2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. I fear that our familiarity with these words serves in a great measure to veil their meaning. They become more associated with the closing up of the service than anything else, as is the case with one of the grandest choruses in the Messiah, the "Amen Chorus." It is the last in the whole Oratorio, and every one takes it as a signal to begin to depart. Paul is here pouring out his heart's love in the very best wish that he can think of. What do we understand by the communion of the Holy Ghost? What is the meaning of the word "communion"? I do not know any better way to explain the meaning of that word than is given in the following verses of the Bible (Galatians 2:9): "When James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship." That is, they took Paul into their communion as a sharer in the concern; they gave him the right hand; he became partner with them in the work. That is the meaning of the word "communion." In Luke 5:10, we read that James and John "were partners with Simon." You see that it would mean part-ownership in that boat; they would no longer speak of that boat as my boat, but our boat. So, I think, that the best meaning of the word "communion" is "partnership." Thus the text will read: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the partnership of the Holy Ghost be with you all." I. PARTNERSHIP WITH A GLORIOUS PERSON. First of all we must realise the personality of the partner; we must grasp the personality of the Holy Ghost by practical experience. Do we know much about this? Hundreds of you could say, "I know what the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is." But do you know what is partnership with the Holy Ghost? Partnership implies a partner, and we cannot be long in partnership without knowing the partner. The Holy Ghost is a living personality as much as the Father, whose love we receive; a living personality as much as Jesus, whose grace we delight in, and whose name we adore. It is not an "it" we have to do with. All the attributes of a Person are His. He has understanding, will, grief and love; for when Paul writes to the Romans, he says (Romans 15:30). How necessary it is we should know His attributes, since we are living in His dispensation. The Old Testament records belong to the dispensation of the Father, and tell of one coming, the Gospels are the record of the dispensation of the Son, and Christ still points on and says, "It is expedient that I go away, but I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever." The Lord Jesus Christ has ascended to the Father, He has gone up to Heaven, and is sitting at His Father's right hand, and it is just because He is there that the Spirit is here. The Spirit came only when Jesus was glorified. God is thus on earth to-day in the Person of the Holy Ghost, and He receives no better treatment now than the Lord Jesus did when He was on earth. He has come to take the same place as Jesus took, and to be as real to you as Jesus was to His disciples. The reason we have so many dull faces in our churches to-day is because the Holy Ghost is not thought of as present, and is not welcomed as a personal, helpful Friend. But the ministry of the Spirit is only a time ministry; this dispensation is not going on for ever. Jesus fulfilled His mission and then He ascended, and I believe that the Holy Spirit will have His ascension, and then Jesus will come to reign. There is a further beautiful meaning in the word "communion," namely, a common interest. Thus, you love Christ: so does the Holy Ghost. You love prayer: the Holy Ghost maketh intercession for us. In Romans 8:16, we read, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit." What beautiful partnership is that! You want to be holy; the Spirit wants you to be holy. If you want Jesus to come, so does the Holy Spirit, You see you have common interests all the way through. II. PARTNERSHIP IN HIS GLORIOUS WORK. All that Jesus did, He did in the power of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit, like a dove, had sought, for four thousand years, a heart that would be His resting place, and sought in vain, until He rested on Jesus by the Jordan's brink. Then Jesus went forth to His work filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. He cast out demons, He healed the sick, He raised the dead, and, indeed, all that He did, He did in the power of the Holy Spirit. Look at our churches — north, east, south and west? They are trying to carry on their work without the partnership of the Holy Ghost. But it is so difficult, you say, to realise what we cannot see. You have never seen the wind, yet you feel and believe it is there. You have never seen electricity, but put your hands on the handles of the battery, and you start with the shock. And if I am going into partnership with the Holy Ghost, I must believe He is here, though He is not seen by mortal eyes. His Sovereignty I must know as well, and fully yield myself to His direction and control. We read in the Acts that the Holy Ghost forbade the apostles going to Asia to preach the Word. There are diversities of His will, and we need to be entirely in His hands. If we have fellowship with Him, we must be willing to let Him work in us. At times the Holy Spirit has to uproot a man, strip him of all his possessions, of health, wealth, and position before He is made willing and obedient. We must be willing to be just what He wants us to be in this great partnership. (A. G. Brown.). Parallel Verses KJV: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. |
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