18 I will not leave you comfort- less : I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more ; but ye see me ;
because I live, ye shall live also.
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
The short passage before us is singularly rich in "precious promises." Twice our Lord Jesus Christ says, " I will." Twdce He says to believers, " Ye shall."
We learn from this passage, that Chrisfs second coming is meant to he the special comfort of believers. He says to His disciples, " I will not leave you comfort- less : I will come to you."
Now what is the " coming " here spoken of? It is only fair to say that this is a disputed point among Christians. Many refer it to our Lord's coming to His disciples after His resurrection. Many refer it to His invisible coming into the hearts of His people by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Many refer it to His com- mg by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. It may well be doubted, however, whether any one of these three views conveys the full meaning of our Lord's words, " I will come."
JOHlSi, OHAP. XIV. f^^
The true sense of the expression appears to be the second personal coming of Christ at the end of the world. It is a wide, broad, sweeping promise, intended for all believers, in every age, and not for the Apostles alone : — " I will not stay always in heaven : I will one day come back to you." It is like the message which the angels brought to the disciples after the ascension : — " This same Jesus shall come in like manner as yo have seen Him go." (Acts. i. 11.) It is like the last promise which winds up the Book of Revelation : — • " Surely I come quickly." (Kev. xxii, 20.) Just in the same way the parting consolation held out to believers, the night before the crucifixion, is a personal return : — " I will come."
Let us settle it in our minds that all believers are comparatively "orphans," and children in their minority, until the second advent. Our best things are yet to come. Faith has yet to be exchanged for sight, and hope for certainty. Our peace and joy are at present very imperfect. They are as nothing to what we shall have when Christ returns. For the return let us look and long and pray. Let us place it in the forefront of ail our doctrinal system, next to the atoning death and the interceding life of our Lord. The highest style of Christians are the men who look for and love the Lord's appearing. (2 Tim. iv. 8.)
We learn for another thing, that Christ^s life secures the life of His believing people. He says, " Because I live ye shall live also."
There is a mysterious and indissoluble union between Christ and every true Christian. The man that is once joined to Him by faith, is as closely united as a member of the body is united to the head. So long as Christ, his Head, lives, so long he will live. He cannot die unless Christ can be plucked from heaven, and Christ's