grantataberfoyle

God keeps to his own plan—of mercy (Rom. 9—11)

Paul has been giving us an account of what God has done through Jesus Christ, concluding with a promise of a glorious future.

This hope is vital for us, so we need to be sure that God keeps his promises. And Israel is the ‘working case-history’ of God making promises and keeping them. We need to know their story.

So, in this section, Paul shows that God still has Israel in mind. More than that—he loves them. There’s more to his promise than their present rejection of him is indicating. And if God still reaches out to Israel through Paul more than two decades after they kill his Messiah, is it any different after two millennia have passed?

I had a conversation with a Jewish Rabbi here in Australia some years ago. He asked me what I thought was going on in the Middle East regarding Israel.

I said to him, ‘Anyone who hates Israel is shooting themselves in the foot!’ Understandably, he wanted to know what I meant by this and we spent an hour talking about it.

Clearly, we should love Israel. Paul makes it clear that he does. He describes how God’s promises to them are being fulfilled. And he describes the battle God must wage with them until they realise that they need to depend on his mercy.

Israel is not special in the sense of being more important than any other nation. They are important because they are chosen to be an example—to us all—of how God’s promises lead to his mercy. So, it needs to be emphasized that this discussion is not talking about the rights and wrongs of what is happening in the Middle East today.

In these three chapters, Paul doesn’t talk about justice. He talks about mercy[i], something all of us are going to need. God’s story with Israel is a love story. And like most love stories, it twists and turns and happens in ways no human being could have planned.[ii]

And our future, like Israel’s, will depend on God’s mercy. If we don’t understand these merciful promises made to them—and if we don’t share God’s love for them, we may have ‘shot ourselves in the foot’. Like Israel, we need to rely on God’s mercy.

So, we’ll look at what Paul tells us about Israel—and about us. And then we’ll return to the Rabbi’s question. (If you have a Bible open to Romans, you’ll see how I’m summarizing what Paul is saying.)

First, God has loved Israel and demonstrated it by giving them unique privileges (9:1-5).

God chose them to be his family—beginning with Abraham. He lived among them, bonded himself to them by a covenant with obligations, and accepted their worship. He made promises to them so they could be sure of their future. And, to them would be given a Messiah who would deliver them, and the world, from all their enemies.

This Messiah, of course, has now arrived—no less than God himself—God the Son—Jesus Christ.

So, following God’s lead, Paul longs for his fellow Israelites to recognise God’s Son and to be saved. And he spares no effort or pain to persuade them that their Messiah has come.

Second, Israel’s welfare depends wholly on God choosing them (9:6-13).

The nation needs to understand why they are the people that they are. It’s not Abraham’s older son who receives the promised blessing but the younger one. God does the choosing, not Abraham, or either of his sons.

And not us either. God’s promises apply to those he chooses. If we think we can have anything we want, we will never understand God.

Third, God’s choosing and calling Israel are acts of mercy (9:14-29).

God creates Israel by having mercy on them—rescuing them from slavery in Egypt.

We are so accustomed to mechanisms of justice and expecting to be given what we deserve that we may have forgotten what mercy is. It may not be registering in our minds that we actually deserve wrath.

God doesn’t argue with us here. He has no need to prove himself. He knows he is merciful. He knows we have no grounds to insist on our rights with him. Before him, we all stand condemned and speechless.[iii]

Paul has already shown that God is patient with those who proudly reject his Son—patient enough to let him be killed by them. Jesus transforms their sinful act into a sin offering. That’s mercy!

And if God can be merciful to his chosen nation, he can be merciful to Gentiles as well.[iv] Hosea shows that God can create a people from any nation. Belonging to him depends on his mercy—not any rights we may claim.

Fourth (9:30—10:21), the people who belong to God are righteous because they trust God to call them such.

This is why first century Jews trip up over Jesus. They reckon they are already righteous and won’t submit to the mercy being shown to them. A common problem—for Jews and Gentiles!

But Moses, the very person who receives the ten commandments and teaches Israel to keep them, also teaches them that they can’t claw their way up to God by keeping them.[v] In fact, the law will prove that they can’t keep them. They will need to receive their righteousness by faith. The law is the way to respond in love to the one who saves them.[vi]

Most first century Jews don’t recognise this—even though it’s in their Bible. So, when Jesus comes, they don’t recognise him either. But he is what their law is all about. And he will perfectly fulfill it. But Israel won’t receive something God does for them. They don’t want to be justified by faith.

It is this righteousness that Paul is announcing.[vii] The gospel is not an achievement of ours. It’s God giving up his Son for our sin and raising him for our justification. This is what we must confess. It’s the believer of this who will never be ashamed before God—Jew or Gentile. Those whom God chooses.[viii]

Paul can quote Jewish scriptures that predict everything he is doing in reaching out to Gentiles. He’s going everywhere he can. Jews are getting jealous about the privileges now being enjoyed by Gentile Christians. People who aren’t even seeking God are finding him through the preaching of the gospel. And his own people are still rejecting the grace of their God. All that God has promised is happening!

Fifth, God’s promise to save Israel is right on schedule (11:1-36).

Paul himself is a clear example of God keeping his promises.[ix] God chooses him, has mercy on him, justifies him, and makes him a true member of his people. He’s a true Israelite!

His situation is like it was in Elijah’s day when many people belonged to Israel—formally. But most had no heart for what their nation really was. They didn’t want to live by God’s bounty. So, God made sure they didn’t understand what was really going on.

Is this the end of the story?[x] By no means. God’s love weaves its way through much resistance.

Paul can even see a purpose in Israel rejecting their Messiah. When they refuse to listen to him, he is sent on to Gentiles, and many of them are grafted into Israel’s privileges.

Jealousy works wonders here! The Jews are jealous of other nations receiving favour from God. Paul knows this well.[xi] Before his conversion, he is furious at Gentiles finding peace with God. And all the while, he doesn’t have it himself. Is this why Jesus says to him outside Damascus that it is hard for him to kick against God’s gracious prodding? He’s having a hard time resisting mercy!

As we noted before, love’s path may look like a tangled web but it needs to undo what is false. And it does—with Paul. He becomes a grateful follower of Christ. He is now happy to preach to Jews, and then go to Gentiles. And all the while, he knows God is right on track with his story of mercy.

So, those of us who are Gentiles—in other words, most of us Christians—should be careful! There are no grounds for us to be smug and to think that we are secure because we belong to the right group.

And, here’s the point we must know well. Every one of us believers in Christ are where we are because of God’s kindness—plus nothing! If we forget this, God cuts us out—or shows that we never were a part of his grateful people. And he can graft his ancient people back in—easily. God has promised that he will do just this.[xii]

Here’s the principle. God proves to us all that we are not nice people but rebels. And he has mercy on those he chooses. We’re in his hands—totally. There’s no room for pride anywhere.

