Criswell Theological
Review 3.1 (1988) 65-78.
Copyright © 1988 by The
THE SPIRIT AND SALVATION
GERALD L.
BORCHERT
The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary
I. Introduction: A Spiritual Gospel
In
this era which is marked by political unrest, guerrilla warfare,
unbridled
greed, blatant immorality, helpless poverty and confusing
value
standards Christians are called upon to evidence the power of
the
risen Christ in their lives. In this setting of confusion and insecurity
where
publishers are offering scores of books related to the analysis of
society's
troubles and an equal number of quick fix treatments for
contemporary
ills, the temptation for the church is to follow in the
train
of seeking for instantaneous religious pills that will settle our
desperate
plight. In such an era it is timely for the church to drink
deeply
of the refreshing message of the Gospel of John.
As a resource for helping Southern
Baptists to think about one
aspect
of John during the forthcoming Winter Bible Study, the editors
have
asked me to deal with the subject of the Spirit and salvation. Of
course,
an entire book could be written on this bipolar topic.l The
1 A helpful resource for
the study of Johannine themes is the introduction of C. H.
Dodd,
The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel
(Cambridge: University Press, 1958).
In
this article I am herewith making no attempt at citing all the resources which
are
available
concerning the study of John in my Assurance
and Warning (
Broadman,
1987). Instead, I recommend that readers consult that work for the foot-
notes
at the appropriate texts or the following primary commentaries which will
supply
a
variety of perspectives: G. R. Beasley-Murray, John (WBC; Waco: Word, 1987);
R.
Bultmann, The Gospel of John (tr. G.
Beasley-Murray;
1971);
R. E. Brown, The Gospel According to John
(AB; 2 vols; Garden City: Double-
day,
1966 and 1970); F. F. Bruce, The Gospel
of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983);
W.
E. Hull, "John," The Broadman
Bible Commentary Vol. 9 (
1970);
L. Morris, The Gospel According to John (NIC;
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971);
R.
Schnackenburg, The Gospel According to
St. John (tr. K. Smith; 3 vols;
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CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
topic's
appropriateness is beyond dispute, given the importance of
salvation
in dealing with the insecurities of today's society and the
high
level of interest and concern which many Christians have in
matters
relating to the Spirit. To this subject, then, attention is turned
with
the reminder that Clement of Alexandria early referred to John
as
the "Spiritual Gospel." If ever there was an "in-spirited" book, it
would
have to be the Gospel of John.2
II. Salvation in John
In beginning any study on salvation in
John, one needs to start
near
the end of the book. John stated his purpose clearly in 20:30-31:
"Many
other signs Jesus did. . . which are not written in this book;
but
these are written that you might believe Jesus is the Christ, God's
Son,
and that believing you might have life. . . ."3 Concerning
salva-
tion
then John's purpose seems certain. Nothing less than believing
that
issues in transformed living is adequate for understanding John's
purpose
of writing. Changed living is his goal!4
Believing and Knowing in
John
Now English readers of the gospel
need to realize that in pursuing
his
goal John totally avoided using the Greek nouns for "faith" (pi<stij)
and
"knowledge" (gnw<sij). He used only the
verbs for "'believe"
(pisteu<w) and "know" (ginw<skw and oi]da). The reason was that
John
was
faced with problems from an early form of a heresy called
Gnosticism
which emphasized the fact that salvation was based upon
what
you know or believe, i.e., ideas and information. Instead, John
wanted
his readers to understand that salvation was based upon who
you
know or in whom you believe, i.e., a relationship with God.5 The
purpose
of John, then, was to make absolutely clear to his readers that
salvation
is based upon a relationship with a person--Jesus Christ--
and
not merely upon facts or information about that person.
Crossroad,
1982); S. Smalley, John, Evangelist and
Interpreter (
1978)
and G. A. Turner and J. R. Mantey, The
Gospel According to John (Evangelical
Commentary;
For those interested in an example
of the new literary approach (reader response)
to
the study of John, see the important work of my colleague R. Alan Culpepper,
Anatomy of the Fourth
Gospel
(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983).
