THE LORD'S SUPPER AND THE NEW COVENANT

THE LORD’S SUPPER AND THE NEW COVENANT

Mark 14: 22 - 26; 1 Corinthians 11: 17 - 26

JT It is in mind to dwell on the Lord’s supper — particularly as setting out the new covenant, that is, to give it the glory setting. The new covenant, involving the love of God, involves the glory, and the glory is to shine; having its full effect in the heavenly city which is said to come down “out of the heaven from God, having the glory of God”, Revelation 21: 10.

DLH Would you explain a little what you have in mind in speaking of the glory of God in connection with the Supper?

JT The types help. When the first covenant was introduced, we have the idea of volume in the blood of it; and in the second ascent to the mount, there is the idea of glory; that is Exodus — the idea of volume in the blood, and the idea of glory in the face of Moses, and then in the tabernacle itself; so that the glory becomes the guiding and moving power. In referring to the cup, Mark is the only writer who says, “they all drank out of it”, and as they all drank out of it, the Lord spoke about the covenant; and after that we have their singing and the change of position. Matthew and Mark have in mind the change of position involving the glory, and the change that flows from what is in the Supper, for they stress the idea of eating and drinking.

DLH Is your thought that the Supper leads to the glory?

JT It involves the glory. Exodus involves the glory; first the thought of volume in the basins, and then the shining in the face of a man, that is to say, the glory is within their compass. It is not a great general thought, it is in the face of a man, corresponding with what is opened up in 2 Corinthians ^[p. 270] 3 and 4.

PL Is the covenant liberating, and the glory engaging?

JT Just so, and it reflects on us; the glory affects us so that we are changed too, that is, the taking of the new ground — the change of position involves change in us; we are rendered glorious, in other words, “We all, looking on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit”, 2 Corinthians 3: 18. The interweaving of the idea of the lordship of Christ, and the Spirit, in that chapter is to be noted; so that the change comes about, and that leads to an enquiry as to the part the Spirit has in relation to the covenant in the Lord’s supper, and the part He has in relation to the Father; what He is as the Spirit of the covenant and what He is as the Spirit of adoption or sonship.

FSM Is it the thought of subsisting in glory? The word “subsist” is used twice in the chapter, “How shall not rather the ministry of the Spirit subsist in glory?” (verse 8). “For if that annulled was introduced with glory, much rather that which abides subsists in glory” (verse 11).

JT The word “subsist” enters into it, and has great importance in our enquiry, because it is a thing which is substantial. It does not consist merely in words, but it is in the persons who have part in the covenant.

JRS Are you linking that thought with the fact that they all drank out of it?

JT That is the basis of it. The subsisting of the covenant, that which is the ministry of the Spirit is in the saints: “they all drank out of it”; it is a real drinking which implies satisfaction. It is a question of what the saints come into, and what we are, as taking new ground, because after this they went to the mount of Olives. There is no doubt what the mount of Olives signifies in all the gospels. It was the place where the ^[p. 271] Lord was accustomed to go; it was His retreat; He spent nights there, so that we have the suggestion of a position that was customary to Him.

DLH And that would be the effect of the glory upon our souls, that we should desire to reach the mount of Olives, so to speak.

JT That is the idea, to be there “all glorious”.

WW Do you say the persons who drink the cup of the new covenant become all glorious by drinking of it?

JT That is the line. Satisfaction of soul works inwardly. Then there is the effect of beholding the glory of the Lord, so that we are changed.

Ques Does the “we all, looking” in 2 Corinthians 3 follow on the all drinking out of the cup? “They all drank out of it”, and then “We all, looking on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, are transformed”, etc.

JT The former is internal, the drinking — it works from within. The latter, of course, is more objective, the “glory of the Lord” and we are changed into “the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit”. That is, the interweaving of the thoughts of lordship and the Spirit affords much instruction in that chapter. You could not get such an interweaving aside from both being divine Persons, “The Lord is the Spirit”, but the parenthesis beginning with verse 7 brings in the Spirit of God. There is the ministry of righteousness and the ministry of the Spirit, and the ministry of the Spirit subsists in glory, and the glory is so transcending that it eclipses the glory that attached to the first covenant. The covenant makes the idea of reconciliation a substantial thing in us. The types help, that is to say, Exodus is the glory. The entrance into Canaan is by the Spirit, and what comes into view there is the old corn of the land. We have dwelt much on the thought of entrance in, as following the ark, but as a matter of fact the people were over before the ark.

