John 14:15-18 (Teaching)

[0:00] Good morning. We argue John chapter 14. Just a very quick recap of last week and what's being covered in this longest discourse that Christ gives to his disciples that's recorded in the Scripture.

[0:35] I told you how it actually begins there at the very end of John chapter 13 and continues on through the end of John chapter 17.

[0:46] That's the longest continuous teaching that Jesus Christ, as far as Scripture goes, Jesus Christ gives his disciples.

[0:57] It's just him and them during that time, very intimate time. We talked about that. In chapter 13 we talked about how this was the Passover feast that they were having here together.

[1:16] Some people call it the Last Supper in this particular account. This is the last Passover that's acknowledged in the Gospel of John.

[1:28] There's three different Passover because it happened once a year. This is the third Passover that is talked about in the Gospel of John which is pretty much where we know that Jesus Christ was here and in his ministry for at least three years because Passover began the same day of the same month every year.

[1:54] There's three different Passover recorded in Scripture, in the Gospel of John in particular. We know that he was here in his ministry for at least three years because of that.

[2:10] But we have Jesus at the Passover feast, the Last Supper with his disciples. We've read that Christ has washed their feet. We've read that he actually told them that they should do as he had done due to one another as he has done to them.

[2:28] We've read where Jesus indicates that there's a betrayer among them.

[2:39] Of course, we all know that because we have the entirety of Scripture and because Jesus Christ said it here that that was Judas Iscariot. Then Christ goes in to tell them that again, that he's done all throughout the Gospel accounts, not just in the Gospel of John, but all throughout his ministry. Christ has been telling them that he would have to go away.

[3:03] Of course, the disciples get sad about all this and that's where we pick up in chapter 14 right after at the very end of chapter 13. Peter doing what Peter does best and speaking before he really thinks.

[3:19] Peter says that he'll go with the Lord all the way. He said, I'll even lay down my life for you. Then Jesus tells Peter, this very night you'll deny me thrice.

[3:32] You'll deny me three times. Different Gospel accounts have different records of that. Christ says before the cop crow's plush, I shall deny me thrice in one of the accounts.

[3:47] We know all this and the disciples are sad. We began chapter 14 a couple of weeks ago on that note that the disciples are sad.

[3:59] They're confused. They don't understand. Christ makes it very plain that they don't understand and that they wouldn't understand it immediately. Folks, our lives are no different.

[4:11] I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I have salvation. I know that I have been redeemed. I can think about the time that it happened.

[4:22] I can think about the place that it happened. I can think about the what that did happen when I received salvation. I know that it has happened, but there's still some things that I'm confused about.

[4:35] There's still some things that I don't know. There's a lot of things in this Bible that I'm unsure of that don't necessarily confuse me. I just don't know them up and down and left and right and diagonal and sideways and every other which way.

[4:52] Like I would like to, but God will reveal things in His own time and in His own way. We began this chapter with letting our hearts be troubled.

[5:03] Why would Christ say that? Because their hearts were troubled. The disciples' hearts were troubled. Once again, they had been following Jesus around for three years. After Jesus had told them three years previous to this, follow me.

[5:17] And they were following Jesus everywhere that He went. Then suddenly He says, I'm going away. So yes, they were confused. They didn't understand. So that's how chapter 14 began.

[5:28] Last week we ended at verse 14 in chapter 14. And actually we can begin at verse 13 in chapter 14 of John says, And whatsoever you shall ask in my name that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

[5:45] If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. And I talked about this last week and how this has been misconstrued for years.

[5:57] As far as what Jesus was getting at here. In verse 13, He plainly says that the Father may be glorified in the Son. And we talked last week about how a lot of times we might pray for things.

[6:15] Or others might pray for things. But we're praying with the wrong heart. We're praying with the wrong motives. Our motive, a lot of times when we pray, and I've been guilty of it as well, is not to bring glory to God.

[6:28] Our motive is to satisfy self. Sometimes just to outright satisfy the flesh and the desires of the flesh. You know what I think that I need and not what God wants for my life.

[6:43] And that doesn't bring glory to God. And that's why a lot of times when we pray, we don't get what we pray for. Even though Jesus says whatsoever you ask in my name, I'll do it.

[6:54] Or you'll receive it. Or whatever the case is. Even though Christ says that, He will grant these things in order that the Father might be glorified.

[7:07] And by extension, Christ will be glorified in these things as well. Bless you, Miss Brandy. So we talked about that. And that's where we left off last week.

[7:19] Again, I think I brought up last week that when Christ says, if you ask anything in my name, I will do it. That is not a blank check. And it is not any time we say, you know, X, Y, Z or A, B, C in the name of Jesus Christ, it's automatically going to happen.

