Holy Thirst https://youtu.be/zRqfGhdmKtM

Introduction

In my recent teaching on “Affairs of the Heart” I described the unbiblical confusion between head and heart which is a part of contemporary Western Christianity. This spiritual misunderstanding so penetrates the experience of believers, that, despite having a new heart, a heart of flesh (Ezek 36:26-27), they can even think of themselves as essentially hard-hearted and deceitful (Jer 17:9). Part of the motivation for this teaching on the relationship between the Spirit and our hearts is the conviction that the Lord is working to form in us “true hearts” (Heb 10:22), hearts that are deeply aligned with the goodness of his will (Rom 6:17; 12:2). The Spirit of God who created us (Ps 139:7ff.) is the only power that can overcome the deceptions of the world, the flesh and the devil to which our hearts are relentlessly subject. The Holy Spirit who recreated us in causing us to be “born again” can put our hearts into a state of dynamic loving obedience to Jesus. In the New Testament the Spirit occupies a place of deep intimacy with our hearts. We see inklings of this when we read about ourselves in Christ, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom 5:5 cf. 2 Cor 1:22). Its unimaginable that we would read “the Holy Spirit has been poured into our minds/souls”. Likewise, “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”” (Gal 4:6).  To stay in touch with the heart of God we need to be filled with the Spirit, repeatedly. I want to emphasise the significant place of the Spirit in our lives by pointing to certain under emphases of his role in various English translations of the Bible.

The Holy Spirit and the Human Spirit

Since the same Greek word (pneuma) is used for both the human spirit and the Spirit of God, plus the original languages don’t use capitals, the translator has to make a decision based on context and theology. The ESV for example renders John 4:24 as, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (cf. NRSV).  This places an emphasis on the purity of our efforts. Much better is this rendering, “God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (NIV), or, “God is Spirit, and only by the power of his Spirit can people worship him as he really is.” (GNT). The Holy Spirit is in mind here because in John’s Gospel the Spirit is “the Spirit of truth” (14:17; 15:26; 16:13). Jesus is himself “the Truth” (John 14:6), so through his intimate relationship with Christ the Spirit can empower us to worship the Father (John 4:23) like the Son does. We are talking about Christ-shaped worship. Some translations of Ephesians 1:17 have Paul praying that the Father give us “a spirit of wisdom and revelation” (KJV; ESV first edition; NRSV), others “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” (NIV; ESV second edition). Only the second translation highlights the illuminating power of the Spirit of God. Finally, as far as the letters are concerned, where some translations have for 1 Pet 3:18, “being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (RSV; NRSV; ESV), it must surely be “made alive in the Spirit” i.e. Spirit of God (KJV; NIV etc.) because this is the emphasis in other places in the New Testament (Rom 1:4; 8:11). There is a very important teaching in Roman 8:10. Some translations have, “though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.” (ASV; NASB; RSV), accenting a renewal in our innermost beings. A better rendering is “the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (KJV; NIV; ESV etc.), which teaches that it is the Holy Spirit who communicates to us the resurrection righteousness of Christ. The most challenging text about the Spirit is however found in the Gospels.

In Mark 14:38//Matt 26:41 is a well-known saying of Jesus which is almost always applied to us. “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” There is another possibility. Rather than applying these words to ourselves, that the Spirit being referred to is the Holy Spirit who is zealous to take Jesus forward to accomplish the work of God on the cross (Heb 9:14), and that the weakness refers to the flesh of humanity, including Jesus’ own flesh, in its struggle to do the will of the Father (Mark 14:36). Jesus is counselling his companions in Gethsemane to seek the aid of the Spirit. As Psalm 51 teaches, a willing spirit depends on the grace of the Holy Spirit (Ps 51:11-12).

My final example is a climactic one from the book of Revelation.  Most English Bibles have an angel rebuking John with this form of words, “I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev 19:10 ESV, etc). The alternative reads, “for it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”” (NIV etc.). The second version is to be preferred because the Holy Spirit is always the power of the prophetic voice in scripture (Num 11:26; Mic 3:8; Joel 2:28; Luke 1:67; Acts 2:17; 19:6 cf. Rev 14:13; 22:17). (Additionally, this reference means there are a full 14 references to the Spirit in Revelation. Where 14 is an important symbolic number.)

