Jesus – Journeys of Heart and Mind

The work of the Spirit – 2

Not only are we together as a community of his people, we are also together in the community of the Almighty Creator.

This article is an extract from my short book, Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church (JDMC). The bite-sized piece below is roughly two percent of the book.

Jesus at the centre

We have seen how important it is to keep Jesus right at the heart of everything we do. We have seen that we must follow Jesus alone and that there can be no room for following anyone or anything else.

Without the Holy Spirit we will find this impossible. We receive the Spirit from Jesus as a baptism (Matthew 3:11). In response to our love and obedience, Jesus sends us his Spirit (John 14:15-17). We are not free to defile our bodies because they are ‘temples of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 6:19) – and if this is true of our bodies, isn’t it also true of our hearts and minds? The essence of keeping Jesus at the centre is that we know Jesus is Lord of our lives and our thinking and our emotions, of all that we are and all that we do. Yet we can’t even say the words ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3).

How has the Spirit helped keep you focused on Jesus? Try to find specific examples rather than generalisations.

Becoming disciples

This is a matter of following Jesus and becoming conformed to his image. Look at the fruit of the Spirit as set out by Paul in Galatians 5:22-26: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This is how the Holy Spirit moulds us to become more Christlike. This is fruit, it grows in us day by day, year by year. And the degree to which we have become conformed is expressed in all we think and say and do.

Doesn’t this sound familiar? Isn’t this the very process of becoming disciples that we are looking for? If we are filled by the Spirit and respond to him we will bear the fruit of the Spirit in every way. We co-operate with the Holy Spirit when we develop a habit of joy or patience or gentleness. Right behaviour over and over again forms those habits of fruitfulness in us. There are two sides to this. We cannot do it in our own strength so we need and depend on the Spirit. But he will not coerce us, he expects to see our obedient willingness to allow him to change us.

Is there spiritual fruit in your life? How might you explain this to someone
who doesn’t yet know Jesus?

Outward and integrated

We need to reach those around us; Jesus commands it. He said, ‘I’ve been given all authority in heaven and on earth, so as you go, make disciples of all nations … and I’ll be with you.’ (Matthew 28:18-20) But as we go out into the world and seek to embed ourselves deep in the culture (as he did), we do not go alone.

Not only are we together as a community of his people, we are also together in the community of the Almighty Creator. The Son has made the way open and has sent the Spirit to fill us – Father, Son, Spirit, and us! It’s not going to heaven when we die; it’s far better than that. It’s living in their community right here, right now and forever. Jesus says he is with us right to the end (Matthew 28:20) and he says that if we have seen him we have seen the Father (John 14:9).

In our going out and going deep we remain in the Presence, for the Holy Spirit is in us and communicates with us and for us. We couldn’t be effective carriers of good news without him. There are some great examples in the New Testament; read Acts 8:26-39, Acts 10:9-21 and Acts 16:7-10.

As you go out and deep in the culture around you, how will you pay
attention to the presence of the Holy Spirit with you? Consider prayer,
listening, and the truth that the Spirit is alive within you and wanting to
communicate with you.

Read the book

This was extracted from Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church (JDMC), pages 38 and 39. Download the whole thing or read it online – GetJDMC.scilla.org.uk

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The work of the Spirit – 1

This new life we live is not just about what we do, nor is it entirely about receiving from the Spirit. Jesus wants our co-operation.

This article is an extract from my short book, Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church (JDMC). I also mention The Forgotten Ways, a book by Alan Hirsch. The bite-sized piece below is roughly two percent of the book.

I want to guard against any suggestion that JDMC is merely presenting an organisational mechanism for rapid missional spread. It’s much more than a worldly method or a management technique. Instead it is the pattern set by Christ himself, and therefore the Spirit of Christ is present throughout and waiting for us to hear his guidance and encouragement as we do the work the Master has entrusted to us. To depend on human technique alone won’t cut the mustard – far from it! One of the forgotten ways is keeping Jesus central, following only him, adding nothing in addition. This utter dependence on Christ surely implies and demands a dependence on his Spirit – how could it possibly be otherwise?

