“His Many Mansions, Part Five”
John 14:15-31
September 11, 2005
by C.W. Powell
“15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
20 At that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being [yet] present with you.
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.
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.
28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come [again] unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” (Joh 14:15-31 AV)
This great fourteenth chapter of John has been a comfort and an inspiration to God’s people through all the years of the history of the church. It has been a great joy to preach these great things to you for the very heart of the hope of the Gospel is set forth here. Jesus did not speak much to His disciples after this, for He would soon be arrested and taken away to be crucified. He would then return to heaven and the things that He spoke of here would soon begin to be fulfilled.
Jesus had said to the Pharisees after they had tempted Him concerning the woman taken in the very act of adultery, “I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.” (Joh 8:21 AV) What a horrible thing, to die in your sins and to be shut out of heaven and with fellowship with the Lord Jesus forever and ever. But Jesus said that such men “are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am [he], ye shall die in your sins.” (Joh 8:23-24 AV)
How different was His message to His disciples here in John 14. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, to receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And wither I go ye know, and the way you know.”
As we have seen, this led to three questions on the part of his disciples.
1. Thomas asked, “We don’t know where you are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am going to my Father, and I am the way, the truth and the life.”
2. Philip then asked, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Philip and possibly others of the disciples had a corrupt view of God, as if he had a body or form of a creature and could be seen, or who lived somewhere where they could visit Him. Jesus answered, that they can only see the Father in Him, and that God cannot be seen with the eyes of the flesh, but can be known by His works. God is invisible and cannot be imaged, but the words and works of the Lord Jesus revealed Him to the world. After Jesus was returned to heaven, He would send the Holy Spirit who would continue the works of Christ in His people, and they would do greater works than Christ in taking the revelation of God to the world, for the word and Spirit would work in them. The Father would love them and the Son would love them and would manifest, or make Himself known, to them.
3. Verses 22-24: Judas then asked the pertinent questions, “Ok, but how will you be manifest to us and not to the world?” The answer to this question is, “Believers love me and obey men. My father and I live with such men. Those who do not love me do not keep my sayings, which are my Father’s words. I and my father are known to those who love me and keep my sayings. Those who do not love me do not keep my sayings and will not see me or my Father.” Those who believe and love and obey the sayings of Christ see the Father and the Son; those who do not are as blind as moles in spiritual things. This is how the difference is made between the world and the people of God.
In the rest of this chapter and the ones that follow, Christ is speaking of the nature of His union with His people that will transform their lives and make them effectual witnesses to this world, to do the “greater works” that he had promised. Let us look at the remaining scriptures in chapter 14.
Vs. 25. This was the last words to them before His crucifixion. After this He would not be present with them. According to the flesh, the Lord Jesus is not with us now. He is in heaven. His flesh is not everywhere for creatures cannot communicate in the incommunicable attributes of God. The Mediator is both God and man, and is everywhere with respect to His divinity, but is local with respect to His humanity. But He is always totally present with His humanity, but this does not mean that His humanity is everywhere He is. He is present with us today, but His humanity is not present with us.
Vs. 26. The Comforter. “Comforter” is better than “Helper.” Christ was to be the “Consolation of Israel” The subject of this discourse is “Let not your hearts be troubled.” I know that we are not to quibble about words and the Lord is called the Helper of Israel, but Comforter fits the context of this passage better, in my opinion, and I do not like to see words changed, especially those who have such an important place in the history of the worship of the church. I would recommend Matthew Henry on this place.
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1. The Holy Spirit is to be a teacher, as well as a consoler. But He does not bring new things, but brings to remembrance what Christ had said.
2. There are two ways to think of this passage.-
a. That Jesus is speaking to His disciples who would preach His doctrines to the world and author the New Testament Scriptures. This guarantees that they would get it right because of the Holy Spirit.
b. The Jesus is speaking to all Christians. Then it would mean that the Holy Spirit would bring to our minds the things that we have learned about Christ. It would still mean that there would be no more revelation. To be led by the Spirit is to be led by Scripture.
c. This also shows that the work of the Holy Spirit is vital to the understanding of Scripture. God is not revealed to those who do not believe, and the Scripture will be misinterpreted and corrupted if it is read in the flesh and the heart and mind is not directed by the Holy Spirit. He cannot be received by the world, according to verse 17. He is the Spirit of truth. He cannot be seen by the world for such men are blind and deaf to spiritual things until they are born again.
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a. That Jesus is speaking to His disciples who would preach His doctrines to the world and author the New Testament Scriptures. This guarantees that they would get it right because of the Holy Spirit.
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1. This is peace of conscience. We are justified and counted righteous in the sight of God and all sins are forgiven.
2. This is peace of faith: We have confidence in our savior. Sometimes and animal or a person must be tranquilized in order save them from some peril because they will fight against those who would save them. Men do this with Christ until the Holy Spirit brings peace into their hearts.
3. This is the prosperity and peace of the soul. Good things can only flourish in the soul of peace, according to James: “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” (Jas 3:18 AV)
4. The Holy Spirit is not the author of turmoil and unrest and contention. He brings order and submission one to another in the fear of God, as Paul would write in Ephesians “17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord [is]. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” (Eph 5:17-21 AV)
5. Do not compare anything that the world gives with this peace, this prosperity of the soul.
6. Where to agitations and unrest and turmoil come from: from unbelief, from rebellions desires, from the flesh—from Adam and not from Christ.
Vs. 28, 29. The purpose of prophecy is so that we will believe after it happens. It is not a guide to the future.
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“I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did [them] suddenly, and they came to pass. 4. Because I knew that thou [art] obstinate, and thy neck [is] an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; 5 I have even from the beginning declared [it] to thee; before it came to pass I shewed [it] thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.” (Isa 48:3-5 AV)
1. It was necessary for Christ to go away, so that we might know that His Kingdom is spiritual. It is not necessary for Him to be on the earth to rule and administer His kingdom.
2. He came to do the will of the Father.
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1. We must seek Christ in things above and not on the things of the earth.
2. We must seek Christ and His Father in His word, praying earnestly that we would understand and not be deceived.
3. We must realize that we have a mission to the world. It is our job to spread the gospel as we have opportunity. This is the mission of the church, and it is a spiritual mission, which is accomplished by spreading the gospel to men and women and boys and girls in all ways possible, according to your gifts and abilities. “Greater works than these shall ye do….”
4. Prayer is absolutely necessary for this work of the church, for it is connected to the promise of doing the work of Christ. “Ye shall ask the Father…”
5. Earthly work and organization can be done without the word and prayer and the Spirit. The knowledge of God, His manifestation to the world does not come this way.- “20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Lu 17:20-21 AV)
7. The glory and the splendor of the church is her Lord in heaven, who will return to judge the living and the dead. It is a glory that cannot be seen with the flesh; it is cheapened and dulled by earthly pomp and display.