[7:38] That is not what this verse means. It's not what it implies. That goes against the rest of Scripture. So it is not a blank check. I explained last week when we go to God in the name of Jesus Christ, we are going identifying ourselves with Jesus Christ.

[8:01] We are going in Jesus Christ when we go to the Father. If we don't go in Jesus Christ, the Father is not going to hear us to begin with. We must go in Jesus Christ when we go to God in prayer.

[8:16] So all that being said, we'll pick up in verse 15 of John chapter 14. Verse 15 says, if you love me, keep my commandments.

[8:28] This is a very simple statement that Jesus makes here. If you love me, keep my commandments. Very simple. And you would think that it would be simple for us to follow.

[8:42] But beyond following this commandment, what exactly is Christ doing here?

[8:53] He is linking the proof of the love that we have, or that we claim to have, that we proclaim to the world. He is linking the proof of the love toward Jesus Christ, toward Himself Jesus Christ, with obeying His commandments.

[9:11] Now, that being said, none of us do, or ever have, or ever will in this life, obey the commandments of Jesus Christ perfectly.

[9:22] None of us have. I haven't. You haven't. Your children haven't. Your grandchildren haven't. No one has done this. The folks we strive and we try to keep the commandments of Jesus Christ.

[9:37] Now, in very broad context, keeping the commandments of Christ covers everything that He's ever commanded. Everything that He's ever commanded.

[9:49] But in more immediate context, in nearer context, to this verse as far as Scripture goes, what has Christ done?

[10:00] Well, in chapter 13, we've already talked about it very briefly this morning, chapter 13, He commanded the disciples to wash one another's feet.

[10:13] He commanded them to do that, for them to do unto each other as He had done unto them. And when He washed the disciples' feet, it was a show of love that He had for the disciples.

[10:30] It was a show of love. It was a show of humility. It was a show of several different things, but He commanded them to do this. And then, just a little while after that, in the previous chapter, He commands them to love one another as He has loved them.

[10:47] It was a commandment that He gave the disciples that they love one another. At the very beginning of John chapter 14, He says, Let your natural hearts be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me.

[11:04] It was a commandment of Jesus Christ to believe also in Him. So He has given them commandments, and I said in the immediate context, because all this stuff happened at this supper that they were having, at what's popularly known as the Last Supper.

[11:21] All these things that I just listed happened during this supper, during this time, during one evening, one night. We read in John chapter 13 where when Judas went out, it was not when he went out.

[11:35] And one night, all these things were commanded to His disciples. Now, again, in broader context, that's not to discount any commandment that Jesus made previous to this.

[11:48] It's just in the immediate context that we are in, He had given commandments to His disciples, and He expected them to abide by those commandments.

[11:59] Christ gives us commandments all throughout the Scripture. Christ gives us commandments, and He expects us as believers in Him, as those that He has bought with His own blood.

[12:14] He expects us to obey those commandments. How well are we doing that? And we don't obey the commandments to earn salvation.

[12:30] I don't want anybody to hear this wrong. We don't obey them to merit anything with God. We obey Him, obey the commandments off Christ because we love Christ.

[12:42] That's why we do it. He plainly says, if you love me, keep my commandments. If you love me, keep my commandments.

[12:53] That's simple words that Jesus Christ says here, but it's so difficult for us. And we make it difficult a lot of times.

[13:04] Why is that? Well, we war with this world. We war with this flesh. We war with demons. We war with desires. We war with temptations.

[13:15] We war with all of these things. And instead of focusing on the Scripture, instead of focusing on the commandments of Christ, instead of focusing on the future promise that we won't always have to war with these things that I just listed.

[13:36] Instead of focusing on that, we focus on the here and the now. Christ has been telling these men for three years, I'm going away.

[13:49] I'm going away. I must be crucified. But He's also been teaching them here and there that, you know, it won't always be this way.

[14:01] He's been teaching them that He has to go away and He gets into that here in just a little while. When we see the promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus gets into here in just a few more verses.

[14:15] But Christ has been telling these people the same stories in different manners and in different words, but it's the same things that Christ has been telling them for three years.

[14:26] But now He tells them, if you love me, keep my commandments. I want you to keep in mind, as simple as this is, the church, the church has blown it way out of proportion.

[14:41] If you love me, keep my commandments. Not if you love me, dress a certain way. Not if you love me, only associate with this denomination or that denomination.

[14:54] If you love me, only read this translation of the Bible or that translation of the Bible. Christ said none of those things. Christ didn't say we had to hold ourselves up like a hermit for the rest of our lives.

