Of the Spirit (part 23) 

Jesus wanted his disciples to understand that they could enter God’s world of love by cottoning on to what the Father’s love had provided for them in him. Because in him his disciples had everything they needed to flourish and bear fruit. 

So “remain in me” Jesus told them, stick to him like glue, because he’d still be with them after his death, but this time his Father would give them the Holy Spirit to bring to life all that he’d taught them (John 14:26), because in Jesus’ teachings coming to life in them the Father would love them and open up his world to them (verse 23).  

And how would he open up his world to them? Jesus comes out with the most amazing answer to that in John 15:7, that “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” 

Imagine being a disciple of Jesus, then, knowing that you’re deeply loved by the Father for sticking to what Jesus taught, which now meant you could ask the Father for whatever you wished, and in his deep love for you he would grant your wish. 

So what would your wish to the Father be? Well, as Jesus points out in verse 8, what the Father really glories in is seeing his Son’s disciples and best friends “bearing much fruit” in living his teachings – so we are recognizably his disciples because of the “much fruit” difference his teachings make in us. 

And since his teachings are the heart and core of life in God’s world, then it’s because of Jesus’ disciples living his teachings that the door cracks open to what God’s world looks like. The means by which the Father is opening up his world, then, is by Jesus’ disciples living it. 

It was of crucial importance, then, that Jesus’ disciples keep cracking that door open by obeying what Jesus taught, just as Jesus cracked it open by obeying what his Father taught him (verse 10). So isn’t that what we’d ask the Father for, the ability to live what Jesus taught so people see the difference and they get a glimpse of God’s world of love too?…(new series beginning Monday) 

Of the Spirit (part 22) 

Through the Holy Spirit the Father and Jesus are opening up the world of love they live in. It’s in the works, then, John 14:31, that “the world may know that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” Because that’s the key to understanding God’s world; it’s based on love, pictured by Jesus’ saying and doing exactly what his Father wanted said and done.   

The Father demonstrated his love too, by providing a group of friends his Son could love and share his life and learning with (15:15), who love him in return and show it too, by wanting to obey everything he teaches them (14:23). The Father also expresses his deep love for his Son by honouring and answering any request made in his Son’s name (15:16).  

I imagine all this must have seemed unreal to the disciples, as their minds and imagination were being lifted into this very different world. So Jesus uses an analogy at their level of understanding when he tells them in John 15:1, “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.” It gets the point across that Father and Son are totally in this together, the Father as Master Gardener doing the planning and overseeing, but giving the challenge and joy to his Son to bring all those plans to life.  

It shows what the Father’s plan was too, because he “cuts off every branch that bears no fruit,” verse 2. He’s after a garden for his Son that flourishes at its fruitful best. And how he’d do that was give his Son the very words to teach to his disciples that would enable them to flourish at their fruitful best (verse 3).   

With that in mind, then, Jesus says, “Remain in me,” verse 4, “and I will remain in you.” To remain in him meant sticking to what he’d taught them, verse 10, because that’s how they’d flourish as the Father intended – just as Jesus stuck to what his Father taught him and he flourished too (verse 10).  

And what the disciples would discover from this simple process of obeying what Jesus had taught them, was “remaining in Jesus’ love” (verse 10). Because in his love for them he would continue to teach and guide them so they would “bear much good fruit,” verse 16. Because that’s what the Father as Master Gardener loved setting up this whole process for…(more on this tomorrow)   

Of the Spirit (part 21) 

Jesus asked his Father to give his disciples the Holy Spirit because the Spirit would provide them with constant evidence that he was alive and still with them. 

And “Because I live,” Jesus told them – or because I’ll be alive and still with you – “you also will live,” John 14:19. But what exactly did Jesus mean by that? Did he mean that they’d continue to live physically, or that because Jesus was now living in a different dimension in which he’d never die, that they would never have to die either? 

Jesus explains himself in verse 20, that “On that day (when they receive the Spirit) you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” So this is what “you also will live” means; it means this is what they will now begin to experience.  

Fortunately, Jesus goes on to explain in verse 21 what being “in” someone means. He gives three clues, the first one being love: “Whoever obeys my commands loves me, and the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him.” So the Spirit opens up this new world of love to us. “You also will live,” then, means “you will live to experience this love too.”