^[p. 272] The idea in the ark is power that the saints should go over; it stood in the midst of Jordan till all the people were over, and, as over, it is not the thought of the ark which is emphasised, but the old corn of the land; another figure is applied. The ark is a question of power in that setting. The covenant is the idea to begin with, what God is towards us in Christ.

JOS Is the glory of the Lord an administrative glory, in that connection?

JT The administration of it is glory; the glory of it is in the administration. It is an inherent thought in the administration of the love of God in our hearts.

PHH Would you say a further word as to volume? Are you referring to Exodus 24, and the volume of the blood in the basins there?

JT That is right. It is important to receive the testimony — the volume in the basins, suggestive of what there is towards us.

PHH I was just wondering if you linked it at all with the thought of the pouring out in connection with the cup in Luke. Is there a connection in our mind between that, and the volume in the basins?

JT Well, there is. I think we can readily take in the thought of the blood in the basins; it was without limitations, we are not told how many basins. It suggests volume as compared with other references to the blood in the types. I do not know whether you get the thought of volume anywhere as you do there; and surely the Spirit of God would remind us of the volume of blood that we might be bathed, as it were, and our souls flooded with the thought of what God is in Christ. Matthew and Mark enlarge on it, in that it was “shed for many”, meaning that it reaches out. Then the shining in the face of Moses brings the glory within our compass in a man, in one who becomes attractive personally; by this, as applying to Christ, we are brought into accord with Him. In going to Olivet the spiritual thought would be that we are brought into accord with ^[p. 273] Him, glorified, as it were. There is the correspondence with the position, for it is said that they sang the hymn, and they went to the mount of Olives, showing that there is liberty now with them. Hitherto He had been saying and doing; they say nothing save as He challenges their hearts as to who should betray Him; it is what He says and does. But then the glory liberates the soul and brings us into accord with Himself. They sing the hymn and they go to the mount of Olives, that is to say, the change of position is there on their part, but it is in accord with Jesus’ custom; He had been accustomed to go there.

NKM Why do you stress the thought of the custom of Jesus in going to the mount of Olives?

JT It is the suggestion of the link He had with His Father, and what would engage Him by night on Olivet. We know well enough that He was in the bosom of the Father — that He would enjoy that place of love. We are to learn from the references what is meant as they went there now. Doubtless He went with them, but the point is, they went.

Ques Is it anything like “in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee”, Psalm 22: 22?

JT It is leading up to it. The thing is to get our souls into the glory of the Lord, so that we take the new ground — spiritual ground, as I may call it, all glorious, “All glorious is the king’s daughter”, Psalm 45: 13.

Ques Does Romans 8 suggest the thought at all: “these also he has glorified” (verse 30).

JT That enters into it. “Whom he has justified, these also he has glorified”: that lies in the Spirit; but it is the Spirit as having part in the administration of love; the love is brought in.

Ques By the use of the word “glory” here, do you suggest it is excellency as presented in the Old Testament?

JT The types help us wonderfully if we get ^[p. 274] the thought that enters into the covenant. That is, the glory causes us to move in Exodus; that is where the movement lies, and the ark is the power that removes everything in the way. Nothing can stand in the way of the ark; it stays in the midst of Jordan until everyone in Israel passed over, “All Israel”, it says, “went over on dry ground, until all the nation had completely gone over the Jordan”, Joshua 3: 17.

Ques Do you connect that with the fact that they went out to the mount of Olives?

JT That is the idea. The institution of the Lord’s supper was in Jerusalem, where the opposition was. That is where the Supper is, but there is a change from that. Olivet does not refer to opposition; it is outside of Jerusalem. The Lord as the ark deals with all that opposes. It is the idea of the power that is there so that all the people should pass over; then as passed over, what they find is the old corn of the land, not the ark, they were over before it in the type. Not that we are over before Christ now, but the type teaches us the power of the Lord to deal with every obstacle.

JRS Would you bring in the word, “if therefore ye seek me, let these go away”, John 18: 8?

