Jhn 14:15-17 - Christ with us, the Spirit f Truth - Authr: Evert Jan Hempenius 2018 www.christianstudylibrary.rg Fr any questins abut this Scripture passage r the ntes, please cntact us thrugh the Cntact Us tab n the website. Intrductin It is amazing! Jesus prmised the Spirit t his disciples t be with them frever, and with the church. Gd cmmunicates himself t us, he will remain with his believers and will even be in them. T make them children f Gd and t create a new cmmunity, the cmmunity f Gd. T give faith and life. And because Gd has a case in the trial f truth with this wrld, the Spirit is called the Spirit f Truth. This is f particular imprtance due t all claims f truth in this wrld, and the denial f truth. The cntext, frm and structure, thelgical, technical and hermeneutical ntes given in this sermn utline verlap with ther sermn utlines taken frm the Gspel f Jhn. This makes it pssible t use this sermn utline as a stand-alne. Yu can als fit this utline int a series f sermns. Cntext An verview f Jhn 13-20: Jhn 13:1-30 Jhn 13:31-14:31 The Last Supper Final discurse part I
Jhn 15:1-16:33 Jhn 17:1-26 Jhn 18:1-19:42 Jhn 20:1-29 Final discurse part II The Last Prayer f Jesus The arrest, trial, crucifixin, and death f Jesus The resurrectin f Jesus and the first appearances Jhn 14:15-17 is part f Jhn 13:31-14:31, the Final Discurse part I. Part II is especially necessary fr the understanding f the wrk f the Spirit. Part I is a dialgue. See belw. Part II is a mnlgue. A detailed utline f Jhn 13:31-14:31: When he (Judas Iscarit) was gne, Jesus said, Nw is the Sn f Man glrified and Gd is glrified in him. If Gd is glrified in him, Gd will glrify the Sn in himself, and will glrify him at nce. My children, I will be with yu nly a little lnger. Yu will lk fr me, and just as I tld the Jews, s I tell yu nw: Where I am ging, yu cannt cme. A new cmmand I give yu: Lve ne anther. As I have lved yu, s yu must lve ne anther. By this all men will knw that yu are my disciples, if yu lve ne anther. Main tpic: I am ging Simn Peter asked him, Jesus replied, Peter asked, Then Jesus answered, Lrd, where are yu ging? Where I am ging, yu cannt fllw nw, but yu will fllw later. Lrd, why can t I fllw yu nw? I will lay dwn my life fr yu. Will yu really lay dwn yur life fr me? I tell yu the truth, befre the rster crws, yu will diswn me three times! D nt let yur hearts be trubled. Trust in Gd; trust als in me. In my Father s huse are many rms; if it were nt s, I wuld have tld yu. I am ging there t prepare a place fr yu. And if I g and prepare a place fr yu, I will cme back and take yu t be with me that yu als may be where I am. Yu knw the way t the place where I am ging. Thmas said t him, Lrd, we dn t knw where yu are ging, s hw can we knw the way?
Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. N ne cmes t the Father except thrugh me. If yu really knew me, yu wuld knw my Father as well. Frm nw n, yu d knw him and have seen him. Main theme: Shw us the Father / Shw us yurself cmmunin with Gd Philip said, Jesus answered: Lrd, shw us the Father and that will be enugh fr us. Dn t yu knw me, Philip, even after I have been amng yu such a lng time? Anyne wh has seen me has seen the Father. Hw can yu say, Shw us the Father? Dn t yu believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The wrds I say t yu are nt just my wn. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, wh is ding his wrk. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; r at least believe n the evidence f the miracles themselves. I tell yu the truth, anyne wh has faith in me will d what I have been ding. He will d even greater things than these, because I am ging t the Father. And I will d whatever yu ask in my name, s that the Sn may bring glry t the Father. Yu may ask me fr anything in my name, and I will d it. If yu lve me, yu will bey what I cmmand. And I will ask the Father, and he will give yu anther Cunselr t be with yu frever the Spirit f truth. The wrld cannt accept him, because it neither sees him nr knws him. But yu knw him, fr he lives with yu and will be in yu. I will nt leave yu as rphans; I will cme t yu. Befre lng, the wrld will nt see me anymre, but yu will see me. Because I live, yu als will live. On that day yu will realize that I am in my Father, and yu are in me, and I am in yu. Whever has my cmmands and beys them, he is the ne wh lves me. He wh lves me will be lved by my Father, and I t will lve him and shw myself t him. Then Judas (nt Judas Iscarit) said, Jesus replied, But, Lrd, why d yu intend t shw yurself t us and nt t the wrld? If anyne lves me, he will bey my teaching. My Father will lve him, and we will cme t him and make ur hme with him. He wh des nt lve me will nt bey my teaching. These wrds yu hear are nt my wn; they belng t the Father wh sent me. All this I have spken while still with yu. But the Cunselr, the Hly Spirit, whm the Father will send in my name, will teach yu all things and will remind yu f everything I have said t yu. Peace I leave with yu; my peace I give yu. I d nt give t yu as the wrld
gives. D nt let yur hearts be trubled and d nt be afraid. Yu heard me say, I am ging away and I am cming back t yu. If yu lved me, yu wuld be glad that I am ging t the Father, fr the Father is greater than I. I have tld yu nw befre it happens, s that when it des happen yu will believe. I will nt speak with yu much lnger, fr the prince f this wrld is cming. He has n hld n me, but the wrld must learn that I lve the Father and that I d exactly what my Father has cmmanded me. Cme nw; let us leave. Frm and structure Jhn 14:15-17 The future perspective f the disciples: (vs 15) The prmise f Christ: (vs 16) If yu lve me, yu will bey what I cmmand. And I will ask the Father, and he will give yu anther Cunselr t be with yu frever the Spirit f truth. The difference between the wrld and the disciples: (vs 17) The wrld cannt accept him, because it neither sees him nr knws him. But yu knw him, fr he lives with yu and will be in yu. Technical ntes and thelgical backgrund The fllwing wrds in this passage need attentin: Lve = ἀγαπάω : 1. t have a warm regard fr and interest in anther, cherish, have affectin fr, lve. 1 The verb t lve is used 37 times in this gspel and the substantive lve 7 times. These wrds are als very prminent in the Letters f Jhn: the substantive lve is used 21 times and the verb t lve 31 times. Obey = τηρέω : 3. t persist in bedience, keep, bserve, fulfill, pay attentin t, especially f law and teaching 2 1 Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000, p.5). 2 Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000, p. 1002).
Cmmand = ἐντολή : 2. a mandate r rdinance, cmmand. 3 The cmmands f Gd t Jesus and the cmmands f Jesus t his disciples d nt (primarily) refer t the cmmandments f the Old Testament, but t the sending f Jesus the Sn int this wrld: 4 Fr I did nt speak f my wn accrd, but the Father wh sent me cmmanded me what t say and hw t say it. I knw that his cmmand leads t eternal life. S whatever I say is just what the Father has tld me t say (Jn 12:49 50). Truth = ἀλήθεια : 1. the quality f being in accrd with what is true, truthfulness, dependability, uprightness in thught and deed; 2. the cntent f what is true, truth. 5 Truth is an imprtant theme in the Gspel Jhn: Fr the law was given thrugh Mses; grace and truth came thrugh Jesus Christ. (Jn 1:17) This is nt meant t cntrast Mses and Jesus, but t supplement Mses (Ex 34.6). Cntrary t the Greek backgrund, the truth is persnally embdied in Christ Jesus, nt merely intellectual. Truth is acquired thrugh the revelatin f Gd, nt thrugh mental exercise, nr by philsphizing, nr by persnal experiences: Jesus said: I am the way and the truth and the life. N ne cmes t the Father except thrugh me. (Jn 14:6) In this famus saying, the wrds way, truth and life are almst synnymus. The wrd way refers t the Thra, the law given by Mses. Jesus is the embdied Thra. Cunselr = παράκλητος : ne wh appears in anther s behalf, mediatr, intercessr, helper. 6 The principal difficulty encuntered in rendering παράκλητος is the fact that this term cvers ptentially such a wide area f meaning. The traditinal rendering f Cmfrter is especially misleading because it suggests nly ne very limited aspect f what the Hly Spirit des. A rendering based upn the cncept f legal advcate seems in mst instances t be t restrictive. 7 But within the cntext f Jhn 14-16 this rendering seems t be mre apprpriate: 3 Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000, p. 340). 4 Michaels, J. Cmmandment. In: Green, J. (1992, p. 135). 5 Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000, p. 42) 6 Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000, p. 766). 7 Luw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996, Vl. 1, p. 141).
