The Holy Spirit - God's Spirit
E-book and Audio series
PART 2 - The Roles and Activities of the Holy Spirit
Chapter 26 - Judas, and the Permanency of the Holy Spirit
Summary: The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of one particular disciple - Judas.
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Study Notes: No.26 - Judas, and the Permanency of the Holy Spirit
(Some of these issues are discussed in more detail in the audio recording.)
In the last two studies, we’ve considered the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the twelve disciples. They were empowered by the Lord to heal and to preach that the kingdom of God was near. The Lord Himself had been authorised to preach and heal, and was empowered to do so. In turn, He bestowed that authority and power onto His disciples.
They were still expected to have faith, though, and we read of at least one occasion where, because of their lack of faith, especially concerning the Lord’s announcement of His death, they were unable to cure a young boy. We drew a parallel with us that, even today, though we are empowered by God’s Spirit for different tasks in different ways, we are also required to “take up the shield of faith” in order to stand firm in the promises of God.
In the course of the last study, we also looked briefly at the Lord’s Transfiguration – a vision of the future showing the resurrected Lord in all His glory, displaying to the doubting disciples that, despite Him saying that He would die, and them not believing Him, that He would in fact rise again and fulfil His role as the glorious Messiah.
In this study, I’d like us to briefly consider the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the disciples again, more specifically, one particular disciple - Judas Iscariot (note that there were two of the twelve disciples who went by the name Judas). This will not be a thorough consideration of all the complexities involved, but simply a few comments in light of the activity of the Holy Spirit in the life of Judas.
Judas, one of the twelve disciples
READ John 6:70,71
Note also v.64 – Christ knew from beginning who did not believe
- “did I not choose you?” (including Judas)
READ Matthew 10:1-8
Judas was one of those whom the Lord Himself authorised and empowered to preach and heal … and to cast out demons.
Cp John 6:70 (current reading) – “one of you is a devil” in reference to Judas
Cp Luke 22:3 – Satan entered Judas at the time of the last Passover – not before.
(Christ could have exorcised him, if so.)
Several questions remain in my mind about God’s Spirit working in the life of Judas, but a few answers are contained in Hebrews chapter 6.
READ Hebrews 5:11- 6:3
5:11-6:3 sets up the scene, “I want to talk to you about things of the faith at a more mature level”
THEN 6:4-8 – this is significant, in relation to Judas
v.4- tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, the powers of the coming age, but then fallen away - similar to the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit
v.7,8 – the earth (or land) drinking in the rain , but if that same land produces thorns, reject it and burn it. Get rid of it – of no use.
This was probably applicable to Judas, but is not a passage that applies to us today
v.5 - “powers of the age to come” specifically about the earthly millennial kingdom, and the overt working of the Spirit that will be prevalent at that time.
Judas was blessed with the Holy Spirit for a time, but all the evidence suggests that he will not be considered to be one of God’s chosen people when His kingdom is established.
READ Acts 1:15-17 … 20-26
The twelve disciples will have a special role in resurrection (sitting on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel – Luke 22:30) – Judas won’t be one of them. His fate is the grave, the state of death – Compare Acts 1:25 (NIV – where he belongs, N/KJV “his own place”) with v.20 earlier. He won't be resurrected to the judging role that the other 11 disciples will be; instead his place will be taken by Matthias, the "replacement" chosen by lot in Acts 1:26.
Judas tasted of the Holy Spirit for a time, fell away by betraying the One who bestowed the Spirit upon him, and will not be blessed in that way again. That leads us onto another subject …
The Permanency of the Holy Spirit Upon Believers
Let’s remind ourselves again of an important principle that applies today, but didn’t apply in Judas’ time.
READ Ephesians 1:13,14 & 4:30 (sealed, but do not grieve the Spirit)
Today we don’t taste of the “powers of the coming age” by way of miracles.