The Spirit and Jesus

Deficiencies of biblical translations are only one reason for our devaluing the person and work of the Spirit. Another is the inconsistencies of the experience of Spirit-fulness we have grown used to in our churches. Much more foundationally though, I believe we have vastly underestimated the intimacy between the Spirit and Jesus. As I see it the humanity of Christ, prepared from before the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8 cf. 2 Tim 1:9; 1 Pet 1:19-20) is especially shaped to receive the life of the Spirit. To put this a slightly different way, Jesus is the true image of God (Col 1:15; 2 Cor 4:4) made with a heart as the home of the Spirit. We find pointers to this in the Old Testament when the Lord affectionately promised at the opening of Solomon’s Temple, “My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.” (1 Ki 9:3). This wonderful pledge was frustrated by the idolatry of Israel (1 Ki 9:6-9).

Jesus is uniquely conceived by the Spirit (Luke 1:35), so that when he  appeared at the Jordan the One whom the Spirit had been waiting for from the creation of the world had arrived, for the purpose of being filled/baptised in the Spirit (Luke 3:22). Christ is the true Temple of God (John 2:21) in whose heart the name and heart of the Father will abide forever. He alone is given “the Spirit without measure” (John 3:34). There is nothing in Jesus’ heart to grieve, quench or resist the Spirit. The Spirit was sooo happy to find a home in the heart of the Son of God for in Jesus he will accomplish the reason for which humanity was created, to fully radiate the glory of God (Isa 43:6-7; Col 1:15; 2 Cor 4:6).

The Spirit’s relationship with Jesus is the key to understanding his relationship with us. Humans beings have a heart because Jesus the full image of God (2 Cor 4:4) had a heart, in Christ we are a temple indwelt by the Spirit (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; Eph 2:22) because the fulness of his Spirit-filled life lives in us.

Since the Spirit is the one who makes Christ known (John 15:26), it is through the lens of the life of Christ that the power and personhood of the Spirit is fully revealed. The Spirit is as personal and sensitive as Jesus is, or perhaps the other way around. Not only is the glorified Jesus the one who “baptises in the Spirit” (Matt 3:11; Acts 2:33), but after his ascension into heaven the personal identities of Christ and the Spirit seem virtually interchangeable. He has become “the Spirit of Jesus” (Acts 16:6-7), “the Spirit of Christ/of Jesus Christ/of God’s Son (Acts 8:29; Romans 8:9; Galatians 4:6; Philippians 1:19; 1 Peter 1:11).  To have “the mind of Christ” is not something different than to have “the mind of the Spirit” (Rom 8:27; 1 Cor 2:16) and so on.  That Jesus and the Spirit are equally personal is hard to convey because we are such “carnal” flesh-focussed beings.

Spirit, Christ, Christian

Have you ever thought that it would have been great to be on the earth when Jesus was ministering? If to be physically in the presence of Jesus was an advantage, why did he say to Thomas, ““Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”” (John 20:29). I think we are in deep trouble because of our insensitivities to the Holy Spirit. The biblical warnings not to “grieve the Spirit by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30), “Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies…” (1 Thess 5:19-20) need to be taken with complete seriousness.     Surely our lack of awareness of the greatness of eternal things presented in the gospel has come from our mistreatment of the Spirit.  In the order of God such “spiritual abuse” must be traced back to our miscomprehension of the wisdom of the cross (1 Cor 1:24). Let me illustrate.

