John Part 31
Notes
Transcript
Recap
Recap
This chapter is about comfort
Jesus has just told his followers
that he is leaving
and that they cannot come with him
and chapter 14 beings with..
Let not your hearts be troubled
And then Jesus gives us reasons not to worry.
First, he says that while he is away
he is preparing a place for us
That place is in heaven
It is our future dwelling place
Secondly, He is coming back for us
and he will take us to that dwelling place
and that place has lots of rooms
Thirdly, While we wait for him
to make a dwelling place for us
He is coming back to dwell in us.
to comfort us while we wait.
And that 3rd point will be seen in tonights reading.
Don’t forget those two themes
Comfort, and dwelling
And Dwelling is going to show up with many words in English
place, room, house, living, abode, abide, etc.
Let’s begin by reading verse 15-18
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
So, we have this promise that Jesus
is going to send the Spirit
to comfort us
but it comes with a condition
and we can’t skip the conditions
if we want to promises
that come with them.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Anytime you see the word “if” in Scripture
expect to see a condition.
Don’t just read the promise in verse 16
without first reading the IF in verse 15.
Jesus is telling us to keep his commandments
And he hasn’t given us one here
so he is speaking generally
But the promise of the Spirit
is only for those who love Jesus
and if we love Jesus
it will be shown by the fact that we keep his commandments
Not just some of them
but all of them.
We didn’t escape commandments
when Jesus fulfill the OT Law of Moses
When you read through the teachings of Jesus
you find that they are even more impossible
than the OT laws were to follow
But, the point is that His Spirit
is going to help us to follow his commands
We can’t be filled with the Spirit and break commandments at the same time
It is real hard to enter into spiritual intercessory prayer
when you are gossiping
backbiting
being rude
being unkind
So, we’ve got to loves Jesus
and we’ve got to keep his commands
and THEN, he says…
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
Helper here is an odd word.
It is translated differently in almost every version.
KJV = Comforter
CSB = Counselor
NRSV = Advocate
MSG = Friend
What all these translation attempts are doing
is circling around a word in Greek that has many meanings
And John uses this word 5 times in his writings
and no one else uses it in the Bible
not even in the OT Greek translation
The best definition IMO is someone who intercedes
or steps in to act on behalf of another person
The ESV translates all 4 instances in John’s Gospel
as Helper.
2 in chapter 14
1 in chapter 15
and 1 in chapter 16.
However, in John’s 1 Epistle
The same Greek word appears
and it is the only other instances of that greek word
but this time the ESV translates it as “advocate”
So, 4 times as Helper
and 1 single time as Advocate
I find this interesting because the first 4 times are clearly talking about the Holy Spirit
and entire doctrines have been built about the Holy Spirit being the paraclete
or paracletos
And curiously, 1 John 2.9 calls Jesus Christ the paracletos
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
So, is the paracletos the Holy Spirit
or is the paracletos Jesus
And I know the answer is yes to both
because I know that Jesus Christ is the Spirit
But the translators seem to want to create a distinction
between the Helper in John 14
and the Advocate in 1 John 2.1
John, however, did not make that distiction
and used the same word in both places
And as we will see tonight
he didn’t make a distinction between Jesus and the Spirit
in chapter 14 either.
So, back to John 14.16
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
So, the source of the Spirit is the Father.
This actually causes a the biggest church split in history
with the Roman Catholic and Greek orthodox churches
One says the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son
and one says the Holy Spirit only comes from the Father.
They have this confusion because they are thinking of the Spirit
and the Father as different person
But John 4.24 clearly says that God the father is a Spirit
And so, the Father is the source of the Spirit
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
So, the Holy Spirit that fell on the Day of Pentecost
was God the Father’s Spirit
He said, MY Spirit
Not another Spirit
Not someone else’s Spirit
but God’s own Spirit
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
So, the Father’s Spirit is coming from the Father
And this is the same Spirit that is in Jesus
which is why he said in 11 that the Father is in him.
It isn’t another person in jesus
It is the Father’s Spirit that is in Jesus.
And he is getting ready to tell us that we too can have that same Spirit
Now, there isn’t a Father Spirit, Son Spirit, and Holy Spirit Spirit
Paul said, in Ephesians 4 that there is only ONE Spirit.
And God himself is that Spirit.
He is a Spirit
Now, Jesus says that we will have this Helper forever
That means
even in eternity
we will have God’s Spirit in us
giving us life
and that is the only way we can have eternal life
Now, verse 17 tells us who this “Helper” is…
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Recall back in chapter 8 that Jesus said you need to know the Truth to be free
and then says, and whomever the Son sets free is free indeed.
And also in this very chapter
Jesus said it plainly…
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
So, Jesus is the Truth
and he said it is the Spirit of Truth that will come to us
So, it is the Spirit of Jesus coming to us.
and that is the only Spirit of God that there is
because there is only one Spirit
Now, It says that this Spirit can’t be received by the world
and the reason is because they don’t see or know him
Now, the word “him” is added here
It is actually the word “it”
However, the translators wanted to add personhood
to the Holy Spirit
Because they believe the Holy Spirit is not Jesus
but another personal being
So, they put the word “him” and “he”
when it clearly says “it” in the Greek.
Now, it says that the disciples know IT
and IT dwells with them
and (future tense) WILL be in you.