The Spirit's permanent dwelling with believers is also referred to in John 7 -
READ John 7:37-39 (context is the Feast of Tabernacles; last day including a water pouring ceremony)
- An important turning point in God’s dealings with mankind through His Spirit
- The Spirit was not given permanently until after Christ’s resurrection
- possibly (not absolutely certainly) people in OT times like Moses, David were blessed with the Spirit until they died; NT maybe John the Baptist (but he was filled with the Spirit to preach, and this stopped once he was in prison)
- Not given permanently to believers until Christ was “glorified” -
READ John 12:23,24 – The Lord was to be glorified, in reference to His death and then what would take place afterward. The reference to wheat is significant in relation to the Spirit coming upon people at Pentecost, a feast connected with the wheat harvest – more about this in a future study.
READ John 17:1-5 – "Glory I had before the world began"
READ Philippians 2:9-11
- Because the Lord Jesus humbled Himself and was obedient to the Father to the point of death, THEREFORE God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name. – death, resurrection, glory.
The Spirit was not given permanently until after the Lord was “glorified” – resurrected.
Consider Judas’s experience of the Spirit in this light
READ John 13:21…26-30 (context – the Lord’s final meal with the disciples)
v.30 Judas leaves
Then, in the next chapter – READ John 14:15-17
v.16 “He will be [abide] with you forever” – spoken to the remaining eleven … not true of Judas (who had left the room by that stage). Fulfilled after the Lord’s resurrection.
Yet still contingent upon faithfulness to the Lord’s commands at that time. – v.15
– cp Hebrews 6 – “those who have tasted of the heavenly gift, if the fall away….” then no opportunity for further repentance.
A dispensational command, applicable in its entirety to the eleven remaining disciples. Perhaps the Spirit could be taken from them; however this is speculative, and there is no evidence that this took place.
Yet that promise in John 14 of the Spirit remaining with believers permanently marks the beginning of when the Spirit began to dwell constantly with believers, not just occasionally for certain tasks, as seems to have been the case previously, in the OT, for example.
As for us today, we can be thankful that we have been sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13,14; 4:30.
In the next chapter, we will look further into some of the promises made in the Upper Room, and look at the Spirit’s role in the lives of the disciples after the Lord's resurrection.
(Some of these issues are discussed in more detail in the audio recording.)
In the last two studies, we’ve considered the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the twelve disciples. They were empowered by the Lord to heal and to preach that the kingdom of God was near. The Lord Himself had been authorised to preach and heal, and was empowered to do so. In turn, He bestowed that authority and power onto His disciples.
They were still expected to have faith, though, and we read of at least one occasion where, because of their lack of faith, especially concerning the Lord’s announcement of His death, they were unable to cure a young boy. We drew a parallel with us that, even today, though we are empowered by God’s Spirit for different tasks in different ways, we are also required to “take up the shield of faith” in order to stand firm in the promises of God.
In the course of the last study, we also looked briefly at the Lord’s Transfiguration – a vision of the future showing the resurrected Lord in all His glory, displaying to the doubting disciples that, despite Him saying that He would die, and them not believing Him, that He would in fact rise again and fulfil His role as the glorious Messiah.
In this study, I’d like us to briefly consider the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the disciples again, more specifically, one particular disciple - Judas Iscariot (note that there were two of the twelve disciples who went by the name Judas). This will not be a thorough consideration of all the complexities involved, but simply a few comments in light of the activity of the Holy Spirit in the life of Judas.
Judas, one of the twelve disciples
READ John 6:70,71
Note also v.64 – Christ knew from beginning who did not believe
- “did I not choose you?” (including Judas)
READ Matthew 10:1-8
Judas was one of those whom the Lord Himself authorised and empowered to preach and heal … and to cast out demons.
Cp John 6:70 (current reading) – “one of you is a devil” in reference to Judas
Cp Luke 22:3 – Satan entered Judas at the time of the last Passover – not before.
(Christ could have exorcised him, if so.)
Several questions remain in my mind about God’s Spirit working in the life of Judas, but a few answers are contained in Hebrews chapter 6.
