The Gospel of John 14:1-31
John 14 · Vern Peterman · Jul 21, 2013
Gospel of John (2013), No. 28
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926357252048

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

We're in John 14. We're going to be going through the whole chapter here today. Let's first take a look at the slide set. Rather than going through the whole sequence as I've done in previous weeks, this is, the event here is the Last Supper, as it's called. It was a Passover time. And so from that standpoint, John records the Passovers from the beginning of the ministry up until this one, the critical one.

And these are things that are recorded in the Gospel of John that are not recorded in the other Gospels. So we'll be taking a look at that. Chapter 14, 15, 16, and 17 has some unique material. Very little of what's in those chapters is recorded in the other Gospels.

So anyway, this is Thursday within hours. By 9 o'clock the next morning, Christ will be crucified. So this is the time we're talking about. One of the things we pointed out, and it's not made a big deal of in the Gospel of John, is there are the four cups in the tradition of Passover, not in which you find necessarily the original Passover celebration. But there would be, with the first cup, an evening prayer for the Passover, explaining Passover.

And it would be Psalm 113 to 114. That would be the first part of what's called the Hallel. The Hallel is 113th Psalm to 118th Psalm. And then eating the bread, lamb, and bitter herbs is the part. And we have the other Gospels largely making a point of that. And then finally, finishing up the Hallel with Psalm 115 to 118.

Those four cups are the tradition taken out of Exodus 6, 6 and 7. This first cup, it appears likely Luke 22, 17 describes Christ saying the blessing before they all drink from the first cup. So that would be a part of that tradition. And it was during the eating of the bread, lamb, and bitter herbs associated with the third cup that Christ spoke of Judas' betrayal. So Judas, by the time this chapter comes up, Judas had been dismissed. He's not there. He's off doing his dirty deed. But he's not there.

And then this is also the time when Jesus would say that this is my body and this is my blood of the Passover. One of the things, and we won't be covering it here, one of the things that's happening during this event is here you have centuries of tradition of annually doing the Passover. And now Jesus with the disciples is making the handoff. to, okay, you've been, you know, all your life, as long as you can remember, you've been doing every year the Passover. And now we're doing a handoff, now it's going to be what we call the Lord's Table. So that's the time of the handoff, if they're at the Last Supper, when now all of a sudden the Lord's Table is what they're doing, and observing rather than the Passover.

This is the map of Jerusalem, the Last Supper at Golgotha. Events are numbered and sequenced, and we had on a previous handout this map was laid out. This is the very, I would say it's the very likely location, not certainly, but very likely location of the upper room where the Last Supper was held. This is a picture of it. The upper part with the columns and the roof was redone later, so that isn't original. But the floor area and the foundation is. So this would have been the location. This would be another view looking across that room.

So here's Jesus reclining at table. Judas, the betrayer, As we pointed out last week, he's shown in this piece of artistry, he's heading out the door, his shadow is shown. And one of the things we'll be talking about, and you have it in your handout here, is this slide showing what's typically called the Trinity. Alright, so let's take a look at our handout.

And I'm going to read here from John 14, 1-4. One of the things we're going to see as we go through chapters 14, 15, and 16 particularly, even somewhat in chapter 17, is there's a cyclical nature. Jesus will say something and then return to that theme and expand on it. So for example, the Holy Spirit will be brought up in each of chapters 14, 15, and 16. So he will return to that topic and then give more information about that topic. So we're going to see it and the Holy Spirit is an example. There are other things that are said. that are repeated and expanded upon as you go through it. All right. John 14, 1 through 4. Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.

In my father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I'll come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I'm going. Hey, let's have a question here. Verse 3.

If I go and prepare a place for you, is that casting doubt on whether he's going to do it or not? Is it doubtful he's going to do that? Not sure? He might? He might not? I see heads going like this. Why? Why are you not thinking that he's thinking it might happen? He's telling them. First of all, he's telling them, right?

And there is in the Greek a form of writing if, there's actually four different ways of writing if, but there's a way of writing if that implies if, and this is assumed to be true, but the reason for being there is I want you to, it's an invitation, I want you to think along with me on this.