JT That is the ark. The saints come into view first on the morning of the resurrection, as regards the testimony; the point being that they are brought into view, they are liberated; but as brought into view Christ is seen in another way. Properly speaking, as He comes into the company it is Christ in heaven, which is another thing.

JJ I suppose the Lord had the thought in mind of change of position when He said, “go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God”, John 20: 17.

JT “I ascend” is not the thought of the ark.

JJ In John, the mount of Olives is not mentioned; it is the garden, and it says that He often resorted there. Would that be more intensely ^[p. 275] spiritual?

JT Quite so, but the ark is a question of power. How can we get over without Christ in death? That is the point, that He in love took His place in the bed of Jordan, and remained there, so to speak; the ark remained there till the whole nation passed over, and then the stones are taken up by the twelve men from the spot where the feet of the priests stood in the bed of Jordan. So that they are over out of that spot. What power there was to hold back the forces of death, and they are still held back. The assembly convened is in the knowledge of that.

PL “What ailed thee, thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou turnedst back?” Psalm 114: 5.

JT Just so.

Ques Do we come together in the light of that great victory and the power of the ark as seen in that way?

JT We come together in the light of the knowledge of the Lord, but the ark is more than that; it is a spiritual thought. Am I conscious that the power of death is still held up? We say that death is abolished, but it is only true for faith.

JRS Have you in mind that the ark in the midst of Jordan is sustained in the Supper right through?

JT No. The Supper is at the Red Sea properly; there is no ark there. The types help us enormously if we grasp them. That is, we take up the idea of the abolition of death, but the question is, Am I conscious of the power holding it back?

FSM Would the introduction of the thought of glory in relation to the Lord’s supper help us? There is first the contemplation of the glory of the Lord’s Person, and then the apprehension of the glory of His power, which would enhance our view of the saints.

JT That is how it works. The glory is that God has come in in Christ, that His love shines, but the ark is an additional thought; and the old corn of the land is a still further thought. The ark comes in as ^[p. 276] the power that overthrows all that is against us. It has done it in a sense; death is held back, we are beyond it in the assembly. It is not a theory but a reality; the power is held back by the Lord. Death goes on, but there is a point reached, where we know ^[p. 278] the power of death is held up.

WC You said that the Supper was at the Red Sea. At what part of our coming together would the thought of the ark properly come in?

JT It comes in where there is a definite movement spiritually. It is said in Numbers 10: 33, that as they set forward from the mountain of Jehovah, three days’ journey, the ark of the covenant of Jehovah went before them in the three days’ journey. In Numbers 21 the Holy Spirit is recognised formally: “sing unto it” (verse 17). There is the formal recognition of the Spirit, and this makes way for the position of the ark at the Jordan. There are two features of the Spirit’s action in the assembly; the first has relation to the covenant, and the second has relation to the Father. I believe Numbers 21 is the transitional point, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God”, Romans 8: 14. But then, there is death. By what power has it been disposed of? That is the idea of the ark, so that we follow it at a distance. It is not here a question of loving Christ, but a question of reverence, the enjoyment spiritually of His power in holding back the forces of death. The old corn of the land is the other side, that I am in another place. That is what He is as over there, a wonderful thought to grasp! “As the heavenly one, such also the heavenly ones”, 1 Corinthians 15: 48.

CEB Is not the ark in Jordan typical of Christ in death?

JT It is, but as holding back the forces of death, not so much His death as attesting love, but attesting power; it is His power. The love matter is settled, it is the power matter that has to be settled in death. But in resurrection He is proved to be the Son of God:

“^[p. 277] marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead”, Romans 1: 4. The type means simply, that He holds back death as having entered into it.

CEB There was no Jordan there.

JT It was forced back. As soon as the priests’ feet touched the waters — they touched the waters — then the Jordan went back. If we got the great general idea of the types, our souls would be established. We begin with the idea of God’s love in Christ; that is the Lord’s supper. There were no stones taken out of the Red Sea, nor was death itself set aside; it was there, only a way made through. There was no ark at the Red Sea. But when you come to Jordan there is the ark; and the distance between the people and it has to be maintained. Then, as the feet of the priests touched the waters, they go back. When the people arrived, the waters were out of sight. But the ark is there; it is not out of sight, and every Israelite, as he passed over, passed by it; and it remained till every one had passed over. That is to say, Christ entered into death to abolish it for us, that we might pass over, but it is all a matter of faith, entered into and maintained by the Spirit. The order is one, two, three. You begin with God in Christ, that is, the volume of His love, the shining out of His love in Christ; but then, we begin to meet obstacles, and that is where the ark comes in as a question of power.

