“Why was it necessary for Christ to be glorified before the Holy Spirit was given?”

March 2025 – Grace & Truth Magazine

QUESTION: John 7:39 ( NKJV ) says, “This He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” Why was it necessary for Christ to be glorified before the Holy Spirit would be given?

ANSWER: Having offered Himself in sacrifice for our redemption to the glory of God and for the believer’s eternal blessings, God raised our Lord Jesus Christ from among the dead and exalted Him at His right hand. By doing so, He manifested, or showed forth, His entire satisfaction in Christ’s work on the cross. “Being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and know” (Acts 2:33).

Knowing our own weaknesses we may ask, “But how can the Holy Spirit dwell in the believer who has a sinful nature still within and is often defiled by sinful thoughts, feelings, words and deeds?” It can only be in virtue of the shed blood that cleanses from all sin. Thereby, the Holy Spirit came on the 120 disciples in the house where they were gathered. The sending of the Spirit was a public display of God’s approval toward us through the great propitiatory, or satisfying, work our Lord Jesus finished on the cross, and of the infinite value God places on His precious blood shed there.

In Old Testament times the Spirit moved holy men of God who spoke and wrote the Word of God (2 Pet. 1:21; 1 Pet. 1:11). He did not continually dwell, or abide, in them, and because of sin the Spirit would leave the men. We recognize this fact through David’s prayer after he was confronted about his sin: “Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 51:11).

When the Son of God was in this scene as Man and came up out of the waters of baptism, the heavens opened unto Him and the Spirit of God descended and remained on Him. There, in that dependent, obedient One, and in Him only, was the suitable temple for the Holy Spirit to abide (Jn. 1:30-34; Mt. 3:16-17; Mk. 1:5-11; Lk. 3:21-22). In the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, was no sin or defilement, but absolute holiness.

The Lord Jesus finished the work the Father had given Him to do. The Son shed the precious blood that cleanses the believer from every stain of sin and sanctifies and perfects him forever as to his standing before God (Heb. 10:10,14). Because of this, the one who puts his trust in the Lord is made into a place in which the Holy Spirit will dwell continually. That is true of believers together as well as each one individually, for each believer’s body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:22; 1 Cor. 3:16-17, 6:19)

By the Holy Spirit’s abiding presence and energy in the person, the believer is enabled to live a life of practical holiness. The Spirit also applies the Word of God to the Christian’s heart and conscience. This leads to self-judgment of word, walk, acts and association. Desire is produced and power given to wholly follow the Lord Jesus in everything as the believer walks in simple dependence upon Him.

Adapted from the August 1972 “Grace & Truth Magazine”