Not if like it's in doubt, but if, and think through this with me, okay? If this is true, and it is, then here is the outcome. So it's important for us, as we see these, to ask the question. The if shouldn't be disregarded, but think why they would have the if in the Greek language.

Okay. So John 14, 27, we're going to see the words, do not let your heart be troubled again. Same words. That's again part of the cyclical pattern I was telling you about. Jesus addressed all of them. He referred to their heart as singular. Isn't that interesting? Some of the translations just make it hearts, but the reality is the Greek says singular heart. Do not let your heart be troubled. Why would that be? Why would he say it that way? Thoughts? Inspirations? Exasperations?

The heart, does that mean your mind? Yeah, you think about it, the mind is a part of this word heart, isn't it? So the mind is a part of it, but with trouble you think also there's emotions in there too, right? So there's a troubled mindedness, there's a troubled emotional feeling, that's along with it as well. And so what does he say is the answer? What's the remedy for having this heart problem? The word troubled is actually in the passive present tense.

That indicates that it's probably coming from Satan or it's a trial or a test. So this is going to happen to each part because it's going to be tested, right? Let's think about that. The circumstances themselves, and we have repeated notice that Satan is also involved here. And by the way, it shouldn't be assumed that Satan is always involved with any difficulty. However, we do have repeated indication in previous to this, and in this chapter, and subsequently, we have indication that Satan is involved in what's happening that evening.

However, that being the case, there's plenty to be troubled about. Let's think about some of the things that would cause them to be troubled. What do you think would cause them to be troubled? Well, the very first thing, they're losing a dear friend. Yeah, and of course, they're still puzzled about what does this all mean and how is this going to happen, too.

He's told them, he says, you know, you're not going with me, right? Yeah, and not only a friend, but a counselor, a director, a teacher, almost. Yeah. In the Jewish rabbinical system, you were under the rabbi and until, typically, until the rabbi died. But if the rabbi died, you're done, right? Everything we're doing is like, it's over. Jesus is saying, no, I'm going to be leaving, but it's actually a good thing. And of course, that's real puzzling. Wait a minute. How's this good? Right. Yeah.

I also think that they're beginning to understand that Jesus is losing his. his influence so to speak, and the kingdom isn't being set up. So the person that they're following is starting to be attacked by the religious system of the day. So they're going to sooner or later come against them as well. I mean, they know that. Yeah, but by now they're all quite well aware that the Jewish leaders are there to take Jesus out. Okay, Jesus, Jesus so far has been able to hold off these Jewish leaders by one means or another, but it seems like that's coming to an end, and here we are right in the thick of the Passover time, and it's all abuzz. There's a warrant out for Jesus' arrest. They're not going to come and just trouble him. They're coming to take him out. Jesus is announcing that, hey, I'm not going to be with you here.

And they're baffled, they're puzzled, they're troubled. This is bothersome. And especially, this is a part of what we'll take a look at here in a bit. Remember Acts chapter 1 verse 6. And this is after this whole crucifixion and burial and resurrection stuff comes. And they're thinking, boy, I'm not sure what that was all about.

But Jesus is now the time when you're going to establish a kingdom for Israel. Are you really going to do it now with all this crazy crucifixion and resurrection stuff? And that was kind of wild. So it's now the time you're going to establish a kingdom for Israel. And Jesus goes, eh, no. The Father knows that. We're going to do something else. You'll find out.

So, you can imagine that this is the beginning of a very, very confused period of time for them. A period where they're just, woo, their head, to say their head's spinning is an understatement. So, what we have here, this is kind of an expanded and explained, and it says, do not let the heart of you be troubled. You believe in God, you must believe also in me. What's quite clear is that believing in God, and specifically in Christ, is the remedy for and godly prevention for a troubled heart.

Also, while we have the words trust, believe, and faith having separate nuances in English, the Greek had just one word for all three nuances. So when it says believe, it isn't just our nuance of believe, it's also the nuance of trust. It's also the nuance of trust. So we have belief, and faith, and trust, and we kind of have slightly different definitions for those words. This Greek word includes all three of those, including the idea of trust.