We need to recognise that this new life we live is not just about what we do, nor is it entirely about receiving from the Spirit. Jesus wants our co-operation. If there was no need for the work of the Spirit, why would Paul warn us not to quench him? (1 Thessalonians 5:19) And if there was no need for human effort or will, why would he tell us to strive? (1 Thessalonians 5:15, 1 Timothy 4:10)

So in this additional part of JDMC I want to highlight some of the ways we can recognise and value the Holy Spirit’s activity as we attempt to remember and activate the six forgotten ways. I also offer some advice on spiritual listening at the end.

To be clear, this section should not be seen as an additional ‘forgotten way’. It isn’t that at all. But the work of the Holy Spirit surely runs deep in each of those six forgotten ways. He is, as already mentioned, the Spirit of Christ and he was sent specifically to enable us to continue the work of Jesus. If we are the body and Jesus is our head, then the Spirit is like a nervous system – fundamentally centred in the head but with sensory and motor connections to every part of the body. When we resist him and are disobedient, part of the body is effectively paralysed. And if the body acts without the Holy Spirit it is sleepwalking and
ineffective.

If all of this sounds hard – it is. We have to learn to die so that we can begin to live in Christ. It’s not that we have to work hard to be more like Jesus; rather we have to let go of all our own goals and desires and effort and planning and let Jesus live his life in us. He will tell us and show us what to do, when to do it, and how. The Holy Spirit is no less than the Spirit of Christ, he is our guide and walks with us in every situation. He is the heart and mind of the Messiah expressing himself through his people.

Talk together about the ways the Holy Spirit has interacted with you in
your lives as you follow Jesus. Are there some encouraging stories you can
share? (This question is for group discussion, but since you’re reading this you might think about it as an individual.)

Read the book

This was extracted from Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church (JDMC), page 37. Download the whole thing or read it online – GetJDMC.scilla.org.uk

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John 14:22-31 – Not to the world?

[Jesus] took on our limitations so that he could reach us on our level, in ways we can understand.

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Bible text – Read it yourself (opens in a new tab)

‘Why are you showing yourself to us, but not to the world?’ This is such an interesting question, it’s also a natural question. Judas (not Iscariot) wants to know why Jesus shows himself to the twelve, but not to the world. The question suggests it’s Jesus’ choice to hide himself from most people but show himself to a few. Judas is right to find this strange! But it’s not what Jesus has in mind.

In verse 23, he responds by saying that for everyone who loves him, he and the Father will come and make their home in that person. In other words, it’s not just for the twelve, but for anyone in the world who loves Jesus. Or to put it another way, the answer is that he will reveal himself to anyone – if they love him. He doesn’t hide from anybody, but those who don’t love him can never truly see him.

Short of time

Jesus needs to wind the conversation up because he knows what will happen next. He reminds them again of the promised Spirit and tells them that he and his Father will live within them; and the Spirit will teach them and remind them of everything they need to know. He also promises to leave his peace with them, and tells them not to worry or be afraid. This seems to me particularly striking when you consider what Jesus is about to go through at the hands of the Sanhedrin and the Roman governor.

And finally, in verses 28 to 31, he reminds them that he’s going to the Father who is greater than he is, and they will be glad (once they understand the significance of this). So, in what way is the Father greater than the Son? Does this idea even make any sense when we know that Father, Son and Spirit are co-equal within the structure we call ‘trinity’, the three in oneness that they share together? Perhaps the answer is simply that Jesus has limited himself within a human body in order to reach us in this world. For more than 30 years he has remained limited, but in returning to the Father he will regain the ability to be present everywhere at every moment of time with all of his people. In his human body he is inevitably less powerful than the Father, only able to act in the one place and time where he finds himself. He took on our limitations so that he could reach us on our level, in ways we can understand. That time is coming to an end as he returns to the Father.

Time’s up

And then they leave, and the final act will open.

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The exact representation

For a person, a colour photo is a pretty accurate representation – at least for appearance. A half hour video interview would be even better.

Picasso in 1904 (Blue period) – (Wikipedia)

What is an exact representation? It’s a fully accurate impression of something, but still not the thing itself. For a paragraph of text it might be a carefully checked typescript or handwritten copy. It’s not the original, but it carries the essence of the original. If a single character is incorrect, the sense may still be clear, or guessable, or might become misleading. ‘If a single character his incorrect’ could still be clear though an obvious typo. ‘If a shingle character is incorrect’, might be slightly more confusing. ‘It’s now the original’, completely messes with the correct text, ‘It’s not the original’.

For a person, a colour photo is a pretty accurate representation – at least for appearance. A half hour video interview would be even better. An oil painting might give a recognisable impression, unless it was a later Picasso.

