The Gospel of John was most likely written by the apostle John, possibly from Ephesus. It was written after the synoptic gospels, any where from 60 to 90 AD. Although it contains a heavy pre-destruction topography, John probably wrote his gospel well after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The events of the text for this study took place shortly after the "triumphal entry" of Jesus into Jerusalem. To set the backdrop for the discourse of Christ in this text, John precedes this section with the account of Jesus washing the disciple's feet. Also recall that the time of these events is within the Passover week. And one chapter previous to this discourse, Christ announces his betrayal by Judas. John spent five chapters of his Gospel account to cover a period of 24 hours, almost a quarter of the whole book. This passage study looks at a few verses in one of Christ's last discourses before his death.

A study of the context: Literary

John is known as the Apostle of Love. He does not even mention his name in the book, rather he uses the term: beloved disciple, or the disciple whom Jesus loved. This gospel is the gospel of belief, showing Jesus as the incarnate son of God. Though there is the possibility that John was written to comfort Jewish Christians under oppression, it most likely does not have any specific audience in mind.

This book is organized in the form of several sections having a narrative followed by a discourse. The 14th chapter is in the "Upper Room Discourse" of the 7th section. Here we learn of the advantages of the departure of Christ. This 7th section differs from the rest in that it starts with a discourse and ends with a narrative. Basically Jesus is saying good-bye to his disciples. Christ comforts his own, speaking of the Spirit to come, just after he foretold about his betrayal by Judas. Of the 16 passages of scripture identified by Thomson as being specially geared towards comfort, the Gospel of John contains three such passages, one being the 14th chapter.

The text: Introduction

The disciples, anxious to follow the Lord wherever he may go, are told by Jesus that they cannot follow him now. (13:36) He then exhorts them to trust him, (14:1) but seems distressed that his disciples do not see Jesus and the Father as One. Jesus ends his statement of distress with a promise:

"...I Will do whatever you ask in my name..." John 14:13 NIV

John 14:15 - 31 is not in the Synoptics. It is a discourse by Jesus, with one narrative sentence placed in verse 22. Thus we will focus on these words of Christ from verse 15 to 21. Here he begins by speaking about His commands, and also ends this discourse speaking about his commands as well.

The text: a comparative look

From verse 13 & 14 we see a theme of Christ doing what we as believers command of him. Then the beginning verse of our passage takes a sharp turn. It shows a picture of us doing what Jesus, as our Lord, commands. Now we see John's Love theme tied in with obedience, just as James ties it in with faith, James 2:14 - 26. Obedience is the fruit of love. (Peoples New Testament Notes) Jesus next informs his disciples of the benefits soon to come to them, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, knowledge of God and the love of God. These advantages are again spoken of in 16:7. Jesus is speaking to his disciples specifically at this point, but addressing many via this gospel account; usage of words like whoever and he who ... pronouns in verses 21, 23 & 24.

A textual look at the contents:

In this verse "you" (NIV) is plural; Christ is speaking to all his disciples. The love spoken of here is agapate, agape love. It denotes a love which is the result of choosing to love, rather than that stemming from the emotions, relations, circumstance or desire. It is not earned, but given as an act of the conscious will. This is the same type of love that the Father has for Jesus, and Jesus for the Father.

And the obedience spoken of in the Nestle 26 Greek New Testament is in the imperfect tense, ie. a continual obedience: "keep on obeying". The certainty of thrhsete, teresete (imperfect tense of obey) is not great, but more than adequate for a convincing argument. The earliest manuscript, uncial B03 from the 4th century, contains this form of the verb. As well, several minuscules and early version of the bible: Coptic, Gothic and a Georgian version, (3rd, 4th & 5th centuries respectively). A few early church fathers also make mention of this verse using the imperfect tense; Eusebius (circa 339), Melitius (circa 381), Epiphanius (circa 403), and others. (Nestle - Aland)

The earliest fragment evidence supports the form: thrhshte, teresete (1st aorist tense, subjunctive mood). This would render as "keep" (AV) or "obey" (NIV), rather than "keep on obeying". This form is not found in any manuscripts until the 5th century and has fewer support from numbered uncials and minuscules. (Nestle - Aland)

