John 16:14 Ulasan

Among other glorious things God hath spoken of himself this is one, I wound, and I heal, Deu. 32, 39. Christ's discourse in this chapter, which continues and concludes his farewell sermon to his disciples, does so. I. Here are wounding words in the notice he gives them of the troubles that were before them (Joh 16:1-6). II. Here are healing words in the comforts he administers to them for their support under those troubles, which are five: - 1. That he would send them the Comforter (Joh 16:7-15). 2. That he would visit them again at his resurrection (Joh 16:16-22). 3. That he would secure to them an answer of peace to all their prayers (Joh 16:23-27). 4. That he was now but returning to his Father (Joh 16:28-32). 5. That, whatever troubles they might meet with in this world, by virtue of his victory over it they should be sure of peace in him (Joh 16:33).

These things have I spoken unto you,.... Concerning the world's hatred and persecution of them, and the little regard they would show to their doctrine: these things Christ thought, proper to give them notice of before hand, that expecting them, they might be prepared for them, and be fortified against them; that, says he, ye should not be offended: his view in speaking of them, was not to discourage them, but to prevent their stumbling at them, and falling by them. Hardships coming upon persons at unawares, bear the harder upon their spirits, and they are more apt to take offence at them and be impatient under them, which is prevented by previous intimation: had Christ said nothing of these things that should befall his disciples, they might have surprised them, and have been a stumbling to them; and might have tempted them to have relinquished their profession of him, and dropped their ministerial work; whereas being apprized of them before hand, they were not so shocking to them. This shows the tender concern of Christ for his disciples, how careful he was to remove, every occasion of stumbling, or what might be matter of offence to them; and may teach us to act in such like manner towards one another, in this, or any other case.

A little while and ye shall not see me,.... Meaning, that he should be quickly taken from them by death. And in a very little time after this, having put up a prayer for them, recorded in the next chapter, he went into the garden, where he was met by Judas with his band of men, who laid hold on him, bound him, and led him first to Annas, then to Caiaphas, and from him to Pilate, when all the disciples forsook him and fled, and saw him no more in this mortal state, except Peter and John. He took his trial, was soon condemned, and crucified, and laid in the dark tomb, and silent grave, where, for a while, he was out of sight. And again, a little while and ye shall see me; referring either to his rising again the third day from his death, as was prophesied of, Hos 6:2; and was typified by Jonah's lying three days and three nights in the whale's belly, when he appeared to, and was seen by his disciples, to their great joy; or else to the short time in which he was to be, and was seen by them; namely, forty days between his resurrection and ascension; a longer stay it was not necessary he should make, for he had other work to do, for himself and them: because I go to the Father; to give an account of the work he had finished on earth; to carry in his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice; to present himself to his Father on behalf of his people; to appear in the presence of God for them; to be their advocate, plead their cause, and make intercession for them, and take possession of heaven in their name; to take his place at the right hand of God in their nature; to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return.

And of the Holy Spirit, "He shall glorify Me, for He receives of Mine."

He says, “He will take of mine,” as I myself have taken of the Father’s. So the close series of the Father in the Son and the Son in the Paraclete makes three who cohere, the one attached to the other.

“All things that the Father has,” he says, “are mine”—and why not also the names? When therefore you read of God Almighty, and the Most High, and the God of hosts, and the King of Israel and “I am,” beware lest by these the Son also is shown to be of his own right God Almighty, as being the Word of God Almighty, and as having received power over all.

He is called "another Comforter," indeed; but in what way He is another we have already shown, "He shall receive of mine," says Christ, just as Christ Himself received of the Father's.

But the Paraclete, having many things to teach fully which the Lord deferred till He came, (according to the pre-definition,) will begin by bearing emphatic witness to Christ, (as being) such as we believe (Him to be), together with the whole order of God the Creator, and will glorify Him, and will "bring to remembrance" concerning Him.

