John 14:15-27
Listen Link: http://www.firstcovenantcadillac.org/#!this-weeks-sermon/c20mw
Just imagine for a moment that you are back in grandma’s house or great grandma’s house, whichever applies so that all you see for communication is a dial up telephone. But this is time travel, so while you’re there, you excitedly try to tell a younger great grandma all about the wonders of the future and you try to describe a cell phone to her. Cell phones do so much more now than regular phones could ever do. They take pictures. They play music and games. They have apps that do all kinds of useful things. It could be so confusing for grandma to try to grasp it all. But at least it still makes phone calls, so there would at least be common ground and a starting point.
A lot of modern Christians might believe the disciples may have felt a bit like grandma when Jesus started talking to them about the Holy Spirit. As we look at Jesus’ words of instruction in John 14:15-27 we see that Jesus is basically introducing his disciples to the Holy Spirit. In their own experience prior to this they would have only known of the Holy Spirit through the teachings of the Old Testament.
But actually there is a lot of information about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. The exact phrase, “Holy Spirit,” only occurs 3 times in the Old Testament. But still, the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament times is much more prominent than you might think. The Spirit of God is almost immediately introduced in the Book of Genesis (1:2), and He becomes a frequent focus in the writings of the prophets. The Holy Spirit had a significant role in the creation of the world (Genesis 1:2) and in striving with sinful men (Genesis 6:3). He inspired people who revealed God to other people, either in word, or in work. He instructed and guided people, especially the nation of Israel. The Spirit of God instructed and guided not only the nation of Israel as a whole, but men individually (e.g. David, 1 Samuel 16:13-14; Psalm 143:10). He enabled and empowered men to do that which was humanly impossible, like Samson. (e.g., the judges of Israel). He manifested not only the power of God through men (Isaiah 63:10-14) but the presence of God among men (Psalm 51:11; 139:7; Haggai 2:4-5). It seems as well that the Holy Spirit was the instrument through whom the glory of God was manifested (cf. Haggai 2:3-9).[i]
So what was Jesus’ teaching all about? Back in the Old Testament Moses had a prayer. It is recorded in Numbers 11:29. “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” Now, after Jesus death and resurrection, that prayer is going to be fully answered, the request granted. It was God’s plan all along. God himself reiterates the promise in Joel 2:28-29 where it is written, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
Jesus was telling his disciples that those days are coming, and he was telling them what it would really be like and something of what to expect. Our Lord wanted his disciples to see the coming of the Holy Spirit as the fulfillment of that which was promised long before He came, promised by the Father, promised in the Old Testament. Our Lord was reiterating a promise already made. Indeed, in the Gospel of John, Jesus emphasized that it would be the Father who would send the Spirit to them.
So as we look at this text in John 14:15-27, we learn several things about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Let’s do a quick run through. Look at the text again, in your Bibles, on page 1676 in pew Bibles or even on your smart phone, because, that’s what smart phones can do.
He starts out saying, “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” The Spirit is given to the obedient Christians who love the Lord by obeying his commands. The very first command we must obey is the command to be saved by faith in Jesus’ work on the cross. The rest of Jesus’ commands have to do with the life of a disciple. Live in love. Support the ministry. Make more disciples. Love one another. Pray at all times. Take up the cross, etc. I mention that to point out the importance of our obedience, not for salvation but for guidance of the Holy Spirit and for fruitfulness in ministry through the power he provides by being with us.
Let’s move on. Jesus says, “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. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” In this verse Jesus hints that having the Holy Spirit in you is the same as having Jesus. They are both God after all. So when the Holy Spirit comes. Jesus also comes.
Then he says something about their immediate future. “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” Now there is a connection made to the Father as well. So we now see the Trinity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all together, one God. When you have one, you have them all.
And then he repeats the importance of love and loving obedience. “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.”
There was one who shows that there was a question among them. We might have the same question even today because we know so many people who do not believe unto salvation, and we wish that God would just show up for them and reveal himself to the whole world. It was another Judas, (not Judas Iscariot) who asked, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
I don’t think we get a direct answer here, but what Jesus does say is, “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. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”
So it seems to me that the question of to whom does God reveal himself is answered with the truth that God shows up for the ones who love him. But it is implied by this that God will not just show up and force himself on anyone who isn’t interested. And yet we have heard of the Apostle Paul who got knocked off his horse when God showed up. I think that Paul was really motivated by love for God and he thought he was being obedient. That’s why God came to him, to correct him and set him on the right path. I think the same thing still happens today when Muslims have dreams about God and Jesus comes to them in their dreams and shows them the way of salvation. He is coming to those who want to know the REAL God, those who will love and obey him when they find out who he really is because they are already trying to love and obey god sincerely but just are misguided by the false faith of Islam.
