Daily Bread 2011 - John 14
Daily Bread 2011 – John 14
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and 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 keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”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, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
What Does This Mean?
As Jesus prepares the disciples for his imminent departure, He challenges them to keep His commands as a sign of their love for him. He also makes the connection with love and obedience when he says, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” And, “If you love me you will keep my commands.”
Importantly do to this Jesus promises an advocate, or helper, the Spirit. Jesus promises that the Spirit will guide them into truth and remind them of what He taught them. Of course He has not been resurrected yet, and He predicts that as He is, they will realize He is who He truly is.
So we see an intimate connection between our relationship with Christ, and our obedience to His commands. This is not to say Christ’s love for us is based on our obedience, but our love for Him is made more perfect as we obey His commands. Finally, we have a great promise in verse 23. It says, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with them.” Literally the words mean “tabernacle with them”, and is the same sense in which God dwelt in the presence of the Israelites in the tabernacle they build for him. But now God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will make His home/tabernacle in human hearts.
What Does This Mean For Us?
What this means is the obedience/discipleship is the key to our connection with God/Jesus/Holy Spirit. And this is not in a legalistic sense of trying to earn God’s love, but living out the commands Jesus has given us because of our love for Him. When our obedience is driven out a response of love it is not legalistic. This produces our intimate connection with God dwelling in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the process of discipleship, and as I mentioned yesterday, it needs more than just an hour on Sunday morning to be nurtured.
This is why many churches are looking at new ways to intentionally disciple others and create models that really create disciples. This is not a new program, but the way of Jesus commended to us to really pass on what He started with His 11 disciples. He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us be faithful.
Heavenly Father, remind of Jesus’ commands through Your Spirit so that we might experience Your presence in our lives. By this same Spirit lead us to obey Your commands which lead to abundant life. Amen.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and 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 keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”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, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
What Does This Mean?
As Jesus prepares the disciples for his imminent departure, He challenges them to keep His commands as a sign of their love for him. He also makes the connection with love and obedience when he says, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” And, “If you love me you will keep my commands.”
Importantly do to this Jesus promises an advocate, or helper, the Spirit. Jesus promises that the Spirit will guide them into truth and remind them of what He taught them. Of course He has not been resurrected yet, and He predicts that as He is, they will realize He is who He truly is.
So we see an intimate connection between our relationship with Christ, and our obedience to His commands. This is not to say Christ’s love for us is based on our obedience, but our love for Him is made more perfect as we obey His commands. Finally, we have a great promise in verse 23. It says, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with them.” Literally the words mean “tabernacle with them”, and is the same sense in which God dwelt in the presence of the Israelites in the tabernacle they build for him. But now God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will make His home/tabernacle in human hearts.
What Does This Mean For Us?
What this means is the obedience/discipleship is the key to our connection with God/Jesus/Holy Spirit. And this is not in a legalistic sense of trying to earn God’s love, but living out the commands Jesus has given us because of our love for Him. When our obedience is driven out a response of love it is not legalistic. This produces our intimate connection with God dwelling in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the process of discipleship, and as I mentioned yesterday, it needs more than just an hour on Sunday morning to be nurtured.
This is why many churches are looking at new ways to intentionally disciple others and create models that really create disciples. This is not a new program, but the way of Jesus commended to us to really pass on what He started with His 11 disciples. He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us be faithful.
Heavenly Father, remind of Jesus’ commands through Your Spirit so that we might experience Your presence in our lives. By this same Spirit lead us to obey Your commands which lead to abundant life. Amen.
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