Jesus talks a lot about the Holy Spirit, or what in Greek is called the Paraclete in His Farewell Discourse of chapters 14-17. (This comes from parakletos, which means "called" - kletos and "alongside" - para. Attorneys, or counselors, were "called alongside" to defend and counsel.)
The prominence of the Paraclete addresses a key set of theological questions:
1) If Jesus as the incarnate Word of God brings a distinctive revelation of God to the community, what happens when the incarnation ends?
2) Was the revelation of God in Jesus available only for those who had firsthand experience of the historical Jesus and His ministry?
3) Is Jesus’ revelation of God limited to one moment in history, or does it have a future beyond its particular historical moment?
In the Farewell Discourse, Jesus reveals the Paraclete as the link between His ministry in that moment of history and the future life of the church after Jesus’ death. What does the Paraclete, or the Holy Spirit, do? Jesus reveals several roles (these come from our Disciple IV manual, with my observations in [ ]):
1) The Paraclete will come only after Jesus leaves. The Paraclete’s coming makes Jesus’ going advantageous to the believer. (John 16:7)
2) The Paraclete will come from the Father in Jesus’ name. As the Father sent Jesus, Jesus sends the Spirit. (John 14:6; 15:26)
3) The Paraclete will say what Jesus wants Him to say just as Jesus has said what the Father wanted Him to say. (John 16:13-15)
4) The Paraclete will help disciples remember all Jesus said and did, "remind you of all that I have said to you." (John 14:26)
5) The Paraclete will teach and explain new things that disciples prior to the Crucifixion and Resurrection were not able to understand. Jesus still has much to teach us. (John 16:12) [John’s Gospel itself is evidence of this. It is interpretation of the events of Jesus’ lifetime, written after some 60 years of reflection and living with the Paraclete in the church. This truth about the Paraclete’s new teaching would later cause trouble, however, as people arose in the 2nd century claiming direct revelation from Jesus that was contrary to orthodox teaching, e.g., the Gnostics. It’s still an issue.]
6) The Paraclete will give us peace, not someday but now. As Jesus said to the disciples in the boat, so the Spirit will say, "Do not be afraid." (John 6:20; 14:26-27)
7) The Paraclete will convict the world of its sin and show the world righteousness as Jesus did. Wherever Jesus’ Spirit is present, judgment takes place, revealing light and darkness, life and death. (John 16:8-11)
8) The Paraclete is the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Truth. Jesus is the Truth. The Holy Spirit will say and do only what Jesus would say and do. (John 16:14) [It’s interesting to note that Luke in the Book of Acts uses the terms "Holy Spirit" and "Spirit of Jesus" interchangeably.]
The Holy Spirit is the least understood person of the Trinity. We do well to understand what John reveals to us about the Paraclete.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
More thoughts on John 15....
At the beginning of John’s gospel, when the two disciples of John begin following Jesus, they ask, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" (John 1:38) The word translated "staying" is the Greek word meno, which means "to remain, abide." This word "abide" is a major theme in John 15:1-17. It appears over and over and over, in verses 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 16. The NIV translation is "remain," but in the NRSV or KJV you can see "abide" over and over. When a word is repeated that often, it’s a clue – something’s going on. And in John’s gospel, everything "going on" is theologically significant.
The new disciples’ question, "Where are you meno?" is a major question John’s gospel sets out to answer. In one of His controversies with the Jews, Jesus’ opponents stammer, "We know where this man is from. But when Christ comes, no one will know where He is from." (John 7:27) Do they really know where Jesus is from? No. That’s the problem. They think He is from Nazareth. But where DOES Jesus abide?
The answer as the gospel develops is that Jesus is from the Father. Not only that, but He abides in the Father. "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30) "The Father is in me, and I in the Father." (John 10:38) "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." (John 14:7) Jesus shares the divine life with the Father. He meno’s in the Father.
But what is truly amazing is that Jesus invites US to "abide" in Him. "Abide in me and I will abide in you." (John 15:4) This is not simply an admonition to continue reading our Bible, praying, going to church and Sunday School. This is nothing less than an invitation TO US to participate in the divine life shared between Jesus and the Father. Jesus invites us to meno in the Father and the Son. "In him was life, and that life was the light of men." (John 1:4)
Wow.
