The Spirit and our Obedience

Love is displayed in our obedience.

Willing obedience naturally flows out of sincere love. John’s gospel doesn’t portray our love for God in emotive terms, but in actionable terms — obedience.

Jesus isn’t aiming at threatening the disciples to obedient love. Rather, He is properly defining what love looks like for His followers.

Jesus then promises the Holy Spirit. Remember the aim of a disciple: Be with Him, be like Him, do as He did. And, remember the context — Jesus is going away. But, He’s not leaving the disciples helpless; the Spirit will come. A couple of things to note about the Spirit as He comes:

He is like Jesus. The word allos is used here, meaning another of the same kind.

He is a parakletos. The ESV says Helper. We may have heard it as a Counselor or One who comes along side. The idea is that the Spirit will be someone who is close by and ready to render aid. The obedient love we naturally give comes from spiritual empowerment!

He is the Spirit of truth. Jesus is the truth, and His Spirit is the Spirit of truth. This will get fleshed out a little more in verse 26, so we’ll revisit it there.

Finally, the world cannot receive Him, but believers know Him because He is with them now and will be inside of them in the future. We live in a unique time in salvation history where what is called the “church age” could just as easily be referred to as the “Spirit age.” He is the continuing presence in the believer’s life, and He is our source of truth (John 14:17, 26) and power (Acts 1:8).

Consider the following ways in which the Spirit helps believers that are beyond the world’s comprehension: 1.) He brings to mind the words of Christ, speaking a heavenly message. 2.) He changes our thought life, replacing self-centered thoughts with Christ-centered thoughts. 3.) He gives us a new beginning, bringing spiritual life. 4.) He reorients our needs and desires, placing love for Christ over all else.

I always think of the marriage relationship when it comes to obedience and love. How many men out there have a honey-do list?

Sometimes we start to think that obedience equals legalism. It doesn’t. Jesus is clear…love leads to obedience, not the other way around. I get it…that’s a hard thing to wrap our minds around when the world teaches us that you get what you earn. But, we’ve already been given everything. There’s nothing for us to earn. I wonder if the reason we struggle with idea is because we’ve failed to really wrestle with the love of God, the love He has for us, and we struggle to let that love seep in and saturate our hearts.

Obedience proves our share in the kingdom.

He will not leave His followers as orphans. An orphan, according to Logos, is “someone or something who lacks support or care or supervision; especially the type of support that is characteristic of a parent-child relationship.” Jesus’ followers will not be abandoned in this world, but they will have the support, care, and supervision/direction they need.

Further, what confidence the resurrection gives believers. There is an old adage that we should be ready to preach, pray, or die at a moment’s notice. Only the certainty of our life and resurrection in Christ can give us the confidence we need to do so.

If one keeps Jesus’ commandments, they obey them. Here, Jesus affirms His previous statement from verse 15 — love is manifested in obedience. This obedience results in a greater manifestation of Jesus to the believer. While previously love was the motivation for obedience, here obedience is the test of true love. If you have the commands of Jesus, it indicates you have “received them and made them” your own. If you keep them, you “put them into daily practice.” And if you keep them…put them to daily use…notice the special blessing when believers obey: deeper fellowship with Christ. This shouldn’t come as a surprise given Paul’s instruction on being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” 1 Thessalonians 5:19 “Do not quench the Spirit.” and Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”)

While Christ is making an eternal home for the believer, Jesus and the Father will make their home with the believer in the here and now. It’s important to remember that eternal life is more than just spiritual life that extends from death into forever. It speaks of a “quality of life” that comes from the presence of God in the believer’s life. Remember Jesus’ previous promise — John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Now, looking at verse 24. This passage can serve as a diagnostic for our commitment to Christ at any particular time. Just as love fuels our obedience to Christ, a lack of love mean we will not have the necessary drive to be obedient. Sometimes we “love” Jesus because of His benefits, i.e., eternal life and forgiveness of sins. However, His disciples had a deeper love, a relational love for Jesus, that spawned from three years of living in close proximity. When we lack love, perhaps the strongest medicine for our sickness is time with Jesus.

The Spirit leads us in our obedience.

It seems that verses 25 and 26 should be taken together and that the Spirit does not reveal new teachings and doctrines, but brings to remembrance what has been spoken by Christ. If a rabbi was a teacher, the Holy Spirit, the Helper, now steps into the role as He is sent by the Father. He will teach…all things to the disciples by bringing to remembrance all that Christ had taught. How will the believer know truth? How will the believer follow the way? How will the believer have life? It is by the Spirit who now dwells in believers, granting spiritual life, teaching us spiritual reality, and leading us in the right way.

Troubled, again, as they may be by Christ’s departure, there is no need to be afraid, stressed out, worried. The Spirit was coming…and has come…and He gives us peace. This peace is so much better, richer, deeper than just the absence of conflict. Instead, it means that even when things in life are difficult, because they will be, we can still have a settled fullness…richness…contentment…the ability to say that it’s all going to be okay, because our life finds happiness and joy and the rest through a life made full in Jesus.

And, Jesus’ leaving is no cause for sadness and sorrow. The Father is greater…which means there is a submission aspect at work in the Father, Son, and Spirit, and Jesus wants to return to the Father’s side…it’s good for Him to go. So, Jesus gives the disciples a heads up. You see, none of this was meant to bring sorrow…only joy, that the fulfillment of God’s plan was happening. Salvation was coming. God is making a way to forever be with His people. Jesus lays it out for us, so that we will believe. He’s inviting us to personally trust in Him. If we’ve seen what He’s done, if we know Him to be the truth, if His Spirit brings His words to our minds and guides us to all truth, we have no need to worry. Only, let us follow wherever His Spirit leads.

As Jesus wraps up, He knows the end draws near. Satan, through his agent Judas Iscariot, was coming. However, Jesus Himself clarified that Satan has no authority over Him. All that He (Jesus) does , He does because He wants to do what His Father says. This submission, this obedience shows the love that Christ has for the Father. It’s only right for Jesus to expect us to follow and obey Him the same way He lovingly submitted to the Father’s will.