statements in John’s Gospel indicate that apart from the Spirit’s activity human beings are unable to become (John 1:13; 3:3, 5–8; 6:63) and remain (3:20–21; 8:34; 16:8) children of God. These two observations—that John portrays the reception of the indwelling Spirit as beginning only after the glorification of Jesus, and that apart from the Spirit humanity is of the Devil (8:44)—prompt us to ask how believers who lived prior to Jesus’ glorification became and remained faithful to God. While the
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