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Expository thoughts on the Gospels (v. 3)
Expository thoughts on the Gospels - v. 3 Author:John Charles Ryle Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ing here must be that the eleven knew something experimentally of the Spirit's work. They might not be fully acquainted with Him; but He was actually in them, ma... more »king them what they were, and He would remain in them, and carry on the work He had begun to a glorious end. " Whether you know it thoroughly and rightly or not, He is actually in you now, and shall always be in you and never leave you." Let us mark in this and in the preceding verse how our Lord speaks of the Holy Spirit as " a Person." We should never speak of Him as a mere " influence," or dishonor Him. by calling Him " it." Let us never forget that " having the Spirit, or not having the Spirit," makes the great distinction between the children of God and the children of the world. Believers have Him Worldly and wicked people have Him not. (Jude 19.) JOHN XIV. 18—20. 18 I will not leave you comfortless : I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world leeth me no more ; but ye see me ; because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. The short passage before us is singularly rich in "precious promises." Twice our Lord Jesus Christ says, " I will." Twice He says to believers, " Ye shall." We learu from this passage, that Christ's second , coming is meant to be the special comfort of believers. He says to His disciples, " I will not leave you comfortless : I will come to you." Now what is the " coming " here spoken of ? It is only fair to say that this is a disputed point among Christians. Many refer it to our Lord's coming to His disciples after His resurrection. Many refer it to His invisible coming into the hearts of His people by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Many refer it to His commg by the outpouring of the Ho...« less