(Hom. lxxviii. 2) In this way then He raised their spirits; for there is nothing for which mankind so long, as the knowledge of the future. He relieves them from all anxiety on this account, by showing that dangers would not fall upon them unawares. Then to show that He could have told them all the truth into which the Holy Spirit would lead them, He adds, He shall glorify Me. (Hom. lxxviii. 2) And because He had said, Ye have one Master, even Christ, (Mat. 23:8) that they might not be prevented by this from admitting the Holy Ghost as well, He adds, For He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.

But the words that He proceeds to add, "He shall make me clearly known; for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you," are not to be carelessly passed over. For by the words, "He shall make me clearly known," we may understand, that by shedding abroad God's love in the hearts of believers, and making them spiritual, He showed them how it was that the Son was equal to the Father, whom previously they had only known according to the flesh, and as men themselves had thought of Him only as man. Or at least that, filled themselves through that very love with boldness, and divested of all fear, they might proclaim Christ unto men; and so His fame be spread abroad through the whole world. So that He said, "He shall make me clearly known," as if meaning, He shall free you from fear, and endow you with a love that will so inflame your zeal in preaching me, that you will send forth the odor, and commend the honor of, my glory throughout the world. For what they were to do in the Holy Spirit, He said that the Spirit Himself would also do, as is implied in the words, "For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you." The Greek word, indeed, which is doxasei, has been rendered by the Latin interpreters in their respective translations, clarificabit ("shall make clearly known") by one, and glorificabit ("shall glorify") by another: for the idea expressed in Greek by the one term doxa, from which is derived the verb doxasei, may be interpreted both by claritas (brightness) and gloria (glory). For by glory every one becomes bright, and glorious by brightness; and hence what is signified by both words, is one and the same thing.

And, as the most famous writers of the Latin tongue in olden time have defined it, glory is the generally diffused and accepted fame of any one accompanied with praise. But when this happened in the world in regard to Christ, we are not to suppose that it was the bestowing of any great thing on Christ, but on the world. For to praise what is good is not of benefit to that which receives, but to those who give the commendation.

But that is not a true glory which He has among heretics, with whom, nevertheless, He appears to have a generally accepted fame accompanied with praise. Such is no true glory, because in both respects they are mistaken, for they both think that to be good which is not good, and they suppose Christ to be what Christ is not. For to say that the only-begotten Son is not equal to Him that begat, is not good: to say that the only-begotten Son of God is man only, and not God, is not good: to say that the flesh of the Truth is not true flesh, is not good. Of the three doctrines which I have stated, the first is held by the Arians, the second by the Photinians, and the third by the Manicheans. But inasmuch as there is nothing in any of them that is good, and Christ has nothing to do with them, in both respects they are in the wrong; and they attach no true glory to Christ, although there may appear to be amongst them a generally accepted fame regarding Christ of a laudatory character.

His true glory, therefore, in the Catholic Church is celebrated in these words by the prophet: "Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and Thy glory above all the earth." Accordingly, that after His exaltation the Holy Spirit was to come, and to glorify Him, the sacred psalm, and the Only-begotten Himself, promised as an event of the future, which we see accomplished.

(Tr. c) By pouring love into the hearts of believers, and making them spiritual, and so able to see that the Son Whom they had known before only according to the flesh, and thought a man like themselves, was equal to the Father. Or certainly because that love filling them with boldness, and casting out fear, they proclaimed Christ to men, and so spread His fame throughout the whole world. For what they were going to do in the power of the Holy Ghost, this the Holy Ghost says He does Himself.

