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Scripture Reading: John 14:8-11, 16-20, 23; 15:4-5; 16:13-15; 7:37-39; 20:22
Life is wonderful because it is mysterious. Even our human life is a mystery. How much more the life of God! Life is mentioned repeatedly in the Gospel of John, far more than in the other Gospels. The life John speaks of is the eternal, uncreated life, which is God Himself. Surely such a life is a mystery. Eventually, John tells us that this life is the divine Spirit Himself.
John 1:1 says that the Word was God. Then 1:14 says that the Word became flesh. Yet 4:24 says that God is Spirit. In eternity past there was the Word; this Word was God. He became flesh, but He is also Spirit. Who can explain this? Flesh and spirit are almost invariably put in contrast to each other. Yet here we have the Word, God, flesh, and Spirit all related to each other.
The Lord further referred to the Spirit in John 14, where He said that He would “ask the Father” to send “the Spirit of reality” who would abide with the disciples and then be in them (vv. 16-17). Then in the next verse He said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you,” thus implying that the Spirit’s coming was the Lord’s own coming. In that day He would be in them (v. 20), meaning that when the Spirit of reality indwelt them, the Lord Jesus Himself was in them. It is clear that the Lord here was identifying Himself with the Spirit.
After the Lord’s resurrection He appeared to His disciples (20:19-22), showing them His hands and His side. Then “He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.” The Lord came not teaching or commanding but breathing. He breathed the Holy Spirit into them. In Greek the word for spirit and the word for breath are the same. Thus, we may also translate what the Lord said as, “Receive the holy breath.” When He breathed into them, what they received was His breath. They received the Holy Spirit by breathing in the Lord’s breath.
As we covered in the previous chapter, the first section of John is chapters 1 through 12. In this section we learn that Christ was God but that one day He became flesh. He became a man so that He might accomplish redemption for us and might thus open the way for us to receive the divine life. In His redemptive death He was in three forms. He was the Lamb of God for our redemption, He was in the form of a bronze serpent to destroy the devil, and He was in the form of a grain of wheat, falling into the ground to release the divine life into many grains.
How much we should rejoice! Our sins have been taken away, the devil has been destroyed, life has been released and imparted into us, and we have thus been made the many sons and the members of Christ’s Body.
In these first twelve chapters of John there are nine cases presented to us. These cases demonstrate that Christ is able to meet the need of anyone, from whatever segment of society he may come and however hopeless he seems.
The first case was of an upright, God-seeking man named Nicodemus (3:1-21). To such a good person the dear Lord said, “You must be born anew” (v. 7). If such a refined person nonetheless needed regeneration, how much more do the evil ones need it. What is born of the divine Spirit is the human spirit (v. 6). By believing in this dear Christ, we are regenerated; this second birth, in our spirit, makes us children of God. Nicodemus, however good he was, was still a child of man. The same is true of us. We do not need to check whether we are good or bad. Even if we are the best, we still do not have God’s life until we are reborn.
How marvelous it is that we have two fathers! We have an earthly father, to whom we owe our physical life. But we have also a spiritual father, who is God. We are God’s children. What a status we have because of regeneration!
The second case was of an immoral, despised woman (4:6-42).
This woman of Samaria came to Jacob’s well to draw water. She had had five husbands and was now living with a sixth, who was not her husband. No doubt, all who knew her looked down upon her. To such a one the Lord came. He understood her and met her need. Why had she tried so many husbands? It was because of a thirst within her, which none of them had been able to satisfy. Every time she changed husbands, she had hope that her thirst would be quenched. After five futile attempts to satisfy her longing, she was now trying for the sixth time to get the satisfaction she craved.
Are we not the same? We try one thing after another, seeking satisfaction. After a little time we are disappointed and turn elsewhere. When our new effort is unrewarded, we “change husbands” again. Whatever we try of this world’s water, it leaves us empty and thirsty. Then the Lord Jesus comes to us. Because we are thirsty, He is thirsty too. “Give Me something to drink,” He says. We are the water He needs for His thirst to be quenched.
What the Lord Jesus gave to the Samaritan woman was living water, a fountain springing up into eternal life. With this water she was satisfied.
The third case was of a boy who was about to die (vv. 46-54). His father, a royal official, went to see the Lord and asked Him to come and heal his son, who was at the point of death.
Do you realize that you are dying? Even if you are still young and feel very much alive, you are dying. The longer you live, the closer you are to dying.
But Hallelujah! The Lord Jesus comes into the situation of death to deliver us. By His word, “Go, your son lives,” He healed the dying one.
The fourth case was of the man who had been lying sick and impotent for thirty-eight years (5:2-9). When the Lord came on the scene and spoke the word, the sick man became instantly well. He picked up his bed and walked. Our Lord can meet every man’s need.
The fifth case was of the great crowd who followed Jesus and whose hunger was satisfied by Him (6:2-13, 26-57). The Lord told them that He was the living bread which came down out of heaven. He wanted them to know that He could be eaten: “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.” He is the heavenly food and can satisfy our hunger.
The sixth case was of the thirsty ones (7:37-39). On the last day of the feast, Jesus cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” He would quench the thirst and even cause rivers of living water to flow out from within. He was speaking of the Spirit, but at that time “the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” After His crucifixion and resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Now whoever thirsts may come to Him and drink.
Drink of the Spirit. He will quench your thirst, fill you, and flow out of you as rivers of living water.
