Episode 176 - "You (all) are God' temple" - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

This is a passage I heard a lot as I grew up in the church. It was always used in the context of some prohibition espoused by people in our local and denominational tradition. Don’t drink (alcohol)! Don’t smoke! I even heard some use this Scripture to prohibit listening to certain kinds of music, such as Rock and Roll, because “it changes the rhythm of your heartbeat and damages your body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.” As an older man, I’m pretty sure the only damage to my body from Rock and Roll is my hearing from listening to it played very loud. I will say that wisdom should lead us to acknowledge the potential problems of indulging in some of these liberties of life. But, while I might tell a younger person, “Don’t smoke! It’s bad for you,” or “Don’t mess with the alcohol. It can lead to trouble,” I have a bigger problem with how people have used this Scripture in that way. It’s a wrong interpretation.

You might think to yourself, “Dave, what do you mean? This seems pretty clear. The Scriptures speak of how God gives us the Holy Spirit and it dwells within us.” Yes. The Scriptures do teach that. But that is not the primary point of what Paul is saying here. So, what is he saying, and how can I be so certain? Let me explain.

There are at least a few clues to help us understand what Paul means. First, when we examine the original Greek language for this text, everything here is in the second-person plural. To translate this into Texan, “Do y’all not know that y’all are the temple of God and that God’s Spirit dwells in y’all?” Paul reminds them that as a corporate body of believers, they are the temple of God in which God’s Spirit dwells. In other words, Paul says the local church is God’s temple.

Another clue supporting this is that from the beginning of this letter, Paul’s instruction has focused on the unity and harmony of the church. He’s not talking about principles for healthier lives as individuals. It’s all about the individuals thinking, speaking, and acting in a way that leads to unity and harmony as a church.

A third and perhaps strongest clue is at the end of verse 9 when he tells them, “You (all) are God’s building.” His assertion is that all of the believers are, together, a singular building. Verse 10 continues by speaking of one foundation which is built upon. It’s in verses 16-17 that we learn this building is God’s temple.

The warning here is that by letting “jealousy and strife” (1. Cor. 3:3) divide believers, we are responsible for destroying God’s temple, and we are at risk of incurring divine discipline. This is not about personality differences. It’s about reverence for the presence of God in the third person of the Trinity.

Prayer: Father in Heaven - Help me revere your purpose for the church and that you are with us in our gathering. Help us show mutual love and submission to reflect the unity and harmony perfectly existing within the Godhead.

Episode 135 - "Peace be with you" - John 20:19-23

John 20:19   On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

What a day! Their teacher and Lord had been crucified a few days earlier and his followers might wonder if the people responsible for that would be coming after them next. Then, Mary Magdalene showed up immediately after the end of the Sabbath and reported that Jesus’ tomb was empty. Peter and John ran off to investigate this and came back talking about what they saw at the tomb; the grave clothes lying there and the orderly scene. Would the Jewish leaders be coming after them accusing them that they had stolen the body? That would be a very real concern.  They locked the doors to inhibit anyone from walking in.

While they were there together, Jesus appeared in the room with them. I can only imagine the thoughts that were running through their minds. Jesus’ first words to them were “Peace be with you.” (v. 19) How they needed that message. Jesus knew exactly what was going on in their minds and was aware of their fears. He also knew they were questioning their own senses. So, he showed them his hands and side to provide evidence this body they were looking at was real and was the one on the cross and put into the tomb a few days earlier. They were not seeing a ghost or a figment of their imagination. Jesus had physically risen from the dead and yet was not prevented by locked doors and walls from being with them. Furthermore, the first thing he wanted to give them was peace. He said it again, “Peace be with you.” 

According to John’s account, Jesus did not field questions about his resurrection or anything else. Instead, he focused on the purpose he had for the disciples. They needed his peace because he had a mission for them they were to follow. He said, “As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.” (v. 21) Throughout this entire book, John has reported that Jesus was neither doing nor teaching anything on his own behalf. He was only teaching and doing what was given to him by his heavenly Father. The mission of his disciples is to continue taking God’s message and doing the work that God is sending them to do. 

How would they be able to do this? They were just blue-collar workers, average people. The answer lies in what Jesus did next. He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Jesus had been telling them this was going to happen. Back in John 16 he spoke of sending them the Advocate who is the “Spirit of truth” who will “guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13) Now is the time when Jesus is initiating this sending of the Holy Spirit to his disciples.

