EXPECTATIONS OF PENTECOST

JOHN 14:19–21

“At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you”

(John 14:20).

The time of Jesus’ crucifixion is drawing ever closer. Now, instead of years or months, it is just a matter of hours. But Jesus offers words of encouragement, that though He will be leaving, the disciples would still see Him. They would not see Him physically because He would be going to be with the Father, but they would observe Jesus in the Spirit. The disciples could expect that when the Spirit came at Pentecost, He would bring the teachings of Christ concerning Himself home to the hearts of these men and their followers. Then they would see the plans and purposes of God pass in review before their eyes. They would eventually understand in a way that they never had before. We often wonder at the dullness of the disciples during Christ’s ministry, but without the Spirit they were incapable of grasping many truths.

For them to see the work of Christ in His church, they would have to be made alive spiritually. And they would live because their Redeemer would live. This is a foundational teaching of the Christian religion, that we are alive (spiritually speaking) because Christ is alive. He has conquered death and in Him we live. He is the way, the truth, and the life; and He is ever the cause of our spiritual life. Outside of Him there can be only darkness of understanding and deadness of heart.

One particular point of understanding that would dawn on the disciples with the coming of the Spirit was the relationship between the Father and the Son. Here we discover that it is truly a matter of spiritual enlightenment that allows us to accept the truth of the Trinity, and of the relationship between the Father and Son in particular. Likewise, it is only with this spiritual illumination that we can really grasp the union that believers have with Christ. The closeness, the tenderness, of this relationship is beyond the mental scope of the world.

The inevitable result of understanding (to a degree) the equality of Christ to His Father is our love and obedience. Once again, Jesus describes the true believer as one who keeps the precepts of Christ and in doing so confesses his love. Only such a person will know the love of Christ and thus the love of the Father.

CORAM DEO

Psalm 128–131

1 Corinthians 7:25–40

The privilege of being a new creature in Christ is beyond our ability to grasp. It means new life?, new understanding, new experiences in love, and new attitudes toward obedience. Spend some time in prayer today, thanking God for the blessings of being in Christ and for receiving the Spirit of truth and life.

For further study: Acts 2:40–47 • Rom. 8:9–11 • 1 Cor. 15:1–28

wednesday

august