You trust God, trust also me. So then we see there verses two and three include a message that the disciples likely found both familiar and puzzling at the same time. These were the kinds of words that a groom-to-be would say to his bride-to-be on the day that they were betrothed. Wedding words. We're going to get married words. So they would understand it, but they would be very puzzled. Why is Jesus doing this? Take a look at the back of your handout. There are three pages that are in color. I'm looking for the one here that on the bottom says supplement, holy and blameless. It shows Ephesians 1, 3, and 4 at the top.

We won't take the time to go through all of this, although I'd certainly invite you to look through it. In studying this through, I've just been fascinated with what the New Testament, starting with this passage in John, lays out about the relationship between Christ and the Church. Christ is the Bridegroom and the Church is the Bride of Christ. Right now, right now, we are in the Betrothal Period. We're in the Betrothal Period. Okay, the part that I wanted to point out here was on the second page.

The top and upper right there, this is After the marriage covenant, the marriage contract, if you will, had been set in place, the betrothed bridegroom would begin preparing a place for the bride and the bridegroom to live in which they would live together once the wedding had taken place. So he would tell the bride, I'm going to prepare a place for you. I'm going to prepare a place for you. And I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am you may be also."

So, you know, they're thinking, well, we're familiar with what those words are. I'm not at all sure what you mean by that. Why are you telling us that? I mean, we're a bunch of guys here. You know, they're probably like, okay, that's familiar, but the context just doesn't fit.

The theme of the Bride and the Bridegroom, Christ as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride, is one that's continued throughout, and you can take a look at this yourself, is continued throughout the New Testament on into the Book of Revelation. But you can imagine the disciples, this is kind of the first introduction of this Bride and Bridegroom theme. And they must have just been baffled. like everything else that Jesus was saying.

Okay, back at our handout here at the front. So, now, Jesus talks about, you know, the way where I'm going. So the way that Jesus was going was his father's house, the place where he was soon to be going, where he would come to receive them to himself.

That leads Thomas, yes, the doubting one, to ask a question, because he doesn't understand what Jesus is saying. Isn't it interesting that it would be just a matter of days, and he would be saying, no way is Jesus resurrected. Until I see it, until I touch it, no. can't be. So here's Thomas, John 14, 5 and 6. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you're going. How do we know the way? And Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.

We have on the next page, top of page two, we have Thomas here, and of course his mind's reeling. He's thinking about, okay, Jesus has just told us we can't go where he's going, but we'll come later. And I just told Peter that before the rooster crows, you're going to deny me three times. So he's getting real puzzled. So he's trying to figure this all out, and so are the rest of them.

Jesus' response to Thomas' question is best put in an expanded and explained form. And so that's what you have here, John 14, 6, expanded and explained. Jesus said to him, I am. So this is the egoe me, the Greek statement of, it would be literally, I, I am. But it was a set of words that would be emphatically him, and it would also fit with the Greek Old Testament, where Moses is talking to God, who's in the burning bush. Who should I say has sent me? Tell them, I am. I am. Those words here.

I am being in fact deity, and in contradistinction to all others, I am the singular way, and the singular truth, and the singular life. No one comes to the Father but exclusively through me. There isn't any plan B. There isn't any alternate route. There is no detour. There is no secret passageway or secret pathway. So Jesus gave Thomas more of an answer than he was asking for, but it's still not clear that Thomas understood what Jesus said, nor did the other disciples at that time.

So John 14.7, If you had known me, you would have known my father also.

From now on you know him and have seen him. So all along, I mean all along, in all the Gospels, Jesus has been talking about the Father sent me, I do what the Father tells me, I represent the Father. Those kinds of messages have been coming all the way along. And he's going to continue in these next chapters here to carry on that same message. But what's different here is knowing Christ and knowing the Father in this and the next chapters will be a repeated theme. I think this is something for us to ponder, especially in this era where Islam has stuck its face here on the American scene.