This passage has created no end of controversy among believers who get confused about Jesus giving the Holy Spirit here and the account of the disciples receiving the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. Personally, I don’t take this as two different acts of God giving the Holy Spirit. As I see this, God has sovereignly orchestrated this chain of events to best teach and prepare Jesus’ disciples for the ministry He has in mind for them. Jesus taught them about things to come. Yet, people don’t always fully understand what others are teaching us. This happens often between parents and their children. Parents teach the children things that the child cannot fully understand. But, if the child understands the parent loves them and looks out for their best interest, they “accept” it to a measure of belief. Later the child may experience something when that teaching is more understood and appreciated. That happens because of the context of the experience and now the child’s trust in the parent’s advice increases because they realize the wisdom that was offered to them and that the parent was looking out for them. 

In the same way, this recent trauma of experiencing Jesus’ death and now his resurrection is beginning to sink in with everything Jesus had been teaching them. Now is the perfect time to reiterate his mission for them and to give them the Holy Spirit to help them accomplish this mission according to what Jesus had already taught them. They are now more prepared to understand and accept this mission. Jesus had the authority to give them the Holy Spirit. Yet, it would be a little longer before they experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit. God’s plan was to accomplish that in its own perfect timing at Pentecost when they would boldly proclaim the Good News of Jesus and thousands would respond. 

Under the leading of the Holy Spirit, what should they do or say? What was this mission? I think that’s what verse 23 is about. Jesus added, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Jesus’ death on the cross is about the forgiveness of sins. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. (John 1:29) Jesus’ death has made it possible for the sins of mankind to be forgiven. That is truly good news! Some have argued that this statement is only for the apostles, that this is an apostolic privilege. I disagree. In teaching his disciples to pray, Jesus said to pray “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” (Luke 11:4) As followers of Jesus, we should forgive the sins of others understanding that we are simply spokespersons for the Lord. It is the Lord who forgives them. 

In summary, let us receive the peace given by Jesus, walk by means of the Holy Spirit, and communicate to others the forgiveness of sin against God available to us through the perfect sacrifice of His Son Jesus on the cross.

Episode 129 - "I thirst - It is finished!" - John 19:28-30

John 19:28   After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

I know that this is a brief section. It’s only three short verses. But, there is so much here. The first thing I want to call to your attention is that John says that Jesus knew “that all was now finished” and it led him to say, “I thirst.” In fact, that simple expression fulfilled Scripture. But, what was finished? The answer is Everything the Father gave Jesus to do. From early in this gospel there has been a consistent message that everything Jesus did was according to what his heavenly Father revealed to him to speak and do. In chapter five Jesus said, “The son can do nothing on his own” (v. 19) and “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” (v. 30) Jesus perfectly obeyed God the Father. This is why the Apostle Paul compares and contrasts Jesus to Adam in Romans 5:12-17. (Read that passage sometime this week and see if it doesn’t make sense that what we are reading about right now was necessary for our benefit through God’s amazing grace.) Because of Adam’s one act of unfaithfulness and disobedience, sin came into the world and death impacted everyone because we all descended from Adam. But, Jesus, the God-Man came into the world and provided hope of conquering sin and death. His perfect obedience to the point of accepting the punishment of the sins of the world in his own death has the same kind of effect Adam’s offense did in that it had implications for others in the world. It would not have been possible if Jesus had disobeyed the Father in any way. We don’t receive forgiveness of sin and hope of a resurrection because we have lived perfectly. We haven’t. Our hope is solely based upon the perfect obedience of the Son of God becoming flesh and living perfectly according to God the Father. Back in John 17 in his priestly prayer Jesus said, “ I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” (v. 4) Now, it’s all finished.

So, what does this have to do with “I thirst?” Is this just moving on to his physical need and suffering? The fact that John mentions this is said to fulfill Scripture suggests that there is more to it than his physical need. The Scripture is Psalm 69:21 “21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink” and Psalm 22:14-15, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; 15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.” Considering what Jesus had been through, we understand how parched and dehydrated he was and how these prophetic psalms foretell this reality. However, stop for a minute and ask yourself if the theme of thirst has been manifest before in this gospel. 

