions are expressed in terms intelligible to us; that is the reason why it says the Spirit will be sent from with, it expresses thoughts we may understand. The Holy Spirit has been with the Father, alongside Him, so that He is fully conversant with His thoughts concerning Jesus; “He shall bear witness concerning me”; emphasis being on the word “He”.

Ques In chapter 14, the Father is said to send the Spirit, while in chapter 15, the Lord Himself sends Him. What are we to learn from this?

JT It is something to be noted. In chapter 14:26, the Father sends Him in the name of the Son; here it says, “whom I will send to you from the Father”. The three divine Persons are remarkably linked in these instructions. These chapters 13 to 17 lead us into the circle of divine Persons, and into what goes on there. In these two verses we have the statement that the Spirit having come, He would bear witness, then that the twelve apostles themselves would bear witness. “And ye too bear witness, because ye are with me from the beginning”. The Spirit would bear witness as having been with the Father, as knowing perfectly the Father’s thoughts about Christ; the apostles also would be able to bear witness of Him. By the Spirit bearing witness, I understand that He would make use of other persons than the apostles, such as Stephen, Philip and particularly the apostle Paul; Barnabas too, and many others could be mentioned up till the present moment. “Ye too bear witness, because ye are with me from the beginning” is connected more with apostolic testimony, which is based on the fact that certain ones were with the Lord during His ministry here.

Ques As there were two divine Persons concerned in the gift of the Spirit, does it imply complete harmony of thought between them?

JT Yes, between the Father and the Son.

Ques Does the expression “from the beginning” link on with chapter 1, to the time when the Spirit descended upon the Lord?

JT That is how I understand it. After the Spirit came upon the Lord Jesus at the time of His baptism, He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness forty days, tempted of the devil, according to Luke’s account. Then He is seen in testimony and preaching, and then He gathers His disciples. So I understand that they were with Him from that time. When an apostle had to be chosen in place of Judas, it had to be someone who had been with Christ from the beginning. Luke speaks of them as having been “eyewitnesses of and attendants on the Word”, Luke 1:2.

Ques Is the expression “from the beginning” in verse 2, the same beginning that John speaks of in his first epistle?

JT Yes, it says there, “That which was from the beginning”; John is speaking of what they had seen. He says, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, (and we have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only begotten with a father)”, John 1:14. Their attention was drawn to Him and they contemplated Him so that they are able to speak of Him as bearing witness of Him.

Ques Have we the apostles’ witness in the Scriptures, and the witness of the Spirit more in spiritual ministry?

JT The ministry of the apostles is set out in the Scriptures so that we can understand what it was, but we have only a very small part of it. We have, for instance, the Spirit’s ministry in connection with Stephen, who is a good illustration, then Philip, and above all, the ministry of the apostle Paul. It must be remembered, however, that while the apostles who accompanied the Lord are viewed here by themselves, they ministered in the power of the Spirit; but they have a distinct place as having been with the Lord from the beginning of His ministry, and were specially qualified to represent Him authoritatively. The apostle John says, “That which we have seen and heard we report to you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is indeed with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ”, 1 John 1:3. They had therefore a particular place in the testimony as a result of that fellowship.

Ques Do we find the Spirit’s witness in chapter 5 in John’s first epistle?

JT Yes, that is important. “They that bear witness are three: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood”, there the apostles are not included. It says, “This is he that came by water and blood”, and “it is the Spirit that bears witness”, 1 John 5:6 - 8. We conclude from this that the witness of the Spirit continues right through the dispensation.

Chapter 16 is what has been termed a battlefield, and presents the Spirit in this setting. The Lord said, “These things I have spoken unto you that ye may not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues; but the hour is coming that every one who kills you will think to render service to God”, then He continues, “but I have spoken these things to you, that when their hour shall have come, ye may remember them, that I have said them unto you ... but I say the truth to you,

^[p. 58] it is profitable for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you”. Then from verses 8 to 11 we see the great result of the presence of the Spirit down here in the conflict. The world is manifestly exposed to anyone having eyes to see. It is a great advantage for a general conducting a battle, if he is fully informed of the position and circumstances of the opposing army. This is what the Spirit has done; He has exposed everything before our eyes; conviction or demonstration implies that everything there is exposed; sin, righteousness and judgment. “He will bring demonstration to the world, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe on me; of righteousness, because I go away to my Father, and ye behold me no longer; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” .

Rem It is not that the world is convicted, but the thing is demonstrated.

Ques Who is the ruler of this world referred to here?

JT Satan.