As the Holy Spirit was about to reveal to those who should be found worthy the mystery that is in Christ, and to demonstrate completely Who He is by nature, and how great is His power and might, and that He reigneth over all with the Father, Christ is impelled to say, He shall glorify Me. For He sets our mind above the conceits of the Jews, and does not suffer us to entertain so limited and dwarfed a conception as to think that He is a mere Man, slightly surpassing the prophets in the stature they attained, or even falling short of their renown----for we find that the leaders of the Jews had this idea concerning Him, because they not knowing the mystery of piety, frequently uttered blasphemies against Christ, and, encountering His sayings with their mad folly, said on one occasion: Who art Thou? Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and Thou sayest, If a man keep My word, He shall never see death. Whom makest Thou Thyself? And on another occasion they cast in His teeth the meanness of His birth according to the flesh, and His great insignificance in this respect: Is not this the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then doth He say, I am come down out of heaven? Note herein the miserable reasoning of the Jews. As then the multitude were so disposed and thought that the Lord was not truly God because in this human frame He was liable to death, and because they did not scruple to entertain the basest conception of His Nature, the Spirit, when He came down from heaven, illustrated completely His glory to the Saints; not that we should say, that He merely convinced them by wise words, but that He by actual proof also satisfied the minds of all that He was truly God, and the fruit of the Substance of God the Father. What then is this proof? And how did He increase the honour and admiration in which Christ was held? By exercising His activity universally in a marvellous and Divine manner, and by implanting in the Saints complete and perfect knowledge, He furthered His glory. For to the Sovereign Nature of the Universe alone must we ascribe omniscience and the sight of all things naked and laid open to the view, and the ability to accomplish all His purposes. The Comforter then, that is, His own Spirit, being omnipotent and omniscient, glorifies the Son. And how does He glorify Him? Surely what His Spirit knows and is able to effect, Christ knows and is able to effect. And if, as He says, the Spirit receives of Him, the Spirit Himself being omnipotent, surely He Himself has a power which is universal. And we must in no wise suppose that the Comforter, that is, the Spirit, is lacking in innate and inherent power in such a way that, if He did not receive assistance from without, His own power would not be self-sufficient to fully accomplish the Divine designs. Any one who merely imagined any such idea to be true about the Spirit would with good reason undergo the charge of the worst blasphemy of all. But it is because He is Consubstantial with the Son, and divinely proceeds through Him, exercising universally His entire activity and power, that Christ says, "He shall receive of Me." For we believe that the Spirit has a self-supporting existence and is in truth that which He is, and with the qualities predicated of Him; though, being inherent in the Substance of God, He proceeds and issues from it and has innate in Himself all that that nature implies. For the Divine Substance is not His by participation or by relation, still less is It His as though He had a separate existence from It, since He is an attribute of It. For just as the fragrance of sweet-smelling flowers, proceeding in some sort from the essential and natural exercise of the functions or qualities of the flowers that emit it, conveys the perception thereof to the outer world by meeting those organs of smell in the body, and yet seems in some way, so far as its logical conception goes, to be separate from its natural cause, while (as having no independent existence) it is not separate in nature from the source from which it proceeds and in which it exists, even so you may conceive of the relation of God and the Holy Spirit, taking this by way of illustration. In this way then the statement that His Spirit receives something from the Only-begotten is wholly unimpeachable and cannot be cavilled at. For proceeding naturally as His attribute through Him, and having all that He has in its entirety, He is said to receive that which He has. And if this meaning is conveyed in language that is obscure, far from being offended at it, we should with more justice lay the blame on the poverty of our own language, which is not able to give expression to Divine truths in a suitable way. And what language is adequate to explain the ineffable Nature and Glory of God? He says then that the Comforter "will receive of Mine, and will show it unto you;" that is, He will say nothing that is not in harmony with My purpose; but, since He is My Spirit, His language will be in every way identical with Mine, and He will show you of My Will.