The seventh case was of the woman caught committing adultery (John 8:3-11), According to the law of Moses, she should have been stoned to death. The scribes and Pharisees brought the woman to the Lord Jesus, testing Him to see if He would say something different from the law. The Lord’s reply, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her,” caused every one of them to leave in a silent admission that they were sinful. Then the Lord turned to the woman who was left alone with Him. Instead of condemning her, the Lord set her free. In this case the Lord met the need of a sinner and freed her from sin’s bondage.
The eighth case was of a blind man whose sight the Lord restored (9:1-38). The Lord came to him, anointed his eyes, and imparted sight to him.
The ninth and last case was that of Lazarus (11:1-44). Lazarus died and was buried in a tomb, but the Lord Jesus came and called him out. When He met a man in death, He raised him up. No case is too hard for Him.
The cases presented in this first section of John demonstrate that the Lord Jesus can meet every need.
With John 14 a change comes in. The Lord told the disciples that He was going away (v. 2). This news was disturbing to them, for they enjoyed being with Him. He went on to tell them that it was better for them that He went away. After all, He was only among them, not in them. As long as He was there with them physically, He was outside them, even though He was in their midst. His longing was to enter into them and be their life.
In chapter 10 He had said, “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly” (v. 10). He came not merely to enjoy their companionship. The disciples were happy to be in His presence, but they still did not have His life in them. He could not enter into them.
How could He enter into them? He was God, but one day He became flesh. As a man He went about meeting the needs of man. His disciples were happy to be with Him. They loved Him and rejoiced that He was among them. Yet for Him this was not sufficient. As long as He was external to them, He could not be satisfied.
More than twenty years ago my family and I were living in Taiwan. One winter day I bought a huge watermelon. We were from the northern part of mainland China, where such melons were not available in the winter. In Taiwan, however, the climate was tropical, and all year round, watermelons could be bought. I was happy to buy one and take it home. I put it on the dining table, and my eight children gathered around, excited to see it. Suddenly, I picked it up and took it to the kitchen. The youngest one cried, “Daddy, don’t take it away! We like it.” I said to her, “Little one, if this melon stays on the table as it is, you can’t eat it. Wait just a few minutes, and it will be ready for you to eat.” In the kitchen the maid cut it into slices. When it came back out, it was all ready to be eaten. In less than twenty minutes the whole melon was gone. It had entered into all my children.
It is as if the Lord said, “Peter, James, and John, do you understand this? It is good for Me to be here with you, but how can I enter into you? I need to go to the kitchen and be cut. I need to be cut on the cross for you. I need to die for your sins. I need to die to destroy the devil. I need to be cut so that My life may be released. I must go away, but I will be back. I will not leave you as orphans. After three days I will return in another form. Now I am in the flesh, but when I come back, it will be in another form. I will come back in resurrection. I will return to you as the Spirit.”
If you read John 14, 15, and 16, you will see that this thought is behind the Lord’s words to His disciples.
He did leave them. He died. The disciples lost Him for three sad days. On the morning of the third day, however, one of their number, a sister, saw Him at His tomb. He talked with her and sent word to His brothers that He would meet with them.
They only half believed. After all, only three days before, they had seen Him crucified and then buried in a tomb. Others of their number also met and talked with Him. They did not know what to make of it all. Then on the evening of that same day they came together, keeping the doors shut for fear of the Jews. What they talked about is hard to imagine. Perhaps they just sat there looking at each other, wondering about the strange happenings.
Suddenly, Jesus was standing among them and saying, “Peace be to you”! His words were few, but He breathed into them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (20:21-22). His words could also be translated, “Receive the holy breath.” A few more words, and He was gone. He came in without anyone opening the door; He left without saying goodbye. It was not that He went away. Rather, He entered into them as the holy breath. From then on, wherever the disciples were, Jesus was also there. He was within them. Here is Christ in resurrection becoming the indwelling Spirit.
The Gospel of John tells us this wonderful, mysterious story. This is his mending ministry. Perhaps no other book in the Bible portrays Christ in such a living yet spiritual way.
On a later occasion (21:2-13) Peter, probably hungry and short of food, said to the others with him, “I am going fishing.” Since he was taking the lead, the rest said that they would go with him. They did not catch one fish the whole night. Nonetheless, Christ was there! At first they did not recognize Him when He spoke to them, but when they followed what He said, they caught fish in abundance. Back on land, they saw that the Lord had prepared fish and bread for them. The fish were there, already cooked. It had not been necessary for them to go to the sea. All the fish were in His hand. Not one would go into their net. If they needed fish, they had only to tell Him; He would provide them not only with fish but also with bread. They could disregard all the fish they had caught and come and eat what the Lord had prepared for them.
We can all be assured that this Christ is within us. Wherever we go, He is within us. When we are happy with Him, attending the meetings, praying, and pray-reading, we may not have a strong sense that He is within us. But if we go against Him, He will appear to us in a strong way. If we go to a movie or to a gambling casino, He will speak to us from within, “What are you doing here?” Our Lord is real, living, present, and within. We do not have a religion. What need have we for a religion? We have the living Christ. He is what we need and what we have.
John’s mending ministry strongly stresses this point that Christ lives in us (14:17, 23; 15:4-5). He is real, living, and powerful, yet kind, loving, and patient. We must not think that if we offend Him, He will leave. The more we offend Him, the more He will convince us that He will never leave.
John first introduces Jesus as God. Eventually, he tells us that this very One is now in us. He is the embodiment of the Father (14:8-11), He is the Son, and in resurrection He has become the indwelling Spirit. With Him we have the Triune God. He is our life.