We first see the concept of drinking in the account of Jesus’ first miracle when he turned water into “good wine.” (John 2) [NOTE: It was “good” wine, not sour wine.] In chapter four, Jesus travels through Samaria and asks a woman for a drink of water and then quickly tells her that he could give her “living water.” (4:10) In fact, he said that the water he could give would be like a spring within them leading to eternal life and never being thirsty again. Clearly, the water is an analogy for something much greater. In chapter six Jesus said, “He who believes in me shall never thirst.” (6:35) In John 6:55-56 Jesus tells those following him they must drink his blood in order to have eternal life. John records in John 7:37-38 “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Finally, in John 7:39 he explained, “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified.” Ah! Now we have it. The living water represents the Holy Spirit. Is it not reasonable then to understand Jesus’ expression “I thirst” as the point which the Spirit is departing him? The Holy Trinity has completed everything planned for Jesus’ Incarnation and ministry in his time.  Now, Jesus is at the point of death and is about to “give up his spirit.” That which quenches all spiritual thirst is departing from him. Perhaps this was even more agonizing than the nails holding him to the cross.

At the very end of his life, the one who had made water into good wine is given sour wine representing death. The one who offers living water welling up within us so that people might never thirst and have eternal life was now giving up his spirit. 

Well . . . this seems a dark and depressing point to stop at. But, as the old expression goes, “Sunday is coming.” For today, let us remember that the resurrection has no value unless the Lamb of God, God’s perfect sacrifice, gave up his spirit and died to make atonement for our sin possible. How horrible it would be to be resurrected and live forever in our sin and a world experiencing the consequences of that sin. That’s what Jesus did at this moment. He laid down his life so that in our resurrection we can be made like him without the guilt constantly upon us for our disobedience. Praise be to God!

Episode 109 - "The Spirit of Truth" John 16:12-15

John 16:12   “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

There are few things as central to the historic Christian faith and yet so mysterious as the doctrine of the Trinity. Contrary to the skeptical accusations of some, the doctrine of the Trinity is not a later invention of the Church. There is no evidence that the word “trinity” was used by the Apostles and our earliest evidence of its use, I believe, is in the late second century. But, the earliest Christians understood Jesus to have a divine nature as I’ve already pointed out in the text of this gospel. Yet, there is no evidence that these Christians believed there were multiple gods. They were monotheists. 

Notice what Jesus is saying here about the Holy Spirit. Already he has spoken of the Holy Spirit as the paracletos, the Advocate or Helper, and has described what the Holy Spirit will do for the disciples. Now he gives us more information about the Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of truth.” In John 1, we read that absolutely nothing was created (Greek - ginomai) apart from the Logos (Word who was with God and was God). The expands the identity of “the Word”  in verse 17 where John reveals  “grace and truth came through (ginomai) Jesus Christ.” This ties up the loose ends that the Word who was with God and was God is Jesus Christ. He is the source of truth. Now in John 16:13 Jesus calls the Holy Spirit, the “Spirit of truth.” What does that say about the nature of the Holy Spirit? To me, it speaks of the divine nature of the Spirit. But, he doesn’t stop with that.

Jesus adds, “for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (v. 13b) Does that sound familiar? It sounds consistent with Jesus’ description of himself. (See John 5:19 and following.) Even though Jesus shares in the divine essence, he only says and does what the Father gives him to say and do. 

In verse 14, Jesus says of the Spirit, “He will glorify me.” So, we see the Son glorifying the Father, the Spirit glorying Jesus, and the Father will glorify the Son. Here lies a principle that moves me: the persons within the divine Godhead are fully committed to the glory of each other. This is further clarified in the rest of verse 14 and 15 where all that belongs to the Father also belongs to Jesus and the Holy Spirit will declare it all to Jesus’ disciples. If only we creatures made in God’s image would do the same, what a different world this would be.

There is perfect harmony and otherliness within the divine Godhead and this triune God is sharing it with his human creatures. Does that not blow your mind?

May our prayers reflect our desire for God’s love to affect our attitudes and actions toward others and inspire thankfulness of God’s unsurpassed generosity towards us.

Episode 108 - The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement - John 16:4b-11

(4b) “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

In John 13:36, Peter asks Jesus, “Where are you going?” and in John 14:5, Thomas says to Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” So, it seems odd that Jesus would now say, “. . . none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’” What could he mean by this when in fact, a few of them had asked where he was going?