Allah in Islam is unknowable. You cannot know him. What Allah has revealed is not himself, But what Allah has instead revealed is what you must do. What you must do. Biblical Christianity, you must know God and it's not optional. You must know Christ, you must know the Father. And that's what Jesus is going to be addressing here, starting in this chapter and continuing on in the chapters to come. And that theme is carried on also in the New Testament epistles. You must know God. It's not an incidental, it's not optional, it's not something that is nice for some people to do, but you must know him. So after Peter, was told that he would deny Christ in the end of chapter 13. We saw that Thomas had just struck out earlier in chapter 14. In the next verses, we'll see that Philip is going to do the same. So they're taking turns striking out. As a matter of fact, with Philip, I think that's three strikes you're out, right?

So, John 14, 8-11, Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Now that's going to do good for him, right? No. Verse 9, Jesus said to him, Have I been here so long with you, yet you have not come to know me, Philip? Interesting, this knowing is important, right? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father? Philip, how could you say such a thing? See that? How could you say such a thing? You've been with me for, you know, all this time, the last few years? And I've been telling you, if you've seen the Father, you've seen me, you've seen the Father, I represent the Father, I speak what the Father speaks.

And what we find there at the very beginning of John 1.18 at the bottom there, no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He, Christ, has explained Him. We had that early in our study of the Gospel of John. Jesus has been representing the Father and explaining the Father and talking about his relationship to the Father. So what is Philip asking for? Show us the Father. What's he asking for? He's asking for what he's already had. It means he's blind to what Jesus has been doing and hasn't been listening to what Jesus has been doing and what Jesus has been saying. And it's like, whoa. Yeah, he hasn't been listening. And you're quite correct about that.

What else? What else is he asking for? Yeah. I think he wants to see another person, another body. Yeah, you've been talking about the father. That's great. Show us. It's been great to see you, that's great, but let's see the Father, you've been talking about him, let's have a show. And by the way, this show is a visible demonstration. Yes, he's asking, give us an experience. Give us an experience. And he says, if we have that experience, that's going to do it for us. Yeah, yeah, he's saying, give me an experience, give me something, and boy, that would put us over the top.

If we could just see the Father, I mean, you've been talking about Him for three years, but if we could just see the Father, I mean, that would really do it for us. That would be adequate to pull us through, and you know, you've been talking about letting not your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me.

Just give us a shoulder. Just let us see the Father. You've been doing phenomenal stuff, I know, but just let us see the Father and then we'll be over the top. We'll be there. That'll do it for us. Give us an experience. Everything you've been doing is great, but it's not quite enough. We need to see the Father. Is he going to get it? Nope. That's not believing in Jesus, right?

Believe in God, believe also in me. He's been telling them, I am explaining, I am showing, I am saying everything from the Father. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does his works. Believe in me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Is Jesus going solo when he is there on planet earth? No. Why do you say Jesus isn't going solo? Why would you say he's not going solo? He was always looking to the Father. What do you see there in verse 10, at the end of verse 10?

The Father abides in him. So, and let's ask one other thing, is the Holy Spirit involved with him as well? That's right. So you have in Christ, in that one body, you have the Father and the Holy Spirit and the Son right there. Are they going to see the Father? No. They're going to see with their human eyeballs, Jesus. That's as far as they're going to get. But spiritually, the Father and the Holy Spirit are right there. Right there. Let's take a look at top page 3. Jesus' task since the beginning of the ministry with the disciples has been to explain, show, represent, and speak for the Father whom no man can see. So this is why Jesus asked, how can you say, show us the Father?

Do you not get everything I've been telling you? Everything I've been doing? You see, it's not just what he says, it's also even the various signs and works and all those miracles and things like that. That's not just been, hey, wow, isn't this cool?

That's also been showing the power of the Father. So verses 10 and 11 have, in some respects, in which it appears like Jesus is asking a question about the identification between Himself and the Father and then stating the fact. So he first asks it in a question form and then states the fact.

Because the Father and Son are two different persons of deity, but of one essence. Oh, excuse me, I skipped one line. He is, but it is not exactly the same as our having been identified with Christ. Because the Father and the Son are two different persons of deity, but of one essence, the essence of the Father is in the Son, and the essence of the Son is in the Father. Also, the Father and the Son have one essence from eternity past to eternity future.