At the beginning of John’s gospel, when the two disciples of John begin following Jesus, they ask, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" (John 1:38) The word translated "staying" is the Greek word meno, which means "to remain, abide." This word "abide" is a major theme in John 15:1-17. It appears over and over and over, in verses 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 16. The NIV translation is "remain," but in the NRSV or KJV you can see "abide" over and over. When a word is repeated that often, it’s a clue – something’s going on. And in John’s gospel, everything "going on" is theologically significant.
The new disciples’ question, "Where are you meno?" is a major question John’s gospel sets out to answer. In one of His controversies with the Jews, Jesus’ opponents stammer, "We know where this man is from. But when Christ comes, no one will know where He is from." (John 7:27) Do they really know where Jesus is from? No. That’s the problem. They think He is from Nazareth. But where DOES Jesus abide?
The answer as the gospel develops is that Jesus is from the Father. Not only that, but He abides in the Father. "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30) "The Father is in me, and I in the Father." (John 10:38) "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." (John 14:7) Jesus shares the divine life with the Father. He meno’s in the Father.
But what is truly amazing is that Jesus invites US to "abide" in Him. "Abide in me and I will abide in you." (John 15:4) This is not simply an admonition to continue reading our Bible, praying, going to church and Sunday School. This is nothing less than an invitation TO US to participate in the divine life shared between Jesus and the Father. Jesus invites us to meno in the Father and the Son. "In him was life, and that life was the light of men." (John 1:4)
Wow.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Another insight from attending the Jim Fleming lectures...
John 15:1-2 is the famous "I am the true vine..." statement where Jesus compares life in Christ with a vine. Verses 1 and 2 read: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (NIV)" The Greek word translated here "cuts off," or "takes away" in other translations, is the word airo (pronounced 'ah-ee-ro'). Like many English words, it has many meanings. It can mean "to take away," or "to remove." But it can also mean "to elevate, raise, lift up; to raise from the ground." (Check it out for yourself here.) If the meaning is this definition, then we don't get the image of the gardener "cutting off" unproductive branches, rather, it's an image of the gardener "lifting up" the unproductive branches. What could that possibly mean?
Dr. Fleming showed us a picture of a biblical vineyard. Here it is...
Contrary to our modern image of vines growing on an elevated framework or wiremesh trellis, this biblical vineyard showed the vines all growing on the ground, with the bigger vines elevated on stones. If an end of a vine should touch the ground, it would start to sink roots. Sounds good, except that it then begins to take its own nourishment and no longer draws it from the "mother vine," or "true vine." It becomes unproductive. To prevent this, the farmer piles stones under the vine, he "lifts it up" to make it more productive.
That sort of changes the picture of what Jesus is talking about. The Father is not about being judgmental or vindictive. He is about producing fruit. So unproductive branches he "lifts up" so that they will again draw nourishment from the "true vine."
It sure helps to understand the biblical culture, doesn't it?
John 15:1-2 is the famous "I am the true vine..." statement where Jesus compares life in Christ with a vine. Verses 1 and 2 read: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (NIV)" The Greek word translated here "cuts off," or "takes away" in other translations, is the word airo (pronounced 'ah-ee-ro'). Like many English words, it has many meanings. It can mean "to take away," or "to remove." But it can also mean "to elevate, raise, lift up; to raise from the ground." (Check it out for yourself here.) If the meaning is this definition, then we don't get the image of the gardener "cutting off" unproductive branches, rather, it's an image of the gardener "lifting up" the unproductive branches. What could that possibly mean?
Dr. Fleming showed us a picture of a biblical vineyard. Here it is...
Contrary to our modern image of vines growing on an elevated framework or wiremesh trellis, this biblical vineyard showed the vines all growing on the ground, with the bigger vines elevated on stones. If an end of a vine should touch the ground, it would start to sink roots. Sounds good, except that it then begins to take its own nourishment and no longer draws it from the "mother vine," or "true vine." It becomes unproductive. To prevent this, the farmer piles stones under the vine, he "lifts it up" to make it more productive.
That sort of changes the picture of what Jesus is talking about. The Father is not about being judgmental or vindictive. He is about producing fruit. So unproductive branches he "lifts up" so that they will again draw nourishment from the "true vine."
It sure helps to understand the biblical culture, doesn't it?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)