Guest Week: Riah Collier

 John 3:34-35

For he [Jesus] whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

35The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

This passage of Scripture is easy to overlook, sandwiched between the well-known stories of Jesus's interactions with Nicodemus at the beginning of John 3 and the Samaritan woman at the well in chapter 4.   However, these verses have a lot to say. 

I love Scripture texts that bring together the mystery of the threefold Person of God.  The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one Being, but three Persons.  I heard someone recently explain that "being" explains what you are, "person" explains who you are.  This really helped me as I meditated on this passage.  How does God "give" the Spirit to the Son, when all three of Them are simultaneously fully God?  I don't pretend to understand it completely, but this distinction is helpful . . . the person of the Father gave the person of the Spirit to the person of the Son.  And He didn't do it "by measure" (a limited amount) . . . and because it wasn't a limited amount, Jesus's words were the words of God.

In contrast, the Spirit would come in limited amount upon the prophets from time to time to deliver the Word of God to God's people.  Not so with Jesus . . . limitless access to the Spirit was granted to Him as the incarnated Son of God on the earth.   

Furthermore, He received that Spirit on our behalf.  As the Father sent down the Spirit on the Son when He was baptized in the river Jordan, so the Son now baptizes those who seek Him with that same Spirit.

We have access to the boundless depths of God through His living Holy Spirit within us.  Think about all the operations of God's Holy Spirit in mankind that the Scriptures describe . . . He sanctifies us, guides us, unifies us, gives us joy unspeakable, gives us power over sin and temptation, fills us with love for God and our fellow man, heals our hurts, communicates our unspeakable struggles and pain to the Father, fills our mouth with words to speak the Gospel to people, helps us understand God's Word, bears witness between the hearts of fellow Christians . . . 

I thank God that He gave His Son His Spirit without measure in order that He could pour it out on undeserving people like me.  What a wondrous plan of salvation.

Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

11Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

12Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.