I think the clues to that answer lie in the context of the disciples’ earlier questions of where he was going and the context of Jesus’ indictment in this text. When Peter asks where Jesus was going, Jesus’ response addresses Peter’s expectation that he would follow Jesus anywhere. Jesus said, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” (John 13:36) I interpret that response as, I am going to the cross, the grave, and the Father, and I have a job for you before you can follow me to these three destinations. (My interpretive paraphrase) Shortly after, Thomas pipes up and expresses that they don’t know where he is going even though Jesus had just told them that he was going to his Father’s house to prepare a place for them. So when we get to this text, I notice that the verb translated “asks” is in the present active indicative. This means the translation could read “No one is asking me  (at the present). . .” In other words, Jesus’ accusation is suggesting their thoughts are on the wrong thing. 

The point is that Jesus has continued to make it clear that he will soon no longer be with them physically. Furthermore, they can expect to be persecuted and put to death. How would you likely be feeling if you were in their position? They are sad and despairing, and Jesus is saying their sorrow is consuming them. They should focus on where Jesus is going and what that means for them. When Jesus goes to the Father, he will send the Holy Spirit to them. That explanation should give them joy and hope.

Jesus explained that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of three things: sin, righteousness, and judgment.  The most significant sin the world makes is not believing who Jesus is and why he came to earth. (v.9) Jesus’ explanation of how the world will be convicted concerning righteousness through his return to the Father. (v. 10) I believe this means that God has not been unrighteous by overlooking sin or allowing death, the consequence of sin, to go unchecked. On the contrary, God demonstrated that He is righteous, providing the perfect solution to humanity’s sin through His righteous Son taking on the just punishment for the world’s sin and then conquering death and ascending back to the Father. Paul explains this in Romans 8:3-4, “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” 

Finally, the Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning judgment “because the ruler of this world is judged.” (v. 11) That is the devil himself. 

I see the initial fulfillment of what Jesus says here concerning the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost as revealed in Acts 2. Read this on your own time and notice how boldly Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, indicts “the world” of their sin of not believing Jesus and for crucifying him. Look at their response in Acts 2:37. The Holy Spirit convicted them. 

The take-away from this lesson is the joy and hope we have knowing that Jesus is risen and is at the right hand of the Father. He has given us the Holy Spirit. We can follow the leading of the Spirit and speak the truth of Jesus, trusting that the Holy Spirit will convict them accordingly and bring people to faith.

Episode 106 - Our Advocate, the Holy Spirit - John 15:26-27

John 15:26   “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

In the previous chapter of this book, Jesus made two promises of sending the “parakletos” which is translated in the English Standard Version as “Helper.” Jesus explained in John 14:17 that this is the “Spirit of Truth.” Shortly after in John 14:26 and following he qualifies this “Helper” as the Holy Spirit; the third person of the Trinity. I had also noted that the Greek word “parakletos” could be translated as “Advocate.” I argued that this word better communicates the role of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus explains that the Advocate will always be with Jesus’ disciples. 

I don’t know about you, but I like being with the people I love and who love me. To me, Jesus’ assurance the Holy Spirit would always be with us reminds us that God’s love is always with us. Because of that love, we can understand why he advocates for us. 

Jesus also says in 14:26 that this Advocate “will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” It’s important to understand this promise within its context. One has no grounds to argue that we do not need to study the Bible because the Holy Spirit will teach us everything we need to know. If this were the case, why would Jesus have called these disciples to live and hang out with him for a few years? Why didn’t He just send the Holy Spirit upon them if everything they needed to know would just be put into them by the Holy Spirit? The answer lies in the second part of that promise. Jesus told them the Holy Spirit would remind them of what Jesus had taught them. 

In this brief section in view today, Jesus repeats that this Advocate is the Spirit of truth. I love that Jesus repeats this. In this world of not knowing who to believe for anything, we can trust that God wants to reveal His truth to us by the Spirit of truth who will always be with us. Jesus explains that the first and most important truth the Advocate will communicate is concerning Jesus; “he will bear witness about me.” (v. 26) Then he adds, “And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (v. 27) This is why Jesus called these first disciples to follow him and be with him for a few years. In following Jesus, they got to hear his teaching and watch him work the miracles he performed. Whenever the Spirit came, He would take all of that teaching and experience they had with Jesus and teach them by helping them understand the significance of Jesus’ words and works. It was God’s will for them to witness Jesus and learn his teaching (which came from the Father) but for the Holy Spirit to form the deeper understanding and significance of it all. The first and foremost thing I believe they grasped was that this Jesus, this amazing guy they had been following the past few years, was truly God. 