Secondly, being “in” someone means – as Jesus put it in verse 21 – “showing myself to him.” The Greek word for “show” in that verse is emphanisō (em-faneezo) meaning “to reveal, make known, cause to appear clearly, communicate plainly, to inform,” all suggesting that, through the Holy Spirit in and with us, Jesus will constantly reveal to us, communicate with us, and inform us as to who he is, what he’s up to, and how much he loves us. He’s alive and “in” us to that depth of intimacy, vastly expanding our understanding of him and his part in his Father’s plan. That too, then, was what “you also will live” was about.  

Thirdly, being “in” someone means, as Jesus put it in verse 23, “making one’s home with…” – and how much more “in” someone could you be than wanting to make your home forever with them? But that’s exactly what the Father and Jesus want to do with us – forever. 

“You also will live,” therefore, includes this constant picture the Spirit unfolds for us of God’s world of love, because that is now the world we are living in too…(more on this tomorrow)   

Of the Spirit (part 20) 

Jesus laid the groundwork in John 14:15 for the most important decision a disciple of his can make: “If you love me,” he said, “you will obey what I command.”  

And why was that so important? Because, verse 23, “My Father will love you.” Jesus knew the process. His Father had sent him to train up a group of disciples in the ways of his world, because through them he would kickstart the spreading of his kingdom on this planet. So if those disciples cottoned on to the process too, that by obeying whatever Jesus taught that’s how the kingdom would spread, they had the Father’s undying love. He would deeply love them for it. 

And that must have been extremely comforting to Jesus, because he knew the next step, that he would return to his former glory beside his Father and from there direct the spreading of their kingdom worldwide over the centuries to come. But that would leave his disciples without him present with them. And he knew how devastating that would be for them, because they’d become very attached to him. Their lives had totally revolved around him, so they’d feel terribly lost without him. And because Jesus deeply loved them (John 13:1), it concerned him greatly. 

So he told his disciples in verse 16, “I will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.” They’d have the support they needed, a Spirit sponsor always there for them, a backer, benefactor and patron, as well as mentor, coach and teacher. But best of all this Spirit help would fulfill Jesus’ wish in verse 18, that “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

The Spirit, then, had a clear job to do, to be to the disciples what Jesus had been to them. It would feel like Jesus was still with them, therefore, the same love, same nurturing, same understanding of them, same acceptance, same well-timed teaching, same reminding – so in reality the Holy Spirit was the “Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8:9). 

But with one very special addition, that the disciples hadn’t experienced in their time with Jesus, because the Spirit would not only live “with” them, verse 17, but “in” them too. But what difference would that make?…(more on this tomorrow) 

Of the Spirit (part 19) 

I imagine the disciples’ minds were reeling a bit when Jesus came out with statements like: “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,” John 14:11, and “One day you’ll realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you,” verse 20. 

Jesus was talking on a level they’d never experienced before. But it clued them in as to where their lives were going next. They were being introduced to a new world that would draw them into the inner workings of the God family, where they’d come to see it was all based on love and being “in” each other. 

But it was this kingdom of God, this world of God, that Jesus had been assigned by his Father to set up on this planet, starting with this little group of Jesus’ disciples who, at this point in their lives, didn’t have a clue what they were in for. One thing they thought they knew though, was that they’d do anything for Jesus because they loved him. That part at least they were sure of. 

But Jesus soon brought them down to earth on that point too, because in verse 15 he said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” It was another concept the disciples would come to learn, that love in the kingdom of God wasn’t just enjoying each other’s company or even being respectful and accepting of each other’s roles. Love in God’s world was all about tuning into the deepest, most heartfelt wishes of the one you love. The Father, for instance, set up this entire creation for his Son (Colossians 1:16), because he knew his Son’s heart and what would fill it. Jesus, meanwhile, wanted only to “bring glory to his Father” (John 14:13), because he knew his Father’s heart and what would fill it too.  

And what was the Father’s deepest wish? It was Jesus’ disciples doing what he’d taught them, John 14:23, because in doing that – as Jesus told them – “My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” 

This was how the disciples would be drawn into the God world of love, so they’d know what it means to be “in” each other, fulfilling the heartfelt wishes of those who love you. It was a new world they were being introduced to – but in their present state of mind how on earth could they become part of it?…(more on this tomorrow) 

Of the Spirit (part 18) 

To his best friends Jesus expressed his greatest wish – which was to “bring glory to his Father,” John 14:13. It must have been quite a shock to his disciples, however, to hear that he was bringing that glory to his Father through them. And perhaps an even greater shock that the means by which he’d bring glory to his Father through them was by him doing whatever they asked in his name. 