What about Jesus?

Yahshua (Jesus) is an interesting case of representation. We don’t have pictures of his appearance, though we do know quite a lot about his character and behaviour. However, he himself is a representation.

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Hebrews 1:3 (New International Version)

The sun on a clear day is very bright indeed, so bright it’s dangerous to stare at it directly (don’t try, your eyesight might be permanently damaged). But that powerful light is responsible for making everything else in our daytime world visible to us. This is one of the ways in which Jesus represents the nature of his ancestry. The Father is sometimes described as dangerous to behold, yet he makes everything in the spiritual world visible to us. But it is safe to look directly into Jesus’ face – his twelve closest followers did that, so did the seventy-two, so did the mass of the people from the towns and villages all around Galilee.

Not only is he safe but he sustains everything there is, and he has provided a purity that we could never earn for ourselves. And it works both ways in a sense. Not only does he represent the Father’s glory for us to see, but he represents us in his Father’s holy presence, sitting at his right hand!

What about the Greek?

Let’s look at some of the Greek words here, what can they add for us?

ἀπαύγασμα – apaugasma – ‘the radiance of his glory’ – This has the sense of a gleam flashing out, a flash of reflected light, as from polished metal moving in the sunlight. The Son is a dazzling flash shining out, hinting at the Father’s brightness.

χαρακτὴρ – charaktēr – ‘the exact expression‘ – From which we get the similar sounding English noun ‘character’. The Greek word has a core meaning of accuracy of expression, ‘precisely like’. Jesus is not just a bit like the Father, they are one! So what we see in him really does show us exactly what the Father is like.

ὑποστάσεως- hypostaseōs – ‘of his being’ – substance, or nature – This word is also used in Hebrews 3:14 where the NIV translators chose the word ‘conviction’ in the sense of certainty. Jesus represents the Father’s sustaining essence. What more could we ask? What more could we need?

Final thought

What a good thing that the writer of Hebrews wasn’t a cubist!

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What is the greatest priority?

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity.

We consider priorities expressed by three church personalities and ask, ‘What is the most important objective for the church? What will most please Papa? What is the Spirit urging? How does Jesus want us to respond?’

A polychotomy?

We are being tugged in many directions in our lives as believers, we have become a polychotomy. The word literally means ‘many cut apart’. The church looks like shattered glass; oneness turned into shards. There are voices telling us to believe the right things, say the right things, do the right things. Let’s take a look at some of them and ask ourselves the question, ‘What is the greatest priority?’

An article by Sam Hailes (no longer available) started me thinking about this. Sam interviewed Peter Farmer from Nottingham, Tony Goddard from Peterborough, and Beresford Job from Chigwell. These three men have different ideas on the main priority – mission and multiplication (Peter), making an impact and caring (Tony), following Biblical principles (Beresford). If we cast the net wider we will find many more groups with other insights and emphases. Every denomination and group has its own ideas about what is most important.

So who is right?

To answer this question we need to turn to the Bible. But where should we look?

Guidance from the Source

I suggest that the most important and fundamental guidance will come from carefully hearing what Jesus said. In particular, his prayer just before his arrest must be the best of all sources for what is essential.

Think about it for a moment. Yahshua knows that his whole life has brought him to this place of sacrifice. The burden upon him is enormous, his heart is heavy and he cries out to the Father. Surely what he asks at this moment will be the most important thing of all. So what does he say?

In John 17; Yahshua prays for his disciples, and there is much here that we need to take on board. But then he prays explicitly for you and me. And this is what he asks. Read it carefully – this is Jesus praying for you!

My prayer is not for [my disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. ‘Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them. (John 17:20-26)

He wants us to be one, united, not split apart. The Messiah himself prays to the Father that we may be one ‘just as you are in me and I am in you’. He wants us all to be ‘in us’ (the Father and the Son) so that the world may believe the Father has sent the Son.

More than that, Jesus has given us (you and me) the glory that the Father gave him. What?! Read that again. He’s given you and me his glory! Why? So that we may be one. Then the world will know.

And he prays that we may be where he is and see his glory.

There’s just no escaping this fundamental truth, that when the chips are down Jesus prays his heart out to his Father and asks that we may be one so that the world may believe.