See, we're used to talking about people that have one essence and one person. So this idea of three persons, In the Godhead, in one essence, it kind of blows our circuits, right? Most of us, when we go to talk to somebody, we're not thinking, well, I'm talking to three people, right? As a matter of fact, if it looks like we're talking to three people in one person, that's probably not good. But here you have three persons, one essence.

So Jesus is here as the Son. And the essence of the Father and the essence of the Holy Spirit is with him as it has been in eternity past and will be in eternity future. For us, we have been identified with Christ in five things. It was death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seeding. And our identification is fixed to those five events. at a certain point in time in history. So it doesn't have the eternality that Christ has with the Father and the Holy Spirit. See that?

There's this diagram here that represents the concept of the Trinity, John 18.6, which we'll get to. The Father is not the Son. They're different persons.

Acts 10.38, the Son is not to the Holy Spirit.

And John 14.26, the Father is not the Holy Spirit. The Father is going to send the Holy Spirit.

And there could be other passages as well, but those are given as representative. But the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit Together, we can say, our God, or we have it here, is God. Each of these is God. And so we have passages supporting that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each of them are God. Now, so let's take a look here at the bottom part right under the chart. Jesus then said the works that he had done were ample evidence that the Father abides in him. The works that he had done are ample evidence that the Father abides in him.

Philip, you're not going to have your show. I already did it. Yes. Yes. Yeah, boy, this is mind-boggling. First of all, you have the Trinity just to begin with, and to have different roles for each person. One of the things we've been studying in our Revelation Intensive is here is Christ is uniquely qualified of the three persons of the Trinity. He's uniquely qualified to open the seals. Already the Trinity is something that is blowing our circuits, and then on top of that, here's one person of the Trinity who is now fully God and fully man, as of about two thousand years ago. Fully God and fully man, and the other two persons of the Trinity have their essence within them. Got that?

Alright, so John 14, 12-14, truly, truly I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also, and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the Father. I think one of the things to deal with, these disciples are not only getting more and more troubled, and more and more confused, and more and more puzzled, And as far as you can imagine them seeing this kind of building situation, including what Jesus is talking about, this is all big loss. Jesus is going to depart, and we still don't know why, and still not sure how this is all going to happen. He's going to depart, and how is it that this isn't just horrible? And what Jesus is beginning to tell them, guys, it couldn't get any better than this.

What? But that's what this is talking about. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also. And greater works than these will he do because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

So you imagine, he's starting to deal with all their puzzlement and really almost despair alongside a lot of confusion. And the way he's doing that is to say, look, this is actually going to be an improvement. Which to them is like, okay, how is this an improvement, right? This is an improvement. This will actually be better for you. As a matter of fact, you've been seeing the things I've been doing, what you guys are going to do is even greater than that. And of course, this settles them down a whole lot, right? It's got them all calmed down and everything's clear, right? Not so much, not yet.

Okay, there'll be a few reasons why What they will do will be greater than what Christ has done. I mean, at first you might think, wow, how is it possible to do better than what Christ has? We have four points here. They would be many voices accompanied by miracles.

So you have the eleven of them, they would be adding Matthias to the eleventh to make twelve. In the next one, they would ultimately extend their ministry beyond the land of Israel and beyond the people of Israel. Jesus sent them two by two and he said, this is Matthew chapter 10, go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, don't go on the road that leads to the Gentiles. Jesus chapter 15, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And so there was that constraint. He stayed within the domain of the people of Israel or the land that they should have taken. He stayed within that domain.

They're going to go where? These apostles are going to go where? Pardon? Yeah, they're going to go all over the place. In fact, we have record, they went up into Europe, they went into Asia, and they went into North Africa. So you have them heading off to the different continents, all of them. And in fact, let's see, Craig Kay is right now in India, Mumbai. The record outside of the Bible is that Thomas went to India and spread the gospel there. We have by the 80s AD records that that gospel illustrations were engraved on tombstones in China.