Ques Is it the same as “the lawless one” in 2 Thessalonians 2:8?

JT That is the man of sin. In the Revelation, three persons are referred to,: the dragon which is Satan, the beast and the second beast; there is thus a trinity of evil. Satan is the dragon, the Lord Himself refers to him as the ruler of the world also in John 14:30.

Ques Is it of the Spirit that it says, “there is he who restrains”, 2 Thessalonians 2:7?

JT Yes, there is “he who restrains” (verse 7), and “that which restrains” (verse 6). It is a matter of the Spirit, but there are other things which hinder the revelation of the man of sin.

These verses indicate what the Spirit has demonstrated. Christ has been rejected ignominiously and nailed to the cross, whilst these men were known as His disciples. God was about to declare, so to speak,

^[p. 59] whether He approved of Christ, or whether the Jews were right; and He did so publicly when the Spirit came down at Pentecost. The action of the Spirit at Pentecost brought to light all these things; sin has been exposed, the Jews and whoever had eyes to see were convicted. In this first preaching, Peter charged the Jews with the murder of Christ; “ye, by the hand of lawless men, have crucified and slain”, Acts 2:23. Peter declared that in such power, that nobody having a conscience could fail to be convicted. He then told them that “God has made him, this Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36) in heaven; that is righteousness. Then the ruler of this world is judged; it is now only a matter of time before he will be cast into the lake of fire for ever. If we understand this, if we grasp the great demonstration the Spirit has made, we shall be conscious of victory. What has taken place during the last 1900 years does not alter at all what was done previously.

Ques What period of time is referred to in verse 5; “I go to him that has sent me”?

JT That refers to the Lord as sent by the Father.

Rem He was not exactly sent from heaven; but being here, He was sent to serve in ministry.

JT Yes, “him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world” — sanctified, then sent. The Lord refers to His disciples in the same way as having been sent into the world for witness. The thought of being sent is after the Lord Jesus became Man and took a bondman’s form. Jehovah said elsewhere to Isaiah, “Whom shall I send”, and he replied, “Here am I, send me”, Isaiah 6:8. That is seen perfectly in Jesus as a Man down here. Compare also Isaiah 42.

Ques What difference is there between “sanctified” and “sent” as connected with the Lord?

JT “Sanctified” in this sense means that He was set apart for the object referred to, and He was committed to it. “Sent” would suggest that He was under the orders of another. The word ‘sent’ has a great place in this gospel.

Ques Do the two words refer to different times, or to the same time?

JT They are two consecutive thoughts; firstly sanctification, then He is sent.

Ques Is it as a divine Person He says, “I come”; then having come, He is sanctified and sent?

JT Yes, “Coming into the world”, Hebrews 10:5. It was His own act, but as Man He is in a position of obedience.

Ques Would you say that the Spirit came of His own accord?

JT Yes, it says that He descended upon Christ, but in the Son become Man, and taking a bondman’s form, the Spirit came into these conditions and in that connection, is said to be sent from heaven.

We have now other great matters here in verse 13: “But when he is come, the Spirit of truth, he shall guide you into all the truth”. Not only does He present the truth to us, but guides us into it. The presence of the Spirit here is a very important matter; to be guided into all the truth involves His influence upon us and with us.

Ques What is meant by “all the truth”?

JT Nothing is omitted. We have spoken of the Spirit in relation to “all things” and to “all the things which I have said to you”, consequently we can never think that any truth is not essential. That bears upon the idea of denominations; each denomination presses a certain side of the truth, or else perverts it in view of defending its own views; whilst those who recognise the assembly as the temple of God want all the truth and the Holy Spirit makes it known to us. I remember once having a conversation with a distinguished preacher who was on independent and so-called open ground. I spoke to him of fellowship and he replied, ‘I know the truth is there, but I will not touch it’. He was not ^[p. 61] ready to accept all the truth. I think that is what is in mind here. If I am in a position where room is not made for all the truth, I have to leave it.

There is another beautiful thought in verse 13: “He shall not speak from himself; but whatsoever he shall hear he shall speak; and he will announce to you what is coming”. This suggests the humble place the Spirit has taken as hearing and announcing things. Then we read, “He shall glorify me”, so that any teaching, or system, which has not Christ as Object and Centre, is not of the Spirit. What has been termed orthodox for 1600 years has cast a shadow on the Person of Christ. Those maintaining so-called orthodoxy have made out that Christ was Son in the Deity. Sonship suggests inferiority. That is not glorifying Him; He is equal with the Father, and to insist on this, is to glorify Christ; those who refuse this truth are not glorifying Him.