THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

John: Believing On The Christ, The Son Of God, For Eternal Life

Part XXXVIII: Trusting In Christ For His Gracious Edification Of True Believers, John 14-17

C. Trusting In Christ For His Gracious Promise Of God's Spiritual Parenting Of Believers

(John 14:15-26)

I. Introduction

A. John's Gospel asserts that the disciples had received of Christ's fullness "grace for grace" (KJV), that is "constant reception of one evidence of God's grace replacing another," John 1:16; B. K. C., N. T., p. 273.

B. This truth is explained with Christ's John 14:15-26 gracious promise of God's spiritual parenting of believers:

II. Trusting In Christ For His Gracious Promise Of God's Spiritual Parenting Of Believers, John 14:15-26.

A. Jesus stated that if His disciples loved Him, they would keep His commandments, John 14:15.

B. However, Christ's recent, repeat predictions that He would soon leave His disciples so they could not be with Him (John 13:33, 36) left a vacuum that if unfilled would hinder the capacity of His disciples to heed Him.

C. Accordingly, Jesus announced the filling of this vacuum with a "Helper," the Holy Spirit, in John 14:16-20:

1. Jesus said He would ask the Father to give them "another of the same kind" (allos, R. C. Trench, Syn. of the N. T., 1973, p. 357) of parakletos, of "Helper" (T. D. N. T., v. V, p. 804), One like Jesus, John 14:16a.

2. This "Helper," the ["Holy," cf. John 14:25] "Spirit of truth," Who the world could not receive as it did not see Him or know Him, but Who the disciples knew and Who was with them and would [after the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2:1-4) indwell them, would remain with them forever, John 14:16b-17; Eph. 1:13-14.

3. Jesus then clarified that in His absence He would not leave His disciples as orphanos, "orphans" (Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 586-587), but would come to them via the agency of the indwelling "[Parent] Helper" of [God, Acts 5:3-4] the Holy Spirit Who Jesus would send, John 14:18.

4. Looking forward to this time of the Spirit's arrival, Jesus predicted that though the world would see Him no more at His death, His disciples would live as He lived in the resurrection, and on the Day of Pentecost when indwelt by the Spirit, they would understand how He was in the Father, that the disciples were in Him and that He was in them, John 14:19-20; Ibid., Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 323-324.

D. Returning to His call that His disciples obey Christ's commands (cf. John 14:15) when they would one day be equipped by the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Helper and Spiritual Parent like unto Jesus to obey Him (cf. John 14:16-18), Christ announced that he who possessed and heeded His commands loved Him, and he that loved Jesus also loved His Father, and that Jesus would express His love to Him and "manifest, make Himself visible" (emphanizo, Ibid., Ardnt & Gingrich, p. 257) to that believer, John 14:21.

E. Thinking that Jesus here spoke of a physical manifestation, the other Judas [not Judas Iscariot] then asked Christ how He would physically show Himself to them while not doing so to the world, John 14:22.

F. Christ explained that if a disciple loved Him and so heeded His words, the Father would love him, and the Father and the Son would "come" (erchomai, Ibid., p. 310-311; U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 389) to him and make their "home, abode" (mone in the singular, Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 529; Ibid., B. K. C., N. T., p. 324) with him, John 14:23. This alludes to God's practical spiritual involvement in the believer's daily experience that is accompanied by his fulfilling spiritual intimacy with the Lord, true spiritual fulfillment in one's walk!

G. Conversely, if one did not love Christ he would not keep His Word and would thus not know such fulfilling, intimate spiritual happiness with the Lord, for Jesus' words were of the Father Who had sent Him, John 14:24.

H. Realizing the disciples might not grasp or even recall all He had taught them when He was with them, Jesus promised that when the parakletos, the "Helper" (cf. John 14:16a), the Holy Spirit, Who the Father would send them in Jesus name, arrived, He would teach them all things and bring all that Jesus had said unto them to their remembrance, John 14:25-26. The indwelling Holy Spirit would thus perfectly fill Jesus' absence!

Lesson: Due to the vacuum of a spiritual Helper and Parent left by the physical departure of Jesus from His disciples to heaven, Christ said He would pray to God the Father that He would send them another Helper of the same kind as Jesus, the Holy Spirit. This "Spirit of truth" would indwell believers forever, ministering to equip them to know and to recall Jesus' words so they could obey His commands and thus enjoy rewarding and fulfilling expressions of love and intimate fellowship with God the Father and with God the Son in their personal walk!

Application: (1) May we believe in Christ to be saved, John 3:16. (2) May we rely on the Holy Spirit for the power and guidance of God that we need to obey His Word in order to enjoy fulfilling fellowship with Him in our walk.