"ANOTHER COMFORTER"
“ANOTHER COMFORTER”
It is remarkable that before the Lord went away He made plain all that would mark the present time with regard to His people; all was over in regard to the world. The Lord had said, “Now is the judgement of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out”; but now the Lord is taken up with His own, and He pictures for them what would characterise the present time.
These chapters take up the coming of the Comforter; Christ was on the point of going to prepare a place for them, He was taken up with the Father’s house, and now the coming of the Comforter would come to pass, and with that these chapters are taken up.
The coming of the Comforter involves the absence of Christ; He says to them, “If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you”, chapter 16: 7. We can well understand that the whole condition of things must be altered, because the presence of the Comforter is not like that of Christ. Christ came down here into human circumstances, and was a gathering point here on earth, a few simple people were gathered round Him drawn out of the world to Himself, they were His companions, and the Lord said to them, “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations”. The Lord kept company with them, but all this was outwardly after the flesh. When the Comforter came then all that must be changed; Christ was gone as after the flesh, and the Spirit was here whom the world could not receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him. This could not apply to Christ: He was with them, but He was not in them; with the Comforter it is different, “He shall be in you”. This [p. 259] indicates that there was a great change before the mind of the Lord. These chapters have an application to us also. I used, in considering them, to try to imagine myself in the position of the disciples, but I now see I do not need to put myself in their place because all has application to us — as to them. Thus we see the mind of the Lord laid out in regard to us, for the position in which we find ourselves cannot be changed until He comes again. Everything depends till then on the presence of the Comforter. There can be nothing for God on earth at the present time save what is by the Spirit of God. All that is connected with the presence of the Spirit is of vital moment in regard to us.
Thus all in these chapters has its application to us. To begin with, the Lord contemplates the possibility of their hearts being troubled. This has application to us. I can understand that the Lord’s departure was felt keenly by the disciples in regard to the state of things in which they were left. The Lord protected them while He was with them; He sent them forth, and cared for them. It was a terrible prospect to be left in such a scene of agitation without the One who had protected them; and their case is not very different from ours. The difference is that we are in a scene where Christ is professed; they were left in a world which manifested hatred to Christ, and which hated them, hence their position was thus very difficult and trying. We are left in a world professedly Christian, but the principles of the world are not changed one bit; it has put on a new garment, so to speak, that of the profession of Christ, but that has not altered one bit the character of the world, nor shut out the influence of the god of this world. Therefore we must take to heart what the Lord says here: “Let not your heart be troubled”. The world is trying to right itself, but that is an effort to steady itself without a head. It is like a ship without a [p. 260] helm; it tries to set things right, but what is crooked cannot be made straight; the world cannot and never will right itself. Well, we are left in the world which never can be right without Christ who is the Head of all principality and power, and when He is manifested as Head all will be set right, but it is vain to think it will be so now. If we accept this, we see that this world is a scene of confusion; the Bridegroom is absent; and if the eyes of the saints are opened to the confusion of the world, their hearts become troubled. But the Lord says, “Let not your hearts be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me”, etc. When we become awake to the character of things in the absence of Christ, we find that many things in which we trusted are only rotten props, and we feel cut adrift from the props to which we have been accustomed; which is a very painful experience. The Bridegroom is absent, and everything is out of gear on account of that. I found that though there were things which appeared stable and commendable, I could not lean upon them, they were not according to God, and so I had to come to the conclusion that the only supports left were the presence of the Spirit and the reality of Christ in heaven, and there is the answer to the trouble which affected one’s spirit. “Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me”.
This chapter may be put in contrast to the next in a kind of way; they bring out what Christ is to us (chapter 14), and what we are to Him (chapter 15). The latter is connected with fruit-bearing. But in chapter 14 we see what Christ is now to us because of the coming of the Comforter. The making good to us of what the Lord speaks of depends on the coming of the Comforter. “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter”, etc. (verses 15 - 17).
I want now to touch upon two or three points which come out in connection with Christ. It is by [p. 261] the Comforter that Christ makes Himself real to us. There is no solid comfort to be found outside of Christ. You will find that everything else fails you. You may think that you have satisfaction in Christian friends, relations, etc., but all of that fails, and my impression is that real strength and comfort is only to be found in what Christ is to us. It is a very wonderful thing to me that the heart of Christ is down here. Though the Lord is absent, having gone to prepare a place for us, yet none the less His heart is down here, and I do not think that anyone can gainsay that if the heart of Christ is down here He Himself is not far distant. That I believe to be the point of this chapter, that though personally absent, yet the heart and interest of the Lord remain here, and that all will be brought home to us by the presence of the Comforter.
