8. The Holy Spirit in the Epistles of John and Jude
(written between 90-95 A.D.)
1 John 3:23-24
23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
John, the youngest of the disciples of Jesus, was, in contrast to the Torah scholar, Paul, as well as in relation to the writer of Hebrews, who obviously had broad knowledge of worship practices, rather a meditative and mystically oriented evangelist. He was able to see into the internal coherencies of spiritual life.
He summarized the teaching of his beloved Lord into two commands: The first demands of us that we “believe on the name of Jesus” and recognize that He is the Messiah and the only begotten Son of God. We bind ourselves to Him through this faith, in time and eternity, by way of his new covenant. The second command demands of us that we, as His followers, love one another, just as He loved us. This love manifests itself in being ready to serve others, in sacrificing itself for others, as well as in exercising forgiveness, just as the Lord forgives us.
The one who obeys and follows these two commands receives a share in the divine mystery – that he is in God, who Himself is Spirit, and that the Almighty God has taken up dwelling in him. This assurance we receive through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us by the thrice-holy God. This Spirit remains the guarantor of the truth that God remains in us.
1 John 4:1-4
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
The apostle of the love of God was the one witness among all the evangelists to most clearly define the meaning of truth. He explained to us how we can recognize the Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah, in whom the Spirit of God became incarnate, is of God. Every spirit who does not address Jesus by His name, and denies or conceals His incarnation, is not from God. This is the spirit of Antichrist, who the prophets of the New Testament on several occasions announced. Since the days of John, he remains concealed in the world.
Whoever takes this discerning of spirits to heart will grasp the distressful spiritual situation in Israel and in Islam. Both vehemently deny that the son of Mary was also the Son of God. Therefore, we should not be surprised about what all happens in Israel and the Islamic nations. In John´s letter he gave further indications of how we can recognize the spirit of Antichrist in our society (1 John 2:18-19; 22-23). Liberal churches in our land, as well, stand in danger of opening themselves to this demonic spirit, thereby losing the true Spirit of God.
1 John 4:6
We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
John confessed to a painful pastoral experience, one that Jesus Himself had, on several occasions, spoken of. Not every person is able to hear and understand His word and truth. Yet, the one with open “ears of the heart” awakens, hears the voice of the Holy Spirit, and recognizes God as his Father, Saviour, and Comforter. Jesus said: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). But He also said: “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. …But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me” (John 8:43-45).
Whoever hears the voice of Jesus and gratefully accepts the witness of Christ, our Saviour, will be endowed with His Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth. All other spirits lead mankind astray. The one who rejects Christ as the absolute truth and thinks he will find a better truth through his own endeavours, falls from error to error and lie to lie! According to the Bible, lies are not only intentionally perverted truths, but also errors and false teaching inspired by the father of lies. This occurs not only in the realm of the church, but also in philosophy, politics, and in society.
1 John 4:13-15
13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
John consolidated the testimony he was charged with and confessed: by this we know that “we abide in God” and “He in us”, because He has given us a share of His Spirit. Beyond that, the disciple “whom Jesus loved” confessed that he had seen Jesus, the Son of God, in His glory and in His passion, with his own eyes. He had understood that the Father in heaven had sent Him into the world as the one-and-only Saviour and Lord of lords. Whoever has studied the life of Jesus and come to recognize and confess that the Son of Mary is the Son of God, begotten of the Holy Spirit, has the privilege of knowing that he remains “in God”, his heavenly Father, and “He in him”. Who is it that thanks the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit for this eternally valid mystery? Take the time and transform your precious finding into praise, thanksgiving, and worship!
1 John 5:4-8
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is He who came by water and blood- Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three who bear witness in heaven. …8 the spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
John confessed the all-encompassing victory of Jesus Christ over sin, death, and the devil, which he summarizes with the term “the world”. Whoever binds himself by faith to the Victor of Golgotha receives a share in His unique victory. Jesus lets us have a part in His overcoming power. This share becomes ours when we believe on Him being the Son of God. Our faith in His divine Sonship has part in His victory – not only in the future, but also in the here-and-now!
Jesus passed through three grave events in His life: First, at His baptism in water in the Jordan, He took upon Himself the sin of the world (John 1:29). Later, on the cross, He shed His blood for all sinners so that He, as their Paschal Lamb, could save them from the wrath of God (Matt. 26:28; John 19:34-35). After His ascension to heaven, He poured out the Holy Spirit upon all flesh (Luke 24:49; John 15:26; 16:7). These three witnesses: The water of the Jordan, His blood on the cross, and His Spirit together make up the truth, and agree in their desire and in their working. Whoever denies or hides even one of these three foundational elements of our faith does not stand in the truth, for the Spirit of God is truth.
Jude 20-21
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Jude, the brother of James (Jude 1), who considered himself too insignificant to be addressed as a brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3), had written to different churches following the martyr death of his brother. Into these churches, which did not have the Spirit of Christ, the liberal seducer had penetrated, causing them to tolerate sodomite dissipations (Jude 7).
After he had denounced, using Old Testament examples, the godlessness of the seducers, he turned to address the core of the church. He challenged them, using few words, to contend earnestly for the true faith (Jude 3). He explained that whoever believed on Jesus must also be holy through-and-through. By so saying, he confessed that “faith” in the New Testament and “thoughtless sinning” are irreconcilable. He then reminded the faithful on praying in the Holy Spirit, in His leading and in His truth. Furthermore, he challenged the faithful in Christ to remain in the love of God – a love that does not live for itself, but is also ready to sacrifice even for those who are not kind or lovable. Finally, he encouraged them to firmly lay hold to the hope of the Lord´s mercy. This Lord shares His eternal life with all who bind themselves to Him in faith and in love.