
Quote for the Day
“…for he lives with you and will be in you.”
Today's Prayer
Father, today have your place in my life. Allow me to hear your will and your Spirit clearly. Let not my will be done, but yours.
John 14:15-31
John 14:15-31 (NIV)15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. 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. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He 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.25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 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. 27 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.28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, 31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.“Come now; let us leave.
Message
In the earlier part of John 14, we were told of the intimacy of the Father and the Son when Jesus says in verse 10, “…it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” This last part of the chapter explains the details of the intimacy with God that we have available to us. Jesus tells us that the Father has given us a counselor, the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit will live both with us and in us. He also reminds us of the true power in our lives in verse 19 where He says, “Because I live, you also will live.” I find it interesting that He says this just hours before His crucifixion. Jesus ends this passage much as He began it. In verse 31 he says, “…but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” What is amazing about this is that He is talking to us. During this short passage He has shown us what an intimate relationship we have with THE FATHER, THE SON, and THE SPIRIT. We talk about the theology of the Trinity, and we try to understand the implications of this fantastic union, and what He has told us in this passage is that they are all right here with us, desiring to live our very life for us.Just a few hours prior to His separation from the Father at Calvary, Jesus says the world must learn. Yes, we must learn that the only command worthy of obeying is that from the Father; and the Father and the Son and the Spirit all speak in unison. Additionally, all are living in, with, and through us. Let’s let them have their rightful place.