There are two or three expressions in reference to Christ here. The first is: “I go away”; after that, “I will come again”; then, further, “I will manifest myself”; and further still, “We will make our abode”. I want to touch upon these expressions; they are all points connected with the present time, and serve to indicate what the Lord is down here in the power of the Comforter. The Lord says practically, I am going away in your interests, but my thought is not to leave you, I am going to prepare a place for you, “In my Father’s house are many mansions”, etc. The Father’s house is a large thought: I have not come to the end of it. There are many mansions or abodes, and abodes refers to families. “I go to prepare a place for you”. The only thing necessary for the preparation is for Christ Himself to be there in the presence of God. He has taken up a place for us in the Father’s house. I have a place in the Father’s house, and I am a stranger and a pilgrim here. Abraham was a stranger and a pilgrim, so were Isaac and Jacob; and I would rather be a stranger and a pilgrim in the world than a man of position, because [p. 262] a stranger and a pilgrim is cared for by God, but a man of position has to care for himself. I do not want to go beyond faith in preparing for every eventuality. A stranger and a pilgrim is cared for by God, because he has a place in the Father’s house. The world passes away, but the Father’s house is going to endure. I have a place in that which is going to endure. I do not think the poor are so much to be pitied; they are cast upon God in dependence, but they are cared for by God. Whatever may be our position here we should be dependent on God, and take our true place here where all will pass away, but the Father’s house will not pass away, and you have a place there. The Lord says, I do not lose sight of you, “I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”.
The grace of God has called us to be companions of Christ — He will have companions. “Behold I and the children which God hath given me”. It is the divine purpose to have companions, and the Lord went to prepare a place for them.
The Lord also says, “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you”, etc. (verses 15 - 20). It is to be noted that this is dependent on the Spirit of truth, not simply on the Spirit, but on the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of truth is in us. I believe truth to be a point of vital moment if we are to know the reality of Christ being with us. We cannot realise Christ being with us if we have not the Spirit of truth; because of the Spirit of truth being in the saints we have our loins girt about with truth, that is, the affections of Christians are regulated by the Spirit of truth. It is vitally important that our affections should be regulated, not by nature, but by the Spirit of truth. It produces a revolution in us, because objects of affection come in that were never conceived of before. The way He forms our affections is according to truth. There may be disruption, because often what is [p. 263] natural prevails in our hearts to the exclusion of what is spiritual. If we are to realise Christ. being with us it is all important to know that the Spirit of truth is in us.
Into what region do you think the Spirit of truth brings us? We are brought into a large and wealthy place, and this is the love of God. The Spirit forms our affections in the love of God, that we should be kept there and not moved away; that we should be brought into the fatness of God’s house, where we joy in God — into the abode of holy love. God had that design in regard to Israel in Exodus 15 they were brought to God’s holy abode, and God has brought us into His holy love. Did you ever consider who is the central figure in the love of God? It is Christ Himself, He is the Firstborn of many brethren; He associates us with Himself, and that is in the love of God. He is no longer on earth, and we are not yet in heaven, we are to be there, and what marks the meantime is that we have our abode in the love of God. The apostle Paul says, “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
The Lord says: “Because I live, ye shall live also”. Now we must live in some atmosphere, natural life cannot subsist without an atmosphere, nor will spiritual life. You do not live to God as on earth, you do not yet live in heaven, but where do you live? It is in the love of God. But then, the one central figure in that love is the Son of God. “Because I live, ye shall live also”. That is our privilege. “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father” — that is, in the affections of the Father, “and ye in me” — in my affections, “and I in you” — in your affections. Then it is we realise what it is to have Christ with us,
[p. 264] for Him to have His own proper place in our affections. If we are conscious of having a place in His affections, He, too, has His proper place in our affections.
The Lord says, “I will come to you”. I will minister comfort to you. Comfort is that we have a place in His affections, and He has His place in ours. We want to make room for Christ in our hearts, and how is this done? By being careful that nothing shall contest the supremacy of Christ in our affections. “If one died for all, then were all dead, and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again”.
Now Christ has ascended up far above all heavens that He might fill all things. The sun fills the universe with light and warmth, and so Christ is to fill all things. But the point is that He should have His proper place now, and we ought to be zealous of this. If you keep yourself in the love of God, then Christ, who has revealed that love, will be the central figure and object to you.
