John 14:12-21: “Jesus Tells
His Disciples That The One Who Believes In Him Will Do Greater Works Than He
Has Done”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked at verses 1-11 of chapter 14.
1.1.1. Still in the
Upper Room Discourse teaching by Jesus given that last day of His life, we saw
that things are quickly coming to a head for Him as He is soon to be arrested
and taken away to be crucified. With
this being Jesus’ last day with His disciples, He has some very important
things to say to and teach them.
1.1.2. Prior to
this time, Jesus has on several occasions spoken in an almost morose way
concerning His dying and leaving this world.
Not only had Jesus spoken of His soon departing from this world and His disciples,
He on a couple of occasions has become very “troubled.” So, because of
these mysterious and troubling things that Jesus has said to His disciples
prior to this moment, we saw that lurking within them now was something that
was very unsettling.
1.1.3. We saw also
that it is reasonable to assume that when Jesus had spoken concerning His death
prior to this that the disciples probably thought that He had been speaking to
them in a parable rather than concerning reality. After all, Jesus had continually shown His
power over all the elements and creatures through His miraculous works.
1.1.4. Jesus knew
that He must prepare His disciples for the awful horror that they are soon to
experience when they learn that their Master and teacher has been crucified and
buried. They will lose all hope at that
time and be dispersed in every direction, however we saw that Jesus now planted
seeds of hope that He will water and bring to life in them after He has been
raised from the dead.
1.1.5. Jesus
comforted His disciples by telling them to not let their hearts become
troubled. Though He was going away from
them, in His Father’s house were many mansions, and He was going away to build
one for them. One day He would come
again one day and take them to be with Him.
1.1.6. Thomas
responded and asked Jesus how that if they did not know where He was going,
they might be able to know the way?
Jesus responded that He was the way, the truth, and the life, and that
no one comes to the Father but through Him.
We talked about what that statement by Jesus meant.
1.1.7. When Philip
stated that if Jesus would just show them the Father that it would be enough
for them, Jesus asked Philip how He could have been with them so long and yet
not seen the Father, for he who had seen Jesus had seen the Father.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at verses 12
to 21 of chapter 14.
1.2.1. Jesus will
give His disciples a startling and incredible promise, that the one who
believes in Him will do even greater works than He has done. We will talk about what Jesus meant by this
and how it has been fulfilled in the early church as well as all throughout the
history of the church.
1.2.2. Jesus will
teach His disciples about how that these great things they will do will be
accomplished by prayer to Him and to the Father in His Name.
1.2.3. Jesus will
also tell His disciples that He will send to them another “comforter” in
the Holy Spirit who will come alongside them and assist them. We will talk about the Holy Spirit as the
Christian’s “comforter” as well as the general role of the Holy Spirit
in the Christian’s life
2.
VS 14:12 -
“‘Truly, truly, I say to
you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he
do; because I go to the Father’.”
- Jesus tells His disciples that the one
who believes in Him shall do even greater works than He does because Jesus is
going to the Father
2.1.
Having
comforted His disciples about His going away by telling His disciples about his
returning to them, building mansions for them, and eventually returning for
them, Jesus now begins to explain to them the fact that the work that He has
begun is to be continued by them, for He had merely been training and preparing
them all along to take up His work when He leaves the earth.
2.2.
The
disciples up to this point probably envisioned themselves in an advisory or
administrative capacity under Jesus that would take effect when Jesus took up
His reign over Israel, but now they discover that Jesus is leaving and going to
be turning over His work and the building of His kingdom to them. The works that Jesus has been doing they are
now going to begin doing.
2.3.
In Jesus’
day, a Rabbi would take on a disciple at around age 15 and he would study for a
period of 15 years. Then, if he achieved
his goal at that point he would become a rabbi in his own right and be a leader
and teacher of the people. Since Jesus
had only been with His disciples for a mere 3 ½ years at most and the disciples
expected 15, they must have been shocked and overwhelmed when Jesus speaks
these words to them concerning their commissioning which was to begin now, and
after only 3 ½ years.
2.4.
Jesus is thinking forward to that time when these
disciples of His shall be proclaiming His gospel to all of the nations and so
He plants this seed within their hearts.
This word must have seemed nothing but incredulous to them at this
time. Jesus tells His disciples that
they who believe in Him (as He speaks in a universal sense), shall do the same
works as Jesus did, and even greater works than what Jesus did shall they
do.
2.5.
The reason that Jesus’ disciples would be able to do
even greater works than He did is because Jesus is presently going to go to the
Father. When Jesus goes to be with the
Father, He shall dwell within each disciple and not be bound with any of the
constraints of time which they will be bound.
From heaven Jesus will be able to hear and answer every prayer which a
disciple prays. The empowering and
gifting of the Holy Spirit in their lives will enable them to do the works that
Jesus did.
