You're listening to the teaching ministry of Harvest Fellowship Church in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about us on the web at www.harvestfellowshipchurch.org. We pray that through our teaching, we may present everyone mature in Christ. Lord, we thank you that we could once again gather together In a building that has been set apart for your honor and for your glory, we know, O Lord, that this is not your house, for this building nor all the world, all creation cannot contain you, for you are indeed glorious and you are omnipresent. But we pray tonight, O Lord, that as we meet together, we will meet you in your word by your spirit, that you would open our hearts and minds to the truth of your word. that we'd be changed and transformed, and our minds would be renewed, and that we would grow in our love for you and for each other. Pray for our children as they're in their second week studying the book of Esther. May they see your hand in providence in all that you did in the story of Queen Esther, Mordecai, and O Lord, may you, O Lord, be high and lifted up. May Ron tonight, Lord, as he teaches our fundamentals of the faith class, May he, O Lord, have wisdom and grace as he teaches. May everyone that is there, O Lord, grow in their understanding of you. We thank you, Lord, for this time that we share together again. In Jesus' name, amen. We're in the gospel according to John. How many gospels are there? One gospel. Good. We're going to read chapter 14 the whole way through, then we're going to come back up and pick it up in verse 21. Chapter 13, just as a recap, Jesus instructed His disciples. Judas is left. Judas is gone. Sat off to betray Him. Jesus foretold that there would be one who would betray Him. Then He said there would be one who would deny Him. That is Peter. Peter said, Note me, Lord, I'd lay down my life. Jesus answered, Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, Truly I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times." So not once, not twice, but three times Peter is going to deny the Master. So chapter 14 is a section where he sets out to bring comfort to his disciples in this last night that he will be with them. We pick it up in verse one, let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my father also. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us 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 in my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do. and greater works than these will He do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, in order that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me." Because I live, you also will live. And that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. Judas, not Iscariot, said to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus answered him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and the Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace, I leave with you my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give it to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, I am going away and I will come to you. If you love me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. I want to give you a few things, 13. that are occurring just as an overview of what's going on in this chapter. The Lord is bringing comfort to the troubled hearts of his disciples, of those who have been closest to him over a period of three years. So he troubles their, he comforts their troubled hearts. Number one, he assured them that he was going to the father's house. Two, he, excuse me, He would make provision for them, for their coming there. He would bring them there. Number three, after He made the necessary provisions, He would return for them and take them to the Father. Four. He made a way for them to get there. Five, He would enable them to do greater things. Six, that whatever they needed to do, those greater things would be given to them if they asked in His name. Seven, that a divine person would be sent to them in His place as their instructor, guide, protector, and counselor. Eight, He would not leave them as orphans. but he would give them an endless life. Nine, they would share in the, I can't even read my own writing. They would share in the oneness of the life that he shared with his father, that is, the father and the son shared. 10, he would manifest himself to those who would keep his commandments. 11, those who keep his word, he said, would be loved by the father. 12, the Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance all that he had told them as they were walking with him and being taught by him. 13, he would give them a peace, not like the world gives, but that as he himself had. Okay, so that's a brief overview of what he tells them in chapter 14. In this section, we're going to see, as we come to verse 21 and following, that Christ would leave his disciples and us His Spirit, His Word, and His Peace. There's a three-pointer for you. Let's look at verse 21 again, let's just read through it. He said, whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me, and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. So again, when we see this whoever, it's the one having. There are three participles, present active participles in verse 21. The one having my commandments, The one keeping my commandments, that is he who is loving me. Okay, participles are I-N-G words. So having, keeping, and loving. I found it interesting, years and years ago, I would have said, if you would have asked me, can you be a Christian without being in a church, a local church? When I was younger, I would have said yes. Today, I would say probably not. And if you are, you should never be outside of a local church except to transfer from one church to another church. Should never be walking alone. There are no such thing as lone ranger Christians. And the reason I say that in this context is, look what he says, whoever has my commandments, whoever, how are you gonna understand and know what the commandments, the instructions, the precepts, the words of God are if you're not in a local body being taught and instructed? Right? How else are you going to know? Which brings me to Westminster Shorter Catechism, question number 88. Glad you asked. Listen to this one. Question 88. What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption? Answer. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption are his ordinances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer, all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation. Isn't that good? Listen again. the outward and ordinary means of grace, whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption, and these are his ordinances, especially the word, both preached, taught, and read, the sacraments, that is, baptism in the Lord's Supper, and prayer, both corporately with the members of the church and with each other, all which he says are made effectual to the elect for salvation. So God has fully intended that when we are born again, we are born again into a body. We are not alone, meant to go our own way. We are to be under the headship and leadership of men that have been set in positions of eldership, that they might submit to Christ, and as they submit to Christ, they would lead and guide the flock where God puts them. So, in this context, whoever has my commandments and keeps them, how are you going to keep the commandments If you don't know what the commandments are, you must be taught and instructed. And then he says, whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. So the evidence of loving Christ is the obedience of our walk of faith. It's not the ground, I've emphasized this before, Okay? It's not the ground of our relationship. The ground of our relationship with God is always the person and work of Jesus Christ. The evidence, the fruit, the root is the person and work of Christ. The fruit is our obedience of faith as we study, read God's word, and set out to obey it and to walk by faith in that obedience. With me? Okay. So it is he who loves me, and he who loves me will be loved by my father. 1 John 4, 19, we read it last week, I wanna read it again. 1 John 4, 19. We love because he first loved us, okay? Because Christ has redeemed us, the Holy Spirit has given us the fruit of love, and the fruit of love causes us to love God. So therefore, when he it is who obeys the command and keeps them, he it is who loves me, and he who loves me will be loved by the Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. What is he talking about manifest himself, all right? Well, verse 22, Judas, Not Iscariot. John wants us to understand and know that there was more than one man named Judas. It was a very popular name. Most men were named after Judah, the tribe, but Judas Maccabees. Remember the story of Maccabees? We learned that all the way back in chapter, what is that, seven? Festival of Lights. So he says, Judas, not Iscariot, said to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest, reveal, Yourself to us and not to the world. So think about it Here's this guy who has been taught since he was a young man that when Messiah comes He's going to what rule and reign and set his kingdom up on earth Well, how are you going to rule and reign and set your kingdom up on earth? If you don't reveal yourself to the very people that you're going to rule and reign over And you're going to triumph over especially the romans. So jesus and i'm going to manifest myself to you But not the rest of the world Well, how's that gonna work? So I don't think Judas' question is out of, you know, it's not out of place. He's just asking for some clarification. If anyone, he says, Judas, not ascariot, said to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus answered him, verse 23, if anyone loves me, the one loving me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, we just saw that, 1 John 4, 19, okay, and he will be loved by my father, and we will come to him, who will come to him? The Trinity, the entire Trinity, the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and we will come to him, Okay, especially in the spirit, because Christ is going to be at the right hand of the Father. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me. So, how is Jesus than going to manifest himself to his disciples. It is by the giving of the Spirit, which he has already declared. And one of the things we have to be very careful is, here, let me read this about the word. This manifestation of Christ to the believer is ever in the Spirit and through the Word. That's a quote by William Hendrickson in his commentary on the Gospel of John. Let me give it to you again. This manifestation of Christ to the believer is ever in the Spirit and through the Word. So it is the Holy Spirit who will manifest Christ to those disciples and to us as believers afterwards. How will He manifest Himself? It is through the Word. How do we love the Lord? By obeying His commandments. How are we going to know what His commandments are? We're going to study the Word of God and humble ourselves under the authority of God's Word. And it is the Spirit who is going to be our guide and our teacher. So, you can see that understanding the role and ministry