What is the most striking thing about the church in our day? What does the world see when it looks at church? It sees multiple organisations, church is divided into myriad groups and denominations, often seeming to point to different things as being the most important. We are a broken, shattered people and the heart of Christ is broken when he sees us in this state. His heart is for us to be one just as he and the Father are one. And he wants to include us in their oneness and community.

Peter Farmer is not wrong about mutiplication and mission. Tony Goddard is not wrong about making an impact and caring for people. And Beresford Job is not wrong about following Biblical principles. But those are not the main things.

Becoming and remaining one

Above all, we now need to learn to be one. We need to accept we have differences, learn from one another. There is no single right belief, right speech, or right action. His children all shine with the light of his presence. If we are to be part of the answer to his prayer we need to learn from one another and grow together in love, building one another up, encouraging one another, helping one another to focus on every good thing. We need to grow up into Christ. Paul understood this well, see what he wrote to the Ephesian church.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:1-6 and 11:16)

I am not suggesting that anyone is wrong, or that some are more right than others. I am simply observing that we remain shattered and that we are not yet perfectly formed into the one bride for whom Christ died and will return. Let us all strive to forge fresh bonds of peace. Paul called the Ephesians to keep the unity of the Spirit. Today we need to do more than that, we need to regain the unity of the Spirit.

Addendum

The above is a repost, only slightly changed, of an article I wrote way back in 2012. After 12 years, I think it’s worth repeating. If church has any purpose, any value, it springs from Jesus’ prayer for you and for me. Will I let him place the little fragment that I am into a shared oneness with my brothers and sisters? Will you? Last night I was privileged to be part of a Small Group meeting with friends in one of our homes – and this oneness, and sharing, and presence of the Spirit of Christ, and care for one another and the wider world was tangible amongst us. That is so refreshing, so encouraging, so good!

Blast from the past… 9

Judy had a job at Bristol University in the Biochemistry Department, while I was working at Long Ashton Research Station on pollination.

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Notes from bygone years – Augusts one after another
Hint: Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

A year ago

Ukraine was making exceptional progress against the Russian Army’s invasion in August 2022. I was encouraged to see this and wrote in my journal:

‘Ukraine is making serious inroads into the Russian held parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and Russian forces are redeploying from the Luhansk/Donetsk region, and I suspect they’re more vulnerable while moving than they are when dug in. Perhaps Ukraine can keep them shuttling back and forth between the regions, nibbling away at them all the time. But other reports suggest the Russian economy is in serious trouble too, unemployment is severe now and despite higher prices for oil and gas, the profits are down because of reduced sales.’

A year on, all that remains true, and the Russian economy, army, and politics continue in (probably terminal) decline.

Two years ago

On 5th August 2021 we were on holiday with the family and visited Cromford Mills where Richard Arkwright built the world’s first water-powered factory to manufacture cotton thread.

It was fascinating to see the buildings and surroundings and to think about the industrial revolution.

Five years ago

In August 2018, as in 2021 (above) we were on holiday with the family, this time in Switzerland. Some of us took a cable-car to Tracouet, 850 m above the little town of Nendaz. We walked back down, enjoying some beautiful views; it took around three hours.

Ten years ago

In August 2013 I wrote about the way in which all followers of Jesus are called to be leaders – but perhaps not in quite the way we usually think. (Read the original article)

Fifteen years ago

In August 2008 – Dan and Kerry were married and there was a big family party. Fifteen years on Dan and Kerry are going strong, and everyone is that much older. Some of those present on the day are no longer with us, sadly.

Twenty years ago

In August 2003 – We met in Eaton Ford and what we were shown has remained with me ever since. The Holy Spirit told us to ‘look out and look up’, and that has turned out to be the best possible advice and guidance in every situation.

Twenty-five years ago

In August 1998 – My daughter Beth married Paz (clearly August is a good month for weddings).

The ceremony was held at the register office in Bristol, everyone gathered in Quaker’s Friars and then made our way to the Registry Office together. After the official parts and signing the register, we all left for photos outside.

Then we all drove to Axbridge where the reception was held in a nearby quarry, a delightful setting (though unusual) and the weather was (mostly) kind. There were showers around, but there was also quite a bit of sunshine. Dad had a ‘head-umbrella’ which he enjoyed using when it rained, and eventually we all gave up and made our way to the village hall backup location.

Thirty years ago

In August 1993 we spent our family holiday in North Wales.

