Part 2, Chapter 02

CHAPTER II. THE SENDING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY CHRIST.

Jesus was described by John the Baptist not only as one who had the Holy Spirit dwelling in Him in a manner and fulness that no other man ever had, but also as baptizing with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:2; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). This is what marked Him out as the Messiah, or Founder of the kingdom of God; for there were numerous prophecies which declared that the reign of Jehovah, that was to bring blessedness to His people, was to be established by the Spirit of God. So Jesus Himself spoke of the Holy Spirit as the best gift of God to men, which as the Heavenly Father He will give to them that ask Him (Luke 11:13). When He invited all the thirsty to come to Him and drink, and promised to give to everyone that believed in Him an abundant supply, so that he should be a well of living water, the evangelist tells us that He spake of the Spirit which they that believed in Him should receive; and the same evangelist has recorded those farewell discourses in which Jesus promised to send to His disciples another Comforter to supply His place and carry on His work. Of the fulfilment of these promises there was an outward and visible proof in the events of the day of Pentecost after Jesus’ death. But the signs that then appeared to the senses, the sound as of a mighty rushing wind from heaven, the tongues of fire, and even the rapt prophetic utterance of the praises of God by the Galilean disciples of Jesus in strange tongues, formed but the outward and less truly divine side of the event. More truly wonderful was the inward change effected in the disciples and in the people of Jerusalem. In the disciples of Jesus we see a new understanding, a new courage, and a new love: in the multitude an entire revolution of their views and feelings about Jesus. The disciples had already indeed received some spiritual enlightenment, for they had recognised Jesus as the Messiah, and that not only because of the miracles He did, but because they felt that He had the words of eternal life. They had clung to this faith, even when others were offended by His refusal to accept an earthly crown and by His claim of a heavenly origin. Still they had no idea that it was through suffering and death that He was to enter into His glory; and they looked for places of worldly distinction in His kingdom. They thought He should call down fire from heaven on those who would not receive Him, and even at the last they looked for an immediate restoration of the kingdom to Israel. But on the day of Pentecost we find them proclaiming, that Jesus who had been crucified had entered upon His kingdom, and was really reigning, and no longer do they think of any earthly reign of the Messiah. But while they thus showed new and enlarged knowledge, the new courage with which they uttered their convictions was still more remarkable. Formerly, when their Master was not with them, they had been timid and inconsistent: in His absence they failed to do works of healing which they attempted; when He set His face to go up to Jerusalem, they were amazed and afraid, and followed Him with fear as to certain death (Mark 10:33; John 11:8, John 11:16); in His hour of danger all forsook Him and fled, and Peter was ashamed to confess Him even before the maid-servants of the high priest. Even after His resurrection they only ventured to meet with closed doors for fear of the Jews. But on the day of Pentecost they openly declare their faith in Jesus, and boldly accuse the people of the unspeakable guilt of rejecting and crucifying the Messiah, for whom Israel had been looking so long.

There is further manifest in the bearing and discourse of the disciples a wonderful tone of forbearance and love to those who had been the enemies and murderers of their Master. Naturally they might be filled with the bitterest indignation and wrath; and if before they were ready to call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village simply for not receiving Him on His journey, what threatenings and vengeance might they not be expected to breathe out against the people of Jerusalem who had forced the Roman governor to crucify Him? They do indeed press home on their consciences the awful guilt of their conduct; but they do it evidently more in sorrow than in anger: they do not in the least exaggerate the crime or dwell on its atrocity; they denounce no judgment upon it; they address the guilty people as brethren; they earnestly exhort them to repentance, and cordially convey to them God’s promise of forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit if they will but repent. In Peter’s speech after the healing of the lame man, he dwells on the fact that their great sin was committed in ignorance, and was overruled by God for the accomplishment of His gracious purpose (Acts 3:17-18). In all this there is a tone of generosity, of fellow-feeling, of love, like that of Joseph toward his brethren (Genesis 45:5 foll.), yea like that of Jesus Himself, from whom they learned it through the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Such was the spiritual change wrought on those who had already believed in Jesus: it was largely due, no doubt, to the fact of His resurrection, and without that it would be incredible; but they ascribed it also to the influence of the Spirit that Jesus had promised, giving them power to be witnesses for Him. This Spirit too, according to His promise, wrought on the hearts of those who heard their testimony. The outward sign of their speaking with tongues produced wonder and gained attention to Peter’s address; but the address itself carried conviction to the hearts of those who had not many weeks before clamoured for the death of Jesus as a deceiver and blasphemer, and made three thousand willing to enrol themselves as His disciples, though He was still so regarded by the authorities. This too they did under a sense of guilt, and by accepting the rite of baptism, which signified the giving up of their entire past life as polluted, and the acceptance of forgiveness and renewal in the name of Jesus: and they did begin a new life with a love, hope, and joy unknown before, parting with all their goods and casting them into a common stock, and doing all this with alacrity, eating their meat with gladness and joyfulness of heart.

