John 14:15-29
15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”
23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. 25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. 28 Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am. 29 I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.
The Presence Storyline
In almost any study I do, whether it is a passge I am reading as part of my own devotions, preparation for the sermon, like today, or doing some horrendous post graduate essay. I almost always start with these 5 steps.
What is particularly cool about them is that any reader of the Bible can do them.
- I simply ask where and when did this happen – context.
So,starting at Chap 13 it is all about the night before Jesus’ crucifixion, what he does with the disciples and what he teaches them that night.
This is known as the “Final Discourse”.
- Next, I ask myself 3 questions.
- What did this passage mean then?
- What is the principle that was being taught?
- How do we apply that principle today?
Jesus offers a description of the disciples’ lives following his departure and the sending of the Holy Spirit. In turn, He offers us a glimpse into the nature of our relationship with him that comes as a result of the Holy Spirit.
- The next step is to read the passage in different translations of the Bible.
Some translate this word Holy Spirit as …
| Helper | Advocate | Spirit Of Truth | Comforting Counselor | Counsellor | |
| NKJV | NIV | CJB | RSV |
The advantage of this is we get to see word translated as “Helper” is fine, but it does not capture everything that would have gone through the mind of those listening to Jesus words. Other translations help us do that. It’s not perfect but it is helpful.
- Then the next step is to look at keywords at phrases in the verse and find out where they have come up previously in this particular book of the Bible.
There are 4 previous references to the Spirit of which two are interesting to note.
Two key verses
Jn 1:33. (God speaking to John the Baptist) ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Jn 7:37–39. Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given since Jesus had not yet been glorified. [1]
- Now I might search Dictionaries and Commentaries to unpack what others think about these verses.
Maybe you don’t have those, but you can access them for free by Google searching www.blueletterbible.org
Having done all that over a couple of sessions, I try to write up my conclusions.
The Power of the Presence
The presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of followers of Jesus causes three key things to happen:
- The first is revelation of Jesus: “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” (John 14:26). The Spirit communicates the words of Jesus. The holy spirit would teach the disciples all things and remind them of everything he had said (14:25–26). In other words, the Spirit would make present Jesus’s teachings. They would not be just a historical artifact but would be present in a living manner.
- The second is that the Holy Spirit gives us power to be witnesses. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). From the day of Pentecost onward, it was obvious that the disciples had power to be witnesses; do miracles, preach effective sermons—and people became Christians. They could not have done this without God’s presence. The power is in the presence.
- The third is that the Holy Spirit comes to make us holy, i.e., more like Jesus. Christianity is not a self-help course; Nor is it rituals and ceremony. (Though some find these helpful) Rather, it is a life of continual transformation.
The Spirit serves as an internal guide for life in Christ. Love is to be the essential characteristic of this life.
- expressed in obedience to Jesus (14:15, 21, 23; 15:14).
- This obedience is a means of communion with God the Father (14:21, 23; 16:27), and
- a characteristic of the relationship between the disciples (13:34; 15:9, 10, 12, 17).17 and those of us who are followers of Jesus today.
That which makes us holy is not, anything that we do, but rather the presence of God in us. – the Holy Sprit
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:17–18)
Well, that’s a great summary and a fine sermon. If you get to a place something like this, you have done very well. So, let’s all have a prayer, sing a hymn, and have a coffee before we head home.
BUT I usually get to this point and ask myself “Is that it?”
I can see there is something here that is crucial to understand about the depth of relationship Jesus wants to have with us through the Holy Spirit. But just what is it?
I know the Holy Spirit has his own storyline throughout the whole Bible- Gen 1.1 makes that clear.
Surely it is something to do with his continued Presence! – that seems to me to be the hint constantly coming through in the wider passage. So, at this point I start to search wider in the Bible. My search focused on the idea of God’s Presence among us.
“I will be your God, you shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of you.”1 This triple-fold promise begins in Genesis (17:7) and occurs fifty times across both testaments and stretches all the way to the second last chapter of the book of Revelation (21:4) It is one of the most important confessional statements in the entire Bible.[2]
The Holy Presence of God
When God created Adam and Eve for fellowship with him; they spent time walking around the garden with God and talking to him face-to-face. After they disobeyed and been made to leave Eden, they realized what it was to be outside the presence of God.
God’s Presence in the Tabernacle
Longing to be close to the people he specially chose, God found a way to rebuild this relationship.
First, he chooses Abraham. God promised that he would have a personal relationship with Abraham and with his “descendants” (Gen 17: vv. 7, 8).[3] This promise culminates a few generations later when God said the same to all Israel that if they followed these instructions, “I will walk among you and be your God” (Lev. 26:12).
About the same time, God gave Moses’s instructions to set up the tabernacle which was where God himselfwould dwell.
As we read on, we find that not only is the Holy of Holies the central tent, a holy place but there are “holy days,” “holy clothes,” “holy equipment” and “holy oil”.
What is it that makes something holy? The answer in the Old Testament seems to be the presence of God.
In Exodus 40:34–35 we read that during the dedication of the tabernacle “… the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Further, that it was in the Holy of Holies, that the presence of God rested, and although separated by a thick veil, God dwelt in the midst of his people.