Now he finally explains what the Holy Spirit will do, “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, 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. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
So let’s make a list. The Holy Spirit will teach. He will show us truth. He will also remind us of the things we have already learned. It is by the Holy Spirit that we know the voice of God and follow him. He lives in us. He reveals Jesus to us. He gives us understanding of the mystery of how Jesus and the Father are One. And he gives us His peace. These are great gifts that will help us to continue to love and obey the Lord Jesus.
We will take the next five weeks to think and pray further about the Holy Spirit. I want to correct an oversight I mentioned in an earlier sermon a couple of weeks ago this year, that most non-Pentecostal Protestant churches do not talk or teach enough about the Holy Spirit, and many of America’s Christians are ill informed and even a little afraid of the Holy Spirit.
Sadly enough, teaching about the Holy Spirit is also one of the great battlegrounds of evangelical Christians. When one begins to talk about “the Holy Spirit” and “Pentecost,” almost any group will begin to polarize into “pro-charismatic” and “anti-charismatic” segments. Let us seek, as much as possible over the next several weeks, to let the text shape our thinking rather than to allow our thinking to “reshape” or distort the text. And let us rely on the Holy Spirit, who alone can teach us the true meaning of our text. Let us also seek to preserve the “unity of the Spirit” as we consider the next several Bible passages in the coming weeks. Let us seek to be learners.[ii]
The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, is God, just as much as God the Father and God the Son. Three persons, one God. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that all three are equally God. All three persons in the godhead have existed for all eternity. All three played a role in creating the universe, and in redeeming the human race from sin and death. All three have equal status in the Bible. But among them, the Holy Spirit seems to be the least understood and perhaps the most taken advantage of by well meaning, misdirected Christians and also by pseudo faith healers who claim to have a fuller measure of the Spirit, but really do so to get a fuller measure of your money.
While there is a degree of divine mystery to the nature of the Holy Spirit, He definitely is not just a bundle of warm feelings, or good memories, or a vague cosmic force that we can tap into for our own purposes. He is God! We do not own him. He owns us! We do not use him! We serve him!
Let us welcome him into our lives as the teacher, the comforter and counselor he wants to be. Let us receive the peace of Christ through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. A singer named Francesca Battistelli said it this way: “There's nothing worth more that could ever come close. Nothing can compare. You're our living hope. Your presence, Lord! I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone Your presence, Lord. Holy Spirit, You are welcome here. Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for. To be overcome by Your presence, Lord! You're our living hope Let us become more aware of Your presence. Let us experience the glory of Your goodness. Come Holy Spirit![iii]
Listen Link: http://www.firstcovenantcadillac.org/#!this-weeks-sermon/c20mw
Just imagine for a moment that you are back in grandma’s house or great grandma’s house, whichever applies so that all you see for communication is a dial up telephone. But this is time travel, so while you’re there, you excitedly try to tell a younger great grandma all about the wonders of the future and you try to describe a cell phone to her. Cell phones do so much more now than regular phones could ever do. They take pictures. They play music and games. They have apps that do all kinds of useful things. It could be so confusing for grandma to try to grasp it all. But at least it still makes phone calls, so there would at least be common ground and a starting point.
A lot of modern Christians might believe the disciples may have felt a bit like grandma when Jesus started talking to them about the Holy Spirit. As we look at Jesus’ words of instruction in John 14:15-27 we see that Jesus is basically introducing his disciples to the Holy Spirit. In their own experience prior to this they would have only known of the Holy Spirit through the teachings of the Old Testament.
But actually there is a lot of information about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. The exact phrase, “Holy Spirit,” only occurs 3 times in the Old Testament. But still, the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament times is much more prominent than you might think. The Spirit of God is almost immediately introduced in the Book of Genesis (1:2), and He becomes a frequent focus in the writings of the prophets. The Holy Spirit had a significant role in the creation of the world (Genesis 1:2) and in striving with sinful men (Genesis 6:3). He inspired people who revealed God to other people, either in word, or in work. He instructed and guided people, especially the nation of Israel. The Spirit of God instructed and guided not only the nation of Israel as a whole, but men individually (e.g. David, 1 Samuel 16:13-14; Psalm 143:10). He enabled and empowered men to do that which was humanly impossible, like Samson. (e.g., the judges of Israel). He manifested not only the power of God through men (Isaiah 63:10-14) but the presence of God among men (Psalm 51:11; 139:7; Haggai 2:4-5). It seems as well that the Holy Spirit was the instrument through whom the glory of God was manifested (cf. Haggai 2:3-9).[i]
So what was Jesus’ teaching all about? Back in the Old Testament Moses had a prayer. It is recorded in Numbers 11:29. “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” Now, after Jesus death and resurrection, that prayer is going to be fully answered, the request granted. It was God’s plan all along. God himself reiterates the promise in Joel 2:28-29 where it is written, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
Jesus was telling his disciples that those days are coming, and he was telling them what it would really be like and something of what to expect. Our Lord wanted his disciples to see the coming of the Holy Spirit as the fulfillment of that which was promised long before He came, promised by the Father, promised in the Old Testament. Our Lord was reiterating a promise already made. Indeed, in the Gospel of John, Jesus emphasized that it would be the Father who would send the Spirit to them.