2 See my discussion in Assurance and Warning, p. 86.
3 The translations in
this article unless otherwise noted are mine.
4 See my discussion in Assurance and Warning, p. 91.
5 See my discussions in Great Themes from John (
tion,
1965) 5-6; "The Fourth Gospel and its Theological Impact," RevExp 78 (1981)
Borchert: THE SPIRIT AND
SALVATION 67
An Illustration from
Lazarus
Certainly confessional information
is important but by itself it
can
lead to lifeless words which lack the dynamic of God. In this vein
of
thought we are reminded of the climactic Lazarus story in the first
half
of the gospel. The disciples were north in
received
word that Lazarus was ill. When Jesus told the disciples that
he
was going south, the only concern of the disciples was that the
south
was the region of their enemies. They surely would have con-
fessed
with Peter that Jesus had the "words of eternal life" (6:68) but
at
that point all Thomas and the disciples could think about was going
south
to die (11:16). Dynamic living and confession were radically
separated
by them at that point.
And what about Martha? As I have
indicated many times else-
where,
she stoutly asserted that if only Jesus had been present, her
brother
would not have died (11:21). But, she added that even at that
point
whatever Jesus asked of God, God would do it (11:22). When
Jesus
told her that her brother would live, she replied that she knew
good
Pharisaic theology to the effect that he would rise at the end of
time
(11:24). When Jesus countered that he was the resurrection and
life
and that he made the dead live, she responded with, "Lord, I
believe
that you are Christ, God's Son. . ." (11:27). Note that this
confession
is parallel to John's purpose statement (20:31). But please
do
not stop reading the story here. While some may be ready to
baptize
anyone who makes such a confession, I have said over and
over
again that those words are not the end of the story.6
Mary next came on the scene and
repeated the same condition:
"if
only you would have been here, my brother would not have died"
(11:32).
Then the friends asked why the miracle worker could not
have
kept Lazarus from dying (11:37). For everyone in the story it
was
too late. Lazarus was dead! So when Jesus asked them to take
him
to the tomb and then to take away the stone, they were all
convinced
it was part of the mourning process of Jesus. Notice,
however,
what Martha said: "Lord he has been dead four days and he
stinks!"
(11:39). In support of Martha it is certainly not difficult to
imagine
in the hot Palestinian climate after four days that the body
would
stink.
But reflect for a moment on the
various statements of Martha:
"Lord,
I believe that you are Christ" and "Whatever you ask of God,
God
will give it to you." Then consider: "Lord he stinks!" What do
you
think John was trying to tell us by writing the story the way he
6 See for example Assurance and Warning, pp. 122-23.
68
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did?
Do you think he may have known people who were full of
confessions
about Jesus but who lacked a living sense of Christ's
presence
in their lives?
The Witness of the
Prologue
Turn next for a moment and think
about how this gospel begins.
The
Prologue (1:1-18) is one of the finest Christological statements in
the
Bible. The Genesis creation statement is not repeated. It is assumed,
but
to that story is added the message about the Word (lo<goj;) having
been
active in creation and then mysteriously becoming incarnate
(human,
flesh=sa<rc, 1:14). The Prologue is also about humanity be-
cause
when the Word came to his own place (his world) and to his
own
people (those who should have recognized him), he was rejected
(1:11).
But thank God there were some who received him, who truly
believed
him and they have become the children of God (1:12).
Yet to understand the Johannine
picture of salvation we must
once
again be very careful to recognize what John meant by believe.
Many
people love to quote John 1:12. And when you listen to them
recite
the text from the King James Version, the emphasis of their
salvation
statement of becoming children of God falls on "even to
them
that believe on his name." Now before I reflect on this state-
ment,
let me indicate that I take no joy in pointing out the theological
faults
of Christians because I myself have drawn a number of poor
theological
conclusions over the years in wrestling with biblical texts.
Indeed,
at one time I also treated the "even" in this verse as the
minimum
statement of what is necessary to gain salvation, just as
some
still do. But my friends the "even" in the KJV is not in the
Greek! This statement in John
is not some minimum statement like: all
you
have to do is believe in the name of Jesus. John was not interested
in
minimums of faith for salvation. He was concerned about authen-
ticity.