Thus as an actual historical fact the Church of the New Covenant was founded by the Spirit of God sent down from heaven, working in men’s hearts as a purifying and animating fire, cleansing them from earthly affections, and warming them with brotherly love and charity: and this renewing influence was given in connection with the testimony of the exaltation of Him who had first taught and shown such holiness and love to men. There are also various indications given, that the connection of the gift of the Holy Spirit with the work of Christ as our Redeemer is peculiarly close and necessary. The fourth evangelist, remarking on Jesus’ promise of living water (John 7:39), says “ the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified; “ and he records Jesus’ saying (John 16:7), “ If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you.” That Jesus’ departing and being glorified have special reference to His death appears not only from His sayings in John 12:23-24;John 13:31-33, but from that recorded by Luke 24:49; where, after saying that the Scriptures must needs be fulfilled that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name unto all the nations, he adds: “And behold I send forth the promise of my Father upon you “ (compare Acts 1:4-5;Acts 2:33). Paul states the connection still more explicitly when he writes to the Galatians, “ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.., that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (John 3:13-14); and again, “God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that He might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts 7 ’ (John 4:4-6). The principle of this connection is indicated when Paul says that God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ; for these blessings include not only redemption and forgiveness, but also the seal and earnest of the Spirit which are all ours in Christ (Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 1:13-14). Sin excludes man from God’s blessing, and exposes him to God’s wrath and curse, and that implies that God gives over the sinner to his own evil passions (Romans 1:18, Romans 1:24, Romans 1:26, Romans 1:28). This is the righteous judgment of God, and whatever good is yet bestowed by God on sinners, even His forbearance, not less truly than His forgiveness, is based upon that manifestation of His righteousness made by Christ, whom God hath set forth as a propitiation in His blood through faith (Romans 3:24-26). This passage also indicates how these statements of the dependence of the gift of the Spirit on the atoning work of Christ are to be harmonized with the undeniable fact, that the Holy Spirit was bestowed on men in various ways long before Jesus came in the flesh. For it tells us, that His work had a bearing on the passing by of the sins of the past, as well as on the justification of believers at that time and later. As justifying God’s gracious dealings with men, it had a retrospective as well as a prospective bearing. Its results were applied by anticipation as it were, because its accomplishment was absolutely certain from the beginning. Hence Jesus, as the spotless Lamb by whose blood we are redeemed, is said to have been foreknown before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20), and is called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). As a transaction in the moral government of God the atoning death of Christ has, we may say, no date; it is not conditioned by time at all, but is ever present to the eternal mind of God, as it is also present to our faith, which overleaps the limits of time and place and apprehends a dying Saviour here and now, as often as we look to Him. The dependence of the work of the Holy Spirit on that of Christ is not essentially chronological, but logical and ideal; and so, even when the Spirit was bestowed on men earlier in time than the redemption of Christ was accomplished, it was given on the ground of that redemption as a necessary condition. But as it was designed that the connection should be made manifest, the most signal and abundant effusion of the Spirit was historically after Christ’s redemption had become an accomplished fact. Then the Spirit began to exert His gracious influence not only on a few outstanding men in the community, as leaders, prophets, or kings, but on the mass of the people as a whole, and on each single soul among them. Then too the Spirit could work with more power in manifesting to men the love and grace of God, since these had been actually exercised in the highest and most wonderful degree in the life and death of God’s Son for sinners. The redemption of Christ is not only the necessary condition, but the appropriate instrument of the Spirit’s work. He bears witness of Christ along with the messengers whom He sends (John 15:26-27), and when He convinces the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, it is by making man see what Jesus had done and suffered.