We walked over the canal bridge near Llangollen, took a ride on a steam train, travelled in a canal barge pulled by a horse, visited museums, gardens, a castle and a lot more. All the usual holiday things people do. (See a video clip)

Thirty-five years ago

In August 1988 we visited my parents in Cirencester. The photo shows Beth and her Grandpa, they’re chuckling about a giant snail Grandpa has in a glass tank. There was often something interesting to see on these visits!

Forty years ago

In August 1983 Debbie and Beth were enjoying the school holiday, Judy was enjoying a break from teaching Biology at Cotham Grammar School, and I was continuing research into pollen tube growth at Long Ashton Research Station. We probably went on holiday for a couple of weeks, most likely in North Wales.

Forty-five years ago

In August 1978 Debbie and Beth were both three; three years old in Debbie’s case, and Beth was just three months.

Fifty years ago

In August 1973 Judy and I had been married less than three years and were living in a flat in Belmont Road, Bristol. Judy had a job at Bristol University as a research assistant at the University Biochemistry Department in Woodland Road, while I was working at Long Ashton Research Station on apple and pear pollination.

Fifty-five years ago

In August 1968 I was a student at the University of Bath, studying for my first degree in Horticulture. The photo is a commercial glasshouse seen on one of our visits.

Sixty years ago

In August 1963 I had quite a surprise. The family were on holiday at Aberporth on Cardigan Bay and we’d gone to Pembroke for the day. We saw one of the last RAF Short Sunderland flying boats retired at Pembroke Dock. We also took a look at Pembroke Castle and imagine my shock when walking round the outside of one of the towers, who should I almost bump into but my physics teacher from school!

Sixty-five years ago

In August 1958 the US nuclear submarine, ‘Nautilus‘ became the first vessel to pass underneath the ice at the North Pole. Meanwhile it was my school holidays, between the fifth and sixth years at Querns School (a junior school in Querns Lane, Cirencester).

Seventy years ago

In August 1953 I’d just turned five and was learning that I’d be starting school in September. That seemed like a lifetime away so I probably gave it very little thought, but it was going to be a major point of change in my life.

Seventy-five years ago

In August 1948 I was in my first month of life. I don’t remember it of course! We were living with my grandparents in Victoria Road, Cirencester while Mum and Dad waited to reach the top of the waiting list for a newly built council house on the Beeches Estate.

Eighty years ago

In August 1943 Dad wrote in his diary for Saturday 7th, ‘Our American soldier billitee (sic) arrived though I didn’t see him’. I didn’t know my grandparents had hosted a USA serviceman until I read that diary entry just a moment ago!

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Cruising the Gospel – Index

Cycling through the gospels to keep Jesus at the centre of all we do.

For convenience, you can jump to any book or chapter by clicking the links below, or skip to the most recent post. Newer items are posted on this site (JHM) and on ‘Cruising the Gospel’ (CTG), but the older ones appear only in CTG. If you intend to work systematically through one of the gospels, or all of them, CTG is designed to make that easier and more comfortable.

Read the introduction, or dive right in…

Matthew 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Mark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Luke …
John 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14…

Fallen Rhododendron flowers

He invites us to share in his spiritual life, a gift since we cannot deserve or earn it.

Fallen Rhododendron flowers lie on the ground – they are still beautiful. If you follow Jesus, perhaps you might say the same of fallen people (ie all of us); fallen people are lost but still beautiful too. But unlike the flowers, for fallen people hope remains; there is a Way, a Truth, a Life.

Rhododendron flowers lying on the ground where they fell

Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

The Way

Jesus is the Way because he is the only road to safety. We are free to follow any route through life that we wish, but the only road that promises and ensures safety is the road that Jesus travelled. Like us, he was born, lived as a child and went through the process of growing up. Unlike us he didn’t mess up.

If I want to walk in safety, I can only do it by walking with Jesus. I need to get to know him better, listen to what he says, say what I hear him say, do what I see him do.

The Truth

Jesus is the truth because he doesn’t hide from us. How can we define truth and falseness? Well, people sometimes say of a person, ‘What you see is what you get’. This is never literally, reliably, always true of any other human being. We hide things for a variety of reasons, even as children. If we’re ashamed of something, we hide it. If we break something, we might say someone else did it, or pretend we weren’t there at the time. Human nature is to turn to what is false when the truth is inconvenient or embarrassing or dangerous. Jesus is the exception that proves this rule of human nature. Not only did he always stick to what is true, he is truth personified.