READ Hebrews 5:11- 6:3
5:11-6:3 sets up the scene, “I want to talk to you about things of the faith at a more mature level”
THEN 6:4-8 – this is significant, in relation to Judas
v.4- tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, the powers of the coming age, but then fallen away - similar to the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit
v.7,8 – the earth (or land) drinking in the rain , but if that same land produces thorns, reject it and burn it. Get rid of it – of no use.
This was probably applicable to Judas, but is not a passage that applies to us today
v.5 - “powers of the age to come” specifically about the earthly millennial kingdom, and the overt working of the Spirit that will be prevalent at that time.
Judas was blessed with the Holy Spirit for a time, but all the evidence suggests that he will not be considered to be one of God’s chosen people when His kingdom is established.
READ Acts 1:15-17 … 20-26
The twelve disciples will have a special role in resurrection (sitting on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel – Luke 22:30) – Judas won’t be one of them. His fate is the grave, the state of death – Compare Acts 1:25 (NIV – where he belongs, N/KJV “his own place”) with v.20 earlier. He won't be resurrected to the judging role that the other 11 disciples will be; instead his place will be taken by Matthias, the "replacement" chosen by lot in Acts 1:26.
Judas tasted of the Holy Spirit for a time, fell away by betraying the One who bestowed the Spirit upon him, and will not be blessed in that way again. That leads us onto another subject …
The Permanency of the Holy Spirit Upon Believers
Let’s remind ourselves again of an important principle that applies today, but didn’t apply in Judas’ time.
READ Ephesians 1:13,14 & 4:30 (sealed, but do not grieve the Spirit)
Today we don’t taste of the “powers of the coming age” by way of miracles.
The Spirit's permanent dwelling with believers is also referred to in John 7 -
READ John 7:37-39 (context is the Feast of Tabernacles; last day including a water pouring ceremony)
- An important turning point in God’s dealings with mankind through His Spirit
- The Spirit was not given permanently until after Christ’s resurrection
- possibly (not absolutely certainly) people in OT times like Moses, David were blessed with the Spirit until they died; NT maybe John the Baptist (but he was filled with the Spirit to preach, and this stopped once he was in prison)
- Not given permanently to believers until Christ was “glorified” -
READ John 12:23,24 – The Lord was to be glorified, in reference to His death and then what would take place afterward. The reference to wheat is significant in relation to the Spirit coming upon people at Pentecost, a feast connected with the wheat harvest – more about this in a future study.
READ John 17:1-5 – "Glory I had before the world began"
READ Philippians 2:9-11
- Because the Lord Jesus humbled Himself and was obedient to the Father to the point of death, THEREFORE God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name. – death, resurrection, glory.
The Spirit was not given permanently until after the Lord was “glorified” – resurrected.
Consider Judas’s experience of the Spirit in this light
READ John 13:21…26-30 (context – the Lord’s final meal with the disciples)
v.30 Judas leaves
Then, in the next chapter – READ John 14:15-17
v.16 “He will be [abide] with you forever” – spoken to the remaining eleven … not true of Judas (who had left the room by that stage). Fulfilled after the Lord’s resurrection.
Yet still contingent upon faithfulness to the Lord’s commands at that time. – v.15
– cp Hebrews 6 – “those who have tasted of the heavenly gift, if the fall away….” then no opportunity for further repentance.
A dispensational command, applicable in its entirety to the eleven remaining disciples. Perhaps the Spirit could be taken from them; however this is speculative, and there is no evidence that this took place.
Yet that promise in John 14 of the Spirit remaining with believers permanently marks the beginning of when the Spirit began to dwell constantly with believers, not just occasionally for certain tasks, as seems to have been the case previously, in the OT, for example.
As for us today, we can be thankful that we have been sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13,14; 4:30.
In the next chapter, we will look further into some of the promises made in the Upper Room, and look at the Spirit’s role in the lives of the disciples after the Lord's resurrection.