To believe in the name of Jesus means to accept his nature in
his
own life. Salvation is not a matter of minimums of belief but of an
entire
approach to life.
An Important Johannine
Aside
Do you remember what John said at
2:23-25? Many believed
(pisteu<w) when they watched the
signs which Jesus was doing. But
notice
that Jesus did not "believe (pisteu<w) them" (or:
entrust himself
to
them)." The two uses of "believe" here reveal that John was
concerned
about a believing that goes beyond mere words. The
reason
for this emphasis is that Jesus knew all about the superficialities
and
insincerities of human believing. God is not interested in hasty
verbal
statements of believing. God is concerned that the entirety of a
Borchert: THE SPIRIT AND
SALVATION 69
person's
life is committed to him. We need to realize as weak human
beings
that God still knows all about our frailties, half-beliefs and
pseudo-commitments.
He is concerned about our lives, not just about
our
words. John wanted his readers to experience a different kind of
believing
than mere intellectualizing. His goal was transformed living.
The Connection Between Salvation and
Spirit in Chapter Three
In this respect remember that
Nicodemus came to Jesus thinking
that
he understood who Jesus was. As he addressed Jesus, he said
"Rabbi,
we know you are. . . from God" (3:2). Jesus did not waste his
time
thanking Nicodemus for such a fine introduction. Jesus simply
told
him that he needed to be reborn (or born from above) and if he
did
not experience rebirth he would not "see the
(3:3).
Moreover, his rebirth would have to involve "water and the
Spirit"
(3:5). In the face of these statements the Pharisaic teacher who
came
to Jesus at night was stunned. (Watch the time designations like
"night"
in John. They are important clues to the spiritual temperature
of
the story.) Nicodemus thought that he knew who Jesus was. He
discovered
quickly that he neither knew Jesus nor the salvation about
which
the Lord was speaking.
To be a part of Jesus or part of
God's children, it is necessary to
be
born of water and the Spirit. Now from this text it should be
apparent
that the emphasis falls not on the external matter of water
but
on the internal significance of the Spirit. To be born of the Spirit
(pneu?ma) cannot be explained in
human terms for it is like being a
child
of the wind (pneu?ma; note the play on the word). A
Christian's
real
source of energy is hidden in God and a Christian's movement in
life
is known and directed by God (3:8). To understand rebirth and
salvation,
therefore, is the beginning of understanding the divine
mystery
at work in the world (3:12).
The
Cross and Judgment. The way of the Spirit and the nature
of
salvation is the focus of this paper. To perceive the Spirit's way,
according
to John, is to understand something about the one who
descended
from heaven and who was stretched out as Moses raised
up
the serpent in the wilderness (3:13-14). This crucified Jesus was
God's
means of bringing eternal life to everyone who believes (3:15).
In
the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, God demonstrated his
love
and indicated that he did not want to be perceived as some
angry
pagan God who desired human blood and death. God really
loved
his people of the world (3:16-17). In Jesus, God came to his
creation
(1:9). But many have not accepted his love (1:10-11), and
therefore
stand condemned already (3:18).
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CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
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As John looked back on the
"crucial" event (the cross) of history
with
post-resurrection eyes, he wanted his readers to realize that there
was
no "sitting on the fence" with God. There is in John no putting off
of
the decision. Failing to decide for Jesus (to believe Jesus) means
condemnation
already. The judgment has already been rendered!
Failure
to obey the Son, therefore, means that the wrath of God
already
is directed against disobedient humanity. Nowhere in the
Bible
is the love of God more clearly defined; yet, nowhere in the
Bible
is judgment more severely declared than in this Gospel of John.
The
refusal of a person to accept God's love in Christ, according to
John,
means that that person is now living under the judgment of
God.
Judgment is not only future with John. It is a condition of "red
alert"
NOW!