So as we look at this text in John 14:15-27, we learn several things about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Let’s do a quick run through. Look at the text again, in your Bibles, on page 1676 in pew Bibles or even on your smart phone, because, that’s what smart phones can do.
He starts out saying, “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” The Spirit is given to the obedient Christians who love the Lord by obeying his commands. The very first command we must obey is the command to be saved by faith in Jesus’ work on the cross. The rest of Jesus’ commands have to do with the life of a disciple. Live in love. Support the ministry. Make more disciples. Love one another. Pray at all times. Take up the cross, etc. I mention that to point out the importance of our obedience, not for salvation but for guidance of the Holy Spirit and for fruitfulness in ministry through the power he provides by being with us.
Let’s move on. Jesus says, “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. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” In this verse Jesus hints that having the Holy Spirit in you is the same as having Jesus. They are both God after all. So when the Holy Spirit comes. Jesus also comes.
Then he says something about their immediate future. “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” Now there is a connection made to the Father as well. So we now see the Trinity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all together, one God. When you have one, you have them all.
And then he repeats the importance of love and loving obedience. “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.”
There was one who shows that there was a question among them. We might have the same question even today because we know so many people who do not believe unto salvation, and we wish that God would just show up for them and reveal himself to the whole world. It was another Judas, (not Judas Iscariot) who asked, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
I don’t think we get a direct answer here, but what Jesus does say is, “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. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”
So it seems to me that the question of to whom does God reveal himself is answered with the truth that God shows up for the ones who love him. But it is implied by this that God will not just show up and force himself on anyone who isn’t interested. And yet we have heard of the Apostle Paul who got knocked off his horse when God showed up. I think that Paul was really motivated by love for God and he thought he was being obedient. That’s why God came to him, to correct him and set him on the right path. I think the same thing still happens today when Muslims have dreams about God and Jesus comes to them in their dreams and shows them the way of salvation. He is coming to those who want to know the REAL God, those who will love and obey him when they find out who he really is because they are already trying to love and obey god sincerely but just are misguided by the false faith of Islam.
Now he finally explains what the Holy Spirit will do, “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, 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. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
So let’s make a list. The Holy Spirit will teach. He will show us truth. He will also remind us of the things we have already learned. It is by the Holy Spirit that we know the voice of God and follow him. He lives in us. He reveals Jesus to us. He gives us understanding of the mystery of how Jesus and the Father are One. And he gives us His peace. These are great gifts that will help us to continue to love and obey the Lord Jesus.
We will take the next five weeks to think and pray further about the Holy Spirit. I want to correct an oversight I mentioned in an earlier sermon a couple of weeks ago this year, that most non-Pentecostal Protestant churches do not talk or teach enough about the Holy Spirit, and many of America’s Christians are ill informed and even a little afraid of the Holy Spirit.
Sadly enough, teaching about the Holy Spirit is also one of the great battlegrounds of evangelical Christians. When one begins to talk about “the Holy Spirit” and “Pentecost,” almost any group will begin to polarize into “pro-charismatic” and “anti-charismatic” segments. Let us seek, as much as possible over the next several weeks, to let the text shape our thinking rather than to allow our thinking to “reshape” or distort the text. And let us rely on the Holy Spirit, who alone can teach us the true meaning of our text. Let us also seek to preserve the “unity of the Spirit” as we consider the next several Bible passages in the coming weeks. Let us seek to be learners.[ii]
The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, is God, just as much as God the Father and God the Son. Three persons, one God. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that all three are equally God. All three persons in the godhead have existed for all eternity. All three played a role in creating the universe, and in redeeming the human race from sin and death. All three have equal status in the Bible. But among them, the Holy Spirit seems to be the least understood and perhaps the most taken advantage of by well meaning, misdirected Christians and also by pseudo faith healers who claim to have a fuller measure of the Spirit, but really do so to get a fuller measure of your money.
While there is a degree of divine mystery to the nature of the Holy Spirit, He definitely is not just a bundle of warm feelings, or good memories, or a vague cosmic force that we can tap into for our own purposes. He is God! We do not own him. He owns us! We do not use him! We serve him!
Let us welcome him into our lives as the teacher, the comforter and counselor he wants to be. Let us receive the peace of Christ through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. A singer named Francesca Battistelli said it this way: “There's nothing worth more that could ever come close. Nothing can compare. You're our living hope. Your presence, Lord! I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone Your presence, Lord. Holy Spirit, You are welcome here. Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for. To be overcome by Your presence, Lord! You're our living hope Let us become more aware of Your presence. Let us experience the glory of Your goodness. Come Holy Spirit![iii]
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