Scripture Reading: John 21
This is the concluding chapter on the fulfillment of the tabernacle and the offerings in the writings of John. We have considered the signs in the twenty-one chapters of this Gospel. In the two foregoing chapters on chapter 21, we pointed out that this chapter is actually an aggregate sign, for everything in it is part of a composite sign.
We have seen that in this chapter the Lord reminded Peter of his calling and Peter’s denial and then restored him and charged him to feed His sheep. We have also seen that according to the Lord’s word in 21:18-22, some believers will die to glorify God, and others will live until His coming. Furthermore, we pointed out that chapters 20 and 21 cover a broad span, a span that begins with the discovery of the Lord’s resurrection and ends with His coming back. Between these two events are all the matters related to the Christian life. In this concluding chapter let us consider some other important matters revealed in John 21.
If we study this chapter carefully, we shall see an apparent contradiction in the Lord’s words recorded here. On the one hand, the Lord said to Peter, “Follow Me” (vv. 19, 22). On the other hand, the Lord referred to His coming back (vv. 22-23). If I had been Peter, I might have said to the Lord, “Lord Jesus, why do You talk about Your coming? Does this mean that You intend to leave us?”
Let us suppose that Peter asked such a question and that the Lord Jesus gave the following answer: “Yes, I shall leave you for hundreds of years. Then after those centuries have passed, I shall come back.” If the Lord had given such an answer and if I had been Peter, I would have said, “Lord, if You will be absent from us, why do You ask me to follow You? How can I follow You if You leave us?”
Apparently, the Lord’s words concerning following Him and concerning His coming are contradictory. In order for us to follow the Lord, it is necessary that He be present with us. But in order for Him to come back, it is necessary that He go away from us. How can we reconcile these things?
The Lord was present with the disciples. How, then, could He say, “Until I come”? Since He was present with them, He did not need to come. If the Lord meant that He would leave the disciples and later come back to them, how could He say, “Follow Me”? How could the disciples follow Him if He was not present with them? The answer to all these questions is the Lord’s invisible presence. According to His visible presence, He would leave and come back later. But according to His invisible presence, He would be with them all the time. On the one hand, He would be with them; on the other hand, He would be away from them. Therefore, they could both follow Him and wait for His coming back.
After His resurrection the Lord Jesus remained with the disciples for forty days (Acts 1:3-4) in order to train them to realize, practice, and live by His invisible presence. In John 21:19 and 23 the Lord indicated that some of His believers will follow Him to death for the glory of God and that some will live until He comes.
According to the Lord’s visible presence, He is away from us. At the time of His coming back, the Lord’s visible presence will be recovered. In the meantime, according to His invisible presence, He is with us. Because the Lord was in Peter, Peter could follow Him. This means that he could follow the Lord as the One who dwelt in him.
With the truths in the Bible there are two aspects: an outward, visible aspect and an inward, invisible aspect. We have been opposed by those who hold only the outward aspect, the outward view, because we have both the outward and inward aspects. The outward aspect or view of the truth is mainly a matter of doctrine, but the inward aspect is for experience. If we have only the outward aspect of a particular truth, we shall not have any experience of that truth. In particular, if we hold only to the Lord’s visible presence, how shall we be able to experience Him? Physically, He is in the third heaven, and we could not experience Him if that were His only aspect.
The majority of today’s Christians have an objective religion of objective doctrine. They have little subjective experience of the indwelling Christ. For this reason we in the Lord’s recovery have been emphasizing the inward aspect of the biblical truths. I can testify that I care very much for the inward aspect, the inward view, of the truth.
Which aspect of the Lord’s presence do you treasure more, the aspect of His visible presence or the aspect of His invisible presence? If we answered this question frankly, most of us would have to admit that we treasure His visible presence more than His invisible presence. Because this is our situation, if the Lord were suddenly to appear in His visible presence, most of the saints would be frightened rather than excited. The reason for this reaction would be that they have not had sufficient experience of the Lord’s invisible presence. If we experience the Lord’s invisible presence adequately, then we shall be excited when we are brought into His visible presence. The experience of the Lord’s invisible presence is a preparation for us to meet Him in His visible presence, which will then become a genuine and practical enjoyment to us.
Too few of today’s Christians pay adequate attention to the Lord’s invisible presence. Because this is the situation, we are burdened concerning this matter.
Because the Gospel of John emphasizes the Lord’s invisible presence, in this Gospel there is no record of the Lord’s public ascension. What is emphasized in the Gospel of John concerning Christ after His resurrection is His invisible presence.
After His resurrection He became the pneumatic Christ. Hence, He is no longer the Christ in the flesh. When He was on earth, He was given a wonderful name — Emmanuel. But today He is not Emmanuel in a physical way; instead, He is the indwelling Spirit. Do you prefer the Lord as Emmanuel, as the One with you outwardly, or as the life-giving Spirit, the One dwelling within you? We all need to treasure the indwelling Spirit. The wonderful indwelling Spirit is actually the Lord Himself in His invisible presence.
By the Lord’s mercy I can testify that day by day I enjoy the Lord in His invisible presence. Even though I may sometimes be weak, I still treasure His invisible presence. Of course, I am waiting to meet the Lord in His visible presence. But while I am waiting to meet Him in this way, I need more experience and enjoyment of His invisible presence.