The
Evangelistic Call. No Christian, therefore, should be embar-
rassed
about calling non-Christians to Christ. We may be embarrassed
about
some manipulative methods that are used in evangelism but
there
is no need to apologize for the evangelical call. The necessity of
rebirth
is a fundamental presupposition in John. Moreover, as I have
indicated
at length in The Dynamics of Evangelism
the necessity of
decision
making is not only evident in this story but also in the story
of
Jesus' dealing with the Samaritan woman and elsewhere throughout
John.7
The
Question of "Filled With the Spirit." But before we leave
chapter
three of John one further matter needs to be noted concerning
the
Spirit. Some Christians often enter into dialogue with charismatics
over
the idea of being "filled with the Holy Spirit." We must all
understand,
however, that this expression is primarily a Lucan word-
picture,
though it appears once in Ephesians in contrast to being
drunk
with wine (Eph 5:18). It is used in Luke of John the Baptist,
was born and then it is used a
number of times in Acts concerning the
early
Christians (e.g., Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17 and 13:9). It is to be
contrasted
in Luke and Acts with particular Lucan expressions of
being
filled with wrath, awe or fear, madness, wonder, indignation,
and
envy (Luke 4:28; 5:26; 6:11 and Acts 3:10, 5:17; 13:45 and 19:29).
The
expression "filled with the Holy Spirit" then is a particular Lucan
style
of explaining the way a Christian lives in close relationship to God.
The expression "filled with the
Holy Spirit" does not appear in
any
Johannine literature. Moreover, great care must be exercised in
7 See G. Borchert,
"Signs for Believing" in The
Dynamics of Evangelism (
Word,
1976) 57-72.
Borchert: THE SPIRIT AND
SALVATION 71
determining
the meaning of this word-picture lest one thinks that
some
people have only part of the Holy Spirit while other Christians
have
all of him. Indeed, John probably would stand diametrically
opposed
to that notion because he argued that “it is not by measure
that
[God] gives the Spirit” (3:34). The words in the King James
Version
"unto him" are again in italics which means that they are not
in
the Greek. Did John think that a person could have only part of the
Holy
Spirit? Indeed, did Luke ever make such a radical statement?
To
be filled with the Holy Spirit is not a quantitative statement but a
statement
about authentic commitment to God as the Spirit makes the
divine
presence known. This fact is of particular importance as we
turn
now to discuss the role of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete (Com-
forter,
Counselor, and Supporter), in John.
III. The Spirit in John
The Greek term para<klhtoj as it is applied to the
Holy Spirit is a
special
Johannine term that is used only in three chapters (14-16) of
John's
farewell discourse between Jesus and the disciples. (It is also
used
of Jesus in 1 John 2:1; cf. John 14:16.) But these three chapters
constitute
the major teaching of John on the Holy Spirit. The context
of
the teaching is very important because the words are addressed in
a
setting where the followers of Jesus are disillusioned and feel totally
empty
at the thought of Jesus' immanent departure. The disciple's
experience
was one of feeling abandoned or of being orphaned (14:18).
A Road Map and the
Presence of God
Jesus had just told them that he was
going away to prepare a
place
for them and that he would return and take them to himself. He
told
them that they should understand where he was going (14:1-4).
But
Thomas and Philip voiced for the disciples their bewilderment.
They
wanted an outlined road map of his journey and a glimpse of
God
in order to gain some degree of security in the midst of such an
upsetting
crisis (14:5 and 8). For them to understand that Jesus was
their
road map and that he was the epitome of the Father was at that
time
almost impossible to conceive.
Believing that Jesus was actually
united with the Father seemed
to
be beyond the scope of their thought patterns and so Jesus tried to
help
them through their thorn patches of unbelief by reminding them
of
the works that he did (14:11). If they could grasp the significance
of
Jesus' works, perhaps they would realize that Jesus had called them
to
greater works (14:12). Indeed, he had summoned them to a relation-
ship
in which they would be so dependent upon him (“ask in his
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CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
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name")
that they would discover the exciting power of answered
prayer
(14:13-14). Moreover, in obeying the will of the Son, they
would
find the answer to their sense of abandonment because Jesus
would
send to them another Paraclete (a Supporter, Advocate, Com-
forter,
Counselor) to be with them (14:15-16). )
Abiding in Christ's Love
While in the World
Obviously, John viewed Jesus as the
first Paraclete of the disciples
while
he was with them. He was their supporter, counselor, comforter
and
advocate during his earthly ministry (14:21-25). He had given
them
a sense of security and peace while he was with them, but the
time
had come for him to leave them and their anxiety level was
almost
unbearable (14:27). They had difficulty understanding how a
substitute
would help them. They wanted Jesus (cf. 16:6, 16-19)!