Jhn 16:7-11: But I tell yu the truth: It is fr yur gd that I am ging away. Unless I g away, the Cunselr will nt cme t yu; but if I g, I will send him t yu. When he cmes, he will cnvict the wrld f guilt in regard t sin and righteusness and judgment: in regard t sin, because men d nt believe in me; in regard t righteusness, because I am ging t the Father, where yu can see me n lnger; and in regard t judgment, because the prince f this wrld nw stands cndemned. Expsitin Main Theme The cmmunin with Gd and Christ is the main theme f Jhn 14:8-21. This is the reply f Jesus t Philip and the ther disciples. Dn t yu believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? (Jn 14:11) = The cmmunin f the Father and the Sn. But yu knw him, fr he lives with yu and will be in yu. (Jn 14:17) = The cmmunin with the Spirit and the disciples. On that day yu will realize that I am in my Father, and yu are in me, and I am in yu. (Jn 14:20) = The cmmunin with the Father, Jesus, and the disciples. The new cmmunity f Christians is rted in the lve and cmmunin f the Father and the Sn. This cmmunin is created by and a gift frm the Hly Spirit (Jn 14:15-17). This cmmunin is rted in the lve f the Father and the Sn. A new cmmand I give yu: Lve ne anther. As I have lved yu, s yu must lve ne anther (Jn 13:34). If yu lve me, yu will bey what I cmmand (Jn 14:15). Whever has my cmmands and beys them, he is the ne wh lves me. He wh lves me will be lved by my Father, and I t will lve him and shw myself t him (Jn 14:21). Jesus replied, If anyne lves me, he will bey my teaching. My Father will lve him, and we will cme t him and make ur hme with him (Jn 14:23). The wrld must learn that I lve the Father and that I d exactly what my Father has cmmanded me (14:30). As the Father has lved me, s have I lved yu. Nw remain in my lve. If yu bey my cmmands, yu will remain in my lve, just as I have beyed my Father s cmmands and remain in his lve (Jn 15:9, 10). Thse wh bey his cmmands live in him, and he in them. And this is hw we knw that he lives in us: We knw it by the Spirit he gave us (1 Jn 3:24).
Eternal life = t life in COMMUNION WITH GOD (Jn 17:3). This cmmunin is established thrugh the missin f Jesus Christ by the Father int this wrld: Fr Gd s lved the wrld that he gave his ne and nly Sn, that whever believes in him shall nt perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16). They may be ne as we are ne: I in them and yu in me. May they be brught t cmplete unity t let the wrld knw that yu sent me and have lved them even as yu have lved me (Jn 17:22 23). His missin int this wrld is summarized by "my Father's cmmands". The cnnectin with the lve f Gd culminates in Jhn 15:14: "Greater lve has n ne than this, that he lay dwn his life fr his friends. Keeping the cmmands f Christ means: partaking in the missin f Christ int the wrld (Jn 17:18): As yu sent me int the wrld, I have sent them int the wrld. That means: t prclaim the Gspel and t witness f Christ. Verse 15 If yu lve me. Jesus is pinting t the nearby future, after his crucifixin and resurrectin, when he has gne t the Father. The lve f the disciples is their respnse t the lve f Jesus: A new cmmand I give yu: Lve ne anther. As I have lved yu, s yu must lve ne anther (Jn 13:34; Jn 15:9, 12). Greater lve has n ne than this, that he (Jesus) lay dwn his life fr his friends (Jn 15:13).