So in whatever they asked Jesus for it would tie in with Jesus’ great wish to bring glory to his Father. In other words, whatever they asked for was in love for Jesus to enable him to fulfill his wish. They were very much in this together, then, as partners with Jesus to rightfully bring glory to the Father who had planned this whole process in the first place. And it also honoured Jesus for the part he was willing to play in making it happen too. 

This was all about love, then – the Father’s love for wanting a massive family, the Father’s love for Jesus by enabling him to fulfill his plan and the joy that came with it; and then Jesus’ love for his Father in wanting everything he said and did to tie in with his Father’s plan, and Jesus’ love again in wanting to bring further glory to his Father through what the disciples would now be doing. And then the disciples’ love for both the Father and Jesus in the part they would now play to bring honour and glory to both of them.

Jesus then gets practical. All this love stuff wasn’t just nice thoughts and nice feelings. Nor was it defined by any human sentiment. “If you truly love me,” Jesus said in verse 15, “you will obey what I command.” The reason for that was obvious, of course, because Jesus knew exactly what they needed to do to bring glory to the Father. He knew because he’d done it himself. He’d also done exactly what his Father had commanded him to do, and again for the same obvious reason, that his Father knew exactly what needed to be done through him too. 

So in whatever they would now be asking Jesus for, it would be to help them do exactly what Jesus knew they needed to say and do, just like Jesus said his words too weren’t his own, “Rather, it is the Father living in me, who is doing his work,” verse 10. Likewise, then, Jesus would also live in them to do his work – but how would he do that?…(more on this tomorrow)

Of the Spirit (part 17) 

Hours before he was taken away to be killed, Jesus said some startling things to his disciples, like (in my words): “You think I did amazing things, eh? Well, you guys are about to do even more amazing things” (John 14:12). 

Because Jesus knew what he’d be doing with his disciples after he died. He’d no longer be restricted to travelling as a human being in a small area of the world. He would now be back with his Father (verse 12), returning to his former glory (John 17:5), with the whole world opened up to him.   

So whatever power or help they needed to continue what he’d started with them, he was now perfectly positioned to lift their work together to a whole new level. He wasn’t leaving them, therefore, he was coming back to them, to begin a completely new chapter in God’s plan – and a new relationship with them too. He was shifting them from being his “children,” much loved but pretty helpless (John 13:33), to a position of real power so they could legitimately consult with him as family partners in the great worldwide project about to open up.

And Jesus meant “family partners” too, because he told his disciples they could ask for whatever they needed from him and he guaranteed an answer (John 14:13). Imagine being in a business like that, where anyone has an open door to the boss, and knows they will be heard. And not just heard, but given an answer too. 

So this was the kind of relationship Jesus would soon be opening up with his disciples. All they had to do, therefore – at any time, any place, any situation – was “ask in my name,” John 14:13, and they could imagine their request flying up by first class mail to their beloved Jesus. Which made sense of asking in his name too, because his name carried power. It was the name above all names, so it burst through every barrier. Nothing could withhold a request in Jesus’ name.  

And especially a request that honoured his name, by being totally in tune with his deepest wish – to “bring glory to the Father,” verse 13. It was a mighty wish Jesus had, and now he was involving his disciples in it too, so of course they’d need power and help – and of course, verse 14, he’d give it…(more on this tomorrow)  

Of the Spirit (part 16) 

In preparing his disciples for a future without him in person with them, he tells them they should love one another as he had loved them. For two reasons: first of all, that it would identify them as his disciples, and secondly, because love was the heart and soul of God’s kingdom, that he would now be setting up on this planet, starting with them. 

And to make that double challenge even greater, Jesus told them they couldn’t resort to any worldly means or practices. Only by his love, his peace and his attitude of service could the kingdom be demonstrated, displayed and developed through them. 

Which, of course, was a massively tall order, because it soon became apparent that they didn’t have it in them to fulfill either challenge. When it came to their feet needing washing, for instance, none of them thought of doing it for each other. And when it came to displaying God’s kingdom with Jesus’ attitudes, Peter sliced an ear off the high priest’s servant.  