Jesus,
therefore, tried to help them understand ahead of time what
was
about to happen and that the devil (the ruler of the world) really
was
not the ultimate power in the world (14:29-31). Jesus wished that
they
could rejoice at his going to the Father because he would come
again
to them (14:28). Their minds, however, were still stuck in the
mire
of their worldly concerns so Jesus continued in his task of
providing
them with preparatory advice.
Abiding in Christ's Love
While in the World
In chap 15, through the masal (parable or allegory) of the vine
and
the branches, Jesus explained to them how authentic salvation
and
ministry were defined in terms of a personal relationship with
him.
Apart from him they would be like dead branches (15:6) and
able
to accomplish nothing that would count for God (15:5). But if
they
hung on to him (15:7) and were obedient to him (15:10), they
would
discover the power of prayer, of conversing with the Lord
(15:7),
and they would experience the fullness of joy in their lives
(15:11).
The
Mark of the Christian and the Pain of Community. More-
over,
there was a specific quality that would mark them as people
who
were obediently abiding in Christ. That
quality was love--not
talk
about love, but genuine obedience to Christ that is evidenced in a
life
of love (15:12-17; cf. 13:34-35). In the midst of our current Baptist
controversy
we all need to be reminded again and again of the fact
that
what really counts is not only the way a Christian talks but the
way
a believer acts. Genuine love is the test of whether we believe
with
our lives. What does that statement mean to us, my friends?
How
far has our believing carried us? Merely to our heads, or deep
Borchert: THE SPIRIT AND
SALVATION 73
into
our lives as well? Let us all pray for the Spirit's enlightenment in
answering
this question in our own contexts.
The
Warning and the Promise. My previous sentence is not
some
hastily added conclusion to a painful subject. It is born out of
wrestling
with the context of John 15:18-25 wherein the disciples
were
reminded that life in this world (perhaps sometimes in the
church?)
was not a setting of peace, but of hate and persecution and
of
unfair dealings. In that context of hostility Jesus reminded the
disciples
that when the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, would be sent by
Jesus
from the Father (cf. the filioque
argument between the eastern
and
western church),8 he would give them divine insight (witness)
into
the will of our Lord Jesus (15:26; cf. 16:7).
But why did Jesus speak in this
manner? John indicated that the
reason
was in order to keep Christians from being “scandalized”
(16:1).
The Greek verb is the powerful skandali<zw which is translated
in
the RSV as “falling away”. Whatever reaction we may have to that
translation,
the point of 15:26-16:4 is to indicate that Jesus knew that
life
on earth would be very difficult. Some religious people would
even
think that they were doing God a service in attacking Christians
(16:2).
But in the midst of pain and anguish John, seeing with post-
resurrection
eyes, wanted his readers to remember that Jesus had
promised
to send the Paraclete to be the Christians' Advisor.
The Evangelical Role of
the Spirit
In their distress at his immanent
departure the disciples did not
want
Jesus to abandon them. But Jesus knew that it would be to their
advantage
for him to depart because if he would not leave, the
Paraclete
would not come to them (16:6-7). Moreover, Jesus informed
them
of the great resource the Paraclete would be. Their new Advo-
cate's
role would be threefold: (a) to convince the world of the reality
of
sin because of the world's refusal to believe in Jesus; (b) to make
clear
to everyone the necessity of righteousness with God and of
8 Filioque is Latin for "and from the Son" and involves the
question of whether
the
Spirit proceeds from the Father only or from the Father and from the Son. The
latter
position represents the Western version of the Nicene Creed. While the phrase
was
not part of the original decision of the ecumenical council at Nicea (A.D. 325),
it
was
used as early as 447 at
Leo
III refused to accept it in 809 but later in the 9th century Photius of
Constantinople
excommunicated
Nicholas I of the
addition.