JJ Why do you say the Supper is at the Red Sea?

JT Because it is after we cross the Red Sea that we get the covenant — not immediately after — what God is to us.

Ques Is that why the apostle in Romans 8 says that he is persuaded that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord?

JT He is triumphant there. I wish that the brethren would grasp the thought of power. Our position in the assembly is not theoretic; there is real power there;

the power of death is held up, but only for faith. The Jordan returned and overflowed its banks again, when the ark came out.

PHH In Joshua 4 it says first that “The waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah” (verse 7), and then later it says, “On dry land did Israel come over this Jordan; because Jehovah your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until ye had passed over” (verses 22, 23). Is that what you have in mind?

JT That is right: “until ye had passed over”. The thought is that God has the saints in His mind, He wants them over, and the power has dealt with what is in our way. The taking up of new ground shows that power is there to remove what hinders.

Ques Are you connecting the “over” with liberation, and the ark in the midst of Jordan more with a provisional idea with that in view? For the moment, death is held up in view of reaching the other side.

JT That is the bearing of the death of Christ during the faith period. In the millennium, death will be abolished publicly; but it runs through the faith period, it is not literally abolished, it is there yet. In fact, it says that Satan has “the might of death” (Hebrews 2: 14), but still he is annulled. That does not mean he is entirely destroyed, but that his power is gone for faith. The Spirit is the power that works in us; what wrought in Christ works in us, and unless we have those two thoughts together, it is merely theoretic.

Rem It has been said that the Red Sea and the Jordan coalesce in the mind of God, but not in the experience of the believer.

JT That is true. From Numbers 21 onward, the Spirit is recognised, and the Jordan has no force at all; but it is only a theory, unless we lay hold of the great fact that it is by the same power exactly in which God wrought in Christ in raising Him from the dead.

WW In connection with the Red Sea, you pointed ^[p. 279] out that the ark was not there. It seems as if the cloud of glory was the central feature there, but at the Jordan it is the ark.

JT The glory cloud was there before they came to the Red Sea, as soon as the people began to move, so they were “baptised unto Moses in the cloud”, 1 Corinthians 10: 2. That is the Spirit. It is not God here caring for His people, but the ark is Christ apprehended, so that, when they first moved from Horeb, instead of the glory leading, it was the ark that led; meaning that Christ stepped out, knowing the insuperable difficulties before the people. “The ark of the covenant of Jehovah went before them in the three days’ journey”, Numbers 10: 33. It is a question of power. But when you come to Numbers 21, there is the judgment of sin in the flesh which was in the way. God has dealt with that in the cross, the lifting up of the Son of man was that; that thing is dealt with, and the Spirit is recognised formally in song: “Rise up, well! sing unto it”, and from that point there is movement. The glory cloud and the tabernacle are not much in view after that; it is a question of what is seen by those having the Spirit: “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God”, and the ark in Jordan is in relation to that. I now see it is the Person of Christ, known in my soul, as He deals with this great obstacle in my way. I believe most of us would admit that we are afraid of death; it is one of the last things we get rid of.

Ques Nothing could be seen at the Jordan except the ark. Is it a question of what we are looking at?

JT That is, you are not afraid of death.

Rem I wondered if it would link with “we see not yet all things subjected to him” — we are not looking at that — “but we see Jesus”. It is a question of what we see.

JT Stephen was surrounded by death in the most dreadful way, but he saw “the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God”, Acts 7: 55. We ^[p. 280] have to learn to ignore the thing; it is a thing actually there, but it is not there for us at all.

AL The disciples were quite right in having the doors shut for fear of the Jews. Was that to exclude what would hinder their progress?

JT It is an element that has to be excluded; that is your part; you can do that by the Spirit. It is a question of the doors, mark you, not the door, meaning that our hearts are shut to that element.

EG Would Hebrews 2: 14, 15 refer to what you have in mind? “Since therefore the children partake of blood and flesh, he also, in like manner, took part in the same, that through death he might annul him who has the might of death, that is, the devil; and might set free all those who through fear of death through the whole of their life were subject to bondage”.

