NOTES ON SCRIPTURE 1895 NO. 31
NOTES ON SCRIPTURE 1895 NO. 31
There is a twofold ministry of the Holy Spirit in these two passages. We all know something of the first: “He shall .. . bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”. It is what Christ was down here, and this must be known first, for it is the first work of the Holy Spirit, and inexhaustible in its greatness as unfolded in the gospels. Very few know the second, in chapter 15: 26. This is the Holy Spirit testifying of what Christ is in glory, it is the second ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter sent by the Father. You may take up books or hear people speak; they all tell you of the past or of the future, but they do not touch on the present, on what He is now. It is the present that I want to hear about, what Christ is occupied about. The difficulty is that [p. 75] people do not like to drop their own things, and their own interests, and to be occupied with Christ’s things and His interests. A person said to me lately, When I knew the Lord was caring for me down here, and His shelter and care over me, I was very happy; but now that I want to get to His side of things, I am not happy. The earth is man’s sphere, and he does not care to leave it for God’s sphere; that is the difficulty with us all. I own it is very blessed to know what He was on earth, and we could not do without it; but He is not on earth now, and I want you to know Him as He is, and His present surroundings. “We see Jesus .. . crowned with glory and honour” (Hebrews 2:9; that is what He is now, and what is the effect? If you know Him as He is now, you will be a witness here of what He is, you will reproduce Him here. You may be a friend or a disciple, but you will never be a true witness until you know Him where He is. May our hearts be led into this second ministry of the Holy Spirit, that we may be witnesses in this world of Him who is not here.