And God can be an enemy and a lover of his people at the same time. His loving promise will be fulfilled. For this reason, he fights against the pride of those who think they belong to him so that they will know his mercy.

So, we can trust God. And we can worship him. His promises are irrevocable.[xiii]

Notice that this is not something Paul is deducing from observation. He’s looking at everything that is happening in the world in the light of what God has promised to Israel.

Sixth, the gospel is all about knowing God.[xiv]

Every attempt that has been made to get the upper hand with God, from the beginning of this letter until now, has been shown to be futile.

On the other hand, everything God has done is powerfully effective, and has fulfilled his promises. We are in safe hands!

We should be in awe of his wisdom, his knowledge, his judgements, his ways. We should not presume that we understand him! Or that we can advise him! Or enrich him!

Mercy is something to receive, not to negotiate. The future is not something to calculate but to anticipate—gratefully. All the glory is due to God.

Returning to the Rabbi’s question, what is happening in Israel at present, and, to Jews wherever they are in the world? Has God’s plan of mercy changed? Rather, our question should be, what part of the above love story is being worked out at present?

Of the Jews who live in Israel, only some 2% are Christians. In other words, that part of Israel now living as the state of Israel is largely still rejecting their Messiah, and the mercy and the righteousness promised to them. They are not really God’s people[xv]—they are cut off. But then—this is a love story. They can be grafted back in.

God waits to have mercy on them. He wrestles with them. He may send them good things. He may be severe. But he loves them. They need to turn to their Messiah. So, with God, we should love them, and pray for them.

And what is true of Israel is his ‘working case history’ for Gentiles to take note of. God is waiting to reveal his mercy to us also, not to give us our rights!

In the end, we will see that all whom God knows as his chosen people will be saved. God will keep his promise. And those of us who are not Jews can also trust God’s promise to bring about the future he has revealed to us.

[i] Rom. 9:15-18, 23; 11:30-32

[ii] The book of Hosea is an example of God treating Israel with severe mercy.

[iii] Rom. 3:19

[iv] Gen. 12:2-3

[v] Deut. 30:2-24

[vi] Exod. 20:2-3

[vii] Rom. 10:9-13

[viii] Acts 2:39

[ix] Rom. 11:1-10

[x] Rom. 11:11-32

[xi] Rom. 7:7-9

[xii] Vv. 26-27, quoting the Greek version of Isa.59:20-21; Isa. 27:9

[xiii] Rom. 11:29

[xiv] Rom. 11:33-36

[xv] The Old Testament speaks in these terms (Hos. 1:6-11). So does Jesus (Matt. 22:14; John 10:39-41). So does Paul (Rom. 2:28-29).s.

[i] Rom. 9:15-18, 23; 11:30-32

[ii] The book of Hosea is an example of God treating Israel with severe mercy.

[iii] Rom. 3:19

[iv] Gen. 12:2-3

[v] Deut. 30:2-24

[vi] Exod. 20:2-3

[vii] Rom. 10:9-13

[viii] Acts 2:39

[ix] Rom. 11:1-10

[x] Rom. 11:11-32

[xi] Rom. 7:7-9

[xii] Vv. 26-27, quoting the Greek version of Isa.59:20-21; Isa. 27:9

[xiii] Rom. 11:29

[xiv] Rom. 11:33-36

[xv] The Old Testament speaks in these terms (Hos. 1:6-11). So does Jesus (Matt. 22:14; John 10:39-41). So does Paul (Rom. 2:28-29).

Let mercy reign (Rom. 12)

Paul is greatly moved when he finishes taking about God’s mercy. And so should we all be! Jesus has shown us how God goes about being kind to those who hate him. And this has introduced a whole new era.

So now, we all need a new life-style to match, and Paul pleads with us to have a life where God’s mercy shapes how we think, what we do and what we trust (12:1-2).

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the world—or, literally, ‘the age’ we live in is very confining. We are expected to behave and believe and approve as others do—or be excluded. It’s God who sets us free from these constrictions and enlarges our horizons.

The ‘age’ to which Paul refers is not a particular decade but all the time between the coming of Jesus and his coming again. In other words, now.

So, our thinking needs to change. God, the Lord of the universe, is being merciful—to me! I don’t need to hang onto my guilts or resentments or selfish ambitions. I’m free to live in the flow of God’s largesse. Has this really broken into our thinking?

Paul is now able to develop something he said earlier. We used to be slaves to our sins, but have now been entrusted to a new and powerful gospel. This will change the way we look at things, and our living.[i] This may sound risky, but it’s liberating. We will be giving to others what God is giving to us.

And the sacrifice this will involve will not be to placate an angry God—or an angry world for that matter. And we won’t need to ‘kill ourselves’ doing it. We offer ourselves as a ‘living sacrifice’, simply giving our lives over to Christ’s new regime—mercy. Well then, how should we live?

It’s interesting to see where Paul begins—with egotism (12:3-8).

We’ve all got things we can do, and especially so when we’ve been set free. God gives us gifts—a range of capabilities to help us help each other. But if we forget mercy, these things can make us proud.

Rather, we need to forget about being great and to check how closely our works reflect what we are believing—our ‘measure of faith’. And we need to forget about how much control it enables us to have and to think about how much it helps the whole group to be strong and useful.

And then, Paul gives us a lovely list of alerts—or commands. These may well stop us in our tracks when we realise we are living according to our old way of life, and that we need a new line of action, or a new habit (12:9-13).

Loving is a good place to start.

Paul is not talking about love defined by the present age—often little more than giving people what they want. I call this ‘lazy love’. It’s harder to discern what a person really needs and to look out for ways to give them that. We need to reflect God’s loving, which, as we have seen, can sometimes be kindness, and sometimes severity.[ii] Whatever, it needs to be genuine.

And, given that we are now part of God’s new age, our sense of good and evil also needs to change.

The world shapes our moral compass by its culture and ideology. But now, our affections and conscience must be reformed by seeing what evil does to Jesus, and by the goodness with which he responds.

We look at the things that kill Christ. They are the things to hate and to run from. And we look at the way Jesus responds. Here is the power that will reign in the age to come, and the power that will begin to change this present world. These are the things to love.

Paul’s check list continues with eagerness, joy, patience, prayer and generosity. If I mention the opposites of these, we may see how much we need a constant flow of God’s mercy!

For example, are we dull in our affections, morbid with our problems, anxious about the number of things that should be done or threats to our safety, or afraid of meeting people with great needs?

It’s time to get our minds full, again and again, of God’s great mercy—to us. He is full of affection. He rejoices over us with singing.[iii] He is slow to get angry. He has not spared his own Son; will he not then freely give us all needful things?[iv]

We need to do what Mary did when she was told she would be the mother of the Son of God—‘Let it be to me according to your word’.[v] When she prayed this prayer, the Holy Spirit caused a new life to be formed in her womb. In another sense, we can ask for Christ to be formed in us[vi]. And God will see to it that we are transformed—transformed by his mercy.