We have seen that with the Lord’s presence there are two aspects, the visible presence and the invisible presence. The Gospel of John also reveals two aspects of the Spirit. John 14:16-17a says, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever, even the Spirit of reality.” According to these verses, the Lord Jesus prayed that the Father would give us another Comforter, and this other Comforter is the Spirit of reality.
According to this chapter, the Spirit, being another Comforter, would seem to be another person, because a comforter is a person. The Lord Jesus was the first Comforter. Because He as the first Comforter is a person, then the other Comforter, the Spirit of reality, should also be a person. Therefore, in John 14 we have two Comforters, the Lord and the Spirit of reality, and it seems that these two Comforters are two persons.
The other Comforter, the Spirit of reality, is the Spirit spoken of in 7:39. The Lord’s promise concerning the giving of another Comforter was fulfilled on the day of His resurrection, when the Spirit was breathed into the disciples as the holy breath. According to 20:22, the Lord Jesus breathed into the disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Here the Spirit is presented not as a person, another Comforter, but as the breath of Christ. Therefore, in chapters 14 and 20 we have two aspects of the Spirit: the Spirit as another Comforter and the Spirit as the breath of Christ. How can a person’s breath be regarded as another person? This is impossible. Hence, whereas the Spirit as another Comforter is a person, the Spirit as the breath of Christ is not a person separate from Christ.
Actually, these two aspects of the Spirit denote an outward and inward aspect of the truth concerning the Spirit. The Spirit as another Comforter is the outward aspect, and the Spirit as Christ’s breath is the inward aspect.
Mindful of these two aspects, let us consider once again the scene in chapter 20 of the Gospel of John. We have seen that, according to chapter 14, Christ is the first Comforter and the Spirit is another Comforter. But according to chapter 20, this second Comforter is actually the breath of the first Comforter. Verse 22 says that the Lord breathed into His disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. He did not breathe into them and say, “Receive another Comforter.” Here the breath is not called another Comforter; rather, the Lord’s breath is called the Holy Spirit. Hence, in John 20 the Holy Spirit is the breath of Christ. Since a person’s breath is not another person, how, then, can the Holy Spirit, as the breath of Christ, be another person, a person different from Christ? This kind of question poses a problem to traditional theology.
Some who read this word concerning the Spirit as another Comforter and the Spirit as Christ’s breath may ask, “Don’t you believe that Christ and the Spirit are distinct? Don’t you believe that Christ and the Spirit are two?” Yes, I believe that, as viewed from one aspect — the outward, objective aspect — Christ and the Spirit are two. However, as viewed from another aspect — the inward, subjective aspect — the Spirit, the second Comforter, is the breath of Christ, the first Comforter. Thus, from the perspective of the inward aspect, Christ and the Spirit are one.
Now we need to go on to see that if we have only the outward aspect of the Spirit, the aspect of the Spirit as another Comforter revealed in chapter 14, but not the inward aspect, the Spirit as Christ’s breath revealed in chapter 20, we shall not be able to experience the Spirit as another Comforter. Rather, we shall know the Spirit as another Comforter merely in doctrine. What we have in chapter 14 is the doctrine concerning another Comforter. In that chapter we do not yet have the experience of this Spirit. In order to experience the Spirit as another Comforter, as the Spirit of reality, we need the inward aspect of the Spirit, the aspect of the Spirit as the breath of Christ. When we have the Spirit as Christ’s breath, then we can experience the Spirit as another Comforter.
Some may say, “Praise the Lord, the Holy Spirit is the second Comforter!” However, they may have only a doctrine, not any enjoyment or experience of the Spirit. But when we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, breathing Him in as the life-giving Spirit, we enjoy the holy breath, and this breath is actually the Spirit as another Comforter. How we are comforted when we call, “O Lord Jesus”! How much we enjoy this Comforter by calling on the Lord’s name! As we call on the Lord, the second Comforter becomes the breath for our enjoyment. The Lord breathed out this Comforter, and we breathe Him in. This is spiritual breathing, spiritual exhaling and inhaling. Through the Lord’s exhaling and our inhaling we enjoy His breath, and this breath is the second Comforter.
If we do not enjoy the Lord’s invisible presence, we shall not be ready to enjoy His visible presence. Likewise, if we do not have inward experience, we shall not be able to share in the outward facts. This principle applies not only to the truth concerning the Spirit but applies to all biblical truths. Of course, we must first have the outward fact. Then we must turn this fact into inward experience. When the outward turns to the inward, it will become practical, experiential, and enjoyable. Although the inward aspect is invisible, it is very real. Applying this to the Spirit, in chapter 14 we have the fact, the doctrine, of the second Comforter, and in chapter 20 we have the enjoyment, the experience, of this Comforter as Christ’s breath.
In chapter 21 we have something even more than simply the experience and enjoyment of the Comforter: we have the practical living by the Comforter. Do you know who this Comforter is in actuality? The Comforter is the Lord Jesus. In chapter 21 the Lord who manifested Himself to the disciples was the real Comforter as the breath who dwelt in the disciples. However, it was necessary for the disciples to learn how to live by this indwelling Comforter in a practical way.
Our experience today should be the same as that of the disciples in chapters 20 and 21. We not only have an outward Christ, but we also have an inward Christ. We have the pneumatic Christ dwelling within us for our practical, daily living. Just as the disciples were trained in John 21, we also need to learn how to live by this indwelling pneumatic Christ. May we all be helped by the view presented in chapter 21 of the Gospel of John to have a practical Christian living by this wonderful pneumatic Christ.