The Life

We are alive because we are self-sustaining physical systems carrying out physical processes. Anything that destroys the systems or stops the processes causes us to die. If I’m not allowed to breathe, I will die. If I’m not allowed to eat or drink, I will die. Jesus, during his time with us, was just the same. But he was nailed to a cross which made it impossible to breath unless he could support his body weight, and he was not allowed to eat or drink and when, finally, he was offered something, he refused it. As he grew weak, breathing became impossible and he died. Yet he also has a spiritual life, and physical life was restored to him for a time as well (though bodily he was different in some very significant ways).

He invites us to share in his spiritual life, a gift since we cannot deserve or earn it. And he doesn’t want to wait, he chooses to give us spiritual life now, while we are still physically alive. For a time we can have both as he did, and later we retain the spiritual life even after our physical life is over.

Yes, it’s a mystery. No, we can’t explain it. But Jesus is not only the Way, and the Truth, he is also the Life!

If you want to follow the Way, discover the Truth, and live the Life, you really need to get to know Jesus better. One way is to read the book called Luke. It’s in the Bible, and it’s available online for free.

John 14:15-21 – Promising the Spirit

If Jesus is in us and he is also in the Father, then we too are somehow part of their oneness!

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Bible text – Read it yourself (opens in a new tab)

Verse 15 is a big ‘if’. Jesus doesn’t ask us to do what he tells us; he simply points out that, if we love him, we will do what he says. So we are faced with the reality of what is in our hearts where Jesus is concerned. Do I love him, or don’t I? How far will I go in following him? Some of the way? All of the way?

The Spirit of Truth

The Holy Spirit comes as a gift from the Father in answer to a request from Jesus. And the Spirit is pretty special because he speaks for us, helps us, and will always stay with us. Read this personally – The Spirit of Christ, sent by the Father, speaks for you, helps you, and will always stay with you. Has this been your experience? If not, perhaps you need to get to know Jesus even better and make sure that you truly love him and therefore keep his commands. Look deeper into your own heart and pay more attention to your daily experience on this journey with Jesus. (If you’re still in doubt, press the ‘Previous’ link twice and re-read the notes on verses 1-7.) The Spirit of Christ cannot be anything but the Spirit of Truth, because Jesus declared himself to be ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life’.

Pity the poor world!

‘The world’ is a way of saying ‘worldly people’ – in other words people who know the world, but have little or no clue about Jesus. Knowing the world is our default position, as we grow and experience life, we get to know the world and its ways better and better. That’s life! But this knowing provides no way to become familiar with the Spirit of Truth.

But if you are following Jesus, you will see and know his Spirit because the Spirit lives with you – inside you.

Leaving us?

The disciples didn’t yet fully understand what was happening. Jesus is going to leave them, but not like children without parents. Verse 18 is very clear, Jesus absolutely and explicitly tells them that he, the Son, and the Spirit (his Spirit) are one. They are not quite the same, but they cannot be separated. Jesus has a human bodily form and therefore lives with, but outside, the disciples; the Spirit has no bodily form and will live inside the disciples. Not only that: they will realise that Jesus is in his Father, and he is also in them. If Jesus is in us and he is also in the Father, then we too are somehow part of their oneness!

Back to verse 15

Verse 15 is reiterated in verse 21. If we have and keep Jesus’ commands, then we love him. And if we love Jesus, the Father will love us, Jesus will love us, and he’ll show himself to us. We are in such a safe place! All our lives we existed in a physical reality, but now we live in a spiritual reality as well!

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More on ground breaking

In the life of the church the central figure is Jesus and the central idea is that he is Lord. The church was founded on this person and this truth nearly 2000 years ago.

Where should we start in church life, where should we start in mission, or in teaching, or in any other aspect of being a believer and follower of Jesus? The answer is simple and rather obvious – we should start with Jesus himself.

Following my post ‘Ground breaking‘ on 26th February, I’d like to examine a particular example. In my study guide, JDMC, I set out to help small groups of individuals live out Jesus’ command to ‘go into all the world and make disciples’. The idea is that making disciples is the first step on the journey to starting a movement that will grow and grow. Alan Hirsch, in setting out this idea in his seminal book ‘The Forgotten Ways’, identified six factors that work together to make a movement buzz and thrive. The first factor is that there needs to be a person and an idea that together can become the focal point for the movement.