[15:09] Nor did He say that we had to go elsewhere and completely avoid the world. In fact, at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, He tells us to go into all the world and reach the Gospel to every living creature.

[15:25] But people have misconstrued the Scripture and misrepresented the Scripture by adding things to what Christ says here.

[15:37] He plainly says, if you love me, keep my commandments. But people think that if they do this or they do that, that that proves their love for Christ.

[15:48] And Christ tells us what proves our love toward Him. It is in keeping His commandments. And once again, we will not do it perfectly. You won't and I won't.

[15:59] And I'll never try and fool anybody into thinking that I do. But we try to do this. We try to abide by the Scriptures. Why? Because we love Christ.

[16:11] Because we love Christ. And He gave Himself for us on to verse 16. Let's read 15 again. Go on into 16. If you love me, keep my commandments.

[16:22] And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter that He may abide with you forever. If you love me, keep my commandments.

[16:34] Then verse 16. And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter. This is significant. This word, another, is significant.

[16:49] What comforter do they have right now? He's talking to His disciples. He is their comforter. Christ Himself who has dwelt them, who handpicked them three years ago as part of the Scripture.

[17:05] And they've been wandering around with Him, hearing Him preach, hearing Him teach, and going out and preaching and teaching themselves. But He has been their comforter. He says, he says in verse 16, And I will pray the Father.

[17:19] In other words, I will ask the Father on your behalf. I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter. There is no doubt in the mind of Jesus Christ that when He asks the Father to send another comforter that the Father is going to do, He says, I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter.

[17:44] I will ask the Father about it and He'll consider it and He may do it. No, that's not what Christ says. He says, and I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter.

[17:56] Why would they need another comforter when they had Jesus, folks? We've been talking about that this morning. We talked about it last Sunday, the Sunday before. Christ is leaving them.

[18:07] His physical presence is going away from them. And He is doing His best to comfort His disciples by informing them of what the future holds.

[18:21] He says, I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter. I've used probably dozens of times, maybe hundreds of times since I've been saved, the example of the giving of the Holy Spirit and why it's so necessary and why Christ phrased things like this the way that He did.

[18:45] It's because when Christ was here, even though He was truly God the entire time that He was here, He could only be on one side of the Sea of Galilee or the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

[18:57] He could not be on both sides at the same time in His current physical state that He was in. But when the comforter comes, when the Spirit of God was poured out in Acts chapter 2, when the church was truly born then and the Spirit comes, and when you got saved, He dwells in you.

[19:23] And when I got saved, He dwells in me and He dwells in people in India and He dwells in people in Russia and He dwells in people in China and everywhere else all over the world.

[19:36] Christ could not dwell in all those places in His physical state while He was here. So this should have brought an extraordinary amount of comfort to these disciples.

[19:51] Did Christ know what was going on over on the one side of the Sea of Galilee while He was on the other side? Of course He did. Yes, He did. That was exemplified in the Scriptures more than once.

[20:03] Christ knew what was going on all around Him. But that did not negate the fact that He could only be in one spot at a time.

[20:17] And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter. And He tells us why. That He may abide with you for ever. Again, Christ has been telling them, I've got to leave.

[20:32] But my Father is going to send another comforter and this comforter will abide with you for ever. For ever.

[20:43] Now, if you're the disciples and Christ is speaking these words to you, just humor me for a second and think about this.

[20:55] What would you think? I would think, me personally, I would think, what kind of comforter is this?

[21:06] When we have the very Messiah, when we have the very Son of God here with us, what presence could possibly be better than that?

[21:20] What presence could possibly be more comforting than that? And here He's saying that He's going to ask the Father and the Father is going to send us another comforter and this comforter is going to abide with us forever.

[21:34] Maybe, just maybe. And I would have probably thought this. I don't want that comforter. I want to abide with Christ forever. Christ addresses that.

[21:47] Christ addresses that here in just a moment. That He may abide with you forever again. He was leaving. They knew He was leaving. This is what caused all the doubt. This is what caused all the confusion.

[21:58] This is what caused all the sadness. And He's promising them a comforter that will abide with them forever. Verse 17, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you.

[22:16] So He promises this comforter. Greek word for comforter here is paracletos, which means comforter.

[22:27] It means aid. It means one that comes alongside. It has several different meanings, but all of them, that's not all of them, the list that I just gave you.

[22:40] But here He says, even the Spirit of truth, what is the Spirit of truth? This would be the Spirit of Christ.