The Byzantine textual tradition has a large body of supporting evidence for the form: thrhsate, teresate (1st aorist tense, imperative mood). The meaning here is that obedience must directly follow from the previously mentioned love. Textual evidence for this form of the verb is not found until the 5th century. It became widly copied into 8 manuscripts and over a dozen minuscules starting at the 9th century. A few early versions, (translations) mostly Itala and Old Latin, 3rd to 5th centuries also contain this verb form. Origen (circa 254), brings some early evidence about this form of obedience. His greek and latin renditions of this verse contain this tense and mood. (Nestle - Aland)

In all, the manuscript, and other, evidence better supports the first form of obey mentioned above, continual action. That love will necessarily bring about continued obedience to Christ. It also removes the possibility of implying that love was never present if there was a breach in the obedience. Obedience here is not a final state that can be achieved, rather it is a continual process which takes place in those who love Christ. Even imperfect, as the tense of the verb is named.

"And I will ask ..." (NIV), compare with v.14, "You may ask ..." (NIV). This statement is closely knit with the previous verse, and follows as the conclusion to the love mentioned there. While we may petition the Father on all occasions, here we have a promise from Jesus that HE WILL petition the Father! Now the result of Christ's petition is clearly seen in the gift of the Comforter. The word used for "another" is allon, allon, another which is similar to Jesus, rather than eteron, heteron, which means another of a different kind. Throughout the Gospel of John, we are being presented with a picture of who Christ is. And now we see that the Comforter to soon appear is similar to Christ, a person of the deity in fact.

Comforter, or Counselor as the NIV renders it, is a legal term with a broad meaning. A helper called to one's aid, not only aid in defense, but also an advocate or intercessor. (Vine) In several other places in scripture we find the Holy Spirit referred as this sort of counselor, or comforter, as in John 14:26, 15:26, 16:7, Acts 9:31 and Romans 15:13. Another similarity mentioned in this verse is the eternallity of the Counselor given to us. We have an eternal gift from the Father, eternal in the global sense of dwelling within Christ's body, the church. This verse also gives evidence for the Holy Spirit living eternally within each believer to receive this precious gift; thus, adding to the evidence for eternal security. Though this is not enough evidence alone to convince, it does support it! Jesus uses this same term, counselor, three other times in this discourse, twice equating the Counselor with the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of Truth. (14:26, 15:26, 16:7)

The Spirit of truth. So called, because he leads into all

truth, and speaks the truth, see 17:19, 1 Cor 2:4 and 1 Thes 1:5. He also bears witness of the truth, see Acts 2:4, 5:32 and Heb 2:4. Truth is an important characteristic of this gift. Jesus identifies himself with truth in verse 6. We see why this aspect is very important by recalling what Jesus says in 4:23 - 24: we must worship God in spirit and in truth. This is made possible with the gift spoken of in this passage, the Spirit of Truth. This world cannot accept or receive this indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Why? We know from verses 15 and 16 that what is required is love, which then brings obedience, which leads to the Father's gift of the Spirit. But in verse 17 it implies that the reason is because this world does not see the Spirit and does not know the Spirit. This is not meant to confuse us on the method of attaining this blessed gift. When Christ says that the world does not see the Spirit, the language used here means more than just glancing at or noticing, it means consideration or contemplation. It is also said here that the world does not know him, the Spirit. Again the word know, ginwskei, ginowskei, which indicates a relation between the person and the object. The world does not have a relational knowledge of God, nor a careful consideration of him. These things cannot be separated from the first mentioned requirement which is love. The unbelieving world needs to carefully consider Christ and decide by faith to love God. Therein is found the relationship of knowledge spoken of in verse 17. (Vine) The order is not important, do not get tied up with the chicken and the egg syndrome. Here we just see the basic requirements for the Holy Spirit living within the body of Christ and the individual believer. And we see mention of the fulfillment of these verses in Acts 5:32.

We are told of this Spirit that: "he lives with you and will be in you" (NIV) This statement is speaking in reference to the Holy Spirit present with them at that time in the person of Jesus; recall the Spirit's descent upon him at his baptism, 1:32. The sense of "he lives with you" in the original language is more like "he is by your side" or "at home with you" rather than just "with you". (Robertson) Next we see of a future time when the Holy Spirit will be within them, rather than just with them, ie. in their hearts. We see this event taking place at Pentecost, an individual event for a small group of believers yes, but also within the church throughout all time, "for ever" as this gift was intended for.