And what about living in a world that doesn’t appreciate ‘where we are coming from’ (12:14-21)?

This is a very helpful list to have because most of us spend our time among people who don’t know God—and don’t want to.

We can show what our God is like by our good will for nasty people, sympathy with everyone, friendship with people without our privileges, respect for the opinions of others and kindness for people who hate us. How come? God is being good to us! And God wants to show his goodness to others. We’re just imitating our Saviour! And we’re leaving him to deal with what is not given to us to fix.

We are called to overcome evil with good, like Jesus did the day he died for our sins. It won’t look like it’s working—not yet. But it will.

[i] Rom. 6:17

[ii] Rom. 11:22

[iii] Zeph. 3:17

[iv] Rom. 8:32

[v] Luke 1:38

[vi] Gal. 4:19

[i] Rom. 6:17

[ii] Rom. 11:22

[iii] Zeph. 3:17

[iv] Rom. 8:32

[v] Luke 1:38

[vi] Gal. 4:19

The laws we live with and the command that counts (Romans 13)

There are two parts in this chapter of Paul’s letter. He tells us where we stand with regard to our governments (vv. 1-7). And then he encourages us to live an unencumbered life of love as we await Christ’s coming (vv. 8-14). It’s helpful to consider these two matters together.

So, first, let’s thank God for our governments! Perhaps that’s an idea that hasn’t occurred to us. But Paul says every authority is from God—including civil governments. Our life is ordered in such a way that we need people to look after affairs that affect our communities. This means that leaders, laws, courts and taxes are a necessary part of receiving all that God has for us in this world. And their proper functioning requires our willing compliance.

Paul is filling out what Jesus has already said—to give to God what is God’s, and to Caesar what is Caesar’s.[i]

He’s also updating what Jeremiah taught Jewish captives in Babylon. They were to seek the welfare of the state that had ruthlessly deported them, and pray for them. In this way they would also ensure their own welfare.[ii]

But notice that we are being asked to submit ourselves to authorities and responsibilities. This is different from being dominated. It has the same voluntary aspect to it as our submitting to one another as Christians.[iii] We are coming to our present life as those living under the kindness and care of Christ.[iv] If our hearts are settled by his grace and by our being in the Father’s family, we are better able to see our way clear to be socially cooperative without rancor. We know that someone else is ultimately in charge.

But notice too, that this involves being cooperative but not conformed to the narrative of an alien authority.[v] Sometimes, the most helpful thing we can do for our community or country may be to stand with Christ and not submit to an earthly authority.[vi] But this won’t be because we are out of control. To the contrary, it will be because we are under the only authority that can settle our hearts. We will know that our civil noncompliance is the best thing for our country and for our neighbours.

And again, notice that this comes to us, not as an option but as an obligation. God is commanding us. On the last day, he will hold us responsible for how we have lived among our neighbours. And our conscience is reminding us of this right now!

For those of us who live in democratic countries, new questions are arising. Our manner of governance has been shaped by a Christian heritage and it is questionable that it can survive without that background. The respect for authority and the restraint on our passions taught by a gracious God have made governance ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’ a workable system.

But with the denial of that heritage, many are already questioning whether democracy is the best form of government for today. We are going to need Paul’s counsel to help us navigate these times. And we need to know that we are not the victims of fate but under the reign of God’s mercy[vii]—the mercy spoken about in chapters 9—11.

But, now, in a second section, we are called to live in the freedom of loving one another (vv. 8-14).

We’ve already been told to pay what is due to those in authority over us, but the same applies to everyone else as well. Withholding what we should pay may be common practice, but not for someone who lives under Christ’s rule.

But Paul raises this to tell us about a greater debt we all have, more than any money we may owe—the debt to love everyone around us!

How has this debt been created?

It’s because Christ has poured out his whole self to bring us sinners into the Father’s presence. He’s paid our debt—the one we could never repay![viii] And now, he’s been raised and ascended, he’s spending his time as our Advocate in the Father’s presence. He spends his whole life giving!

The sheer size of this generosity creates a space to be filled with gratefulness—and by our love for one another.[ix] It’s something we ought to do, like paying a debt.[x] It’s not that Jesus needs to be paid for what he’s done. Rather, he wants the love to go on and on. What he’s started, he calls us to continue.

This love has a specific shape and structure. It’s what God revealed in his ten commandments. We shouldn’t commit adultery, murder, steal or covet or do anything else wrong. We defraud our neighbours if we don’t keep clear of these things. And we steal from God what he wants us to provide for others.

The direction of our perversity is reversed when we love one another. [xi] We’re being called to a life time of preferring other people to ourselves.

Jesus needs to clarify this for the Pharisees. They get caught up on definitions, all with a view to limiting their liability! But Jesus quotes their Old Testament to show that love for God and our neighbour sums up all that the law requires.[xii] In other words, to please God, this is what we need to do. It’s simple. But we need all the ongoing grace of God to do it!

But now, there’s more. We’re already on the brink of sharing in the new age that Jesus has promised. Ever since Jesus rose from the dead, every generation has been, and is, living with the prospect that our world and our works will be transformed into something glorious and eternal.

We’re expecting Christ’s return. And we’re expecting to share in a creation where everyone is awed by God’s goodness and greatness, where everyone loves their neighbour as themselves and is confident and happy beyond measure. Compared to this, everything we are now experiencing is like living in the darkness of night-time.

But here’s the point of all this. We have the privilege of living now as things will be then! And to do this, we need to ‘Put on the armour of light!’. We need to be dressed in something that comes from another world! We need to ‘put on the Lord Jesus Christ!’

We have already ‘put on Christ’—when we became Christians.[xiii] Now, we need to go on in the same way and live by him, for him and like him. (Paul told us how this works back in his chapter 6.) We need all the resources he’s provided for us and to be strong in the Lord.[xiv]

None of us can take this lightly. There’s enough of the old world in all of us to get us into trouble very quickly. All of us are naturally selfish, and the world feeds our cravings, and the devil plays his tricks. We need to be saying ‘No’ often. But then, we need to be doing this as we are saying ‘Yes’ to the blessings and the equipping that are coming from Christ.

What an amazing life Christ has provided for us! We’re sharing with him in his great project of a creation filled with people who love their God and love their neighbours.

[i] Luke 20:21-26

[ii] Jer. 29:7

[iii] Eph. 5:21

[iv] John 14:27

[v] Rom. 12:1

[vi] Eg. Acts 4:19-20. Other notable examples are Daniel, Esther, Luther or Bonhoeffer.

[vii] This practical section of Paul’s letter begins and ends with mercy (Rom. 12:1; 15:8).

[viii] Matt. 6:12; cf. 18:28-35

[ix] Jesus says whatever we do for one another, we do for him (Matt. 25:40).