It is easy to understand the future tense promise
that the Spirit of Truth will dwell in them
that is Pentecost
That is Acts chapter 3
but in what way does the Spirit of Truth
dwell WITH them in the present tense?
Because the Spirit of Truth is Jesus
and Jesus is currently WITH Them
and in the future Jesus will be IN them
Not another Holy Spirit
but Jesus himself
How do we know this?
The very next verse…
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Who is coming?
Jesus said that he is the one coming
And this is not talking about the second coming
It is talking about coming as the Spirit of Truth
and we know this because he says…
I will not leave you as orphans
That word orphans
is almost the opposite of the word translated as “Helper”
in verse 16.
The KJV translates these two words as Comforter and Comfortless.
A comforter is coming, and Jesus will not leave you comfortless
Now, the word orphan is an interesting word choice by the ESV
Because what is an orphan?
Someone without a father
In fact, the reason I think they used the word orphan
is because this same Greek word
is used like 45 times in the OT Greek Septuagint
as “fatherless”
The widows and the fatherless is an idiom
about protecting the vulnerable
So, I think this is a good word choice
but what is interesting about it
is that Jesus says… to take care of your issue of fatherlessness
I will come to you.
Without Jesus we are fatherless
but with Jesus
we are not fatherless
meaning… Jesus is the Father.
19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
Now, he just said the world will not see the Spirit of Truth
and then he repeats that sentence
but says it about himself this time.
How will we see Jesus?
Not with our eyes…
because the word here for “see”
is not just to see visibly
but to behold or to experience
And it is the same Greek word found in verse 17
when Jesus says the world could not see the Spirit of Truth
It can’t be talking about seeing with our eyes
because you cannot see a Spirit
It is talking about experiencing the presence of the Spirit
and Jesus says in verse 19 that it is actually him that we will experience
Then he says, that the life in us
will be his life
Because he will be risen from the dead soon
and his resurrection
gives us a resurrection by way of his spirit being in us
That’s what Paul teachings in Romans 6 and 8.
20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
Now, earlier in this conversation
Jesus said that he was in the Father
and the Father was in him
and now, Jesus is saying we will soon have that same experience
where we will have Jesus in us
but since it is the Father that in Jesus
then really we will have the Father in us
And that is what he is about to say in the next verse.
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Again, like we said in verse 15
This promise comes with a condition
to love Jesus and keep his commandments
and if we do this
Then Jesus will reveal himself to us
The world can’t see him,
which means they will not experience his presence
but we who love him
and keep his commandments
we will feel a manifestation of Jesus
which is the gift of the Holy Spirit
So, when you are filled with the Holy Spirit
That is Jesus manifesting
or revealing himself to you
Even though you can’t see him with your natural eyes
You will behold him in the Spirit
But the world can’t experience this manifestation of Jesus.
So, Judas asks…
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?”
Good question.
How are we going to see and experience Jesus
and other people are not
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
There’s that word “home”
Also sometimes translated as dwelling or an abode
So, the way we will see a manifestation of Jesus
is that he will make his home with us
and the word “with” here is the Greek word para
and it means among, or at.
So, his home is going to be “at” us.
Like, My house is at the end of Dorchester Dr
Jesus’s house as at me.
I’m Jesus’s house
And it says it is the Father and Jesus coming to us
How are they both coming?
Because the Spirit in Jesus is the Father’s Spirit
We aren’t filled with 3 Spirits
There is only One Spirit
And The Father and the Son are not leaving us alone with the Holy Spirit
Jesus said it plainly… I want leave you fatherless, I will come to you.
24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
Again, Jesus has now repeated this condition 3 or 4 times now
We’ve got to love him and keep his words
if we want to have this manifestation of him in our lives
And then Jesus says… all my words are not actually my words
They are the words of the Father
In other words, when Jesus Speaks
It is the Father Speaking
25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
Again, it is actually the Father speaking to them
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
The word Helper here is the same as in verse 16
The paracletos, or one who intercedes for us
That, not he, but that will teach you all things
And this Helper is going to come in the name of Jesus
And I believe this means that when we repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus
Acts 2:38 promises us that we will be filled with the Holy Spirit
And that is the way it should always happen
Though, we often see people baptized and they do not receive the Holy Spirit
And this is likely because they have not fully repented
or because they have not met the conditions that Jesus set forth
in John chapter 14
4 or 5 times he said we must love Jesus and keep his commands
if we want to have this manifestation of the Spirit
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Again, all this about comfort
while Jesus is away
they are about to see him die
and he is leaving these promises to comfort them.
28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
Greater here does not mean better
it means bigger
The Greek word is referring to the space an object takes up
So, First Baptist Church is Greater than our church
in the sense that it takes up two city blocks
and we take up a tiny corner of one shopping center
So, Jesus is limited by his flesh while he is on Earth
But when he goes away
He will no longer be limited by the flesh
he will be able to fill all of us with his Spirit
all around the world
So, that spatial limitation will be gone.
29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.
30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,
The ruler of this world is Satan at that time
He doesn’t have claim on Jesus
because he tempted him
and Jesus did not sin.
neither did he bow down to him.
Instead…
31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
So, Jesus was obedient to the Father
and lived the perfect example for us
and when his Spirit is in us
we will also be able to be obedient