The Revised Standard Version renders this verse as "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you." For the word comfortless and desolate, the NIV uses "as orphans". The combined picture of these three versions better displays the intent of the original Greek word, orfanous, orphanous, from which we derive the English word orphan. This word means without comfort or parental guide, which leaves one friendless or desolate. (Vine) Jesus is about to leave them by way of death, leaving behind orphans. In the Bible, orphans are among those who need mercy and compassion. (Deut 10:18, Job 22:9, James 1:26 - 27) And the gift of the Holy Spirit is one of mercy and compassion.

Earlier in this chapter we saw Jesus trying to equate the Father with himself in the minds of his disciples. This phrase is yet another attempt to get this point across to them, and no doubt it had it's desired effect when those events came to pass, see verse 20 and 29. Here Jesus is equating himself with the Holy Spirit. "I will come to you" is mentioned two other times in this chapter, verses 3 and 28. What is Christ referring to here? Could it be the resurrection, the second coming, the coming of the Holy Spirit or something else? Looking at the context of this passage we see only reference to the coming gift of the Holy Spirit. So Jesus is referring to himself, not only as God the Son, or God the Father, but also as God in the person of the Holy Spirit coming to dwell within them forever. For these disciples and a number of other believers, we read of the fulfillment of this verse, "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 2:4). It is important to note that this event was not intended to occur only then for those blessed people, (Acts 4:31, 8:17, 11:15, ...). The in dwelling of the Holy Spirit is for all believers for all of time.

The tense of "I will come" is present, not future as one might guess from the English translation. Matthew Henry, in his commentary of this section, says that our Lord "will come daily to you in my Spirit". But the continuous sense of this action does not come from this text, as the verb is in the present tense. The language, on the other hand, does not preclude multiple occasions of the occurrence of this in dwelling. The most general interpretation of this verse leads to a view that the baptism, in dwelling, of the Holy Spirit may be carried out upon any believer at any coming time. Compare John 20:22 with Acts 2:4, the same people are spoken of, at different times, to have received the Holy Spirit. Robertson held that the receiving done in John 20:22 is just a foreshadowing of what was to come. This is a better interpretation considering that similar occurrences take place in the New Testament, for example Acts 4:31. This position does not presume the need for the absence of the Holy Spirit, in order to be filled. This would speak of the degree of the filling, as Ephesians 3:19 talks of.

An orphan in Biblical times was primarily fatherless, so unless they had a father present, the disciples would still be orphans. We can now see how each piece of the Trinity is brought into focus here. Earlier we saw Jesus and the Father as one (verse 9,10), then Jesus and the Holy Spirit as one (verse 17). Here the picture is of the Father and the Holy Spirit as one, which completes the picture of the Trinity.

Before long, Jesus will return to the Father, the crucifixion is just over a day away from this dialogue. The word "seeth" is the same word as the one in verse 17, with the same meanings brought forth as well, careful contemplation. Soon the careful contemplation of Christ will be lost from the world because of the lack of his physical presence. This seeing Christ is left only to the body of believers. "I live" is in the present tense, and "you also will live" (NIV) is in the continuous tense. Because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus, we have eternal life (3:15). This is not a switch in thought or intent, Jesus is still comforting his disciples and offering them hope for the future. It also makes a good bridge for the thought expressed in the next verse.

In my mind this verse captures the very heart of our Lord. Jesus is expressing his earnest desire that his disciples "know" him. "ye shall know" is, in the original Greek, in the middle voice. The significance of this is that the subject is acting in order to participate in the results. (Summers) Christ acted so that he could participate in the relationship knowledge that we as believers have in him. God is working each day in non-believers so that he may lead them to a saving knowledge of Christ, and participate in a relationship with them.

"At that day", can also be translated: in that time. What day, what time? The time when the world does not see Jesus, after the crucifixion, resurrection or ascension, also mentioned in 16:23. Again Jesus is pointing to the future events which will become the turning point of our hope, the events around the cross. That is when the necessary understanding in our hearts and minds takes place. What Christ has worked and suffered for will come to pass for each individual believer. Here we see the correspondence to the previously mentioned contemplation of Christ in verse 17.

