John 14:8-11
Down to Business (2)
John started recording the events of the upper room in John 13:1.
After Jesus took care of a few issues, He started teaching.
I. \\#John 13:31-32\\ It was time for God to expose Himself and
the Father as the great God.
II. \\#John 13:33-35\\ It was time for Jesus to leave and the
disciples to love.
III. \\#John 14:8-31\\ It was time the disciples knew the Godhead.
A. I mentioned earlier \\#John 13:31-32\\ that Jesus was speaking
of the Godhead and that He would speak more of them.
1. The Godhead is a difficult truth to comprehend—I don’t.
2. Most of the time, I emphasize the oneness of the Godhead
because God is one.
3. However, we must also acknowledge the uniqueness of each
Member of the Godhead. (Jesus is not the Father or the
Spirit….)
B. \\#John 14:8-16\\ While the disciples had seen Jesus for 3+
years, they now wanted to see God the Father—and at that
moment they had no real concept of God the Holy Spirit.
1. \\#John 14:9-11\\ Jesus also emphasized the Oneness of the
Trinity.
a. \\#John 14:10\\ The Father is in Me and I am in Him.
b. The words Jesus spoke were the Father’s.
c. The works Jesus did were the Father’s.
d. \\#John 14:11\\ BELIEVE IT.
2. \\#John 14:12-16\\ But He emphasized the uniqueness of the
Father too.
a. \\#John 14:12\\ "I am going TO the Father." That
implies a separation exists between Them.
b. \\#John 14:13\\ Jesus will do what we ask so that the
Father can be glorified. Jesus did not say so that
HE could be glorified or even that the GODHEAD
might be glorified but that the FATHER might be
glorified.
c. \\#John 14:16\\ Jesus will pray to the Father. That
is Jesus will ask the Father to do some thing. Jesus
did not say HE would do the work but that He would
ask the FATHER to do the work.
d. \\#John 14:28\\ "I go unto the Father: for the Father
is greater than I."
(1) Does that cause me concern? Not really.
(2) Jesus in that present state was as weak as mortal
man. He had to give up His attributes to die.
(3) That does not mean that Jesus WAS weaker than God
nor that He WOULD BE weaker. It just means that
He was at that time.
3. The Trinity is One unlike anything we have ever seen in
the physical world.
a. If you are going to insist on understanding the
Trinity, I don’t think you will ever get the doctrine
correct.
b. I have reconciled myself to simply believing it.
4. These last statements by Jesus make it sound like the
Father is in charge and that the Son is in subjection to
the Father.
a. I believe that is accurate.
b. However, I do not believe that the Son is less than
the Father or that the Father is more than the Son
because of this.
c. These are the roles the Father and the Son fulfill.
d. Beginning in \\#John 14:16\\, Jesus will mention the
Holy Spirit.
(1) The Holy Spirit is one with the Father and the
Son.
(2) It also appears that the Holy Spirit is in
subjection to the Father.
(3) However, the Holy Spirit is not less than or more
than the Father and the Son.
(4) They are All one yet All unique.
5. While I can not comprehend the Trinity, the oneness of the
Trinity should not be a complete blank to us for we are
made one with the Trinity \\#John 17:21-23\\.
John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am
in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
6. From this brief passage, we learn that while we are
waiting for our ride to heaven…
a. The Father and the Son will be working through us
\\#John 14:12-13\\.
b. The Son will be praying for us \\#John 14:16\\.
c. And the Holy Ghost will be comforting us
\\#John 14:16\\.
d. And we should be obeying God’s commandments
\\#John 14:15\\.
7. Jesus will teach us more about all four of these, but
let’s turn our attention to the Holy Spirit.
C. \\#John 14:16-17, 25-31\\ The Holy Spirit
1. \\#John 14:26\\ Jesus told them plainly that the
Comforter was the Holy Ghost.
a. This is the first systematic teaching on the Holy
Ghost.
b. The Holy Ghost had been mentioned since….
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and
void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters.
c. The Holy Ghost had fallen upon and filled many Old
Testament saints.
d. But never had He been taught about like this.
2. Notice the names that Jesus refers to the Holy Ghost by:
a. \\#John 14:16\\ Comforter
(1) I take it that this is to be one of the Holy
Ghost’s main ministries.
(2) It was also who these men were going to need.
b. \\#John 14:17\\ Spirit of truth - He is the One who
will guide the believers to truth.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy
Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he
shall teach you all things, and bring all things
to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you.
c. Although Jesus does not mean the Holy Ghost by a name,
I don’t think it is a coincidence that He mentions
peace while talking about the Holy Ghost.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I
give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I
unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid.
3. Notice the oneness of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
a. \\#John 14:16\\ The word for "another" is allos.
(1) Another word which could have been used is
heteros.
(2) While these words can be used interchangeably,
heteros is often used to speak of one that is
different while allos is often used to speak of
one of the same kind.
(3) That could mean that the Holy Ghost was to be the
same kind as Jesus. It is for certain that the
Holy Ghost was not just another Comforter. He
was one like Jesus.
http://www.gty.org/resources/positions/P15/the-ministry-of-the-holy-
spirit
b. \\#John 14:18\\ Notice that Jesus considers the
comfort of the Holy Ghost be HIS coming and
comforting the believer.
(1) Jesus and has been sitting on the right hand of
God the Father \\#Acts 7:55\\. Jesus has not
and will not come back to the earth until the
time of restitution \\#Acts 3:21\\.
(2) But the Holy Ghost has given comfort and Jesus
through the person of the Holy Ghost.
(3) And throughout the Bible, the Holy Spirit is
equal with God. \\#Matt 28:19, 2Cor 13:14\\
\\#Eph 4:4-6, #2Cor 3:16-18\\.
IV. \\#John 14:21-24\\ It was time that the disciples knew the
importance of obedience.
A. How important is it that those who are Christians obey Jesus’
commands? Unfathomably important!
1. \\#John 14:21\\ If God’s commandments are in your heart,
you will keep them. Implied is that if you do not keep
them, they are not in your heart—meaning Jesus is not
in your heart.
2. If you do not keep the commands of Jesus, you do notl love
Him. I don’t know that I could prove it but I would say
if you don’t love Him, you have not been forgiven by Him.
Luke 7:42 …Tell me therefore, which of them
will love him most?
43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he,
to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him,
Thou hast rightly judged.
47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which
are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but
to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth
little.
3. If a person does not keep Jesus’ commands, he will not be
loved by the Father.
John 14:21 … he that loveth me shall be loved
of my Father….
a. I know that God loves everyone but there is another
love that the Father has for His own.
b. The implication is that if we do not obey, we do not
love Jesus, and if we do not love Jesus, we are not
God’s so He will not love us.
4. If a person does not keep Jesus’ commands, God will not
manifest Himself to him.
John 14:21 …he that loveth … I will love him,
and will manifest myself to him.
5. If a person does not keep Jesus’ commands, neither the
Son nor the Father will abide with him.
John 14:23 …he will keep my words: and my Father
will love him, and we will come unto him, and make
our abode with him.
B. All of these expressions mean two things.
1. You will obey Jesus’ commands if you are His.
2. If you do not obey Jesus’ commands, you are not His.
C. We can excuse and explain our willful sinfulness as it pleases
us, but Jesus made it pretty clear that the mark of the
true Christians is obedience to the Word of God.
We certainly are not finished with this section but we are getting
close to the end of a chapter.
<OutlineIndex> <Close Window>