So the gospel had gotten that farm. Now, they would be apostles of the gospel of grace. Apostles of the gospel of grace. Isn't that amazing? I've been training you under the law only in the land of Israel, with the people of Israel, and now you're going to be apostles of the gospel of grace. And what you are doing will be this amazing grace, and you're going to discover what that is.

Fourthly, they would be the founders among a brand new spiritual body called the Church. It had not existed up to this point, and wouldn't exist for almost a couple of months. So they were going to be founders of a brand new body, and what they would do under and within the gospel of grace, what they would do would be establish a new body of people. And at this point, they've got no idea what he's talking about.

So God the Father may be approached by the name standing for the whole person, that's what he means by in the name of Jesus. He is their access to the Father. And the same is true of us. Jesus is our access to the Father. We have, this is taken from Ephesians chapter 2, we have a privileged royal introduction to the Father through Christ. We have a privileged royal introduction to the Father through Christ.

Now, John 14, 15, it says, If you love me, you will keep my commandments. So which commandments is he talking about? Is this the ten? God's top ten? Is this the 613th? If you love me, you'll do all that mosaic stuff. Right? You'll be just all the more zealous to keep all the laws. Is that what he means? What does he mean, if you love me you'll obey my commandments? Which ones? What stone are they engraved on? What's that? Ah, you see, I think that's one thing, I mean, a lot of people look at that and say, okay, I'll keep them, the 10, the 613, or they like to pick. That's what we like to do here. We like to pick. Pick which ones.

Now, I'm not going to do that thing because I really like lobster, you know. And so that, and the idea of letting my land life follow, well, you know, they get really ticked off at City Hall if I let my land life follow every seventh year. So I'm not going to do that. I'm going to still water my lawn and plant my tomatoes and all those things. So I'm still going to do that. So that's what we tend to do. We want to pick and choose which rules we're going to follow.

But he's not talking about keeping the Ten Commandments of 613 or anything of the sort, he is talking about the things he's telling them, the guidance that he is giving them with regards to the Church. And what is going to be the basis for their carrying that out? Because they're threatened? If you guys don't keep my commandments, I'm really going to be ticked and you're going to pay for it. Is that what he's telling them? What's the motivation for them carrying out what He is telling them. Love. Love is the motivation. That's what He's telling them. The motivation for carrying out what I'm about to tell you is the love between us.

Your responsive love, we find from 1 John, for the love I've shown you. And He has shown it to them, hasn't He? The disciple whom Jesus loved. One of the things we saw in the early part of Revelation, in our Revelation Intensive, was Jesus says there to John, I'm the one who is constantly loving you. I'm the one who is constantly loving you. Yeah. And that is a Godly love that He is asking from them, right? Yeah, but it's a responsive love in the context of all of Scripture. It's a responsive love for His love shown to us.

You know, John 3.16, He loved and He gave.

Galatians 2.20, He loved and He gave.

Ephesians 5.2 and 25, He loved and He gave. He loved and He gave. And so our love for Him is always a responsive love, not something that originates from within ourselves. He is the source of it and he is the initiator because we're the ones in response.

But then again, it's the primary thing that each person is supposed to do, right? Because it's beyond family, it's beyond everything else. It's the primary goal of a Christian life. Yes. So these commandments, is that in reference to verse 12? Ultimately, all the things that he is talking about, what did he say first off? You believe in God, believe also in me.

Right through these troubles that are coming up on you, and they're starting now, and he knows, and by the way, you pointed out the tent that, you know, Let not your heart be troubled. We could translate that, stop having a troubled heart. Stop it. You've got it, I can tell. Stop having a troubled heart.

And how do you do that? You believe in God, believe also in me. So carrying out the directions from Christ about the things that are ahead, those are the commandments will be motivated by their love for Christ in response to his love for them. John 14, 16, and 17, I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper that He may be with you forever. How long? Forever.

I think that's one thing, you know, this message is also conveyed not just to the Apostles, but to us. Romans 8 is one of those places that spells that out, and Galatians also spells that out. It's not like, OK, you're going to send the Holy Spirit. He'll be there for one year. After that, you're on your own. Is that the way it works? No. The constant dependence upon the Lord through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that's forever. That's forever, starting right now and before that. So we constantly have the Holy Spirit.

