THE REVELATION OF GOD AND THE GLORY OF CHRIST MAINTAINED BY THE SPIRIT
[p. 181] THE REVELATION OF GOD AND THE GLORY OF CHRIST MAINTAINED BY THE SPIRIT
Luke 12: 1 - 12; Luke 24: 36 - 53
In chapter 11 the heavenly Father waited to be asked for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and here in chapter 24 we have “Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you”. We know that He did send Him, and they were endued with power from on high. Christianity in one word is Christ; it is made good in the soul by the work of the Spirit. The believer is brought into sonship and liberty by the Spirit.
In the ministry of Christ there was an entirely new beginning. The visits of the Spirit of God before had been fitful; often long intervals between, and before the advent of Christ there had been a dearth of hearing the prophetic word for some hundreds of years. Now there comes a new departure, an announcement of righteousness for man, and deliverance from spiritual ills. It is a very great help to us to see that the Lord’s ministry here upon earth contemplated for us a new beginning, and that all since has been a continuation of that. In chapter 4 the Spirit of Jehovah was upon Christ, but in chapter 12 the Lord contemplates a time when He would be absent, and the word spoken in the last chapter would be fulfilled, “Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you”. The point is, that on the one hand men would blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, for which there would be no forgiveness — that testimony being final; and on the other hand the disciples were to commit themselves to the power and teaching of the Holy Spirit. We cannot take into account too much the presence of the Spirit. Christianity knows no other power.
[p. 182] Prophets spoke before, and in that sense we have none now, but we have something much greater in the presence and power of the Spirit. This ought to affect us as to our speech and witness. Christianity cannot be enforced by fire or sword, or by politics, or by anything of that kind; it is wholly dependent on the power and the presence of the Spirit down here. The Lord in Luke 12 was anticipating the moment when He would no longer be here, and He asserts that there would be no forgiveness for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God brought in a closing testimony and that testimony is final.
Two objects present themselves as connected with the presence of the Spirit; the first, to maintain the revelation of God; the other, that He has come down from the exalted Man, to give effect to the counsel of God in Christ. How could the testimony have been maintained apart from the Spirit? The disciples could not have accomplished this. Their memories could not be trusted more than ours. There is no additional revelation, all is complete in Christ. If we speak of the truth, it is the revelation of God. God is love; it was revealed in Christ, and the Spirit has come to maintain the revelation. Again, His presence here is a remarkable witness to the unity of the Godhead. Revelation would be entirely ineffective and effaced from the mind of man if the Holy Spirit were not down here. Man’s mind does not naturally care for the declaration of the mind of God, but in spite of all the darkness, it has been maintained. Yet if that declaration is blasphemed there is no forgiveness, all is over.
We get a great deal in the New Testament of the one Man who is the sun and centre of the universe of bliss. The Holy Spirit gives us intelligence of that one Man. Turn to John 16: 8 - 15. Those verses [p. 183] express what the Spirit is here to maintain. Christ is the centre on which all the Father’s glory hangs. The Spirit would come and glorify Christ, “He shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you”. What comes to pass now in the saints is, that Christ dwells in their hearts by faith. So there are two great results from the presence of the Spirit here — the maintenance of the revelation of God, and intelligence in the saints as to the exalted Man, the One who has gone up “far above all heavens”. The Holy Spirit has come down to report His glory to us: “He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you”. The Lord contemplated that in Luke 12. He was going to the right hand of God, while the Holy Spirit would hold the ground down here, and ever keep in the view of the saints the Man in the glory and all that centres in Him. It is a great mercy if God gives us any sense of Christ’s official glory. The mystery is now manifested to the saints, revelation is maintained — man cannot blot it out, and Christ is witnessed to as the exalted Man in whom every divine thought for man is revived for God. He is the pivot on which all turns; why? Because He tasted death for every thing (Hebrews 2: 9).
The two scriptures, Luke 24: 26, 27 and 44 - 47, are very remarkable. Repentance and forgiveness were to be preached, but in His name. A proclamation was to be made in the whole world through that One who had suffered according to the Scriptures, and was risen again from the dead; and why? In order that those who received it might be attached to that Man by the Spirit. The apostles had to carry out this work as endued with power from on high, and the way in which they carried out their work was again a witness to the unity of the Godhead. God is our Father, revealed in the Son; and the testimony is maintained by the Spirit.
[p. 184] Now see what a great place the Spirit has in this present time. The Lord attaches more importance to His presence here than even to His own presence. “It is profitable for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go I will send him to you” (John 16: 7). It was the final testimony. What I plead for is that we should recognise the presence of the Spirit. If we want to order our conduct according to God, there will be the “lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love; using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace”. The conduct of all should be regulated by the Spirit of God. He will put no kind of sanction on the methods of man. As christians we ought to be prepared to abandon human methods and ways. There is nothing beneath the Spirit of God down here; even if we are only shewing mercy, it is in His power we do it. Whatever we have to do, there is nothing beneath Him. His power was not only for apostles, but for every member of the body of Christ. Whatever our functions, the smallest and the meanest might be carried out in the power of the Spirit. What would the human body be without oil, or how could machinery work without oil? Even so, what would the body of Christ be without the unction of the Holy Spirit?
We need much of the power of the Spirit to carry out anything for God down here. It is a great comfort to know that whatever has been the defection of the church, the Spirit of God remains. One effect of giving the Spirit His right place is, that we shall be very conscious of being in marvellous light. Another effect is, we shall have delight in the glorified Man at the right hand of God, and in all that of which He is going to be the sun and centre.