[x] Jesus speaks of things we ought to do as paying a debt (Luke 17:10; John 13:14). And Paul uses the same debt language when he tells us what we are obliged to do in his next section (Rom. 15:1, 27) and elsewhere (1 Cor. 7:3; 9:10; 2 Cor. 12:11, 14; 2 Thes. 1:3, 13). Cf. 1 Chron. 29:14.

[xi] Lev. 19:18

[xii] Matt. 22:36-40; quoting Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:8

[xiii] Gal 3:27

[xiv] Eph. 6:10-18

God’s welcome, and ours (Rom. 14:1—15:13)

Paul is concluding his account of the gospel he preaches, and does so in a very practical way.

His readers in Rome include numbers of Jewish believers, and, probably, a majority of Gentiles. Their different backgrounds have led them to different conclusions about the right way to express their new faith.

Jews are accustomed to reverencing God by not eating certain foods and keeping certain holy days. They know they are justified by faith in Christ but can’t put aside what they see as an obligation. The Gentile Christians have no such constraints and gratefully enjoy all foods and serve God without regard to a calendar.

If these two people groups share the same faith, should they not share the same practice? The problem is felt keenly. Jews are condemning Gentiles for their liberties. And Gentiles are despising Jews for their rules[i].

These differences are all the more difficult to resolve when the issues are not just cultural but have to do with what each one thinks is right or wrong. As we have noted, everyone wants to be right—or be seen to be right. It’s hard to get on well with people who challenge this.

The problem is felt wherever the gospel brings people of different backgrounds together—and hopefully, that will include every church!

So, Paul gives us ways to navigate this territory. But he is not content to give directions. He tells us his gospel again and shows how it both shapes and enables this new way of living with each other.

The world fosters an ethic, an education and a culture, and ways to keep people within their bounds. These things are necessary but they can’t create what they prescribe. Only God and his gospel can do that. Here’s how.

First, God has welcomed us all. So, welcome each another![ii]

It is no small thing to be welcomed by God. The Maker of the universe is our Father. We’re being blessed because we are in his beloved Son.[iii] The Father knows each of us and wants us to help each other.

The opposite of this—as we have seen—is being alienated and destined for wrath. But this same God has offered up his Son in our place, to reconcile us to himself. He’s not angry with us. [iv] He’s welcomed us.

Given that this has taken place, our part is relatively simple. We should put away our anger with each another. We should welcome each another.

We can stop looking down on people who don’t have the same perspective as ourselves. And if God doesn’t see anything to condemn, there’s nothing to correct. If it’s only a matter of opinion, our opinion isn’t final!

Obviously, there are things God does condemn. And it may be our task to advise or to warn, and certainly, to pray. But it will be done as one who shares the same grace and is part of the same family.

What a relief! If God has welcomed us, we don’t need to be critical or dismissive of each other’s views on Christian living. A lot of our critical spirit is simply restlessness—because we’re not trusting in God’s welcome of us. So, let’s live in the gospel, enjoy it, and let its effects flow out to others!

Second, Christ is Lord of the living and the dead.[v] We’re responsible to him before we are responsible to each other.

Christ being our Lord hasn’t come about just because of who he is but because of what he’s done. He died and rose again. That’s why he’s been made Lord over everything.[vi]

So, he’s in charge of the household we belong to. We’re his servants and need to be looking to him for what needs to happen.

There are probably many people we look up to—those who have brought the word of God to us, given us advice or helped us out of trouble. But Jesus Christ is the one to please. He’s the one who can settle our conscience, and our thinking as to what is right and wrong. He’s the one who can help us make adjustments as we experience greater security in his gospel.

And in the end, God has a judgement day arranged. That’s the assessment we need to face. And the person we’ll see on that throne will be Jesus Christ. So, he’s the ‘big person’ to be aware of now. The opinions of angry people, dominant people, kind people, all need to be subject to his presence.

Third, the whole purpose of Christ’s reign and God’s kingdom is establishing righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.[vii]

You may remember these three thoughts coming together in chapter 5. We are justified or declared righteous, we have peace with God, and rejoice, even in suffering because the Holy Spirit has poured love into our hearts.

If we have felt the relief and dignity of justification, the confidence of being at peace with God and the joy of flowing love, we know what it means to belong to a kingdom that is safe and sure. Matters of what we eat and when we do things can take second place.

And we’ll be careful not to get in the road of a fellow believer practicing what they believe to be pleasing God. They need to act according to the faith they have—faith by which they are justified. Faith is the important thing, not getting everyone practicing their faith in the same way that we do.

Fourth, Christ didn’t please himself. In fact, he endured a lot of trouble because of us—to put it mildly! So, we need to endure the troublesome aspects of what other people do.[viii]

For example, if we are robust in our confidence before God, that quality is for others just as much as it is for us. We’ve got enough enjoyment of grace to put up with the stumbling faith of others. We should use our faith for their benefit.

Just look at Christ. He’s a walking picture of what God endures from us. All our hatred of God is directed against him, and he feels the pain. But he endures what we are and what we do. And still, he encourages us in what is good. This is perhaps what leads to Paul’s conversion. The ascended Jesus explains that persecuting Christians is fighting against him. He tells Paul that he must be having a hard time![ix] That’s endurance, and that’s encouragement.

So, these are the things God wants us to feel and to express. We Christians are a diverse and unfinished bunch! But God wants us to welcome each other—like he does. Not to indulge useless talk, but to endure each other when necessary. And to encourage each other.

And now, here’s the final word on this gospel of which Paul is so proud.[x]

Christ has fulfilled the promises God made to Israel—particularly about people from all nations being thankful for his mercy. The day of joy and praise and hope has come.

If Jews think they have been left behind by what is happening among Gentiles, they should rather be proud that they have been the launching place for this great work.

The world is not just the dismal place we have made it. It is the scene in which God has let his gospel loose!

If we forget this gospel and try to make a world around ourselves—even around our Christian experience, we shut others out. But if we live in what God has done and is doing—giving us righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, we will praise God together, rejoice together, and hope for the same future.[xi]

God himself is full of hope. He wants us to share this confidence with him—in our life together, and while we wait for the coming glory.

Paul began this letter telling us why he is a joyous slave of Christ. Now we know why! And he will finish the letter with some personal reflections, plans and greetings. We’ll look at this next time.

[i] Rom. 14:3

[ii] Rom. 14:1-4

[iii] Eph. 1:6

[iv] Rom. 5:9-11

[v] Rom. 14:5-12

[vi] Rom. 14:9 with Phil. 2:8-11

[vii] Rom. 14:13-23

[viii] Rom. 15:1-13

[ix] Acts 26:14

[x] Rom. 1:16

[xi] As in Rom. 5:1-5

With love, from Paul (Rom. 15:14—16:27)

In this wonderful letter, Paul has spelt out the gospel that Christ has revealed to him. He’s shown us why righteousness must come to us as a gift, how Christ has created the gospel in his own life, death and resurrection, and how this works out in different areas of life. But now, Paul concludes, as he began[i], by sharing something about himself with us, his readers.