Nancy and I have a friend who some years ago, we were spending time with them, and the wife was out of a charismatic background. So as we were talking with her, she was amazed to find out that the Holy Spirit doesn't come and go, because the charismatic approach tends to be, if I have the feeling, then I've got the Holy Spirit, and if I don't have the feeling, then I must not have the Holy Spirit, and so I've got to plead for him to come back. And I also have to plead, this is out of the Old Testament, take not your Holy Spirit from me. So you always want that feeling there. You always want the Holy Spirit to be evidenced in how you feel. So, she was amazed to learn the Holy Spirit is always with me. I don't have to spend any time begging him to stay. I don't have to spend any time pleading for him to come back. He is always, constantly there, forever. It's for good.

So, that is the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him or know him. Here's this knowing issue. By the way, are you to know Christ? Yes. Are you to know the Father? Yep, we just read it. And now who are you to know? The Holy Spirit. So our knowledge of God is knowledge of all three persons of the Trinity. See that? Our knowledge of God is knowledge of all three persons of the Trinity. And it isn't just knowing about God, it's knowing Him personally. But you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. With and in. With and in. He's there. He's not going away. He's not disappearing. He's not slipping out. None of that. With you always. What I'm saying, what I'm, okay, go ahead.

He gave the four ways that the apostles could choose different art and something larger than what he did. Now, are those verses all right? Here's what we have to do, where I say, okay, this applies to us, this is exclusively to the apostles. There are some things that are exclusive to the apostles. What we do is we look in the rest of the New Testament for confirmation that it applies to us.

And so the Apostles are gifted in certain specific ways that we are not. The Apostles are given an assignment that we're not. They have qualifications that we don't have. However, the Holy Spirit being with us and in us, and actually from Romans 8, us being in the Spirit. And we are positionally in the Spirit too. Those are teachings that we can see confirmed in the rest of the New Testament that apply to all of us.

So, just to make an important distinction, there are things that are said specifically to the apostles and we don't find confirmed. As a matter of fact, let's go through it quickly. What are some of the things that are unique to the apostles that nobody else has? What are some of those things?

Yeah, they could perform miracles. They could just go bang. And so here's Peter, not too long after these events here where he's going to deny Christ, and here he walks up to this You know, a man at the temple, I don't have any gold or silver, but what I have, I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ, stand up and walk. He could, at will, perform miracles. Now, I've seen the Lord perform miracles, but at His discretion. These guys had the ability to just bang, it's said and it's done.

That would be one. What are some other things? Yes. They had discernment. What we're going to see as we look at today's passage in the main service, for us the gift of discernment comes out of not just a Holy Spirit gift, but out of Scripture. Scripture having been completed. For us, discernment is through scripture. That's where discernment comes.

It doesn't come from some woo-woo feeling. They were also forth-tellers to the prophets. Yes. Yes. They were forth-tellers speaking for God in situations, and you and I don't get exactly that same privilege. They all were personal witnesses of the resurrected Christ. So we, as we read the scriptures, are relying on their testimony, but they were personal witnesses of Christ. They had the capacity for great suffering. They had the capacity for great suffering and for success in evangelism. So there are distinct things about the apostles, and I thank you for making that point or bringing it up. There are things that are distinct about the apostles. And so as we read through this, in order that we not jump to conclusions about what applies to ourselves, we look for confirmation of that. That's why I mentioned, for example, Romans chapter 8 about the Holy Spirit.

OK. So John 14, 18 through 21, I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. After a while, the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live, you will live also. And that day you will know that I am in my Father, here is this, and you in me and I in you.

Whoa, this is big truth. I am in my Father, and by the way, the Holy Spirit and the Father are in me, but you are in me and I in you. And these are two really big truths that are stated succinctly here that we see explained more largely in Paul's letters. But pivotal key truths, we are in Christ and He is in us. One of the things we saw in Romans chapter 8, we are in the Spirit and the Spirit is in us too. One more thing, we are in the Father and the Father is in us.

