Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, 31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.
My Understanding: Many in this life are troubled in heart over poor health, deaths in the family, loss of job, financial difficulties, family issues, straying children, job complications, etc. Jesus said for us to not let our hearts be troubled (worried), but to put our trust in God the Father and in him (God the Son). Then, basically, he reminded us that this world is not our home, but for those found to be in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, he is preparing a home for us. One day he will come back for us – Praise Jesus! – And, we will go to be with him, and forever we will be with him wherever he is! Hallelujah!
Then, Jesus told his disciples that they knew the way to the place where he was going, because he was the way, the only way to the Father and to eternity in heaven with God. Not only is Jesus the only way to heaven and to the Father, but he is the only truth and the only light (truth) there is, and apart from him, there is no other. Jesus went on to say that if we know him, we know the Father, because the Father is in him and he is in the Father. The Father is living in Jesus doing his work. Jesus does not act or speak on his own accord, rather he acts and speaks what he has received from the Father. As well, the Holy Spirit is within those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and he does the work of the Father and the Son within us and out through us, if we are willing.
The disciples, at the time that Jesus was on the earth, had the Holy Spirit with them in the person of Jesus Christ, yet the Holy Spirit was not dwelling within them yet. Once Jesus died on the cross for our sins and then was resurrected and ascended to heaven, he sent his Holy Spirit to indwell and to empower his followers. So, when we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we receive the Holy Spirit of God within us in all his fullness – the living water springing up within us to eternal life! I believe scripture teaches that when the Holy Spirit comes within us in saving grace and in transforming our hearts in salvation, that this is what was referred to by John when he said Jesus would baptize us with the Holy Spirit.
If you study the subject of baptism, you come to understand that when we believe in Jesus we are baptized spiritually (of the Holy Spirit) into Christ’s death and into death to our sins and we are resurrected to new life in Jesus Christ. The scripture in Ephesians 5, which commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit must be understood in light of the previous verses on dying to our old way of life, putting off the flesh, and putting on Christ, as well as we must understand that the word “filled” is really “be ye being filled,” i.e. it is a continual process in our lives of putting off the deeds of the flesh and putting on Christ and His Holy Spirit. So, being filled with the Spirit of God is not an emotional one-time experience where we “feel” something, but it has to do with us putting off the flesh and putting on Christ, which thus allows the Holy Spirit room to do his work in our hearts and lives.
Then, Jesus said something of great importance that is critical that we understand. So many preachers today are preaching a false gospel that says that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation, and yet Jesus’ own words refute this false gospel over and over again. At least three times in this passage of scripture, Jesus said that “IF” we love him, we will obey his commands. And, then he will give us the Holy Spirit within us. Of course, this must be understood in the context of where they were in history, as the Holy Spirit had not yet come, yet I believe it can be applied to us today in the context of what it means to be a true believer in Jesus Christ. We must obey our Lord by turning from our sins and by turning to walk in faith and obedience to him and to his commands. If that was not our experience when we came to faith in Jesus Christ, then maybe we should check to make sure we are really in Christ Jesus and that his Spirit truly dwells within us.
Jesus reversed this saying when he said whoever has his commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves him, and we cannot know Jesus apart from loving him, because he goes on to say that those who love him will be loved by his Father, implying that is not the case if we do not love the Son. And, if the Father loves us, the Son will also love us, and he will show himself to us. If you are having difficulty hearing God’s voice and understanding his word (not that any of us will understand all of it), then maybe you should check with the Lord to see if you truly love him, which means you are obeying his commands. So many people want God to do for them, and they will pray for God’s blessings in their lives and for God to reveal himself to them in any given situation, and yet they fail to love Jesus by obeying his commands. We need to make sure we have things in the right order.
Again, Jesus said, “IF anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” Some of us may think we are obeying his teaching, but then maybe we don’t read the Bible and so we don’t really know all of which he taught. He taught some pretty tough stuff, which is why many of his so-called followers deserted him, because they could not accept the hard teaching. Jesus then said that if we love him and we show we love him by obeying his teaching, he and the Father will make their home with us. Interesting! And, yet people are still teaching that obedience is not necessary for salvation. How much clearer can Jesus be? If we want his blessings in our lives, if we want his Holy Spirit within us, and if we want the Father and the Son to make their home in our lives, we must obey what Jesus taught – all of it! This does not mean we will live in sinless perfection, but what it does mean is that this is what we strive to do in the power and working of the Holy Spirit within us.
When we believe in Jesus via repentance (turning from sin) and obedience to his commands, to walk in his truth, the Holy Spirit of God enters our hearts and he becomes God’s presence and voice within us to teach us, to counsel us, and to remind us of all things Jesus said when he was on the earth. We should be hearing his voice speaking within us showing us the way to go and guiding us into all truth, unless we are not truly his disciples, or unless we have been quenching his Spirit within us due to disobedience to his commands. Yet, the only way to true peace, which Jesus has left us, is to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ and to do what he says to do. Then, we should have no reason to fear.
How Sweet the Sound / An Original Work / April 24, 2011
How sweet the sound of Your saints in chorus;
Oh, how we adore You, our King.
We love You so, we want You to know.
That’s why we lift our voice to sing.
Praise and adoration we bring
Just to honor God and our King.
We love You, Lord, for Your great salvation;
Freely given grace from above.
Jesus, our friend, His promise won’t end.
He gave His life out of His love.
By His blood He purchased our fee,
When He died on Calvary’s tree.
He set us free so that we can worship
Him as a living sacrifice.
We come to Him with all of our sin.
Before our God we humbly bow.
We have been forgiven our sin,
So that we might be cleansed within.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
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