As a side note, I believe it was this awareness that led John the Apostle to not directly name himself in this book and to also magnify the work of John the Baptist who said of Jesus, “He must increase. But, I must decrease.” I think John the Apostle spent the rest of his life in wonder and awe of Jesus, pondering why Jesus chose him.  John does not want to highlight himself in his own account of Jesus’ ministry. So, he speaks of himself simply as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” 

The fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit would bear witness concerning him and that the disciples would also bear witness first came in Acts 2 at the Feast of Pentecost. Read that and ask yourself if these people seem different than they did less than two months earlier when they were running away from Jesus and denying him.

The important lesson I believe we can learn is that while we do not get the privilege of seeing Jesus with our physical eyes and listen to him speak with our ears, we do get the privilege of “listening” and “observing”  him through the Scriptures. We also have the witnesses that were with him. So,  the Spirit of truth, our Advocate who is always with us, can illumine our understanding of Jesus’ words and actions so that it will help us have the same kind of wonder and awe that God has chosen us to be with Him. Then, we should bear witness to others so they can believe.

Do you know what the Bible calls this? Faith.

Episode 101 - The Adovocate will teach you all things - John 14:25-26

John 14:25   “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

These two verses are usually taken with the following verses through verse 31. But, I would like to focus purely on this statement concerning the Holy Spirit. Jesus had just promised to request the Father to send “another Helper” who would be with them forever. The Greek word translated “Helper” in both these verses can also mean “Advocate.” Personally, I like that term better. Maybe I’m reading too much into this. But, it appears to me that “Advocate” connotes the idea the Advocate has the interest of maintaining a relationship between multiple parties; in this case ourselves and the Father. 

Jesus explains how this works. The Father will send the Spirit in Jesus’ name and the Spirit will teach Jesus’ disciples all things. Jesus has been teaching them “all things” for the past few years. What Jesus has been teaching them has been from the Father hasn’t it. Jesus asserted that he was not teaching or doing anything on his own authority but what he saw and received from the Father.  Now, the Spirit would be picking up the job of teaching Jesus’ disciples. Is it not awesome that God wants to teach us His truths? God could just be a power that created and sustained the universe. But, God actually wants us to learn and has made sure that Jesus’ disciples would not stop learning what He wanted them to learn. 

Secondly, the Spirit would “bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” You and I have actually benefitted from the fact that this came true. Back in John 2, Jesus told the religious rulers who demanded a sign for his cleansing the temple “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” They thought he was talking about the temple building. But John records, “21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” 

Do you see? God, Father and Son, and the Spirit understood those men would not understand at the time what Jesus meant by his response. Yet, the message was given by the Father to the Son who spoke them in space and time to humans. Now that Jesus was going back to the Father from where he came, the Father would send the Spirit to cause Jesus’ disciples to remember these things and understand more fully what God was communicating. 

We are often in such a hurry. We want to know more and we want to know it now. But, God has perfect timing. In His all-wise perfect plan, God is patient and will lovingly reveal things to those He loves without expecting us to understand it all. Then, at the right time, His Spirit will open our minds to what He has said and we will understand what He wants us to understand. The Holy Spirit is the one advocating our needs to the Father and the Father’s truth and patient care to us.

Episode 99 - "He will give you another Helper" - John 14:15-17

John 14:15   “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

In the previous episode, Jesus made two promises that are rather amazing. The first was that Jesus’ disciples would do the works Jesus was doing and even greater works. The second was that they could ask him anything in his name and he would do it. The big question in light of both of these promises is, How is this possible? The answer lies in the text of these verses.

Back in chapter seven, John gives an account of Jesus teaching at the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles,  “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39, ESV) Back then Jesus was promising to give the Holy Spirit to those who believed in him. But, it would only occur after Jesus had been glorified.

Now Jesus is making this promise again to his disciples because that time was drawing very near. Here Jesus is giving them more information about the Holy Spirit for the purpose of encouraging them that he was not abandoning them. Jesus’ statement in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” is not disconnected with everything else he has told them. Jesus had been teaching them and showing them how he expected them to serve each other. The idea of them being able to work the works Jesus did and for him to hear their requests and answer those requests is connected with their love for him and their love for him is demonstrated by keeping the commandments he gave them. 