Paul explains why he’s writing (vv. 14-16), what’s been keeping him busy (15:17-22), where he is placed now and what he is needing (15:23-29), and asks his readers to pray for him (15:30-33). And he adds numerous personal greetings (16:1-27).

But I would like to focus on three different roles Paul plays in this conversation. Here they are.

First, Paul is an apostle to Gentiles.

Jesus has sent him to ‘open the eyes’ of Gentiles with the good news of Christ. In this way, they will be sanctified by faith.[ii] Their false ways have made them unclean. But, through the gospel, people of all nations are being washed and sanctified.[iii] In other words, they are proper company for God and for other Christians.

And what a ride it has been! Over two decades, Paul has become a presence to reckon with in Jerusalem, Syria, Asia Minor, the Grecian peninsular, and is now planning a visit to Rome, and then, to Spain.

But it’s not just the geography Paul has in mind. It’s what Christ has been doing—in him. Jesus has not just been a story to tell. He, himself, has been the presence to be reckoned with—Jesus present in the work of the Holy Spirit, persuading Gentiles to turn to Christ. And now, it’s Christ who will see to it that the gospel will go on being heard—through the churches already planted. So, Paul believes that his work in these areas has been done.

The reason he comes to this conclusion is that he is thinking of a prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah.[iv] The suffering Saviour will ‘sprinkle many nations’, and make them clean, by being ‘crushed for our iniquities’. And kings will ‘shut their mouths because of him’.

This is exactly what has happened. People have seen the love of God in Christ, they are amazed. They are hearing ‘things they have never heard before’. These last words have guided Paul to focus on places where no-one else has preached. He wants everyone to know the grace of God. As he explains later on—in a Roman court—‘I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision’.[v]

Second, Paul is an apostle to the whole church.

Paul expects that his visit to Rome will be a blessing from God to them.[vi] His letter has been addressed to Gentiles there, but also to Jews. And his letter has included some pertinent reminders and exhortations.

In doing this, Paul dismisses anything that would elevate him unduly or suggest they were unable to look after their own pastoral care. But his letter has revealed that his grasp of the truth and it’s working out among the nations is broad and thorough. It would be wrong for him not to share this truth—with his readers and, of course, with ourselves.

Consider the many things going on in Paul’s mind as he writes his letter.

He’s taking a gift from grateful Gentile Christians in Greece to needy Jewish Christians in Jerusalem—something he sees as very appropriate. But then, he’s hated by unconverted Jews in Jerusalem and knows his trip will be risky. And he’s thinking about the questions Jerusalem Christians have about his ministry to Gentiles and wants them to receive him and this Gentile gift well. And now, he’s thinking about Rome.

Paul is truly an apostle to the whole church—encompassing its complexities, feeling its pain and sharing its joys. And he asks the church in Rome to share in making all this successful by praying for it to be so.

So, for ourselves, it would be wrong not to listen to what Paul says in this letter. Our Lord Jesus wants us to be a Holy Spirit sanctified offering that he can bring to his Father. And this letter is part of the way he will enable this to happen. It’s not surprising the letter to the Romans has helped believers for 20 centuries and shaped the lives of many generations.

Third, Paul is a man with many friends, and here, he sends greetings to numbers of them.

Phoebe has been courier for this letter and, previously, has helped Paul in numerous ways. Now Paul ensures that her welfare in Rome is not overlooked.

Another 17 people are mentioned by name. Some are Jews like himself and one senses that he feels grateful for this. Others have shared jail time with him. He knows them all deeply, and sometimes, their family, or the church meeting in their house. He knows the significance they have had for others, and sometimes for himself.

Prisca and Aquilla have endangered their lives to help Paul, and many churches have benefited from their service. Others whom Paul mentions are simply deeply loved. He recalls the coming to faith of some.

All this mutual care is not just people being nice to each other. It happens ‘in the Lord’—that is, because of the Lord and because believers are sharing in his life. The phrase occurs some 10 times.

It’s hard for us to keep our own ego out of how we relate to others. We’re thinking of ourselves rather than about them. That’s why it’s very practical to relate to others ‘in the Lord’. We need all the teaching in this letter about being in Christ, and we need to decide over and over again to let the love of Christ shape the encounters we have with others.

We could say that this list of greetings brings the letter to a climax because we are seeing the result of having a gospel where Christ has taken over the lead role on our ‘stage’.

So, Paul greets all his friends, drawing them to himself in affection. And he asks everyone in the church at Rome to do the same.

And then, apostle that he is, Paul calls the church in Rome to be clear about their doctrine, to be aware of those who want to be the centre of attention rather than Christ and his truth.

And he calls the believers to be wise. Gaining wisdom takes time—a long persistence in the same direction.

For our encouragement, Paul concludes with this invigorating hope. Believers have found peace with God through Jesus Christ. This is the environment we occupy and the security we enjoy. And soon, God will crush Satan under our feet! This is the battle that Christ alone could win. But now, standing in his victory, all of us believers will also see him fall under our feet. The battle need never again disturb our conscience or our hopes.

[i] Rom. 1:1-15

[ii] Acts 26:16-19

[iii] 1 Cor. 6:11

[iv] Isa. 52:15; 53:5

[v] Acts 26:19

[vi] Rom. 1:11-15

Wanting what the Holy Spirit can do

I’d like to share a brief series on how the Holy Spirit is given to us, and how he works in our lives—taken from John’s Gospel. But first, let’s take a moment to consider how significant the Spirit is in our walk as Christians.

God ‘pours out’ his Spirit on Pentecost day, just a few weeks after raising Jesus from death. We know that this death and resurrection has changed everything—for the whole world really, but particularly for us believers. But the same is true when God pours out his Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

Let’s see how this works out.

What has happened to Jesus has demonstrated how much we hate God. But his resurrection is a decisive victory over our perversity. That’s the best news ever! And God has put him in charge of everything from then on.

But now, the evidence of this victory is that God pours out his Spirit on everyone who turns from their godlessness[1]. The Spirit will begin the enormous task of renewing and transforming the whole creation.

This is the way God fulfills his promise to create a loving and faithful people[2]. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin[3]. It is he who enables us to call Jesus Lord[4]. He makes forgiveness real by coming to us as a presence[5]. He enables us to call God Father in the same way Jesus did[6].

Because the Spirit lives in us, our whole life is a sacred space where pollution is out of place[7]. We can begin to produce fruit that has a definite ‘made in heaven’ label on it[8]. And much else besides—as we shall see.

The question for us all is this: do we want this change? Do we know ourselves well enough to know that change is going to have to be by a presence and an energy that comes from above?

It’s important to get this clear because the world around us, and our own nature, teach us to live by what we see, and especially by what we can do. But no one can be a Christian in this way. The Christian life is a ‘top-down’ life. Everything essential comes from God.