Jesus spke these wrds befre his crucifixin and death n the crss. After his resurrectin, the disciples will fully understand hw great the lve f their Master has been. yu will bey what I cmmand. If anyne lves me, he will bey my teaching (Jn 14:23; Jn 15:10, 17). Cmmand and teaching are synnymus. (See als Mt 28:19, 20). Be aware f these wrds f Jesus: Fr I did nt speak f my wn accrd, but the Father wh sent me cmmanded me what t say and hw t say it. I knw that his cmmand leads t eternal life. S whatever I say is just what the Father has tld me t say (Jn 12:49, 50). The cmmands f Jesus lead alt t eternal life = cmmunin with Gd. Lve implies bedience. Verse 16 And I will ask the Father. And is emphatic. The disciples will lve Jesus AND Jesus will ask the Father. These wrds are limited t the perid in between the ascensin and the Pentecst: Unless I g away, the Cunselr will nt cme t yu; but if I g, I will send him t yu (16:6). The Father is the ne wh sent the Sn (Jn 3:16). He will send the Spirit. And he will give yu anther Cunselr. Anther is imprtant. As Jesus was the first Cunselr, the Spirit will be the ther like Jesus. The Spirit is the representative f Jesus. In 1 Jhn 2:1 Jesus himself is called Cunselr. Lincln remarks: The ne whm the Father will give t the disciples is anther Paraclete. This underscres the narrative s presentatin f Jesus. His missin als can be seen t invlve advcacy. Bth his earlier witness in the public ministry and his later witness befre Pilate are that f a Paraclete, advcating and prsecuting bth Gd s and his wn case in the trial f truth with the wrld. 8 t be with yu frever While Jesus will nt stay frever amidst the disciples, the Spirit will. the Spirit f truth. = the Spirit wh testifies f the truth, wh testifies f Jesus Christ, wh is the truth (Jn 14:6). The disciple wh received the Spirit will speak the wrds f Gd (Jn 3:34). The Cunselr, the Hly Spirit, whm the Father will send in my name, will teach yu all things and will remind yu f everything I have said t yu (Jn 14:26). The disciple will wrship Gd. Gd is spirit, and his wrshipers must wrship in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:24). 8 Lincln, A. T. (2005, p. 394).
When the Cunselr cmes, whm I will send t yu frm the Father, the Spirit f truth wh ges ut frm the Father, he will testify abut me (Jn 15:26). When he, the Spirit f truth, cmes, he will guide yu int all truth. He will nt speak n his wn; he will speak nly what he hears, and he will tell yu what is yet t cme. He will bring glry t me by taking frm what is mine and making it knwn t yu (Jn 16:13, 14). The wrk f Jesus amng his disciples was limited. In time, nly three years. The wrk f the Spirit will be unlimited. In space, nly where Jesus was present. The wrk f the Spirit will be wrldwide. Verse 17 The wrld cannt accept him, because it neither sees him nr knws him. The wrld needs t be saved: Lk, the Lamb f Gd (Jesus), wh takes away the sin f the wrld! (Jn 1:29). Fr Gd s lved the wrld that he gave his ne and nly Sn, that whever believes in him shall nt perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16; 11:27). We (the Samaritans) knw that this man really is the Savir f the wrld (Jn 4:42). This bread is my flesh, which I will give fr the life f the wrld (Jn 6:51). I am the light f the wrld (Jn 8:12; 9:5). The wrld cannt accept him, because they didn t accept and knw Christ. He (Christ) was in the wrld, and thugh the wrld was made thrugh him, the wrld did nt recgnize him (Jn 1:10, 11). And, because the wrld lives in (spiritual) darkness