The work and teaching of the Spirit will redound to my glory, for the Spirit also proceeds from me. For when he says “from me,” it is clear that he is also from the Father, for “what belongs to me belongs to the Father.” Then he hears again in the same manner the phrase “he will take from what is mine.” It is not as if some knowledge comes on the Spirit—and that at the present time. It would be a horrible thing, indeed, almost an evil conjecture, to state that the Spirit received his instruction when he was about to bring it to humankind. Indeed, it would be a horrible suggestion if someone should say that the Spirit was taught at all. Then he would no longer be believed to dwell in people and bring all wisdom to them, if he did not have some innate wisdom in him but rather needed to be taught. Thus, when he said, “he will take from what is mine and announce it to you,” he meant simply to say that the Spirit would proceed from him. The statements speak of lesser things since they are adapted to what is well known to people, but the real glory of the Spirit is greater since it pertains to divinity. Moreover, it is said that God listens to a person’s words. However, it is clear that nothing is added at that time to the knowledge of God but that even before we spoke our words, he knew our prayers and had created everything according to his knowledge from the very beginning of his creation, knowing full well the changes in emotions that would take place in his creatures. Nonetheless, it is still said, “Hear, O Lord” and “The Lord heard.” And yet it is not necessary for God to wait for anything in time, as if there would be some change in God because of the prayers of human beings, or as if God would gain some knowledge from what is being said. Rather, these words are being spoken in a human fashion, so to speak, while among the godly they are understood in a divine fashion. In your suppositions the unchanging and unchangeable nature of the glory of God is not purified because he hears people speaking. So then simply because the Spirit hears and receives something does not mean that he will receive any additional knowledge or a change to the unchanging nature of the Spirit.

To "receive" [or "take"] must be taken here in a sense agreeable to the divine nature. As the Son in giving is not deprived of what he gives or imparts to others with any loss of his own, so too the Holy Spirit does not receive what before he did not have. For if he received what before he did not have—the gift being transferred to another—the giver would be thereby a loser. We must understand then that the Holy Spirit receives from the Son that which belonged to his nature and that there are not two substances implied, one giving and the other receiving, but one substance only. In the same way, the Son too is said to receive from the Father that wherein he himself subsists. For neither is the Son anything but what is given him by the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit any substance but that which is given him by the Son.

(Didym. de Spir. Sanct. ut sup.) To receive must be taken here in a sense agreeable to the Divine Nature. As the Son in giving is not deprived of what He gives, nor imparts to others with any loss of His own, so too the Holy Ghost does not receive what before He had not; for if He received what before He had not, the gift being transferred to another, the giver would be thereby a loser. We must understand then that the Holy Ghost receives from the Son that which belonged to His nature, and that there are not two substances implied, one giving, and the other receiving, but one substance only. In like manner the Son too is said to receive from the Father that wherein He Himself Subsists. For neither is the Son any thing but what is given Him by the Father, nor the Holy Ghost any substance but that which is given Him by the Son.

"He will glorify Me," for He will both speak and do everything in My name, and will say nothing contrary. Therefore the miracles performed by Him will confirm that I am God, when upon you, My disciples, the abundance of grace is poured out, and My name after My death will shine even more. For this is a great and indisputable glory, when one who has been put to death and dishonored will after this shine even more brightly. Then, since the Lord had spoken, and they had heard, that "they have one Teacher — Christ" (Matt. 23:8), lest they should think: "If the one Teacher is You Yourself, then how do You say that there will be another Teacher — the Spirit," lest they should think this, He adds "He will take from what is Mine," that is, from what I know, from My knowledge.

