T. Austin-Sparks · 1 of 3

The Holy Spirit and the Name of the Lord Jesus

Reading: Acts 2:22-47; John 7:37-39; Eph. 1:19-23; Phil. 2:9-11.

We are being directed by the Lord to a further recognition of the Holy Spirit in His ministry in relation to the glorified Lord Jesus.

That which is very much on my heart in this connection is the Holy Spirit and the Name of the Lord Jesus.

If you read the Acts you will find two main features running right through the book, two things which are uppermost; they are the Holy Spirit and the Name of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is mentioned seventy times, and the Name of Jesus more than thirty.

You will see they are joined together, are in operation together, the Holy Spirit has assumed charge of everything and as He goes forward with His mighty work He does it all in the Name of the Lord Jesus.

I would suggest a perusal of the book with the place of the Name of the Lord Jesus in mind; you will not get far before you have a strong impression of wonder and praise. This main character and feature of the book bears out clearly John 7:39 and the words of Peter at Pentecost about the exaltation and glorifying of the Lord Jesus.

When John by way of comment on John 7:39 said, "The Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified", the logic of it all was that when He was glorified the Holy Spirit would be given, the day would come. We see that upon the Lord Jesus being glorified, the Holy Spirit was at once given, He immediately came forth. And now under the guidance of the newly ascended Spirit the words of men on whom He came were around the Name, the exaltation, glorifying, and Lordship of the Lord Jesus, and the deeds done were all in or on the basis of the Name.

Later we see the apostle Paul gave a very full explanation of what happened when the Lord Jesus returned to glory, "God highly exalted Him, and gave unto Him the name which is above every name" (Phil. 2:9), "put all things in subjection under His feet", as "Head over all things". That is the explanation of what took place when Christ returned to heaven. That is the ground on which the Holy Spirit came forth.

Now, in contemplating the Name of the Lord Jesus we have to find a starting-point that is a long way back and we shall be guided by a clear intimation in the words read; a conjunction will be brought into view, "Wherefore God highly exalted Him". The exaltation of the Lord Jesus, His headship, His being given a title to sovereignty - a title above all is something merited, not something by way of mechanical appointment, not something that just represented an office, but it carries with it a representation of the work done by which the title was merited, not inherited.

We are linked in the context with a former position occupied by Him; a position of equality with God, indisputable on the Divine side, a settled position, not argued but simply affirmed: "He was equal with God".

Away back in that dateless time there was one who aspired and had an ambition in another direction. It was to be possessed of a title, and there was a putting forth of his hand to grasp a title as something to be grasped at, with the result that through long, terrible centuries, millenniums, sin and misery have been; as we know well enough.

A position of authority and dominion in the universe was sought after (by the enemy), to be personally held apart from God, to be on a basis of independent action and interest. There is the root and spring of all independent action, it is easy to be seen that the direction of ambition was possession apart from God. We will not dwell on the dark side, on its consequences and history, but we do know that through that act a rift in order came, with disorder and chaos. Universal dominion had been shattered and the oneness, concreteness, and cohesion of the universe had been upset; a disintegrating force projected against the unity of the universe in relation to its government.

If we did but know it, everything of spiritual chaos in our earthly lives is just coming out of that dark cesspool and was created at that time. Every bit of discord, the multitude of things of which we become conscious when we become spiritual, those things which break in and seek to get the mastery again are not things just born, but are infectious vapours from that pit coming up again like a rolling cloud through the ages. And as the smoke of a distant fire covering everything to the horizon, it affects all things and goes on and on. We sense it afar off, near and far becomes touched by that smoke, that which happened in the spiritual realm at that time. Now we sense that thought which has come across the age; it has broken up that spiritual thing, the unity of the universe, and that dominion of the universe has to be recovered and set up in one Person, not two, not in a host, but in One it has to be recovered and established. All that is the fruit of independent action has to be destroyed, and all this universe has to acknowledge One Name, one government without a rival - that is the fruit of Calvary which was given on the basis of unchallenged merit. That one who was reaching out to possess it was without merit, and was seeking it ambitiously for self, apart from God. That was why the ambition was denied, that is why the rivalry was set up; it has to be merited.