of the Holy Spirit is very, very important for us in the church. And there's so many voices calling out what the ministry of the Holy Spirit, they think the role of the Holy Spirit is, and they're in error. We have to be very, very careful to what we say is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We must take it from His Word. Now, He tells us all through this that the one who loves Him is He who obeys His commandment or obeys His Word. He tells us in verse 24, whoever does not love me does not keep my words. So he gives us those statements in the positive, now he gives it to us in the negative. He wants to make sure that you understand that by not Keeping his words, you're revealing, you're giving evidence that you do not love him. And the word that you hear, he says, is not mine, but the Father's who sent me. He's going to clarify what he's already been saying through the whole Gospel of John about that he did not come to share his own ministry or his own words, do his own thing. He came to do the will of the Father, and the words that he speaks are the words of the Father. Look back at chapter 7 and verse 16. chapter 7 of John and verse 16. Let's go to 14. About the middle of the feast, Feast of Booths, Tabernacles. Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews, that is those religious leaders who were hostile to him, therefore marveled, saying, how is it that this man has learning when he has never studied? Okay, in other words, he's not qualified to be teaching. Where does he get all this stuff? Verse 16, so Jesus answered them, that is the Jews, my teaching is not mine, but his who Sent me So he's saying I've been sent by the father and the words that I share with you are not my words. They're his words So we see that back when we come then to verse 24 of chapter 14 again, whoever does Not love me does not keep my words and the words that you hear the word that you hear is not mine but the father's Who sent me? verse 25 These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. We could add physically, all right? So he's sharing these things with them in order to bring them comfort, but also that when he leaves, they won't fall apart. They'll understand what this is all about. So he's explaining to them beforehand. How is it that he could explain this to them beforehand? He knows what's going to happen, right? So He knows what's going to happen. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Now there's a verse, okay? There's a verse. Now, we've already seen this Holy Spirit referred to as the Helper up in verse 16. Verse 15, "...if you love Me, you will keep My commandments, and I will ask the Father," He's the Mediator, "...I will ask the Father," He asks, "...and He will give you," in the future, Another helper, remember I told you another helper was alos parakeletos, alos meaning one of the same kind, parakeletos, para alongside of, keletos from the Greek word kaleo, the verb to call, one who is called alongside of you. So this Helper, this Comforter, is going to come, and He is the Spirit of Truth, verse 17. Now, we come back down to verse 26, and He says, but the Helper, the one that He has already referred to back in verse 16, then He qualifies who the Helper is, the Holy Spirit, And then he says again, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Now, who is this Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name? Let's look up a few verses. And what does it mean that he will send him in my name? Let's go to 2 Corinthians 3. 2 Corinthians 3. 17. Look at the names of the Holy Spirit that through the writers of the New Testament, the Holy Spirit himself calls himself, okay? this Holy Spirit. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord, so the Holy Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we are all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. All right? So this here we see that the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of the Lord. In other words, the Spirit of Christ. Now let's go over to Acts chapter 16 and verse 7. Acts 16. Chapter 16, Paul and Silas, Timothy, verse 6, and they, that is those disciples, went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, 16, 7, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus Okay? But the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. See how Paul, Spirit of the Lord, Spirit of Jesus, refers to the Holy Spirit. He is the one, the third person of the divine Trinity that has come in the place of Christ to lead the disciples and the apostles. All right? Let's go to another one. Romans 8 9. Here it just says, you, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. So we have the Spirit of God, and we have the Spirit of Christ, okay? Referring to the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 1.11. Verse 10, concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. So we see here the Spirit of Christ. One last one, Philippians 119. Philippians 119. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, thank you, this will turn out for my deliverance. So we see how the Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Spirit of the Lord, okay, over and over, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things." Some of the commentaries mention this, and because I have a personal story on this to tell you. The word Holy Spirit in Greek is what's called neuter. You have masculine, and it doesn't have anything to do with sexuality. It's just the way words are used. Masculine, feminine, and neuter. Holy Spirit is what's called, both of those words are neuter. But the word he, the pronoun, in verse 26 says, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things. And some of the commentators, and one of the professors I had in my undergraduate studies in theology said, there, it shows that the Holy Spirit is a person Because even though Holy Spirit is neuter, the biblical writers use masculine pronouns to refer to Him. Because when you use a pronoun, it must agree in person, okay? In all ways, it'll agree with the antecedent, okay? So a pronoun is a modifier, a referring back. So referring to the Holy Spirit, He, well, Because I got out of the military in January, I missed the first semester when I started college. So I started in the second semester. In the first semester, in the school that I went to, the first year you took Theology 1. I didn't take Theology 1 as a freshman like everyone else did. I took Theology 1 as a senior. And at that time, I'd already had three and a half years of Greek in my undergraduate studies. So the professor that I had was also one of my Greek professors. I had two men that taught me Greek. So he says, look, Ron, he goes, I'm not going to give you what I give these other young kids coming right out of high school. I had already had eight years in the military, and I was coming out. He said, I want you to write a paper. I'm gonna give you a stack of papers that Greek students have written over the years to prove that when the Holy Spirit is referred to in the Gospel of John, Holy Spirit is neuter, the masculine pronouns are used, and I want you to write a paper on that. I said, okay. Took the papers home, and I'm reading them, and I sat down, I start reading the Greek text, and I said, wait a second. Something's wrong here. This is wrong. All these papers are wrong. For all these years, he's been teaching this. And then I just read it this week in another commentary as I'm studying for tonight. But anyway, I said to the professor, I was afraid to go to him because he had been teaching it all these years, and he gave me all these papers. So I went to the other guy that taught me Greek, and I said, look what I found. The only guy that I see making any references to it is A.T. Robertson, who wrote a big, thick Greek grammar. And what he's saying is that this he, this masculine pronoun, does not refer to the Holy Spirit, which is neuter, but refers to the Helper, per colletos, which is masculine. So, helper, the holy, is the nominative, is the subject of this sentence. Holy Spirit is a modifier explaining who the helper is, and he is not referring to the Holy Spirit, which is neuter, but he is referring to the parakletos, the helper who is masculine, and that's the way Greek grammar works. And he looked at me and said, you're right. He goes, he taught me Greek 20-some years ago, and I accepted what he said. Now that you're showing me this, I see where he was wrong. So I made an appointment to go tell this guy who is my age now, and I was in my, well, I was 30, 31. Anyway, I go in there, and I'm trying to explain it, and he just looked at me, and he just shook his head, and he goes, you're right. I've been teaching it wrong all these years. I thought that was good, that he was humble enough to confess that he indeed had made a mistake, But the hard part was I had to teach that in every class that he had for the whole week. So no matter what class it was, he brought me in to explain it to everybody on the blackboard and to show everyone why the he is modifying the helper, perikletos, and not the Holy Spirit. All right? Why did I tell you that? So that if you're ever reading a commentary or anyone tells you that, you can say, hey, wait a minute, that he is modifying, referring back to the antecedent to that pronoun he, is not the Holy Spirit neuter, it's parakletos, the helper, which is masculine, right? Okay, and you're all saying, I didn't need to know that. He is, but what I'm saying is we can't use that argument. He is, and it is a he, okay? But I was getting there. You jumped ahead of me. But he is the third person, okay? But he's not masculine, and he's not feminine. The Holy Spirit is. He's a spirit. Okay, so we can't use that argument, that's all I'm saying is we can't use that argument to show that he is a person. We get the person from the very fact of what the text says. The helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things. What does he mean all things? Is he gonna tell us how to make lasagna? Is he gonna tell us how to do high math? No, what all things? all things needed for life and godliness, all the things that Jesus had instructed his disciples as they walked with him for those three years. Remember, over and over, you know, John's been telling us, these guys don't get it yet, right? They don't get it, but they will get it. And then he says, he will bring to your remembrance, who's your, the disciples. Okay? So he's going to, the Holy Spirit, when he came upon them at Pentecost, in the new and fresh relationship, he had dwelt with them, now he dwells in them, he's going to reveal and take what Jesus had told them, and now it's going to all make sense to them. Not all, but most of it, okay? They're imperfect, like we are. So it's going to be revealed to them. So, notice all things relates to your remembrance all, that I have said to you. Let's look at chapter two, verse 22, with reference to that. 222, when therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said, well let me go up to verse 18. So the Jews said to him, what sign do you show us for doing these things? He went in and remember he cleaned out the temple. Jesus answered them, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews then said, it