[22:51] Paul writes about the Spirit of Christ in Romans chapter 8. He says, without the Spirit of Christ, you're none of His. The Spirit of Christ is the Holy Spirit. You cannot separate God from Father, God from Son, God from the Holy Spirit.

[23:05] You cannot. There are three separate persons, yes, but they make up the one true Godhead. He says, even the Spirit of truth, Christ told them, just a few verses before, where we're at right now, and John 14 and 6, Christ had told them, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life.

[23:29] And here He says, the Spirit of truth. In other words, His Spirit, the Spirit that He would be sending, is the Spirit that God the Father would be sending here in the future, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, why can the world not receive the Spirit of truth?

[23:50] Because the world will not receive the truth, period. If you don't receive the truth, you cannot receive the Spirit of truth. What is the truth?

[24:01] The truth. Again, John 14 and 6, is Jesus Christ. The truth is found in the gospels. The truth is man is a sinner, and God sent His Son to redeem fallen man.

[24:14] And His Son is the truth. Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, it sees Him not, it doesn't, the world sees Him not, the world doesn't know who the Spirit of truth is.

[24:33] He says they cannot receive it. He doesn't say, may not. He says they cannot receive the Spirit of truth, because it, the world, seeeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you.

[24:57] Now this is the difference between what we're talking about right now and what is everything that is led up to this, not only in the Gospel of John, but through all the Gospel of counts and all throughout the Old Testament.

[25:10] The Old Testament prophets, the Old Testament kings, the few godly kings that there were, the Old Testament patriarchs, Christ here says, for He dwelleth with you, but He says, and shall be in you.

[25:29] The Holy Spirit was not an indwelling entity at this time that we're reading about right now. That did not happen until the true birth of the church in Acts chapter 2.

[25:46] It says, He dwelleth with you. He comes alongside you. He might guide you. He might help you. He might comfort you. He might aid you.

[25:57] He might do all kinds of wonderful things, but the Holy Spirit did not indwell anyone at this time that we're reading about right now.

[26:08] Christ says, He dwelleth with you and shall be in you. What a promise. This God that's been walking with us for three years, not just Jesus, but He says that the Spirit, the Spirit of truth, even the Spirit of truth the Scripture says, has been dwelling with them.

[26:35] They mixed the promise here that not only shall He be with them, but He shall be in them. Verse 18, I will not leave you comfortless.

[26:47] I will come to you. I will not leave you comfortless. This is something else significant here.

[26:58] This word, comfortless, here in Greek is orphanos. It's only found one other time in the New Testament. That's in James chapter one, where James says that faith undefiled is this, to take care of the orphans and the widows.

[27:20] The word for orphans there is orphanos, the same word that is used here for comfortless. Christ is saying, I will not leave you as orphans.

[27:32] He's not going to leave them, period. He is leaving physically, but He says again in verse 18, I will not leave you comfortless. I won't leave you as orphans.

[27:43] What kind of state is an orphan in? An orphan, I mean, the first day it pops in our heads, they don't have any parents. That extends way beyond that.

[27:54] They've lost their provider, they've lost their protector, they've lost any number of things. He says, I will not leave you comfortless.

[28:06] But then He says, I will come to you. Right after He has said that He will pray to the Father and the Father will send another comforter. And He says, even the Spirit of truth, He says, I will come to you.

[28:20] Christ comes to us in form of the Holy Spirit of God. Now, is there a broader context that we can talk about here?

[28:31] Absolutely there's a broader context. The immediate context though, is He talking about the Spirit of God and how He will come to the disciples. That's the immediate context, but folks, the broader context, my goodness, He says, I will come to you.

[28:48] I'm going away, I will be killed and they will bury me, but I will be resurrected. And I will come to you. And Christ came to the disciples several different times after the resurrection, affirming to them that He was indeed alive and He promises them that I will come again in the future to receive you.

[29:11] He says that here at the very beginning of John chapter 14, He says, I go to prepare a place for you and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again to receive you unto myself.

[29:26] So yes, the immediate context is talking about the Spirit, but the broader context, Christ is coming. He will not leave us as orphans. He will not leave us comfortless and He has not left any child of His comfortless.

[29:42] We have His Spirit to guide us and to comfort us. We have His Word to guide us and to comfort us. He has not left us comfortless, just as He didn't leave the disciples here comfortless.

[29:58] There was a promise of His and He has made good upon that promise, I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. This should have settled the nerves of the disciples more than anything else, that He would not leave them comfortless and that He would come to them.

[30:17] I'm actually going to stop right there this morning in verse 18. Anybody got any questions or any comments on any of that? Alright, God bless you all, I appreciate your attention.