Within the Gospel of John two messages of Jesus are intimately related. The first is famous because it is so exciting, ““If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39). The second word is far more sobering for it comes from the cross, “Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”” (John 19:28). Since everywhere else in John “thirst” is a spiritual longing (John 4:13-15; 6:35; 7:37), this is what it means here. Drained of the oceans of love that had carried him to the cross to bear our sin Jesus is desperately thirsty for his Father’s presence. I find the following quote to be profoundly true, “It is at the moment when he suffers the most absolute thirst that Jesus pours himself forth as the everlasting spring.” (von Balthasar). Jesus is the eschatological/end-times temple out of which pours the river of life/love, (antitypically) fulfilling in himself not only the prophecies of the old covenant but the vision at the end of Revelation (Ezek 47:1-12 cf. Zech 13:1; Rev 22). Here is the opening of the heart of God without limit in pouring forth love and mercy to sinners, encompassing the whole world and transforming it into a new creation in himself (2 Cor 5:17).  Out of his innermost being flow the rivers of living water (cf. John 19:34). Having immersed himself in the empty wells of the fallen human condition (Jer 2:13) the glorified Jesus becomes the spring of living water that never fails (John 4:14).

Far greater than being in the physical presence of Jesus of Nazareth, we are now inhabited by the Spirit of the glorified Lord. In raising Jesus from the dead (Rom 1:4; 1 Pet 3:18) the Holy Spirit flooded Christ’s heart with all the love, joy, peace…that had been in the heart of the Father for humanity from eternity. When Christ dwells in our hearts by faith the Spirit strengthens our inner being with the power of all such spiritual riches (Eph 3:16-17). If you have Jesus in your heart the whole inner life of Christ indwells you. There is no limit to the Spirit’s love for Jesus, no limit to his burning desire to make the confession “Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor 12:3) unavoidable and irresistible through us. What then is stifling the work of the Spirit in our midst? Why are we not seeing a mature union between the fulness of the Spirit and the fulness of human affections in the Church? What has made our hearts closed rather than open our hearts to the Spirit of Jesus (2 Cor 6:11-13)?

Spiritual Problems

Temperamentally and theologically conservative Christians believe that whilst we can trust reason, we must be suspicious of emotions. Other believers have had bad experiences of trusting inner subjective guidance and become cautious about being led by their inner life. Others tend to a sort of “super spirituality”, they like to pray to the Holy Spirit and are slow to test their own spirits (1 Thess 5:19-21). Driven by feelings, mature fruit in Christ is often lacking in such folk. Instead of leaning on either our own understanding (Prov 3:5) or emotions we must learn to centre on Jesus in all things as the Spirit reveals him.

Since God has given us a new heart of flesh we can confidently live from the heart he gave us (Ezek 11:19; 36:26-27; Acts 4:32; John 3:5; 2 Cor 3:3). The Spirit’s unfailing guidance isn’t found in a set of ideas, no matter how biblical and logical, nor in an accumulation of experiences, no matter how powerful and compelling, but in his ceaseless drawing us to become more like Jesus (Gal 4:19). Everything the Spirit says to you and all that he calls you to will be to make you like Christ. In relation to living in the fulness of the Spirit I see one particular application.

Throughout scripture the connection between spiritual thirst and the Holy Spirit (John 4:13-15; 6:35; 7:37-39; Rev 21:6; 22:17 cf. Isa 55:1; Matt 5:6) is always the same, the thirsty will be satisfied. This promise is true for us in Christ and will be true in our hearts, if we dare allow the Spirit to have his way in our innermost being (John 7:38); in the “most holy place” of our hearts. As the Spirit longs to fill us to overflowing with the life of Jesus in renewal and revival he will surely share with us the “I thirst” of the cross. This is not a cry for survival but a longing for unsurpassable spiritual fulness in the holy presence of God. The outpouring of the Spirit into the Church will always be in exact proportion to her willingness to go the way of the cross.

Conclusion

In the End the Spirit will pour out of the hearts of believers as a mighty and everlasting torrent sealed by the blood of the Lamb (John 19:34). The waters of life flowing out of the cross, at Pentecost, in every revival and at the End-time consummation are one. It is to this vast and great reality that we must, with the help of the Spirit, open our hearts. Let me close with an application of a scripture that that sums things up, “hope does not disappoint us, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Rom 5:5). If we ask Jesus to intensify our thirst for his kingdom presence and power he will not fail to satisfy us, he will pour out his Spirit beyond measure. Let us open our hearts to the Word and Spirit for the glory of God.