The Lord Speaking by His Son by John Norton Loughborough

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 21, 1903

The Lord Speaking by His Son

By John Norton Loughborough

J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” Heb. 1:1, 2.

Having noted how the Lord, in Old Testament times, spoke to his people by voice, by angelic visitation, and by prophets, it may be of interest to consider that portion of the text respecting the latter-day speaking “by his Son.”

When the infant Saviour was brought to the temple by his mother (his first public appearance), to have made for him the required offering, he was recognized by two prophets. One of these was the devout Simeon, to whom it had been revealed, by the Holy Ghost, “that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple . . . and said, . . . Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against.” “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser. . . . And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” Luke 2:26-38.

Six months before the public ministry of Christ was to open, his mission was heralded by John the Baptist, the greatest prophet that had yet appeared. Luke 7:28. To him the Lord made direct revelations, even telling him how he might know the Messiah, when, at his baptism, he should see the Holy Ghost descending upon him in the form of a dove. John 1:33. He also made predictions of the baptism of the Holy Spirit which Christ should impart, and of the final work of gathering the faithful as the wheat into the Lord’s garner, and the burning up of the wicked like the chaff, with unquenchable fire. Matt. 3:11, 12.

The Lord’s speaking by his Son of course includes the personal teaching of Christ when on earth, as recorded in the four Gospels of the New Testament. The words that he spoke in his teaching he disclaimed as his own; for he said, “The Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. . . . Whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.” John 12:49, 50. “The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” John 14:24.

The words of Christ found in the four Gospels are not, however, the whole of his teaching for the “last days;” for when he was about to leave the world, he comforted his disciples with these words: “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” John 14:16. And of this Comforter, he said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26. Again, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” John 15:26.

The Saviour said of this Comforter, which was to “abide forever,” “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye can not bear them now.” John 16:7-12.

All that was to be spoken by the Son was not accomplished when he was here in person, as the following scripture shows: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:13, 14. Our Lord further spoke to the disciples of the coming and work of the Spirit, in these words: “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” Luke 24:49. A record of the same conversation is also given in these words: “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise [fulfillment of the promise] of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” Acts 1:4, 5.

This promise which the Father had made, and to which our Saviour here refers, must be the promise recorded in the book of Joel; for when, on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit was poured out, Peter recognized it as the beginning of what was predicted by Joel. We read: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4.

The mocking ones among the multitude who came together on seeing and hearing of this wonderful manifestation, declared, “These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: for these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: and I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.” Acts 2:13-20; Joel 2:28-32.

It is not recorded that a single thing enumerated by Joel, to be produced by the Spirit, took place on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit was, however, poured out on that day, and there was a wonderful manifestation of the gift of tongues. In Joel’s prediction of what should result from the outpouring of the Spirit, nothing was said about tongues. The gift of tongues is, nevertheless, one of the operations of the Spirit of God, as well as those directly specified in Joel’s prophecy, and all were to be seen in the work of the Holy Spirit. The time covered by this prophecy of Joel reaches down to the close of probationary time—even to “the great and the terrible day of the Lord.” The “last days” must include the very last day of the last days, which would take in the last day of probationary time. Hence this prediction of Joel relates to the work of the Spirit of God—the Comforter—as it should please the Lord, “forever,” even through the entire gospel dispensation.

That this outpouring mentioned by Joel, is the “promise of the Father” to which Christ referred, is evident from Peter’s discourse in which he says: “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.” Acts 2:32, 33.

That Peter understood this promise to cover the Lord’s manner of working even to the end of time, is set forth in these words: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:38, 39. Then as long as

the Lord calls people to his service, so long is the promise of the Holy Spirit extended to them.

With the idea in mind that the Spirit of God was to have much to do with the believers during the gospel age, we can more fully comprehend the words of the apostle Paul, when, comparing the past dispensation with the present one, he says, “How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?” 2 Cor. 3:8. If this entire dispensation is the “ministration of the Spirit,” it surely must be that the Spirit is to have much to do with those who will accept its working. The Comforter—the Holy Spirit—is Christ’s representative, which he has sent to be with his people to the end. Through it he was to say the “many things” the apostles were not then ready to receive. So a part of the speaking of the Lord, by his Son in “these last days,” is through the operations and gifts of his Spirit, not aside from the Scriptures, but in harmony with the word therein spoken.