has taken 46 years to rebuild this, or to build this temple. And will you raise it up in three days? But he was speaking about the temple of his body. Verse 22, when therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. Why did Jesus, excuse me, why did John write this book? That we might, that we might believe. Let's look at chapter 12 and verse 16. says his disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. So it was the Holy Spirit who enabled the disciples to remember those things that Jesus had told them, the scriptures he had used, and now the Holy Spirit opens their minds to understand what the Lord is doing. Verse 27. So Jesus is going to give him his spirit. He's going to give them his word that the Holy Spirit will interpret and help them to understand. Now he comes to the third thing and he says, I'm going to leave you my peace. So peace I leave you, I leave with you, my peace I give to you. It's both a legacy You leave someone a legacy, and you leave them a treasure. And that's what Jesus does. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Then he says, let not your hearts be troubled. We saw that back in 14.1, in the beginning of this section, and all the way back in 13.21. Neither let them be afraid. So then. The world's peace, listen to this one, the world's peace is based upon resources. The Christian's peace is based on a relationship. So, the Lord's going to send the Spirit, who will dwell within them, who will relate the things that He has already declared and shared with them, the doctrines and the truths, and by the abiding presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, He will then give them this peace that they will abide in, not as the world has, which is temporary and fleeting, but in a real eternal way they will understand the truth. The world sees peace as an absence of conflict. The Jewish concept of peace is a unity and a wholeness where everything in creation is properly functioning in their roles to the glory of God. That is what ultimate peace is, ultimate shalom. When the Lord returns and establishes his kingdom Everything of all creation will be set right, restored. Remember, the lion will lay with the— everything that's going to be restored to its right relationship with God. Right now, we are under a sin-cursed world and under the enemy's influence. But when the Lord returns and establishes His kingdom, all things will be shalom. It will be blessing and peace. Look at chapter 20 and verse 19. Forget that. Forget that. I don't know why I had that footnote there. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. I know it's 2019, but it had to do with the blessing and unity and where my mind was. I can't pull it out right now. Yeah, what I read. See, I'm doing, what's it say? There it is, wow. That's the second time I've done that tonight. Help me out, Luke. Chapter 20, verse 19, wow, okay. Did it make sense now that I read it? Now I know where my mind was. Thank you. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, peace be with you. All right, when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, peace be with you as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you will hold forgiveness for many, it is withheld. There is the peace. Thank you. Peace I leave you, peace I leave with you is a legacy. Peace I give you is a treasure, not as the world gives do I give it to you. Let's look at Philippians chapter four, verses six and seven on this matter. Verse four, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Verse six, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication. With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We just learned Not last week, but the week before that we have peace with God, how? Romans 5. Through His Son. Okay, through the sacrifice on the cross. He removed the enmity that was between God and sinful man. And we who by faith have repented of our sins and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, by that sacrifice have been made right with God. We are at peace with God. But there is not only the objective peace, there is the subjective peace that we come to know by our union and communion with the Lord in the Holy Spirit, in His Word. When we are distraught, when we are concerned, when we are frightful, where do we go? We go to the Lord and to His Word. And that is where we find our peace. We come to see the world and our circumstances in a different light. It's not that our circumstances change. Sometimes the Lord does change our circumstances. Sometimes He does not. But He lets us see and understand that there is a greater purpose, and the reason we are there is for His glory and our good. Okay? So we come to this Word, and we seek the guidance and wisdom of the Spirit. Now, let not your hearts be troubled, Okay? Neither let them be afraid. You heard me, verse 28. You heard me say to you, I am going away. He said this over and over again. Look at 14.2. In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? Look at 14.3, and if I go, here he's going again, and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I may be, where I am, you may be also. All right, look at verse 12 of chapter 14. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." So he's going. He says, you have heard me say to you, I am going away. And then he says, and I will come to you. Look at verse three again, I read it earlier. Verse three, chapter 14. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. Look at verse 18 of chapter 14. I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. Verse 19. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me, because I live, you also will live. Verse 21. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me, and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. And then verse 23, Jesus answered him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. I go away, but I will come to you. You heard me say I'm going away, verse 28, and I will come to you. If you love me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. What does he mean, if you love me, you would have rejoiced? What were they looking at? They were looking at their own circumstance, their own concerns. I don't want him to leave. Everything that I had hoped for was him being here, establish his kingdom. In fact, I was arguing with the other guys who was gonna sit in the right, who was gonna sit in the left. But if they would have truly loved him and put him first, they would have rejoiced that he was going to the place of preeminence that he had left to come, but they didn't quite get it yet. But then he says something, if you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the Father. And then he says, for the Father is greater than I. If you've ever had someone ring your doorbell on a Saturday or Sunday, This is one of the verses that the Jehovah Witnesses will quote to you, when they try to tell you that Jesus is not God, but He is a created being. And when you object and push back, this is the verse they take you to, and most people aren't ready for this one. What does it mean when Jesus says, for the Father is greater than I? It would seem if we went back and we read from the very beginning of the Gospel of John, we would have seen Jesus saying over and over again that He and the Father, in chapter 10, verse 30, are one. In fact, if you'll go back to chapter 5, He gets in trouble because He claims to be equal to the Father, right? And then chapter 8, He goes on and He says, Before Abraham was Yahweh, I am, and they're gonna pick up stones like they were in chapter five. The Jews are gonna pick up stones. And they say, he goes, well, for what work are you gonna stone me for? And what do they say? We're not stoning you for any of the works that you have done, but that you have made yourself equal to God. So the Jews, the religious leaders, understood what he was saying repeatedly, that he and the Father were one, that he was indeed God. You go through the other Gospels, and you see repeatedly that he is being condemned, criticized, persecuted, because he said that he has the ability to forgive sins, which was a prerogative of God alone. So he was claiming deity. He was claiming to be equal to the Father. And now he says that the Father is greater than him. And if you listen to some of the debates with Muslims, one of the things they will quote is this verse. And they were saying, how could Jesus be equal to God the Father when He says, the Father is greater than I? Okay? And it's a good question. Well, there is one God, right? One being. in three persons. The person of the Father, the person of the Son, and the person of the Holy Spirit. Co-equal, co-eternal in their being, but in the role that Jesus took, where he became a little lower than the angels, and he became the God-man, Emmanuel, he took flesh, and he dwelt for a while among us, it is in that context that he is now saying, in my present condition here on earth as the God-man Messiah, the Father is in a greater authority and position than I am at this time. That's the understanding. He is greater, not better. The Father is positionally greater. Let's look at John 17, five real quick. John 17, five. Jesus says, and now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. The eternal Son existed in the presence of God, face-to-face, in that intimate, personal relationship, eternally, before he became the God-man and came to earth to humble himself, as we read in the book of Philippians 2. All right? So, look at Philippians 2, verse 6. Philippians 2 and verse 6. I'm gonna read verse 1, listen. What's going on in this church at Philippi, in the city of Philippi, there were two women in the church that were in a hot debate, they were in a fight, all right? These two women were in a contest. So Paul addresses it, and look how he says it, okay? So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, that is the Holy Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind. In other words, coming to agreement, having the same love, being in full accord and one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Consider others. Verse five, have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. So he says, look, agree, come to an understanding, Christian love. Stop bickering, right? Quit it. Have this mind. Watch. And then he gives Jesus as the example. Well, what's the example? Who, though he, that is Jesus, was in the form, the morphe of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped or held on to, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Okay, that is the humility of Christ. We don't get it. The Lord of glory became like us. For two purposes, for the glory of God and to obey the Father, and two, to redeem us. We don't deserve to be redeemed. It's purely by His grace and love that He has redeemed us. If they would have understood that Jesus was returning to His position of glory, as He said in 17.5, they should have rejoiced. His disciples should have been happy for Him. But they didn't get it. Look at 2 Corinthians 8.9. Paul writing, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor so that you by his poverty might become rich. Wow, what a verse. What a verse. One more, Hebrews 12, two. On this Hebrews 12, two. Paul, excuse