With Dale Ratzlaff
John 14:15-17
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
For many of our readers, this first line of the passage raises many questions. Some will say, “Keeping my commandments means keeping the Ten Commandments.” However, if one were to study all the passages where the Apostle John uses the Greek word ἐντολή translated “commandment,” he would find that John always has reference to the commandment to love or some commandment given to Christ from the Father, and the context is never the Ten Commandments. When John refers to the Old Testament law, he always uses the Greek word, νόμος translated “law”. (See Sabbath in Christ, the chapter, “The Sabbath and Seventh-day Advents” under the heading “Commandments of God” where all uses of both Greek words are listed in context.)
Martin Luther interprets this verse as follows:
That you would faithfully preach concerning me [Christ], have my Word and Sacrament laid upon you, keep love and unity among yourselves for my sake, and suffer with patience whatever on this account comes upon you … For I do not mean to be a Moses to drive and to plague you with threats and terrors, but I give you such precepts as you can and will keep without commanding if you, indeed, love me. ( See, R.C.H. Lenski, Commentary of the New Testament, John p. 995. As quoted from “Erlangen edition, 49, 131-2”.)
The central truth here is that we are not to see this as a command per se. Rather, we are to examine ourselves to see if we indeed do love with the ἀγάπη, unconditional love demonstrated by Christ.
“Will keep” My commandments is present continues tense, indicating Jesus is speaking about a continuing attitude of love.
We come now to some of the profound statements mentioned at the beginning of our study of John 14.
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth.
Jesus has just told His disciples He was going away where they could not follow. He assures them He, personally, will send another “Helper.” The word used here has several shades of meaning. He (the Spirit) not only is our helper, but He is also our Advocate, especially as a legal friend. When Jesus speaks of sending another Helper, we recognize that He was the first Helper.
In 1 John 2:1 we get a fuller meaning of what it means to have an Advocate, whether it be Christ or the Spirit.
Demosthenes, an orator in ancient Athens, used Paracletos (Helper) with reference to friends of the accused who personally urge the judge to decide in his favor. This seems to be the way John uses the same word in his letter to the church.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 Jn. 2:1).
Whether it is Jesus Himself as our Advocate or the Spirit, makes no difference. Both are on our side!
Notice that the Spirit is not spoken of as “it” but “He”, indicating the personality of the Holy Spirit. This personal identity is something that some cults, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, deny.
Of great importance to our readers is the clear statement that the Holy Spirit will remain with us forever. We need never fear that there will come a time when the Holy Spirit will leave us and we will have to go it on our own.
A careful reading of our passage raises questions, which in turn lead us to a greater understanding of the Trinity. If Christ is God, why does He request the Father to send the Spirit? Why not send Him Himself? Or we could ask why, if the Spirit is God, did He not just come to the disciples? We could extend our question as to why did not the Father just send the Spirit without any request?
Luther tries to penetrate the council of the Trinity as regards the Father and the Son by saying that in verse 13, 14 “I will do” refers to the divine nature of Jesus, while here “I myself will request” refers to his human nature; “so that ever this article of faith remains certain and clear, that in this person, Christ, there is not utter deity nor utter humanity, but both divine and human nature in one person, undivided ( Ibid., p. 996.).
Jesus called the Paracletos the “helper”: one called alongside to help us, “the Spirit of truth.” We just learned in John 14:6 that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. In John 4:23 Jesus told the woman at Jacob’s well,
But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers (Jn. 4:23).
Here we see more evidence of the unity of the Trinity. Truth is a common uniting factor showing us the importance of seeking and abiding in the truth that is found only in God’s revelation to us in Christ and in the word interpreted by the Spirit of truth.
Next, we learn that it is only those who are believers who receive the Spirit.
…whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
Jesus implies that for the world to receive the Spirit, they must “see Him” and “know Him”. The world does neither. We are to understand “see” with the idea of “perceive.” The world does not understand the things of the Spirit. For them it is foolishness. Satan has blinded their eyes. Paul stated this truth like this:
For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so (Rom. 8:5-7).
As Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” The word for “know” in Greek implies personal knowledge, something the world does not have.
To the listening disciples, Jesus said,
but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
In the above sentence, “know” and “abides” are present, timeless truths that apply to all believers of any time. “Will be in you” is future tense. For the disciples, Jesus looked forward to the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all believers. Now, believers do not have to look forward to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at some distant time when their characters have reached a degree of perfection. Because we are on this side of the cross, resurrection, and Pentecost, believers now are indwelt with the Spirit. Paul agrees.
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him (Rom. 8:9).
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Rom. 8:11).
Application
- When reading about “keeping the commandments” in John, we are not to understand this in the Old Testament context of, “thou shalt not…” and worry about keeping the edges of the Sabbath perfectly. Rather, we should keep two things well in mind. First, the commandment is to love. Again, we are not to take this as “thou shalt love.” Rather, “if” we love, we will keep the precept to love others. So this commandment is love from beginning to end.
- We are to understand the Holy Spirit as a person, not some spiritual force. He, as a member of the Trinity, is fully God and in complete harmony with Christ and the Father.
- The Helper, the Spirit of Truth, will be with us forever! There is no need to worry about Him being withdrawn from believers. There is no list of “dos” we must fulfill to keep the Spirit, other than follow His promptings.
- We would do well to nurture the truth of the Spirit’s indwelling. That sill, small voice guiding us into truth is none other than the divine Paracletos, the Advocate, a legal advisor pleading our case before the Father on the basis of the blood of Jesus.
- Our Scripture stated that the Holy Spirit “abides” with us. We are to understand this as one who is totally at home with us. He knows everything about us, yet still advocates on our behalf and indwells us. These are truths too large for our complete understanding but not too large to be taken by faith based on the certain word of God.
Prayer
Father, I am so thankful that you sent the Holy Spirit to abide with me forever. I never have to worry about your Spirit leaving me. May I listen to Your still, small voice as I seek to be obedient to your Word. Help me focus on love, unconditional love, to the members of my family, neighbors, and even strangers. Help me perceive opportunities for me to share your love with others.
In Jesus name.
- Is Sunday Sacred? - April 25, 2024
- Jesus is the Firstborn - April 4, 2024
- What Is the Meaning of the Cross? - March 28, 2024