He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me, and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will disclose myself to him. I'm giving you this direction. It's to be love motivated. And it's not just, you know, you love me. We have a love relationship. See that? We have a love relationship.

And what you guys are going to be doing, the works you're going to be doing, the things you'll be saying, All this is going to be based on the love relationship, and don't worry, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are all involved in what's going on here. The entire Godhead was intimately involved in each one of them, and confirming the rest of the New Testament, that's the same for us too. All of God for all of us. And God doesn't just do it one way. Okay, you're in Christ. Okay, that's good enough. No, you're in Christ. Christ is in you. You're in the Spirit. The Spirit's in you. You're in the Father. The Father's in you. And all three of those things, six of them, are for different purposes. It sounds the same, but they're for different purposes.

Yes? There's, in 1 John, confirmation of this. It says here in 1 John 3, 23, this is His commandment, that you should believe in the name of the Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave His commandment. That would exhibit a lot for him because it's based on our trust in him. Yes. And of course, his life there. Isn't it interesting?

First John is a book full of wonderful exhortations about the carrying out of these truths. It's amazing how John is such a consistent writer. The various things that you see here, including the, what do they mean by the commandments? love. That's the direction that he gave and John obviously had not forgotten when he was writing this letter.

What we see here, Jesus will depart but he will send the helper, the spirit of truth to them and Christ will carry on ministry in the heavenlies and he will also being omnipresent be both in the apostles and the apostles in him. As we know from the New Testament Scriptures, that is true of all believers. Christ left to carry on ministry for you and me. But does that mean He left us?

No. We are in Him and He is in us. How is that possible? How can He be there and here to? How is that possible? He is not us. He is omnipresent. and has that capacity to be in more than one place at once. Yes? Could we say that we have a new nature, which is His life given to us? Yes. His very life. Yep. His very life. And not just theoretically, but really. Yeah.

We are in Christ for one set of purposes and Christ is in us for another set of purposes. See, when we say you're in Christ and Christ is in you, those aren't just saying the same thing. And it's not some Zen statement where it's contradictory but you embrace the conflict. They are for different purposes.

What would happen if you were in Christ but Christ wasn't in you? What would that mean? Yeah, we would have a wonderful position, we would have no ability to implement it. Because it's Christ's very life living through us is how life gets lived. That's what God has in mind. And so both of those are essential. Both of those are essential. We need the position in Christ And we need that position that Christ is in us for the sake of our condition, day-to-day living, because it's His life that God intends to be lived out, and not our best shot, not trying our hardest, not working real hard at it. It's not me, it's Christ.

So rather than Jesus going away and never hearing from him again, Jesus will disclose himself increasingly to the apostles. He says, I've been with you for three years now, but you won't believe it. When I go away, you're going to learn a whole lot more. It will be better that I go away, but let me tell you, this is going to get better, a lot better.

Yes. That's one thing I was talking with Brian White about recently here when he was visiting. It was just over a 30-year period of time, about three decades. You hear the apostles going from, you know, what on earth does Jesus' crucifixion mean? I still haven't figured that out. To coming to a place 30 years later of saying, I've been seated with Christ in the heavenlies, I have a heavenly citizenship, I've been identified with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seating. That was a gradual series of a-ha moments, not something that was instantly revealed. They knew it over time, not in an instant. They knew it over time. Can you imagine going for 30 years of a-ha moments and finally going, wow, I'm seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Let me take that in. Let me take that in. Okay, we've run out of time. But feel free to take a look at this.

I also have at the back a chart of the passages in the New Testament that have mention of the rapture. John 14, 1-3 is the first of those. It mentions the rapture because Christ is going to go and prepare a place for us and then what's He going to do? He's going to come back to take us to be with Him. The next thing that's happening is not the second coming, his coming to earth. The next thing that's happening is his coming for us to take us to be with him.

Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for just these marvelous, deep, rich truths that you've presented before us here. And along with the disciples, we find ourselves amazed at what you've done and what you've accomplished here. And we just pray that you would teach us, that we would soak this in, and you teach it to our hearts. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.