me, not Paul, well, maybe Paul, we don't know. That was a slip. I don't know who wrote it. Therefore, since we are surrounded, verse 1 of 12, by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which cling so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Verse 2, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, listen, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne. God. So in that context where he says, for the Father is greater than I, he's talking about his present condition here on earth, while he was still on earth, where he was the obedient son who took upon himself human flesh to live and die for us, okay? So he is equal Here's a big word, ontologically. Ontos is being, so in his being, he's equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit, right? But in his role, and as in the economic function that he is exercising within the Trinity, he in this sense is lower or less than the Father is in this role. only in role, not in being. All right? Verse 29, and now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does takes place, you may believe. In other words, everything's gonna happen here, and I'm telling you this so that when it happens, you'll understand, you'll be prepared, and it won't overwhelm you. I will no longer talk much with you. In other words, I'm still going to talk to you, but it's not going to be in the same way. He still has something to say before he leaves them at the end of this night. We're going to see the prayer in, well, 15, 16, two great chapters, the prayer in 17, and then the transactions are going to take place, which will lead him to his ultimate death. But he says, I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. Who's the ruler of this world? Satan, his enemy, look at 1231. 1231. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out, okay? Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. How is the devil, how is Satan, the ruler of this world. He is ruler of the world in the sense that God has given him a limited authority to operate for the purposes of God. He's not an independent being. He is a dependent being because he is created, and all creation is subject to the sovereign authority of God. So, Martin Luther said, the devil is God's devil. And we see that especially in the book of Job, where Job, you see behind the scenes, when the curtains pulled back, and Satan, and the whole interchange between Satan and God, and Job's not even aware of what's going on. Go back and read the early chapters of the book of Job. He does not have access. He does not have the ability to come in and do what he wants to do. He can only do what the Lord permits him to do. Okay? So, I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me. Why doesn't he have any claim on him? Why doesn't he have any authority over him? Number one, he's God. And number two, he's sinless. Look at chapter 18 and verse 38. John 18 and verse 38. This is the whole scenario where he and Pilate. Pilate said to him, what is truth? After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, what? I find no guilt in him. I find no guilt in him. Isaiah 53, 9. Famous chapter of the suffering servant. Isaiah 53, 9. And they made his grave with the wicked, And with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. And there's many other passages in Hebrews and all, I'm not going to go there now at the end here, telling us that he was without sin. But he says, he has no claim on me, verse 31. But I do, as the Father has commanded me, Why? "...so that the world may know that I love the Father." What was he telling us earlier? That those who had his commandments and did what? Obeyed them or kept them? Showed their love? Now look what he says, "...but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here." His example of obedience And keeping the commandment and the Word of God is our example that we might know, understand, keep, and obey the words of God and His commandments. And by doing so, we will reveal to the world that we love the Lord. Our evidence of loving the Word is not by our good works, It's not by the social justice issues for which we stand. It's by obedience to His commandment and to His Word. One last verse, chapter 10, 11 through 18. 10, 11 through 18, and we'll end with this. Chapter 10, verse 11. Ego eimi. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me. Just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. Listen, I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father. So, when he says, I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from there. His perfect life of obedience was evidence for all to see that he loved the Father. How far in his obedience did he go? Philippians says, humble to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therein is love. It was at the cross that the justice and mercy of God met. And because the justice and mercy of God is met, you and I now have a Savior that loves us, has sent His Spirit into the world, to lead us, guide us, care for us, to walk with us, to instruct us in His Word, that we might live in the obedience of faith to the glory of God and for a light to the world. Amen? Amen. Father, thank You. Thank You for this night. We pray, O Lord, that we have glorified You O Lord, that as we have come to your word, humbled ourselves and trembled at your word, we pray, O Lord, that you would enlighten us, give us the understanding, O Lord, so that we might love you in a greater and fuller way. Thank you, Lord, for the outpouring of your spirit upon us. May we, O Lord, stand in the obedience of faith and give you glory in Christ's name. Amen.