The argument was central to the fracture of east and west in 1054. Whatever
may
be the particular merits of the argument on both sides, it does seem from this
text
that
the Father and Son are in harmony in the coming of the Spirit.
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CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
God's
vindication of Jesus; and (c) to indicate to everyone that refusal
to
accept the way of God would lead to judgment because even the
ruler
of the world (the devil) is subject to the judgment of God and
therefore
there is no escape for anyone who refuses God's way in the
world
(16:8-11).
In this brief statement is
summarized the evangelical role of the
Holy
Spirit. Everyone interested in
evangelism (which should mean
every
Christian) ought to pay particular attention to these verses
because
they form a brief summary of the evangelistic goal of the
Gospel.
People need to acknowledge their sin and accept the righteous-
ness
of Jesus Christ in order to escape the clear judgment of God
upon
the way of rebellion and evil.
Witness
and Sin. But before we leave this statement several
other
matters ought to be noted.. As one studies the kerygma (the
preaching)
of the early Church, one notices that there is a clear
acknowledgment
of sin but very little highlighting of past sins. In our
churches
sometimes one has the feeling that the more and greater the
past
sins one can confess the better is one's testimony. Accordingly,
some
Christians feel unimportant because they do not have a testi-
mony
involving vivid past sins. But such a pattern is the elevating of
sin
not Jesus. That style is bad news not good news! Excitement of a
testimony
ought not to proceed from a bad past but from a living life
with
Christ! Jesus is the focus of the early
Church's preaching and he
ought
to be the focus of anything worthy of being called a Christian
testimony.
Let us talk about Jesus and his redeeming love, my friends,
not
about the greatness of ourselves or our past sins.
Salvation
and the Work of the Spirit. In
addition, one of the
hardest
lessons for any preacher to learn and which needs to be
learned
again and again is that salvation is the work of God--not the
work
of a preacher or any witness of the Gospel. Furthermore, we
need
to realize that salvation is certainly not fundamentally the work
of
a sinner who is confessing sin. Nevertheless, here is the true meet-
ing
point of authentic Calvinism with the Arminian call to repent--
similarly
sounded in John 3:16 (God loved. . . and we believe).9 But
remember
that the only way anyone genuinely enters the kingdom of
God
is because the Holy Spirit touches a life in such a way that a
person
is enabled to believe. Jesus made that fact absolutely clear
when
he described the work of the Holy Spirit in John 16:8-11. The
Holy
Spirit convinces people of the horrible nature of sin, of the
9 For a discussion of the interplay
between Calvinism and Arminianism in John 3
see
my Assurance and Warning, pp. 104-5.
Borchert: THE SPIRIT AND
SALVATION 75
victory
in Jesus Christ, and of the impending nature of judgment for
those
who fail to believe.
The task of a preacher or a witness
is to help open the door of the
will
so that the Holy Spirit can enter an unbeliever's life. As a Christian
witness
I have had opportunities to help open the door of hearts
prepared
by the Holy Spirit in a number of places when for instance
the
person spoke another language like Arabic and only halting
English.
There has usually come a time when I have had to sit back,
pray
and observe while God brought the person to himself. The
secret
of an authentic Christian witness is to know when it is God's
turn
to take over--indeed to recognize that the Lord is active at all
times.
The real power of Billy Graham, he will tell you himself, is
when
he stops preaching and lets God do the invitation work through
him.
Whether one is a new Christian layperson, a seasoned minister or
an
able teacher of theological formulations, there is an important
point
in the evangelistic process when one has to turn the inquirer
over
to God and let the Spirit do the mighty work of bringing that
person
to God himself. That is one of the times when hard working
Christians
prove whether they will let God be God or they are in fact
idolators
of the self. My friends, I say this not merely as a NT
interpreter
but also as one who teaches evangelism at the graduate
level.
We need to learn how to let God be God.
Theology of the Spirit
and Presence
As John moved to the conclusion of
the farewell discourse, he
reminded
his readers that Jesus had not supplied the disciples with a
full-blown
theology of the Holy Spirit. To provide such would have
been
impossible, given the depressed state of the disciples' minds
(16:12).