I have cme int the wrld as a light, s that n ne wh believes in me shuld stay in darkness (12:46). This will lead t hatred and cnflict. If the wrld hates yu, keep in mind that it hated me first. If yu belnged t the wrld, it wuld lve yu as its wn. As it is, yu d nt belng t the wrld, but I have chsen yu ut f the wrld. That is why the wrld hates yu (Jn 5:18, 19; 17:24). But yu knw him, fr he lives with yu and will be in yu. They knw the Spirit because they knw Christ. But the Cunselr, the Hly Spirit, whm the Father will send in my name, will teach yu all things and will remind yu f everything I have said t yu (Jn 14:26; see als Mt 10:17-20). When the Cunselr cmes, whm I will send t yu frm the Father, the Spirit f truth wh ges ut frm the Father, he will testify abut me (Jn 15:26). This will invlve a new birth fr all believers in Christ: Yet t all wh received him (Christ), t thse wh believed in his name, he gave the right t becme children f Gd children brn nt f natural descent, nr f human decisin r a husband s will, but brn f Gd. See als Jhn 3:1-8. The Spirit will bring the disciples and all believers t cmplete unity: My prayer is nt fr them alne. I pray als fr thse wh will believe in me thrugh their message, that all f them may be ne, Father, just as yu are in me and I am in yu. May they als be in us s that the wrld may believe that yu have sent me. I have given them the glry that yu gave me, that they may be ne as we are ne: I in them and yu in me. May they be brught t cmplete unity t let the wrld knw that yu sent me and have lved them even as yu have lved me (Jn 17:20-23). Applicatin General Praise Gd because he has sent the Cunselr, the Spirit f truth. Praise Gd because he cmmunicates himself t us, sinners. Be amazed that the Spirit f truth dwells in and amng the children f Gd, the disciples f Christ. Be imitatrs f Gd, therefre, as dearly lved children and live a life f lve, just as Christ lved us and gave himself up fr us as a fragrant ffering and sacrifice t Gd (Eph 5:1, 2). Verse 15-17 Lve will change hearts, minds, attitudes, a lifestyle. When we lve Christ, ur hearts, minds, thughts, lifestyle will be changed int his image.
Tertullian reprted in the late secnd century the cmment f the pagans in his day: Behld, hw these Christians lve each ther! Hw ready they are t die fr each ther! Their mutual lve was the magnet which drew the pagan multitudes t Christ. It has the ptential t d s still. 9 The Spirit f truth is given t glrify the Father and the Sn. But the fruit f the Spirit is lve, jy, peace, patience, kindness, gdness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-cntrl. Against such things there is n law. Thse wh belng t Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passins and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Gal 5:22-25). Hw can we recgnize the wrk f the Spirit f Gd? There is faith in Christ. There is the witness t Christ. There is bedience t the cmmands f Christ. These cmmands are gverned by grace and mercy, lve and righteusness. There is lve fr Christ and the neighbr, the fellw-christian and peple in general. There are the wrds f Christ. There are wisdm and understanding. Be reminded f: The Spirit has been given and his case f Gd in the trial f truth with the wrld. Qutes Cming t faith is analgus t falling in lve. One cannt fall in lve in the abstract. Lve cmes thrugh an encunter with anther persn. The same is true f faith. If faith is a relatinship with the living Christ and the living Gd wh sent him, then faith can nly cme thrugh an encunter with them. And the Spirit is the ne wh makes this presence knwn. 10 Bibligraphy Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicn f the New Testament and ther early Christian literature (3rd ed.). Chicag: University f Chicag Press. Beasley-Murray, G. (1987). Jhn. WBC 36. Wac: Wrd Bks. Freedman, D. (Ed.). (1992). The Anchr Bible Dictinary (Vl. 1-6). New Yrk: Dubleday. 9 Milne, B. (1993, p. 207). 10 Cmmentary n Jhn 14:15-21 by Craig R. Kester. (n.d.). Retrieved frm https://www.wrkingpreacher.rg/preaching.aspx?cmmentary_id=934
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