More groundbreaking – Image from Wikimedia

A person and an idea

All vigorously growing movements have this centralised focus. For the communist revolution in Russia in the early part of the 20th century the person was Karl Marx and the idea was that wealth should be shared, not held primarily by a ruling class. The means of production should be owned, not by industrialists, but by the workers themselves.

It’s not hard to identify the same structure in all sorts of other historical movements; think of Al Qaeda, the Methodist movement, female suffrage, the rise of the German Nazi party between the first and second world wars, the growth of Amazon as a supply and delivery business. I could go on, there are many examples, and it’s not hard to see a central personality and a central notion or purpose for each.

Jesus is Lord!

In the life of the church the central figure is Jesus and the central idea is that he is Lord. The church was founded on this person and this truth nearly 2000 years ago. He gave us everything we need to become disciples, and he imbued the church with everything it needs to be a thriving, thrusting movement. And although in the first few hundred years, there was explosive growth, a real movement on a major scale, something that swept through the Graeco-Roman world and far beyond – that momentum stalled. Something fundamental, in church today, seems to be missing.

This is the first of six essential ingredients that Alan Hirsch argues that we need to rediscover and reactivate in the church. I think he is right. We need to recover the sense that Jesus is at the heart of church life, and that he is Lord.

It’s fair to argue that this is exactly what Jesus himself meant when he told his disciples to go out into the world and make disciples. But he surrounded that command with some super-important statements. First he said that he has full authority, then he told them to go and make more disciples, he said to teach those new disciples to do all the things he’d taught his initial disciples, and then he finished by telling them that he’d be with them all the way. They did what he’d asked, they made many more disciples who also understood that Jesus is Lord and that they were, in turn, to make more disciples. And they did. And that is a movement! They literally changed their world.

But it’s essential that we do more than just repeat the slogan, ‘Jesus is Lord’. We need to live the slogan out; as disciples of Jesus, we need to do what he did, and to speak into our culture the things he spoke into his culture. He told us to love the people in our lives, he said we should forgive people who are unkind to us. He calls us to imitate his words, but also his thinking and his actions. It’s essential to go as he did, to bless the people around us, to help the helpless, feed the hungry, and meet every need as and when we come across it. Jesus blessed people in many ways, if we are truly his disciples so will we. But as Alan Hirsch points out, there’s more to it than just this one factor. We may be ever so familiar with Jesus, and have a close knowledge of him. We might study him at degree level, publish learned papers about him, write theses about his life and work, and read and write great books about him, and never once see any hint of a rapidly expanding movement.

Knowing Jesus is not, on its own, enough. It is, however an indispensable first step. We do need to know Jesus intimately, to understand who he is, and follow him to the best of our abilities. Yet this alone is insufficient for the rapidly growing movement we would all, surely, like to see! There are five other necessary factors and we will look at another one next time. Alongside the person and the idea there also needs to be a gift. We’ll discuss this in detail in the next part of this short series, but for now it’s enough to know that Jesus is not only the person, and his lordship the idea, but also Jesus himself is the gift. Jesus gave himself for us. This is the supreme gift, but there are others as we shall see.

BUT! In the meantime, get to know Jesus as never before. Spend time discovering him as a person by reading through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Ask him to reveal himself more fully to you, he is always happy to answer this request, whether you are poor or wealthy, healthy or unwell, highly educated or unable to read. Consider what it means that he is Lord, and consider the cost involved in giving himself and the benefit of that gift to you and to me.

Remember, you need to get to know a person – Jesus: and you need to grapple with an idea – Jesus is Lord: and you need to understand a gift – Jesus’ action in pouring himself out for you, for me, for all of us.

Some resources

Meanwhile, let me leave you with some places to look for more information on this.

The best way to get to know Jesus better is to keep reading the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). They are freely available on line in a variety of languages and versions. Bible Gateway is a good source, but there are plenty of others. If you like, take a look at my website, Cruising the Gospel.
My guidebook, JDMC, presents Alan Hirsch’s six forgotten ways in a short, introductory, workbook format for individuals, or better, a small group of up to 12 people. Part One – Jesus at the Centre is the relevant section.
Alan Hirsch’s widely read book ‘The Forgotten Ways’ is available in print or in ebook form. Buy it from Eden, Google Play Books, Amazon or from your local bookshop.