INTRODUCTION

It has often been remarked that there are surprisingly few passages in the Synoptic
Gospel’s in which The Holy Spirit is mentioned and of those very few occurs in
sayings of Jesus. John mentions the Spirit in 25 passaged, forteen of which are
attributed to Jesus, pluas the saying sof the the Risen Lord when he imparts the Holy
Spirit. Self evidently there must be good reasons for this concentration of attention on
the Holy Spirit by the Fourth Gospel

Main part

John emphasies the unity of the incarnate Lord in the flesh and in the resurrection era
and the continuity of his mission to the world through his disciples and his church.
This necessitated the revelation to his followers of the ministry of the Holy Spriti by
whose power Jesus made God known in word and action in his ministry and by whose
inspiration his foloowers would make God known in their proclamation and
continuation of his works. 1

2ND POINT

The supreme purpose in the mission of Jesus was to ithe saving sovereignty of God.
The redemption which the Son of God was sent to accomploish is an eschatological
salvation, the prime element of which, as far as the individual is concerned, is life in
the Kingdom of God. It is evident in the Fourth Gospel thst the inauguration of the
saving sovereigntly of God is a process coterminous with the Work of Jesus, from the
commencement of his ministry (1:51)

To its climaz in his death resurrection- exaltaion. It is in that final action that the
kingdom fully comes; the Lord exercises his reign by drawing all to him and by
bestowing the life of the saving sorverigty on all belivers. Now the evangelist shares
the conviction of the Old Testemtn prophetsm of contemoray Judaism, of Jesus and of
the writers of the New Testement that the Holy Spirit is the S[pirty of the kigdom of
Joel 2:28-32. So we read in John 7:39 the definitive statement, “The Holy Spirit was
net yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.” That comment by the evangelist
followes on the cry of Jesus in the Festival of Tabernacles

John interpreted the saying of the Spirit, whom belivers were to receive, after the
exalation of the Lord to the position of authority in the saving sovereignty now fully
come.

“It is evident thazt the sending of the Spirit is of crucial importance in the though of
the evangelist.”2

1
As below Pg 60
2
Beasley Murray, Pg 61