JT That is the idea, set free from the fear of death. As I was remarking, how much fear of death there is! If I sit down with the fear of death I do not go over.

CEB Has the thought of the twelve stones any bearing on the matter?

JT They were put there by Joshua, not by the direction of the twelve men. It is the Lord, as it were, rendering us testimony that He has been there, and that we have been there, too, and that we have come out from the same spot where the feet of the priests stood. It is life out of death; that is the thing.

DLH It used to be said that the Red Sea was Christ’s death for us, and the Jordan was our death with Christ; that is surely true.

JT It is true; but we must bear in mind that the ark was standing there until they all passed over.

DLH Otherwise I do not see how we could enter into it, if there were not the sense that He is standing there.

JT The fear of death in the hearts of the brethren does not belong to the assembly. When I come to the Jordan I do not see any death, I am entirely superior ^[p. 281] to it. It is not that it is not there, but there is superiority to it in the power of the Spirit.

Ques Was Mary Magdalene one in whom the fear of death had gone? She was prepared to wait there, and was the vessel to receive that testimony from the Lord.

JT She was there in great affection, but in darkness really. She was looking for the Lord in the tomb; she was not over Jordan; she thought He was still dead, and it took her a long time to get rid of the thought. But Peter and John accepted that He was out of the grave. In principle they were over.

JOS Is it the force of the apostle’s prayer in Ephesians 1?

JT Well, Ephesians 3 fits in too. We are to know the exceeding greatness of His power in Ephesians 1, the power “in which he wrought in the Christ in raising him from among the dead” (verse 20); but in Ephesians 3 it is the Spirit of the Father strengthening us in the inner man. Death is not there for one so strengthened. He does not deny he is in flesh and blood conditions, but he is outside and free from it, and that is where any enjoyment in the assembly really lies; we are in complete freedom and do not see death — we are not conscious of it.

Rem You said this fear of death may be at the root of the lack of liberty when we are together, we cannot see the end of ourselves. If we looked where Stephen looked, we would be more in liberty.

JT He was not looking at the stones. No doubt he felt them, but he was superior to all. What a man he was! The Holy Spirit was visibly there in that man.

WW Is that the way the glory becomes a known reality in our souls?

JT We get the expression attached to the ark; it was Jehovah’s glory. He “gave his strength into captivity, and his glory into the hand of the oppressor”, Psalm 78: 61. But the glory that enters into the Lord’s Supper is at the beginning of the wilderness; it is what

^[p. 282] God is to us. Then the Spirit comes into view by experience, for in the way the Spirit is first spoken of in Exodus 17 it does not say the people drank of it, though the water was there for them. It is in Numbers 20 they drank of it; the Holy Spirit becomes a known thing, and you drink it, as it were. Then they sing unto it; the full enjoyment of the Spirit is celebrated; and after that the movement is aside from the movements of the tabernacle and the glory; it is a movement by the Spirit: “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God”. Then there is the ark at the Jordan as holding back the power of death so that the saints are happily together, their spirits entirely free of death. It is not a theory, it is a reality, and then, consequent upon that, you have the old corn of the land; and there is not a word about the ark till you come to Jericho. It is a question of what Christ is as belonging to heaven; the “old corn” is what He is in heaven.

CTL Would you mind saying how you bring those things in at the Supper?

JT It is a question of spiritual power. Most of us do not touch it at all. It is not a question of what we sing and speak of, but the actual entrance in freedom consciously from death. There could be no opposition in connection with the old corn. That is what God is opening up to us, to get us on to the heavenly ground where Christ is known according as He is known in heaven. God is leading us on to it, so that the thought of heaven should become familiar to us.

CTL We need the Lord Himself after the Supper, to enter into it.

JT He comes in in the way of support, but the brethren will recognise it is right that the Holy Spirit is to be apprehended in relation to the covenant, and then in relation to the Father — the Spirit of adoption. What we have said hinges on those two thoughts.

JJ When the apostle said in 1 Corinthians 12 that we “have all been given to drink of one Spirit”, did he mean the Spirit of the covenant?

JT I think so. Drinking always implies satisfaction. A great step towards what we are speaking of, that is, we are in the assembly without any grievance; we have got satisfaction.