They were totally confused by his statement of departure and
return
(16:16-18). Therefore, instead of a fully enunciated statement
about
the Holy Spirit, Jesus promised them that the presence of the
Spirit
would provide them with guidance concerning truth (16:13).
Here
again then is illustrated a typical Johannine pattern wherein
the
personal presence of God, Jesus or the Spirit, is stressed rather
than
the words or ideas about the Godhead. A similar pattern was
noted
earlier in connection with the theme of believing. It is not that
verbal
formulas are unimportant for John, but that the reality of
God's
personhood is something that is basic to John. The Word
became
flesh (1:14) is not merely a theological statement. It is a
confessional
reality for John. So, when John talks about the Holy
Spirit,
it is not merely a statement that we are to affirm. The Spirit is a
reality
of God's guiding presence that we as Christians are to experi-
ence.
But relationship to the Spirit is not simply a subjective reality. In
76 CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
the
context of the divine presence in our lives, we begin to understand
the
related reality of truth (16:13), a truth that glorifies Jesus, our Lord
(16:14)
and provides security to us as believers that we belong to
Christ
(16:15).
Assurance and the Spirit
Assurance of salvation, then, does
not come from something we
generate.
It is the result of the Spirit's personal presence in our lives
directing
our attitudes and perspectives in the ways we think. More-
over,
confidence in life and in prayer is not the result of our worthiness
before
God. It results from sensing the Spirit's presence so that we are
able
to converse as a consequence of knowing this living God in our
lives
(16:23-24). Accordingly, as our lives reflect an obedient response
to
God, prayer becomes a part of the natural communication pattern
of
a Christian with the indwelling Spirit of God (16:13, 26-28; cf.
15:7-11).
Jesus' Model in Prayer
We, thus, become more and more like
Jesus our Lord as the
Spirit
of God lives in us. This, Jesus, our guide and supporter, as
portrayed
in chap 17, concluded the farewell discourse with his own
model
prayer. This prayer provides for us a revealing window into
Jesus
who is our Savior and our ideal. In this chapter Jesus prayed for
the
protection of the disciples as he affirmed his earthly role of
guarding
them while he was with them (17:11-12). He did not pray
that
Christians would be teleported to some perfect environment
where
there would be no contact with besmudged humanity. That
course
of action would have made evangelism impossible. Instead, he
prayed
that since he would no longer serve as their Paraclete (sup-
porter)
his followers would be protected from the evil one in this
hurt-laden
world (17:13-15).
In addition, he prayed for his
followers' holiness (17:17) and
rooted
this prayer in his own action of sanctifying himself (17:19).
Think
of the implication of the holy Son of God sanctifying (purify-
ing)
himself as a model for us! It is not a question of our Lord's
sinfulness
but an indication of how much Jesus was willing to do for
the
disciples in order to be their supporter!
Thirdly, Jesus prayed for the
disciples' unity. But he did not limit
the
prayer to his immediate followers or to the 1st century. His prayer
also
specifically was focused on us as well (17:20). The reason for his
concern
of unity was undoubtedly that Jesus knew it is hard to do the
mission
of Christ ("that the world may believe" 17:21) when Christians
are
fussing with one another. This year Southern Baptist evangelistic
outreach
has slumped to an actual low not experienced since the
Borchert: THE SPIRIT AND
SALVATION 77
Second
World War. Is our main concern the mission of Christ? Is our
"Bold
Mission Thrust" more than words?
A final element of Jesus' prayer is
his longing for his followers to
be
with him in glory (17:24). Christians need to remember that Jesus
was
pictured as longing for the time when his followers would realize
their
destiny with him. Life in this world is not an end in itself. The
reality
of salvation involves matters far beyond this present mundane
life.
Jesus is like an expectant parent who waits for the celebrative
homecoming
of his children.
The time is coming indeed when all
the world will hear the voice
of
God's Son and come forth from the tombs--some to a resurrection
of
life but unfortunately others will come to a resurrection of judg-
ment
(5:25-29). Human beings must clearly understand that human
destiny
in John is not limited to a single focus. The good news is
directed
to the whole world but not everyone will believe in Jesus. To
those,
however, who believe, who place their lives in a trust relation-
ship
with Christ, God gives authority (e]cousi<a) to become children of
God
(1:12). The destiny of our salvation is to be with Jesus in glory
(14:3
and 17:24). That is the ultimate goal of salvation.