So, we must always be expecting the Holy Spirit to be supplying what we can’t do—within us as well as by us. Effectively, every Christian needs to know that their life is an ongoing miracle—quiet perhaps but still a miracle.

What others need to see in us is not what we have made of our lives but what God has done. If they see our good works, it needs to be clear that they are seeing what has come from above[9].

Here’s an example of what I mean—from Luke’s Gospel. The disciples have seen Jesus rejoicing in the Holy Spirit while praying to his Father[10]. That must have been an amazing experience. A little later, they ask Jesus to teach them to pray and Jesus says that his Father will answer them willingly. He will give his Spirit to them. They will relate to the Father, and pray to the Father, just as he did[11].

Isaiah warns against wanting something that is not of his Spirit[12]—something that comes from us rather than from above. It’s possible to think we are pleasing God by reading the Bible as a text book and then going through the motions of doing what it says, while, all the time, our desires are fixed on something else.

In a similar way, Paul warns the Galatians not to try to finish their Christian lives using their own ideas and energies rather than what the Spirit supplies[13].

So, in these few articles, let’s ask God to show us, and encourage us, to believe that the same real and intimate relationship that Jesus has with his Father, by the Spirit, can be ours also. Then, it will be clear to us, and to others, that our godliness is exactly that—us being full of God—full of his Spirit, and full of the naturalness and energy that he creates.

[1] Acts 2:33

[2] Ezek. 11:19; 36:27

[3] John 16:7-8

[4] 1 Cor. 12:3

[5] Acts 2:38

[6] Gal. 4:6

[7] Rom. 8:9-16; 1 Thes. 4:7-8; 2 Thes. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2

[8] Gal. 5:22-23

[9] Matt. 5:16; 1 Cor. 2:4-5

[10] Luke 11:21

[11] Luke 11:1-13

[12] Isa. 30:1

[13] Gal. 3:3

We all need the Holy Spirit

We’re setting out to discover what the Gospel of John tells us about the Holy Spirit, starting with what John the Baptist has to say in chapter one.

There are three players in this scene—John, Jesus and various Jews. And the story shows that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit is needed by each one.

These three experiences demonstrate that the Christian life is not an ethic or ideology or an experience to seek. It’s a life from God. And God graciously provides this by sending his Spirit in abundance.

First, John needs to be filled with the Spirit.

John is not full of himself and his place in history. He’s full of what God has promised—in Isaiah and in other prophecies. The Lord is coming to comfort his people[i].

John has been directed by the Spirit all his life[ii]—and it shows. He understands that God is coming to put all their terrible past behind them. He sees the need for Israel to be ready to greet him, and that he is the voice to announce that the Lord is near.

John understands that his baptism in water isn’t the comfort and renewal God is promising. That will require a special coming of the Spirit to launch people into a new life—a baptism in the Spirit.

And, best of all, he’s expecting the Lord to be revealed. And this Lord is already among the people gathered around John[iii]. The Lord is a man! But John is not relying on Jesus being his cousin and a better man than himself to guess that Jesus must be the one[iv]. The Holy Spirit will need to reveal this.

And he does. The Spirit alights on Jesus, visibly—in the appearance of a dove. Now John knows that Jesus is the one who will bring comfort to the world, and will baptize believers in the Holy Spirit.

Events like this are not the sort of thing we imagine. Our thinking tends to build on what we can do and what we deserve, and what we see and feel. But the coming of the Lord, and the salvation he has for us don’t come in the ways we imagine. They are revealed by the Holy Spirit. John has needed this help at every point.

Then Jesus also needs the Spirit.

It may seem surprising to say Jesus needs the Holy Spirit, but there are reasons why this is so.

First, Jesus can’t simply ‘do his own thing’. Prophets, priests and kings in Israel’s history needed God’s anointing, and needed to be filled with the Spirit to fulfil their role. In this way, people could recognise that their leaders were acting for God.

When the Holy Spirit alights on Jesus, he is appointed to all three offices. As prophet he will speak God’s word. As priest he will make atonement for the people, and as King he will rule over God’s people. Jesus needs this anointing to begin his work.

Second, God is revealing who he is—not a solitary Deity but a community of persons. The Father sends, the Son comes and the Spirit enables. As he is in his very being, so he is in the way he comes to save us. For God to reveal who he is, the Spirit must be part of the action.

Third, Jesus has come among us as a human being—a second Adam. His task is to be a real man—made in God’s image. His goal is to make us like himself—a re-formed humanity. So, he must live among us as a man. He must be dependent on the Holy Spirit.

From this point, it is clear that the Spirit enables everything Jesus does, especially being the Lamb of God who bears away the burden of sin that we carry[v].

But now, we also need the Spirit.

John is very aware that he can only baptize in water. This won’t bring about the changes that are needed! Israel is religious but they’re living as though God is not around. They don’t love him. John’s baptism is ceremonial. The Spirit baptism will be a new creation.

Three years later, the time comes for John’s prophecy to be fulfilled. Jesus has been killed by the very people God prepared to receive him. Spiritually speaking, they need a heart transplant!

And this is what the Holy Spirit’s coming is all about—providing broken and barren people with a new heart and a new spirit. It is what had been fore-told centuries before[vi].

Just as God breathed life into Adam, so Jesus will breathe spiritual life into us—the Holy Spirit[vii]. Apart from this, we are dead to God.

On this day, when the church is born, everyone who is baptized in Jesus name is forgiven. But this forgiveness is conveyed to them by receiving the gift of the Spirit[viii]. Jesus has been the Lamb who bears away the sin of the world. He has ascended to God’s right hand, and he has poured out this gift for our blessing[ix].

We may get baptized in water. We may be a church worker. We may believe everything in the Bible. But none of these things can make us alive to God. Only the Spirit can do this.

And, like John the Baptist, it is right that we feel unworthy to be Christ’s lowliest servant. Just look at who he is! And see what he has sent!

The visible life we live as Christians is flowing to us from Christ—through the Spirit he has sent. So, the Spirit comes to us full of all the blessings Christ has won for us. And this new life in the Spirit flows through our whole being. It flows back to God in praise and out to others in service. Jesus Christ is remaking the world we broke!

[i] Isa. 40:1, 3

[ii] Luke 1:15

[iii] v. 26

[iv] Matt. 3:14

[v] Heb. 9:14

[vi] Ezek. 36:27

[vii] John 20:22

[viii] John 2:38

[ix] Acts 2:33

New life by the Holy Spirit

We’re finding out what John’s Gospel has to say about the Holy Spirit. And from here on, it’s Jesus himself who is our teacher. He tells us here that we need a new birth—a work that only the Holy Spirit can do.

Being given an opportunity to start one’s life again is something we may not have thought about, but Jesus says it’s essential.

The enquirer in the story, Nicodemus, is an impressive character. He’s a scholar and a member of Israel’s ruling council. He’s willing to check Jesus out when most of his peers are jumping to conclusions. Later, he asks them if it is right to condemn Jesus without calling him in for questioning[i]. We’d say he’s a good leader.

