The Gospel Story
By R. Cox (CYM 1950)
John 14: 15 — 24
To enter into the divine life, there is no need for a long journey; the apostles do not have to go anywhere; they have to become Christ-like. And the way to do that is by love. 'God is love; he who dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him' (1 John 4: 16). Our Lord now lets them into the deepest mystery of the Godhead, the final revelation of his own divine life: the mutual love of Father and Son is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity.
When friends part they promise to keep in touch with each other:
they will compensate for physical absence by communication of their thoughts and affections. But Jesus promises his friends more than an occasional message; at Pentecost he and the Father will send their own eternal love, the Holy Spirit. It is not a casual visit that he promises; the Holy Spirit will stay with them always. He will be closer to them than Jesus himself has been during the past two years; he will not only be in their company, he will be within them. Through him they will share in the divine life; and that life belongs to the Father and the Son. So all three Persons will take up their permanent abode in the soul of him who has charity, the only condition for this indwelling. And that means Jesus will be with them even closer than he is now.
Our Lord has completely reversed the image he began with. Instead of the apostles going to him, and living with him in the 'Father's house', he will come to them, and make them into dwelling-places for the Blessed Trinity. This 'coming' is visible only to minds illumined by faith; it will not be the pageant that the Jews were expecting. Jude's question is based on this false picture of a Messianic triumph. Our Lord does not reply directly to his difficulty; he simply repeats the essentials of his teaching. It will be for the 'truth-giving Spirit' to illumine their minds, and give them understanding of all that he has been telling them; his work will be to clarify, not to reveal new truths.
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