A great many people are making the grave mistake of
expecting a consciousness of the Spirit; yet that which the Spirit creates is a
consciousness of Christ. Upon this the Lord was most explicit from beginning to
end; the Spirit shall not speak of Himself, or concerning Himself; so that the
test of the measure of our fellowship with the Spirit is not our knowledge of
the Spirit, but our knowledge of the Christ Whom the Spirit reveals all things He spoke from the Father. He came
secondly to recall to the disciples the words of past commandments; thirdly to
co-operate with them in their witness to Christ, and finally to guide them into
all the truth. John 16:13-14
So the daily talks with God as with Adam are resumed. In the final
charges delivered to the apostles, Christ distinctly commanded them not to
depart from Jerusalem, but "to wait
for the promise of the Father." (Acts
1:4) Here is the same thought, uttered by the Lord Himself, and here also
He distinctly tells them when the promise was made, "which, said He, ye heard from Me." Thus it is evident
that we are approaching an explanation of this statement. Christ had promised
the Spirit, and He had done that in the name of the Father, for Whom He forever
spoke to men. Is there no definite account of His having made such a promise?
Most assuredly there is an account, which is not only definite, but also
detailed, and it is to be found in the Paschal discourses, which are chronicled
by John alone. "I will pray the
Father., and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may be with you
forever, even the Spirit of truth: Whom the world cannot receive. (John 14:16-17) But the Comforter even the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My
name." (John 14:26) "When the Comforter is come, Whom I
will send unto you from the Father." (John 15:26) Thus in view of His approaching Cross, and in preparation
of His disciples for the days when He in bodily form should be no more with
them, He declared that in answer to His prayer, and in His Name, the Father
would send them another Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Nothing is more evident in
reading these discourses than the quiet majestic confidence of Christ. "I will enquire of the Father."
"He will send you." "The Father will send in My name."
"I will send you from the Father." That is the promise of the
Father, and when the One Who made the promise to the band of disciples,
ascended into heaven, the Father recognized the prevailing plea of His presence
there gave Him the Spirit that He might fulfill the promise to the waiting men
upon the earth.
The promise He made fulfilled and we need to make hay in the
sunshine. Talk to Him for “all things”
takes time and the time is short as He said.
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