But he’s looking for a world ruled by God—God’s kingdom, because that’s the entry point for what Jesus says to him. But to be part of God’s future, Jesus says he needs a life built by God—a work of the Holy Spirit.

Of ourselves, we can only produce earthly things. We need to be born from above. This is the only way we will either see or enter God’s kingdom.

This seems ridiculous to Nicodemus, and perhaps to anyone who hasn’t already been born again. Our natural bent is to rely on things that are visible and manageable. But a human being can only do human things. The Spirit, like a wind, can do what God wants to do in us, unseen but powerfully.

Jesus is not being ridiculous or obscure. Nicodemus is ‘a teacher of Israel’ and should know that God has promised to renew Israel[ii]. He is going to wash Israel with water so they are clean, and send his Holy Spirit so they have pure hearts. That’s why Jesus says Nicodemus needs to be born of water and the Spirit.

Israel at that earlier time was thoroughly compromised by idols and passions[iii]. They deserved God’s judgements, not his blessings. But God would renew them by his Holy Spirit.

We get accustomed to leaving God out of everything and arranging life around ourselves, and yet we still think we are entitled to be part of a wonderful future. We have no idea of how impossible it is for us to be part of the future God is making.

The fact is, we don’t deserve to share in God’s kingdom. We wouldn’t enjoy it there. We wouldn’t even survive there.

So, we need to be born again. That means that nothing we’ve done up until now counts. It means that nothing we do now can make it happen. But, without this we’ll never see the wonderful future God is making, let alone enter it.

As we’ve noted, Nicodemus should understand all of this, because it has already been revealed. In this sense it’s an ‘earthly thing’. And Jesus wants to reveal more—what he calls ‘heavenly things’[iv].

Jesus has come from heaven, and here’s what he wants us to know.

He must be lifted up like a snake on a pole. He’s using an event from earlier in Israel’s history[v] to tell us that he will be lifted up, and that we’ll need to look at him. We’ll need to see him being crucified for us, and to trust him to save us from our miserable lives.

This is the truth the Spirit will bring home to us[vi]. And this is how the kingdom is established.

By what Jesus does, we are washed clean. Satan has no hold over us. We are newly created as grateful and willing children of God. Reborn—by the Holy Spirit. We can see God’s kingdom. And we have entered it.

It helps to remember the way Jesus is born. The Holy Spirit ‘overshadows’ Mary, so her child will be holy, the Son of God. Mary can only say, ‘Let it be so to me according to your word’. This is effectively what we need to say. This is the way a Christian life begins. But it’s also how our lives are now to be lived—dependently, humbly and gratefully. We continue as we began[vii]. All of life now will be by the Spirit—walking in step with him, being led by him, and even being filled with him[viii].

[1] John 7:51-52

[2] Ezek. 36:25-27

[3] Ezek. 36:18

[4] Vv. 12-13. Jesus comes from heaven. No-one else has gone there and returned.

[5] Num. 21:9

[6] John 16:7-9

[7] Gal. 3:2-3

[8] Gal. 5:16-26

Life overflowing—John 4 & 7

We’re finding out what the Apostle John tells us about the Holy Spirit in his Gospel.

And here, in two episodes, Jesus shows us that real life and worship flow from receiving God’s gift of the Holy Spirit—an eternal life. The alternative is a life hijacked by things we can see and control.

The first account happens in Samaria[i]. The second at the temple in Jerusalem[ii]. It helps if we look at them together.

In the first episode, Jesus meets a woman by a well and asks for a drink, but, as the story reveals, he knows she is thirstier than he is. And he wastes no time in directing her attention to a new way to live.

She is surprised that Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman. Jesus says if she knew who he was, she would ask him for living water. But there’s a way to go before she will understand this.

A life lived horizontally, with no access to God, is no real life at all. This woman needs to be saved by a drink from God’s ‘well of salvation’[iii]. She needs God himself to come to her, like running water, bubbling up within her as life that will be forever.

On the second of the two occasions we are looking at, Jesus is in the temple for a Feast day and offers ‘living water’ to everyone there. So, we know this offer is being made to us all. And John identifies this water as the Holy Spirit.

What difference does it make to us, to receive this gift of the Spirit? We know that no human being can live another person’s life for them. If we attempt to take responsibility for something they should do, we do them damage.

But life is God’s to give, and Jesus is the giver, and the gift is the Spirit. Only the Spirit can work things in us that we should do and must do. And he never intrudes on the responsibility given to us.

The woman of Samaria has no idea of a world above her that intersects with her daily life. When Jesus offers her God’s gift of living water, she merely asks if Jesus is greater than Jacob who is thought to have dug this well.

So, Jesus makes his offer of water more explicit—not a temporary quenching of thirst but an ongoing supply within her as life that is eternal.

The woman still thinks of physical things. But Jesus asks to see her husband—all the time knowing her difficult history.

And then, Jesus fills in her partial story—about her five previous husbands and now a partner. She can see that Jesus is a prophet! But still, she prefers to think horizontally. Or perhaps, to divert attention from an awkward truth! She asks about the proper location for worship—Samaria or Jerusalem.

Jesus tells her what God has revealed to Israel. And he adds, that a new era is beginning. People are going to worship in spirit and truth. They will really worship from their hearts! This will never be the case without the help of the Spirit[iv].

It’s so easy to reduce everything—including God—to things we can understand and control. But they don’t bring us to God. And oftentimes, they don’t even work—like the marriages this woman has had.

This has always been our problem. Like people in Jeremiah’s day, we turn away from God who is the fountain of living water for us, and we dig tanks that leak[v]. In other words, we prefer idols we can make and control, rather than turn to and trust in the living God.

Our need is so deep! We are made in God’s image. We need to hear him speak. We need his blessing. We need to call God ‘Father’! If we don’t know him, and if we’re not full of him, we remain discontented and must create something else to be wonderful or great or powerful.

So, Jesus must baptize us in the Spirit. Only this will free us from the bitterness and disappointment and shame of the past. Only this will open us up to God who loves us, and to people who need us[vi].

Something has happened to this Samaritan woman. She returns to her community. She talks. People listen. What amazes her is that Jesus has known her whole sorry story and still offered her a life from heaven.

She’s come to the well in mid-day heat—perhaps to avoid contact with other women. Now, she has a message, an eagerness, a hope, a credibility. ‘Have we found the Messiah?’ she asks.

And the town comes out to see for themselves.

God’s gift of the Spirit is the way we ourselves become real—real worshippers of God and real people to others. What now comes from us, surging up from within us, is in fact the Spirit of God being God to us.

When this promise of living water is repeated in Jerusalem, John explains that the Spirit is not yet given because Jesus is not yet glorified.

Already, plans are afoot to kill him. But this death will be his glory—and ours. He will be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. The Spirit will be given when Jesus has made an offering for sin.