Rem We are not called to face the article of death in the morning meeting.

JT Well, you should face it before you come. Have you faced it? I do not know of anything that we put off longer than the actual facing of the article of death. It is those that do so that come into what we are speaking of.

DLH It is remarkable that beloved J.N.D. in Canada was brought through some illness to the point of death, and I remember him saying that when he came to it he faced it, and found he was over it with Christ.

JT I have no doubt he was; his hymns would indicate it.

Ques In speaking of death have you in mind everything that would hinder our entrance into this new position?

JT That is right.

NKM Do you suggest that in our state of soul we should have passed over Jordan when we come together to break bread?

JT We enter on things individually, and when we come together in assembly, what we have attained stands by us. It is an individual matter, as far as I see; but if I have entered, when I sit down in the assembly it stands by me, and I am able to be there according to God. So, in facing death, can I say, “I am crucified with Christ”? That is taking root downwards. For instance, in Romans 6 we are said to be planted in the likeness of His death, but that is not as deep as being crucified with Him. It is when I come to the full apprehension of my meanness as after the flesh, and accept it, and ^[p. 284] say as the apostle does further on, “if any way I arrive at the resurrection from among the dead”, Philippians 3: 11. When this is true, then I have passed over, and in the assembly I am free. What a power there is in that!

Ques Would that be like John 12, Mary with her pound of ointment?

JT That enters into what we are saying.

HPW The arriving in Philippians 3 is now, is it not?

JT Quite so, you arrive at the resurrection by the power of God through faith.

DLH Is it not important to recognise that the setting of the Supper is in the wilderness, but that it takes us into what is abiding and eternal?

JT Yes, and that is the reason why, in Matthew and Mark, after drinking out of the cup, the Lord expounds the covenant; and then they sing a hymn, and go to the mount of Olives. The change of position is there.

JJ Where does the Captain of the Lord’s hosts come in (Joshua 5)?

JT That is for conflict in the heavenlies, and Jericho comes in in that connection — the overthrow of the world. You come to see that not only is death abolished, but the world is overthrown; but in Joshua we do not have assembly service at all. We come to the old corn of the land, but we have to wait in the types for David and Solomon for assembly service.

FI Which side of the Jordan do you put the singing of the hymn?

JT The wilderness side. It was in Jerusalem they sang. In this setting, Jerusalem is the sphere of opposition, where the power of evil is; and going out of Jerusalem is a change of position to a place that does not suggest opposition — to Olivet.

DLH So it says, “Having sung a hymn, they went out to the mount of Olives”.

JT It is very beautiful as you partake of the Supper ^[p. 285] to recognise the Lord as the Mediator of the covenant, “The Lord is the Spirit, but where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”, 2 Corinthians 3: 17. You celebrate Him as effecting the covenant, not only in dying, but by the Spirit in our hearts, and that is involved in 2 Corinthians 3.

PHH Would the singing of the hymn be the outcome of resting under the cloud, the glory of the covenant?

JT It was after He had expounded the covenant, they are set free and they move.

Ques Would you say that Paul and Silas were over Jordan in Acts 16?

JT That is a very fine illustration of it. The Spirit of God peculiarly depicts the scene for us, leaving nothing out that made it terrible; and yet at midnight, when they might be weak, it says that they sang praises to God — a wonderful testimony to the power that takes us over Jordan.

Rem They would make good preachers of the gospel!

JT You can see how it enters into the epistle to the Philippians.

WW What place has the feast of tabernacles in Nehemiah 8?

JT The feast of tabernacles means that we love one another, and are living near to one another; we do not wish to live at a distance from one another. They dwelt in booths according to the wilderness experience.

JJ What part of the New Testament would you liken to the old corn of the land?

JT John, I think. John quotes the Lord as saying, “the Son of man who is in heaven” (chapter 3: 13). Chapter 6 is “where he was before” (verse 62), but in chapter 3 it is “who is in heaven”. The preposition does not mean that He entered there, but that He is indigenous to the place. He belongs there, and so, in chapter 20 He says, “I ascend to my Father”. He goes ^[p. 286] up in His own right, and comes into the company, not as the ark of the covenant, but as having gone up into heaven.

DLH And would not the statement in John 16: “he shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you” (verse 14), be the old corn of the land?

JT Just so, it is what is up there.