The gift of the Spirit

Read John 7:37-39

On Monday, we will go on to look at the great prayer of Jesus in John 17 but first, on this Pentecost weekend, we pause to reflect further on what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit in this gospel. The promise that “the Father will give you another Counsellor, to be with you for ever” has been central to what Jesus emphasised to his disciples on the eve of his death (14:16,26), reassuring them that his leaving them is for their benefit because then the Spirit will come (16:7).

John made the same point earlier: “Those who believed in him were later to receive the Spirit. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (7:39). It was through his death that Jesus was glorified (12:23-24), paving the way for his exaltation and the pouring out of the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:33). John’s explanatory comment follows Jesus proclaiming in a loud voice at the Feast of Tabernacles, “Whoever believes in me… streams of living water will flow from within them” (7:38). This living water is the life of Christ in us through his Spirit, which satisfies our deepest thirst and gives eternal life (4:10,14).

The coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost is the fulfilment of this promise. The Spirit was not given just to those first Christians – rather, as Peter said that day, “The promise is for you and for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39). Along with forgiveness, the gift of the Spirit is the gospel promise to every believer. So, being filled with the Spirit is not difficult or complicated. Jesus, the source of living water, says simply, “Come to me and drink” (7:37).