Jesus then told them that the Father would answer his request and send “another Helper” who would “be with them forever.” (v. 16) This Helper is the “Spirit of truth.” I can’t help but stop and ponder this. In our present age and culture, people at large don’t believe in truth. In some ways I cannot blame them. During this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, information is continually disseminated from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and other experts that contradict the information from the others or even are contradictory to their earlier statements. People are weary of not knowing who or what to believe. But, concerning what God wants us to know, the Spirit will truthfully lead us when our love for Christ is manifest and we are dependent and focused upon his will and on of our own self-centered ways. 

We should not be surprised when people do not understand or believe the same things we do about Jesus and God. Why? Jesus explains that the “world” cannot receive the Spirit of truth because the world neither sees or knows him. 

How can we know the Spirit and his leading? Jesus explains to the disciples that “he dwells with you and will be with you.” (v. 17) Here again is the idea that God wants to dwell and be with His people. John had said of “the Word” (Jesus) who was with God and was God “became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us.” (John 1:14) 

Just as God had dwelt with the Israelites in the tabernacle and the temple and God dwelled with people through the Incarnation of His Son Jesus, now God would dwell forever with His people through the third person of the Trinity. He is our Helper. He is the living water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14)

Trust in Jesus. God will never abandon you. 

Episode 54 - Rivers of living water - John 7:37-44

John 7:37   On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.40   When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

Recall that the feast spoken of here is the Feast of Booths (a.k.a. Feast of Tabernacles). John mentions that it was the “last day of the feast, the great day” which has significance in connection with what Jesus is saying. The feast, as I mentioned before, was to remember their ancestors wandering in the wilderness and God’s provision for them. At this feast, there was a ritual with water. Priests poured water on the altar each day and on the last day they did it seven times. You can find scholarly discussions in commentaries as to the various meanings of this ritual. However, I think most significantly it represents God’s miraculous provision of water in that desert area for so long. 

Earlier, Jesus had drawn a connection of himself to the bread that God provided for them in the wilderness. Their ancestors had survived on that bread but ultimately died. Jesus said that he was the true bread from heaven that would give them eternal life. Here, he is telling people at the feast that he is the source of “living water.” This is similar to what he told the woman at the well. 

The translation here I think could be better. To clarify, I understand Jesus saying that he is the source of the living waters. But, it is the one who “drinks Jesus” and believes in him who will receive the living waters flowing within him or her. John explains that this living water ever springing up within the believer is the Holy Spirit would be given to believers after Jesus had been glorified.

Jesus’ words obviously resonated with people as some said that he was surely the Prophet and others claimed that he was the Christ. But still, there were those whose reason over-ruled God’s revelation. They were aware that he had come from Galilee. But, they didn’t bother to investigate his genealogy as both Mary and Joseph can be traced back to David’s lineage. Matthew and Luke both record that he was born in Bethlehem.

It seems to me that our takeaway from this section is that Jesus provides an infinite supply of what we need for the eternal and abundant life that God offers. We need to “consume” Jesus. We need to believe what he did and said and internalize it as much as possible. 

Episode 32 - Living water that gives eternal life

John 4:1   Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

John 4:7   A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Chapter four is yet another story of Jesus having a one-on-one dialogue with another person as he did with Nicodemus. But, you should see some significant differences between their identity and status in society as well as their response to Jesus’ teaching. 

The first six verses give us the scene and set up this story for us. A few observations are:

1. Jesus makes a decision to return to Galilee where he had turned the water into wine and John mentions that he “had to go through Samaria. There were other routes from where he was. So, it’s not like it was the only way to get there. As we’ll see in this story and the rest of the book, the Father has a mission for Jesus and Jesus always obeys the Father.

2. John has clearly attested to Jesus’ divinty. But, he also told us in the prologue that the Word became flesh; meaning human. The fact that John mentions in this story that Jesus was weary from his journey is evidence that Jesus got tired. It’s evidence of his humanity.

3. Finally, the time of day is “the sixth hour.” In the accounting of time of that culture, the sixth hour was noon. Isn’t it interesting that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night? But, this lady will meet Jesus when the sun is highest in the sky and there is light. She will encounter the “true light” that came into the world.

Women going to get water out of a well was not unusual. But, going at noon? It’s more likely that they would come to the well early in the morning or later in the day; at times when it might be cooler. So, maybe she’s coming at a time when she believes no one else will be there. 

But, someone is there.  It is a man and it’s evident to her that he is a Jew. At her surprise, Jesus asks her for a drink of water.  In her response, we learn something about an existing prejudice Jews had toward Samaritans. She asks how it is that he would ask her for a drink. Perhaps she suspects that he wants something more than a drink of water.

