The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-05-05

Golden Text, John 14:16-Com>
init Verse 13-Commentary
TIME. Tuesday night OF
early Wednesday morning April 4tEs
or 5th, A. D. 80. PLACE. Near
! Jerusalem.
EXPOSITION.-I. Jesus Going.
the Comforter Coming, ~. The dis.
/ cip1es were filed with sorrow at the
announcement of the departure of
| Jesus, The story of the worlds hate
| still goes on (cf. VS.. 1-3). The world,
/ Jesus says, will excommunicate and
| kill the one who is true to Him How
! true this prophecy has proven to be in
! actual history, but Jesus prepared His
4 disciples for the fiery trial by fore.
| warning them of it, and He would
| prepare us for the prosecutions we
| must surely meet, if we are loyal to
/ Him, by forewarning us of them 2
! Tim. 3-12), The disciples were filed
| with sorrow, so full were they that
| they did not even stop to ask.
whittier goest Thou?" If we would
only ask that question concerning our
departing friends, and get Gods an
! swer to the question, sorrow would
| no longer fill our hearts (cf. Phil,
| 1:23). Jesus did not tell them of
! SOll11D5 ItJdl w AllS I1S w ctS WILL IAtCHl
| but now that He was to be no longer
with them in person, they needed to,
be forewarned in order that they
might be forearmed.
H.-When the Comforter is Come.
7-15. Their sorrow over the de-
parture of Jesus was altogether need
less. 1t was profitable for them for
/ Jesus to go, for another Divine Friend
| was coming to take His place,
Friend who could be much nearer and
more constantly nearer to them than
! Jesus could be during the days of His
| flesh. How clearly the personality of
! the Holy Spirit comes out in all this.
Can we conceive of Jesus saying it
was profitable for Him to go, if the
| One who was to come and take His
place was not Person but only an
impersonal influence or power? The
word translated Comforter" means
! that and far more. 1t is the same
word that is translated advocate" in
John FL. But advocate does not
! give it's full force. 1t means one
called to stand beside another, as con-.
slant helper, counselor, guide, friend
! Jesus, up to this time, had been a
friend constantly at hand, but He was
| going and another Divine Friend was
coming who would not only be with
them, but dwell in them (ch. 14:16.
I'D. A Christian need never be lone
ly if he would only bear in. mind that
fact, that in him dwells the best of
all companions, the Paraclete, the
Holy Spirit. The Comforter has come.
His first work is to show the world it's
error about sin, to show that the
great, decisive, damniAg sin is not to-
believe in the Son of~God (cf Acts
236, 81; John 3:18, 19), and that
they are guilty of this sin. 1t is not
f, our work to try to convince the world
of sin. If we tried to do it, we should
fail; but there is one who can do it
! If we look to Him, the Holy Spirit,
but He does it through us. Jess
says, II will send Him unto YOU ".
-, "and when He is come (unto-
you), He will convict the world" AS.
far as the Scriptures reveal, the Holy
Spirit has no channel through which
He can get at the world except
through those who are already saved.
Are you an unobstrueted channel?
How many there are in our homes
and our classes that the Holy Spirit
! is trying to get at, and He is trying
to get the use of our lips, but we will
not place them at His disposal. Or,
If we do place them at His disposal,
! our own lives are not surrendered
frSly to Him and SO He cannot work
through us. He shows the world, too,
Its error about righteousness. He
shows to the world by the resurrec-
ton and ascension of Jesus, that
Jesus is the righteous One and the
only righteousness possible to us is in
Him (cf. Phil. SO, r. W. There's
| are two things that man needs to-
see in order to be saved--first, him
self, that he is a sinner; second,
Jesus, His righteousness, and the
righteousness of God provided for us
In Him. 1t is the work of the Holy
! Spirit to show these two things to
man. He also shows the world it's
error about judgment, i. e., that there
Is to be Judgment for it, inasmuch
as its prince is judged already. But
the Holy Spirit would do another
work, guide the disciples into all the,
truth. The disciples were not yet
ripe for all the truth, and Jesus is an
Infinitely wise Teacher, and gave
them the truth as they were prepared
to receive it. 1t would be we'll if
modern teachers would learn from
Jesus to adapt their teaching to the
digestion of the hearers But the
time would come when they should
truth. This promise was made pri-
marily to the apostles. 1t is Jesus
own guarantee of the inspiration and
ruth and completeness of their teach
ing. But this promise cannot be linn
tied to the apostles, for John himself
applies it to all believers Il John
2:2O. 1t is the privilege of each be-
lever to be directly taught of the
Spirit, and we will not understand the
truth until we are thus taught. No
amount OF reading Of good books, or
| of the mere letter of the Word, will
give us to know the truth the Spirit
Himself must teach US OF course,
He will not teach anything contrary
to the Book of which He Himself is
the Author, but He will be the inter
prefer of the Book.
Can't See the Stage.