Do we know who this Jesus is—the Messiah, the Lamb of God, the Baptizer in the Spirit? If we do, he gives us living water, springing up within us—life that is eternal. We are washed clean. We call God Father. We worship truly. Our life is on track. Others can see that we are renewed. Rivers of living water are pouring to us, and from us. As a postscript to this episode, Jesus explains to his disciples that it’s time for a harvest of souls to be reaped—starting with this woman. We don’t know how the following months work out in this town in Samaria, but we know that, later, when Philip visits this area as an evangelist of the risen Christ, many receive the word with joy[vii]. Perhaps the seed has been sown by this woman, and Philip reaps the crop.

[i] John 4:1-30

[ii] John 7:37-39

[iii] Isa. 12:2-3

[iv] Phil. 3:3

[v] Jer. 2:13; 17:13

[vi] Isa. 58:11

[vii] Acts 8:4-8

The fellowship making Spirit—John 14

Here is some of the best news about the Holy Spirit that we have. Jesus sends him to us as another Helper, like himself.

Because he lives in us, we truly know our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father, and ourselves participating in relationship with them. All of this is miracle. And all of this is God’s kindness to us.

It’s good to realise that Jesus tells us these things at a time when everything is falling apart for the disciples. Official hatred of Jesus is at boiling point. Jesus has told the disciples they will all fail badly. And Jesus says he’s going to leave them.

They need some help! But Jesus doesn’t give them a motivational seminar! He doesn’t gift his disciples with special powers. He promises to send them another Helper—like himself. And he promises them a future so joyously related to God that their troubles will seem quite different. They will be seeing life as God does, rather than from below.

These verses have special relevance to the disciples. They are being prepared—as apostles—to declare and explain and record all that Jesus will accomplish. They will need the Holy Spirit’s help to do this[i]. But the same Spirit is promised to everyone who turns to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and new life[ii].

When it comes to knowing God, Jesus has been the go-to person for the disciples. If they have wanted to know how God rules the world, Jesus tells them—or shows them. If they have wanted eternal life, Jesus grants it. If they have wanted to pray, Jesus teaches them how. And much besides. No wonder they don’t want him to leave!

But Jesus insists it will be better if he goes and the Holy Spirit comes.

He says that the disciples already know the Holy Spirit. They have been watching him at work in Jesus—directing and empowering all he has done. But this same Holy Spirit will soon be in the disciples.

This is what Jesus opens up for us too. It’s what we need—even more than having Jesus physically present. And here’s why.

In the first place, we need the Spirit to come to us because, when he does, Jesus has come to us. And we are alive to God[iii].

We’re not accustomed to talking about people being in one another. In fact, it sounds intrusive. But when it comes to God the Father and Jesus his Son, and the Holy Spirit, this is the language we need. And Jesus uses it freely[iv].

It’s love language. God doesn’t text us. He doesn’t outsource his saving work to the church. He comes to us, as Spirit, in communion with the Son and the Father. We are being treated as family—God’s family.

So, the disciples won’t be abandoned like orphans. The Spirit will come. And in this action, Jesus will love them and reveal himself to them[v]. It won’t be ‘like old times.’ It will be better.

This is true for us too. We are Christians because Christ has sent his Spirit to be in us. And he hasn’t come alone. Jesus has come to be in us, full of the new life he has created in his own flesh—a life freed from sin and set apart for God[vi].

And we know we are in Jesus. We are not alive because of what we do. He has embraced us—complete with our corruptions and frailty[vii]. He has welcomed us, chosen us and laid down his life for us. And through this journey, he has taken us to his Father—purified. And he is happy for it to be so. These chapters of John are full of his affection.

In the second place, we need the Spirit to come to us so that our understanding of God can grow. The Spirit enables us to see that the Son has always been living in his Father. And we know that the Father has always been living in his Son. This living in another didn’t begin with us[viii].

Jesus has shown us what it is like to live in his Father. He loves him. He looks at what his Father is doing and delights to share in it[ix]. He can’t do anything without his Father[x]. He asks to be vindicated by his Father[xi]. The idea of ‘being his own person’ would never have occurred to him.

And Jesus has shown us what it is like for the Father to live in him. The disciples should have recognised this[xii]. What they had seen in him was all produced by the Father. And it’s still true now. When we ‘see’ Jesus, we have seen the Father[xiii].

But when Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, we can see all this. We know that the Son is one with the Father in being God, one in love, one in action. And we know that the Father who loves his Son now loves us who are trusting in his Son[xiv].

This is why Jesus can be so emphatic at the beginning of this chapter in telling the troubled disciples not to be troubled. And why? Because there is plenty of room in the Father’s house for them all. The Spirit comes as the fellowship maker[xv]. In this ‘God-family’, everyone knows everyone—really and deeply!

Jesus is describing a relationship that is more than knowing about God or doing something for him. It’s having fellowship or communion with him. God has fellowship within himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are knowing this, not as something to work out but as something to appreciate and to share in.

In the third place, we need the Spirit to come to us because he replaces our old self-satisfaction with love for Jesus. Like Peter and the other disciples, the life that was focused on ourselves needs to die. Jesus asks us to abide in his love[xvi], to love him by doing what he says[xvii] and to love one another[xviii].

And he knows that we will love him[xix]. And we realise that in listening to Jesus, and obeying him, we’ve been loving him[xx]. We’ve seen the smallness of living by what we can create because we’ve started to admire and be captured by Jesus. And we are starting to live in a family of God where everything is as it should be, including us.

We tend to live in our accomplishments and human relationships and wonder why we are always on the edge of unsatisfied. Here’s why. We are built to know God and be known by God[xxi]. Remember Jesus saying to the disciples, after a very successful mission, don’t be happy because evil spirits are obedient to you. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven[xxii].

I’m glad that the Father sent the Son to tell us these things and to bring them into being[xxiii]. And I’m glad our three-personed God has sent his Holy Spirit to live within us so that what we know is not a theory or an accomplishment. It’s all love.

This is what we have been born for. And it’s more important than success or safety.

[i] John 14:25-29

[ii] Acts 2:33, 38-39

[iii]John 14:6, 18-19

[iv] One person being in another is used 15 times between 14:11—15:10, besides other ways of saying the same thing.

[v] John 14:21

[vi] John 16:13-15

[vii] John 13:38; 10:14-15

[viii] John 14:20

[ix] John 14:20

[x] John 5:19; 8:28

[xi] John 12:17-32

[xii] John 14:8-10

[xiii] 2 Cor. 4:6

[xiv] Eph. 1:6

[xv] 2 Cor. 13:14

[xvi] John 15:9-10

[xvii] John 14:15, 21-24

[xviii] John 15:12-17

[xix] John 16:27

[xx] John 21:15-17

[xxi] Gal. 4:9

[xxii] Luke 10:20

[xxiii] John 14:24