My paraphrase of his response to her is, “If you understood what God wants to give you and knew who I am, you would have asked me and I would have given you living water.”  At this point, we can already recognize that Jesus has created the opportunity for dialogue by making a simple request for water. She could have given him some water to drink and continued on her way. But, she couldn’t leave it alone. She had to know why he would talk to her when most Jews would not. He uses the opportunity to turn the discussion to a spiritual direction. He’s talking about the Holy Spirit and eternal life.

She does not understand what he is talking about yet as is evidenced by her pointing out that he does have any means by which to draw water from the well. Furthermore, she challenges him by asking him whether he is greater than their common ancestor Jacob. 

Jesus then explains that the water he can give her is a different kind of water that will spring up from within her providing eternal life and will truly satisfy her “thirst.” 

It seems to me that Nicodemus would have walked away shaking his head in disbelief. The woman did not know anything about Jesus.  There were no signs, as there had been for the Jews, to cause her to want to listen to Jesus more. But, without any of that evidence and still not clear of what he’s offering, she does ask him for the water he is offering. She is saying, “I don’t really get what you’re offering. But, it sounds good and I want it.” 

I am in awe of the simplicity and the passion of her faith, as limited as it may be at this moment. Jesus isn’t finished yet. He will satisfy her parched thirst by the end of this story. 

Before we continue to the next episode, give some thought to the backgrounds and circumstances of both Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman . Maybe think about what our own prejudices might be and whether God has a mission for us in our own virtual Samaria. Ask God to lead us there and to give us the words to speak to those who are thirsty for spiritual truth and hope.

Episode 26 - You must be born again! John 3:3-8

John 3:3-8

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

We pick up where we left off in this conversation between a religious leader of the Jews named Nicodemus and Jesus and Nicodemus acknowledges that “we” recognize that Jesus is a teacher come from God. It’s the signs that Jesus is doing that leads them to this recognition. So, how does Jesus respond to this?

He responds with a statement that causes confusion among people to this day. Notice it begins with this expression “Truly, truly.” There is some immediate repetition here isn’t there? What does it mean? Well, in our language today, we might begin a statement that we wanted our audience to understand with the word “honestly.” (Ex. Honestly, I didn’t intend to slam the door in your face.”) But, to repeat it shows an emphasis. Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, “Listen up! What I’m about to tell you is very important and factual.” Then he says, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Does that response sound like Jesus approves of Nicodemus’ cognitive recognition that Jesus is sent from God? No. He’s saying that there is something other than understanding required in order to be where God is. A person needs to be “born again.” 

What on earth does that mean? Interestingly, the Greek word translated “again” has another possible meaning. The other meaning is “from above.” This secondary meaning is what Jesus wants Nicodemus to understand; that one needs to be born from above in order to see the kingdom of God. In case you miss that importance, notice that Jesus repeats the requirement in verse 7, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again (from above).’” 

Through Nicodemus’ own lack of understanding and Jesus drawing him further into this discussion and explains that he’s not talking about a second physical birth. Being born “again, from above” is an act of the Holy Spirit. When John records Jesus saying, “Unless one is born of the water and Spirit he cannot see the kingdom of God” he is not adding an additional requirement. Most likely, he is evoking this combined imagery from the Hebrew Scriptures to help Nicodemus understand what he is saying.  Notice in Isaiah 44:3, “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” Water is used as a metaphor for the Spirit. 

In verse 8 Jesus explains it further by using the analogy of wind. People perceive the wind. They feel its effects. But, they cannot see it. This is also true with people who’ve experienced the effects of God pouring out His Spirit upon them to receive His truth and blessings. This stands in stark contrast to Nicodemus’ statement about their reasoning and conclusions based upon what they’ve seen with their eyes. 

Think back to John’s prologue where John states, “11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13)

The emphasis both in the prologue and in Jesus teaching Nicodemus is the emphasis that our hope of being in God’s presence, in his kingdom, is not based upon human reasoning and will, but upon the will of God and Him pouring out His Spirit upon people. People may see things and recognize that Jesus was a good teacher, a miracle worker, or even sent from God. That’s good. But, it’s not good enough. People need God’s supernatural work by His Spirit in their lives to affect faith to believe in Jesus’ name; to accept who God has revealed him to be.