Conclusion
Jesus is God's answer to the pain
and sin in the world--the Lamb
of
God (1:29). He came as the one through whom there was given to
humanity
new life and enlightenment (1:4-5), the one in whom divine
grace
and truth was fully infleshed (1:14) and the one who baptizes
with
the Holy Spirit (1:33). He is the one who was lifted up in order
that
whoever would believe in him might experience life eternal
(3:14-15)
and the one whom the Samaritans confessed to be the
Savior
of the world (4:42). He is the bread of life (6:35), the living
water
(7:37), the light of the world (8:12 and 9:5) and the faithful
shepherd
(10:11) who provides security of life for his believing sheep
(10:28).
He is the resurrection and the hope for the dead (11:25), the
kingly
answer to all human expectations (12:13), the model of a life of
love
(13:34) and the way of God (14:6). He is the foundation vine that
enables
us to have a fruitful life (15:1-2) and he is the one who sends
the
Holy Spirit to his followers (16:7).
The Purpose of the Death
Story
In the Johannine death story this
Jesus stood: totally in control
before
Judas and the puny band of captors (18:3-8); absolutely
authentic
in comparison to the inconsistencies of Peter (18:10-11,
15:18,
25:27); genuinely loyal to God in the face of priestly hypocrisy
(18:12-14,
19-24, 28 and 19:15) and perfectly serene in the presence of
78
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
the
compromising weakness of Roman power (18:29-19:16). The pur-
pose
of the death story in John as in all the gospel is to make clear to
the
reader that the sacrificial death of Jesus which is basic to our
salvation
was not in the hands of mere human beings.
The enemies did not control the
death of Jesus according to John.
He
moved throughout his life toward the determined hour of his
death
(17:1). When he reached that hour, in John's mind, Jesus himself
chose
the moment of his death, called out to the world “It is finished!”
and
then gave up his Spirit (19:30). Thus" when the soldiers came to
the
cross to end the life of the victims in their accustomed manner,
Jesus
was already dead (19:33). Instead, one soldier pierced his side
but
the mixture of blood and water that poured from his side was for
John
a powerful symbolic testimony of the sacrificial death of Jesus
(19:34-37).
Indeed, even after he died, his body gave witness to the
reason
for his coming--to be the sacrificial lamb of God for the sin of
the
world (1:29).
The Resurrection and the
Spirit
But the power of God did not leave
Jesus in the tomb. As the
resurrection
morning dawned, it became apparent that Jesus was no
longer
in the tomb. What was the meaning of that empty tomb? That
event
signaled a great transition in which this mundane world became
a
setting where a new pattern of life in. the Spirit could emerge. The
believers
in Jesus were given a new dimension to their lives, a new
Paraclete.
The way of the disciples was not to be
the way of Mary at the
tomb
when she tried to grasp on to Jesus and maintain an earthly
relationship
with the Lord (20:16-17). Such was not to be the way of
assurance
of Christ's salvation. The function of Jesus in this era of the
resurrection
was not to remain on earth with his disciples. His role
was
to ascend to the Father (20:17) and to send them the Spirit, the
other
Paraclete (14:16).
On the evening of that first Lord's day,
the day of the resurrec-
tion,
Jesus met the disciples and fulfilled his promise. He breathed on
them
and delivered to them the blessing of the Holy Spirit, their new
supporter
(20:22). In those decisive moments the risen Jesus also
commissioned
the disciples to their important role in his work of
salvation--the
ministry of the forgiveness of sins (20:23).
Resource and commission, these are
the bipolar themes of this
paper:
The Spirit and salvation! As people of the resurrection, the
living
Jesus summons us' to the ministry of salvation. Go forth then to
your
calling, oh Christian, in the power of the resurrection, confident
that
your Paraclete, the Spirit, goes with you!
This material is cited with gracious
permission from:
The
www.criswell.edu
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Hildebrandt at: