John 14:15-21

John 14:15-21

 

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you."I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you will behold Me; because I live, you shall live also."In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you."He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him."

 

Love for Jesus will be expressed by keeping His commands. He says so right here. But this is not a one-way love. Jesus loves His disciples, too, so He promises to do something for them: He will ask the Father and send another Counselor, the Spirit of truth, so that they can have a heavenly Counselor forever.

 

The world cannot receive the Spirit simply because it neither sees nor knows Him. So how can the disciples receive Him? Jesus says that they know the Spirit. This may have been news to them, but that’s not surprising, since it was just news to them that they had seen the Father already. Jesus’ first proof that they know the Spirit is that He lives with them already. How? The same way they’ve already seen the Father: Jesus. If they know Jesus, by His words and works, then they know the Spirit. Jesus’ second proof that they know the Spirit is that the Spirit will be in them. Since they can’t receive Him unless they know Him, they must know Him, because they will definitely receive Him. What does it ultimately mean for the disciples that Jesus and the Father will send them the Spirit of truth? It means that even though Jesus is leaving, He is not leaving the disciples alone. He will take care of them and guide them. “I will not leave you as orphans. I am coming to you.” Just as the disciples know the Father and the Spirit because they know Jesus, they have Jesus with them when the Spirit is with them. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit all do the same works and use the same words. Knowing One is knowing all. Having One is having all.

 

Jesus again says that He is leaving. The world won’t see Him anymore. But the disciples will still see Him. How? Because the disciples and Jesus are both alive! Those who have life can relate to each other. The dead cannot. And when Jesus is gone, but the disciples still see Him, they will understand 1) that Jesus is in His Father, 2) that the disciples are in Jesus, and 3) that Jesus is in His disciples. How will they understand this? First, because they will have and keep Jesus’ commandments, so it will be clear that they love Jesus. Clearly, there will still be a love relationship if the disciples are obeying their Lord. Second, they will be loved by the Father and by Jesus, which will be evident because Jesus keeps revealing Himself to the disciples.

 

If Jesus is not revealing Himself today, then He is not loving His disciples today, which means that we no longer have a true relationship with Him. But Jesus does reveal Himself. He continues to teach us about His love and good intentions for us, and about how we should live in order to please Him. He has left His words with us, and He has sent His Spirit to us to teach us those words and make sure that they reveal Jesus to us. So Jesus’ words are evidence of His love for His disciples. Let’s make sure we respond with love by obeying His commands.

 

Father, thank You that Jesus took time to explain before He left how a relationship with Him could continue once He was gone. Help us, Your children, to pursue that relationship wholeheartedly.