They were dead in the water, therefore, before they even got started. So how on earth were they going to carry on after Jesus was gone, following in his footsteps of love, peace and service, in the state they were in only hours before his death? 

Jesus answered that with an amazing promise: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing,” John 14:12. Oh, so this was how these two impossible challenges could be fulfilled by the sorry likes of them. The key, clearly, was “faith in him.” But how did that work exactly? Faith in him for what, or have faith in him in what way? It would be so much easier if he just stayed with them, because they’d have little trouble with faith then. 

Ah but, Jesus says, “If you loved me you would be glad I’m going to the Father,” verse 28, because it would be from that vantage point now that Jesus would be with them, not as a physical presence, but with his Father now directing him to do in us what the Father had done in him. Same Father, same purpose. Their faith, then, was in Jesus still “doing exactly what my Father has commanded me,” verse 31, only in even greater power now, and in them too, verse 12…(more on this tomorrow) 

Of the Spirit (part 15) 

Jesus knew that after he was gone his disciples were in for a rough ride. Without his constant presence they would flounder, as did Peter denying he even knew Jesus. So right after telling Peter that he’d deny knowing him three times, Jesus asked his disciples in Luke 22:35, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” 

In their experience they could happily answer “Nothing” to Jesus’ question, because he’d always supplied what they needed for the job he’d given them to do. 

But that was about to change, because in verse 36, Jesus says, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” His immediate reason for the sword was Isaiah’s prophecy of him being “numbered among the transgressors” (verse 37), and by his disciples carrying swords it would make him look like he was a transgressor, calling upon his followers to fight and resist. 

But he was also preparing his disciples for the time when he would no longer be with them to provide for them personally. So his suggestion that they purchase swords could tie in with that too, because left to fend for themselves without his constant presence they would need the comfort of another powerful source. And having a sword strapped to their waist pictured that. It’s like carrying a gun. Feeling its weight is like a comfort. Well, that’s exactly what the disciples would need, a constant and powerful comforter. 

But it wouldn’t be any physical weapon or any other human means, which Jesus made clear by healing the high priest’s servant’s ear that Peter had slashed off with his sword (verses 49-51). “No more of that,” Jesus said in verse 51, sealing forever any need for his disciples to resort to weapons or fighting. Which again would be tough for them to do, because resistance by violence comes so naturally to us humans.

But as Jesus told his disciples in John 14:27, “I do not give to you as the world gives.” And in John 15:19, “You do not belong to the world. I have chosen you out of the world.” So he’d provide his disciples with a non-worldly, non-violent power instead…(more on this tomorrow)  

Of the Spirit (part 14) 

In the last few hours before he’s taken away to be killed, Jesus lays the foundation stones for the kingdom he’ll be developing through his disciples after he’s gone. And at the heart of it is “loving one another just like I’ve loved you,” John 13:34. And that’s how they’ll be recognized as his disciples too, by “the love you have for one another,” verse 35.

Peter, however, doesn’t respond so much to verse 35 as to what Jesus said before that in verse 33, when Jesus addresses them as “My children” – indicating the deep affection he had for them – and then he says to them, “I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me (but) where I’m going you cannot come.” 

Peter is shocked. He totally bypasses the bit about loving one another, because his first response in verse 36 is, “But Lord, where are you going?” To which Jesus replies, “Where I’m going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” Peter immediately comes back in verse 37 with, “But why can’t I follow you? I’ll lay down my life for you.” Or as Luke phrased what Peter said: “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33).

But Jesus knew what would really happen, because Peter, without the Holy Spirit, would not be able to love at that level. So he asks Peter in verse 38, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows you will disown me three times.” 

That must have cut Peter to the bone because there was no doubt in his mind that he loved Jesus enough to die for him. But it all fit in with what Jesus was preparing him for, because Peter would soon come to realize that he didn’t have the love he thought he had. He was full of conviction and willingness to give up his life for Jesus while Jesus was still with them in person, oh yes, but it would be a different story when Jesus was gone.

But it all fit in perfectly with what Jesus was about to get into next in John 14 about the Holy Spirit, to not only help Peter realize the love he needed would have to come from another source, but also to set up all Jesus’ disciples in the future with the same understanding…(more on this tomorrow)