All this stuff about tabernacles and holy things comes down to relationship. – a God who delights in us and wants to dwell among his people.
The Presence Is Everything
Years later again, King David planned, and his son Solomon built, a permanent temple in the center of Jerusalem and, just like the tabernacle.
2 Chronicles 5–7. tells us of the dedication of the temple and we found out that.
When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshipped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.” (2 Chron. 7:1–3)
Created to Be in His Presence
Moses understood the necessity of living in the presence of God. In Exodus 33 he told God, “If your Presence does not go with us [Israel], do not send us up from here.… What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (vv. 15–16).
He knew that it was God’s presence that marked Israel as God’s people. It was only God’s presence that gave meaning to the tabernacle and then to the temple as the place of worship. And for Christians today it’s God’s presence alone that distinguishes us. It is all about his presence!
The Presence Is Lost
The book of Ezekiel takes an interesting turn.
Ezekiel received his visions while with the Israelites in exile in Babylon. In chapter 8, Ezekiel has a vision in which he’s transported to the temple back in Jerusalem. In the temple he is shown some horrendous scenes of the people of Israel worshipping idols, and they highlight how Israel is sinning on the very doorstep of God’s house.
So, the holy God could no longer dwell in such a place and so, in Ezekiel’s vision he sees the glory of the Lord depart from the temple.
The people of Israel thought their city was indestructible because it was where God lived! BUT In 586 BC the king of Babylon crushed the city and destroyed the temple sending shockwaves throughout Israel—the place where God lived had been conquered! And his people were carried into exile in Babylon.
The Presence Will Return … Eventually.
Yet, Ezekiel went on to prophesy about the day Israel would return from exile. In Ezekiel 40–48 he has a vision of a new temple being built and the glory of the Lord returning to dwell among his people.
Furthermore, he prophesies that this sanctuary is to surpass the old one; and that the Lord intends to “put my sanctuary among them forever. And once again we get this phrase “My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people”. (Ezek. 37:26–28).
Eventually the people of Israel started to return from exile. One of the first things they did was begin rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem.
The dedication of this temple in Ezra 6 is different. The glory fell at the dedication of the tabernacle in the wilderness; and at the dedication of the first temple under Solomon; but is notably absent in the dedication of the second temple.
So, what of Ezekiel’s visions? Didn’t he predict that the glory would return?
This brings us to John’s Gospel which opens with these words.
Emmanuel—The Presence Is with Us
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1:1–4, 14)
Matthew’s account of Jesus birth quotes Isaiah, “A virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’—which means, ‘God with us’” (Matt. 1:22–23; cf. Isa. 7:14).
The technical term for God becoming human is incarnation. There’s a whole branch of theology called Christology that is devoted to this subject, but the bottom line is that the body of Jesus didn’t carry God in the way a car carries a person. Nor was there a “God part” and a “human part” to Jesus; he was totally God and totally human.
The eternal God chose to no longer live behind a curtain in a building where only the chief priest could come once a year. But to live and dwell among his people.
The Presence Lives in Us
So, we come to the night Jesus prepares to leave the world and tells his disciples, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7).
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit comes upon prophets, priests, and kings. On the day of Pentecost, the presence of God fell on all believers. Peter explained to the crowd of thousands that gathered at the commotion, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people” (Acts 2:17). Jesus’ Promise was fulfilled.
If you are a follower of Jesus, then God lives in you, too; you are a holy place. We don’t have to go to a special place to find God; he is within us! As Paul points out “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).
The Key Is God’s Presence
Just as it was God’s presence leaving and returning in Ezekiel’s visions of the temple that made the difference between the city being destroyed and the wilderness exploding with life, so too it is the presence of God that makes the difference for his temple today. – Ezekiel’s Vision is fulfilled.
One of the great story lines of the Bible is God longing and finding a way to be present among his people. Today that presence that used to walk around Eden, the presence that fell on the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple, lives in us.
Yes, the Holy Spirit will remind and teach you of everything Jesus said.
Yes, the Holy Spirit gives us power to be his witnesses!
Yes, the Holy Spirit comes to make us holy to be more like Jesus.
Yes, The Holy Spirit enables love to be the essential characteristic of our obedience to Jesus and the Father
All this work of the Holy Spirit is a work in progress – one day it will be complete.
In Revelation 21 John describes what that completion will look like, that one day his unveiled presence will remain forever.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” (Rev. 21:3–4)
[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jn 7:37–39.
17 Adapted from Jackie David Johns and Cheryl Bridges Johns, “Yielding to the Spirit: A Pentecostal Approach to Group Bible Study,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 1 (1992): 109–34.
1 D. J. A. Clines, in “The Theme of the Pentateuch,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement 10 (Sheffield, U K: JSOT, 1978), 29, affirmed that “the promise has three elements: posterity, divine-human relationship, and land. The posterity-element … is dominant in Genesis 12–50, the relationship-element in Exodus and Leviticus, and the land-element [is dominant] in Numbers and Deuteronomy.”
[2] Walter C. Kaiser Jr, Recovering the Unity of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 111.
[3] Walter C. Kaiser Jr, Recovering the Unity of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 114.
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