2105 Above, we saw two fruits of the coming of the Holy Spirit, which were the rebuking of the world and the instruction of the disciples. Now the third fruit is mentioned, the glorification of Christ. First, he mentions this fruit, the glorification; secondly, the reason for it (v 14b); thirdly, he expands on this (v 15). 2106 He says: "He will teach all truth," because he will glorify me, in whom is all truth: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (14:6); "In whom," that is, in Christ, "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col 2:3). He will glorify me, that is, give a clear knowledge of me. He will do this, first of all, by enlightening the disciples: for they were still carnal and attached to Christ in a carnal way, that is, in the weakness of his flesh, not realizing the grandeur of his divinity. Later, they were able to grasp this through the Holy Spirit: "God has revealed to us through the Spirit" (1 Cor 2:10). Secondly, the Spirit will give them the confidence to preach clearly, openly. Before this the disciples were so timid that they did not dare to profess Christ publicly, but when they were filled with the Holy Spirit fear was cast out, and they proclaimed Christ to the people, being somehow impelled by that same Spirit: "He will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the Lord drives" (Is 59:19). This is why the Apostle says: "The love of Christ impels us" (2 Cor 5:14). Thirdly, the Spirit will glorify Christ by accomplishing marvelous works in and through the apostles: "All things are inspired by one and the same Spirit" (1 Cor 12:11). 2107 Now we see the reason why the Holy Spirit will glorify Christ: it is because the Son is the principle of the Holy Spirit. For everything which is from another manifests that from which it is. Thus the Son manifests the Father because he is from the Father. And so because the Holy Spirit is from the Son, it is appropriate that the Spirit glorify the Son. He says, he will glorify me, for he will receive from me. However, the Holy Spirit does not receive in the same way creatures do. When creatures receive, three things are found, and two of these are not found in the divinity. In creatures, that which receives is one thing, and what is received is something else. This is not so in the divinity, since the divine persons are simple, and not composed of several elements. Indeed, the Holy Spirit receives his entire substance from whomever this Spirit receives, and so does the Son. Another difference is that among creatures the one who receives did not have at one time what he receives, as when matter receives a form, or a subject receives an accident: for at some time the matter was without such a form, and the subject without that accident. This is not so in the divinity, because what the Son receives from the Father the Son has from eternity, and what the Holy Spirit receives from the Father and the Son, the Spirit has from eternity. Accordingly, the Holy Spirit receives from the Son like the Son receives from the Father: "What my Father has given to me is greater than all" (10:29). Thus, when the expression "to receive" is used of the divinity, it indicates an order in origin. 2108 Note that when he says, he will receive from me, the word from (de, "from" or "of") does not indicate participation, but consubstantiality, because the Spirit receives all that the Son has. For just as the Son is from (de) the substance of the Father, because he receives the entire substance of the Father, so also the Holy Spirit is from (de) the substance of the Son because the Spirit receives the whole substance of the Son. Thus, because he will receive from me, and I am the Word of God, therefore he will declare it to you.

Christ warns his disciples, and foretells the persecutions they should receive from the Jews, Joh 16:1-4. Foretells his death, and promises them the Comforter, Joh 16:5-7. Points out his operations among the Jews, and in the world, Joh 16:8-11. His peculiar influences on the souls of the disciples, Joh 16:12-15. Speaks figuratively of his death and resurrection, at which his disciples are puzzled, Joh 16:16-18. He explains and illustrates the whole by a similitude, Joh 16:19-22. Shows himself to be the Mediator between God and man, and that all prayers must be put up in his name, Joh 16:23-28. The disciples clearly comprehend his meaning and express their strong faith in him, Joh 16:29, Joh 16:30. He again foretells their persecution, and promises them his peace and support, Joh 16:31-33.

DISCOURSE AT THE SUPPER TABLE CONCLUDED. (John 16:1-33) These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended--both the warnings and the encouragements just given.

He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine and show it unto you--Thus the whole design of the Spirit's office is to glorify Christ--not in His own Person, for this was done by the Father when He exalted Him to His own right hand--but in the view and estimation of men. For this purpose He was to "receive of Christ"--all the truth relating to Christ--"and show it unto them," or make them to discern it in its own light. The subjective nature of the Spirit's teaching--the discovery to the souls of men of what is Christ outwardly--is here very clearly expressed; and, at the same time, the vanity of looking for revelations of the Spirit which shall do anything beyond throwing light in the soul upon what Christ Himself is, and taught, and did upon earth.