What shall we know that is of such concern to Jesus? Again he speaks of this relational knowledge, and it is in reference to the very nature of God and the believer. This in no means extends the Trinity to include believers. In verse 17, we as Christians can have the Holy Spirit living within us, a gift of God not the nature of man. This verse shows Jesus living in the Father, answering his question in verse 10, also stated in 10:38 and 17:21. Here Jesus declares his dwelling in us, which occurs via the in dwelling of the Holy Spirit. It also tells of us living, even having our existence, in Christ. This can be observed in Romans 8:10 & 11, as well as the verses in Acts mentioned above, to have already happened for those believers. So "that day" does not refer to the second coming of Christ, see also Romans 5:5. Note also the words of Christ in Acts 1:4 where Jesus instructs his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for "the gift my Father promised", also in Luke 24:49. So for those disciples, "that day" would soon come, and it did in the second chapter.

We will realize, understand, that God has chosen us to participate in this relationship with him, see also 1 Corinthians 2:12. The text does not say, on that day we will be in Christ, but rather that we will understand our personal existence in Christ. I do not mean to imply that our existing in Christ has been since the beginning, but that it has already taken place by the time we fully realize our position in Christ. That day began on Pentecost and has come to individuals ever since then. (Peoples New Testament Notes) For greater evidence to believe on our unity with the Spirit, our life in Christ through the in dwelling of His Holy Spirit, see: 1 Corinthians 6:17; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 2:22 and 5:18; and 1 John 3:24 among others.

Now we reach the end of this speech, or at least a midpoint. With this verse Jesus again reinforces his point found in verse 15: love cannot be separated from obedience. "He that hath" is not referring to ownership, but the meaning of the original Greek language is "to hold as an object of knowledge, faith, or practice" (Moulton). This then, is head knowledge about the commandments of Christ, and not necessarily in the form of abiding by them. John also uses this form four other times in his writings. It was not unusual for an educated Jew to have memorized a large section of the scriptures, several books in many cases. One must go beyond attaining the knowledge of Christ in his mind, one must also obey. As Matthew Henry put it, "And having them in our heads, we must keep them in our hearts and lives." Jesus then speaks emphatically saying that the one who does this is the one who loves him. Again the point being that obedience is the fruit of love.

The text does not say specifically that we will know who loves Christ; it is known by God of course. So this verse does not authorize judgementalism, or legalism as some would hope. Again, as it is throughout this whole passage, the love mentioned here is agape love, agapvn, agapon. We also see how the love of the Father cannot be separated from the love of the Son.

Another fruit of love is the revelation of Christ. God will show, reveal or make known, himself to those who love him. And this knowledge of him is not like that mentioned of verse 19, "seeth". It is a clear presentation of himself to the believer which includes intimate communication. Verses 20 & 21 show God's desire for personal interaction between man and God, God wants much more than just head knowledge as was mentioned in this verse, God wants a heart knowledge and life application of his commands that flow from loving him.

The key Truths

Within these seven verse in John there are three major Truths that Jesus shares with us. And these are:

1. Obedience is the fruit of true love
2. The Holy Spirit living in us
3. The Trinity nature of God

Many minor, but important, points are brought out about the key truths in these verse. For example who may receive the Spirit and why, the gift is eternal not temporal, Jesus initiates the gift by request to the Father, ... We also noticed mercy, compassion and love in these words of Christ. It was part of his farewell to his disciples, and in it he shows how he longs for intimate relationships with them, and us, unified through the Spirit.

Applications

The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus without measure. And in several instances throughout the New Testament, people were filled with the Holy Spirit a second or even third time. Jesus did not leave or forsake them, rather the degree of the Holy Spirit living in them was increased. My desire is to be filled with an ever greater degree of the Holy Spirit. From the parable in Luke 11:5 - 13, Jesus tells us to ask our Father, and being our heavenly Father he will give us the Holy Spirit. Along with this, Christ wants us to know what he says to us through the Word. And more than that we must follow his teachings! This is the obedience that I am called to, and because of my love for the Lord, I will receive more and more of God's Holy Spirit. And so my challenge is to choose to love and follow his Word, to seek the gifts that come from God, to realize the very nature of God and to watch Christ reveal himself to me.

Works Consulted