“At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you”. That is our comfort.
But the Lord says another thing: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him”.
Now, no one can doubt how, from time to time, it has been the pleasure of God to make Himself manifest to faith down here. In the Old Testament we see it constantly, the angel of the Lord appearing to this person, and to that; to Abraham, for instance, and to Moses, etc. It seemed the pleasure of Jehovah to manifest Himself to faith. I only refer to this because it is indicative of what the pleasure of Jehovah was. “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, ... and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him”. It is a great thing to keep the commandments of Christ, as He kept His Father’s commandments. What were the Father’s commandments to Him? Every expression of the Father’s mind was a commandment to Christ, and now in the same way, every expression of the mind of Christ is a commandment to us; it is the way in which we prove we love Him. He kept His Father’s commandments and abode in His love; and we keep the commandments of Christ, and abide in His love. We prove our love to Him in keeping His commandments.
Here on earth we are charged with the interests of Christ, every Christian is charged with His interests. As individuals we are to be in fidelity of heart to the Bridegroom, and every word of His is a commandment to His bride, and I prove my love and fidelity to Christ in keeping His commandments, and in not being contaminated by the world. “I will love him, and will manifest myself to him”. We see how Christ put Himself in evidence to Paul; He knew how to make Himself manifest to him. In times past it was more difficult, but in the present time it is less so, because Christ puts Himself in evidence to the one that loves Him by the Comforter.
You may be sure of this, that when Christ was on earth, the Father was not far off. The Lord said, “I am not alone, because the Father is with me”. And if the Comforter is here, Christ is not far distant; where there is attachment to Christ, there He makes Himself manifest. You then find Christ very close to your heart, there is no form seen, and yet the Spirit brings Him home to you; He comforts and strengthens you. He is the Bridegroom, and we are in the position of the bride; He has attachment for us, and we are attached to Him.
Then the Lord says further, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him”. Then, again, there is no doubt that the fact of the Father and the Son making their abode depends on the presence of the Comforter. The fact is that the removal of every barrier in redemption, and the coming of the Comforter, make everything possible for saints here.
Now we want to understand what we are to Christ. The assembly is His body. What does that imply? The assembly is that in which Christ lives; I live in a way in my body; it is the vehicle of life for me; if I am present in my body I am alive. Now I understand the assembly as the body to be that in which Christ lives; consequently He nourishes and cherishes it. I take care of my body; and He nourishes and cherishes the assembly, which is His body. The assembly, too, is the bride of Christ; let the figure remain in your mind. The point in a bride is, that she is uncontaminated, and faithful to the bridegroom; she has to take care lest she be contaminated by attachment to any other, and to maintain fidelity in the absence of the bridegroom. Now, our place is like that of a faithful wife. The Lord says, Though I am absent, I will not leave you without comfort. Our great stay is in the presence of the Comforter; but the Lord says further, I will be your comfort, I will be to you the supreme central figure in the love of God. I will manifest myself to you.
All this is consequent on the coming of the Comforter, and we have to look to our hearts that we realise the character of the moment, and do not settle down here when the Bridegroom is absent. The Lord said, “Can ye make the children of the bride chamber fast, while the Bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days”, Luke 5: 34, 35.
Fasting is appropriate to the present moment. I am not speaking merely of fasting in outward forms;
[p. 267] but fasting is practical self-denial in regard to things that are lawful, but which are not appropriate to the moment. I might have a great deal of money, and a large home furnished with everything that heart could wish, but the Bridegroom is absent, and I have to consider what is suitable to the absence of the Bridegroom. If we are prepared to consider what is suitable to His absence, Christ will take care we do not fail to receive comfort. If the Father and the Son make their abode with us, do you think that anything is to be compared to that?
The Lord speaks of what is comfort for those who see the absence of the Bridegroom, and whose hearts are troubled. The disciples had no resource in this world. Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none”. Do you suppose Paul possessed much here? If he had much he gave it all up (see Matthew 19: 21; Luke 12: 33).
What is appropriate to the present moment is to be fasting during the absence of the Bridegroom.
Christ Himself has removed everything between God and us, so as to speak peace to us, and everything is made good and assured to us by the Spirit.
May we follow what is appropriate to the present moment, that we may have comfort ministered to us in Christ’s absence, and thus He will come again and receive us to Himself.
The Father’s house will not be a strange place, Christ has gone to prepare a place for us there, and says, “I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also”. There is the sense of the affection of the Lord for His own when He is absent from them.
Birmingham, 27th May, 1901