John 14:26 - Divine Begottenness and Procession

John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

Message: Divine Begottenness and Procession

Time: While John does not admit to have written this gospel, there is ample evidence from others that he did. It was most likely written in Ephesus around 85-95 AD and is the fourth gospel. John provides a Jesus more clearly as the Son of God. John cites Jesus' seven "I Am" statements, mentions many miracles of Jesus, signifying Him as God's Son. He is the Son of Man and atoned for our sins and the Son of God with eternal implications in rising from the dead.

What the Lord is Saying:

Today's Tabletalk devotional starts with a discussion about the notion that each person has a human nature that includes a mind, a body, and a will, but each person's nature is different from one another. While we each have a human nature, our individual attributes are distinct. However, in regards to the three persons of the Godhead, the three persons do not have three different minds, but have one identical mind. And this is the same for every other divine attribute.

The question then is what makes each person of the Trinity different. The Bible teaches that (1) the Father is unbegotten, (2) the Son is begotten, and (3) the Holy Spirit is procession.

Regarding the Son, John 1:18 says, No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. In John 3:16 Jesus says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."  Begotten and derivatives of the Greek word are used multiple times in Scripture to talk about a special relationship between a Father or Mother and a son or daughter. John is the only Gospel writer to connect the relationship between Jesus and the Father. It talks of one being the only child of another. Yet both the Son and the Father have always existed. Even though He is begotten of the Father, his existence is the same as the Father.

Regarding the Holy Spirit, John 14:26 says the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name. Begottenness is the unique quality of the Son, procession is the unique property of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. There was a distinctive relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Father and the Son before time began. This passage talks about the special purpose of the Spirit - as a teacher and a reminder of all that Jesus has said. But the Spirit is also said to be sent by Jesus in John 15:26, though this verse speaks still primarily it would seem as coming from the Father. When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me. Thus there is debate as to whether the Spirit proceeds from the Son.

The difficult in these explanations is that we use human words or human explanations to explain eternal beings that are infinite, immutable and incomprehensible. Man is a created being and his words are created in order to communicate and they have limitations. I think of the word Love and all that it encompasses. Love can mean so many different things and sometimes the word Love does not convey the entire story. Scripture attempts to describe the relationship between these 3 persons of the Godhead and based upon all of the Words we have there is a natural conclusion to show that they are all divine and all of the same mind and attributes. Yet, as we work on describing this we fall into difficulties of explanation.

Purpose: It is important to study about God and His nature to help give us a further glimpse at who God is. Knowing this moves us to worship Him for His greatness and thus fulfill the purpose for which we were made.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for wisdom from the ages and how people have studied your words and come to conclusions that help me to better understand You. Lord, you have ministered specifically to me and spoken specifically to Me in a way that I struggle defining at times in my life. I don't understand it fully but I knot it to be true in me. I do thank you for these words from various individuals and thank you for breathing life into these words that I read. I continue to trust You and while there are questions that come up in my mind at times I continue to have peace that you are God, that Jesus you are God, that Spirit you are God and my mission on this earth is to glorify and testify of You. You have made me to be a person of relationship. You are eternal and creator and yet there is a closeness with You. Continue to help me to be clear in that understanding and communicating this to others.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.