2.6.
It is open for debate as to in which sense the works
which Jesus’ disciples shall perform shall be greater than the works which He
performed.
2.6.1.
Some have said that a disciple of Jesus should raise
more men from the dead and heal more sick, etc.
However, this does not seem to occur in the lives of Jesus’ followers of
every age. Signs and wonders have
decreased in occurrence in the lives of dedicated Christians since the
apostle’s era.
2.6.2.
Some have said that the works will simply be greater
in number than those of Jesus who ministered publicly a mere three and one half
years.
2.6.3.
Some have said that this promise only referred to the
apostles and that signs and wonders have ceased since the age of the apostles,
yet we know that there are many miracles that have continued throughout history
to occur in people’s lives through the prayers of the saints. Plus, revivals have seen millions come to
faith in Christ.
2.6.4.
Still yet, some have conjectured that the type of
works which Jesus’ disciples shall perform shall be different from those of
Jesus, namely that His disciples shall concentrate primarily upon preaching and
teaching His word, and these works shall be greater than the works which Jesus
performed while upon earth.
2.6.4.1.I think that
this last interpretation comes closer to what Jesus meant, although I do
believe that God can and does perform signs and wonders through His present day
disciples.
2.6.4.2.Also, it is
certain that the apostles of that first generation of the church were gifted in
a way unlike any sense for the effecting of miracles, and in fact this is
referred to as the sign of an apostle by Paul (2 Cor. 12:12).
2.7.
The
scriptures reveal to us how that the early church actually did fulfill Jesus’
words here and do even greater things than Jesus Himself did, for instance:
2.7.1.
The gospels:
2.7.1.1.Jesus tried
to teach His disciples the power and effect that their faith could have: Matthew 21:21, “21 And Jesus
answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you
have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig
tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the
sea,’ it will happen.”
2.7.1.2.Jesus
revealed the signs that would be performed by those who believed in Him: Mark 16:17, “17 “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My
name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues.”
2.7.1.3.The
missionary journeys that Jesus disciples were sent out on demonstrated this
truth: Luke 10:17-19, “17 The
seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in
Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I was
watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.”
2.7.2.
The book
of Acts:
2.7.2.1.You could
argue that even in Peter’s first sermon when 3,000 souls were added to the
church that he affect more people’s lives than did Jesus: Acts 2:41, “41 So then, those
who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about
three thousand souls.”
2.7.2.2.The first
miracle performed at Peter’s hand: Acts
3:6-8, “6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but
what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” 7
And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his
feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 With a leap he stood
upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking
and leaping and praising God.”
2.7.2.3.Subsequent
preaching by Peter brought even greater multitudes to faith: Acts 4:4, “4 But many of those
who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about
five thousand.”
2.7.2.4.People were
healed just by having Peter’s shadow pass by them: Acts 5:15, “15 to such an
extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on
cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on
any one of them.”
2.7.2.5.Demons were
cast out of many at the hands of the apostles:
Acts 8:7, “7 For in the case of many who had
unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud
voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed.”
2.7.2.6.The dead
were raised:
2.7.2.6.1.Acts 9:34, “34
Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make
your bed.” Immediately he got up.”
2.7.2.6.2.Acts 9:40, “40
But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to
the body, he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw
Peter, she sat up.”
2.7.2.7.The apostle
Paul was used to cast demons out of people:
Acts 16:18, “18 She continued doing this for many days.
But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you
in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very
moment.”
2.7.2.8.Paul’s
handkerchiefs and aprons were even used to bring healing: Acts 19:12, “12 so that
handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases
left them and the evil spirits went out.”
2.7.3.
In the
epistles:
2.7.3.1.Paul
describes how greatly God used him:
Romans 15:19, “19 in the power of signs and wonders, in
the power of the Spirit; so that from
2.7.3.2.Spiritual
gifts were exercised by all in the churches:
1 Corinthians 12:10, “10 and to another the effecting of
miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of
spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the
interpretation of tongues.”
2.7.4.
Recent church history:
2.7.4.1.In the last
few hundred years we have seen great revivals spring up in
2.7.4.2.Effecting of
miracles has occurred with much less frequency in the more civilized, educated,
and industrialized nations but still continues to occur across the world.
2.8.
God has called us, His church, to perform His
works. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10, “For
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Further, God has given us His great
commission, which is to go to all of the world and preach the gospel to all
creation. God Himself is working within
us to also to work for Him, as Paul wrote in Phil. 2:13, “For it is God who
is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure”. As
God works within us, it is our responsibility to allow (or cooperate with) God
also to work through us what He is working in us. As He works it in, we are to work it out of
our lives through the power of His Spirit within us.
2.9.
We Christians need to be prayerful for opportunities
to let God work out through us what He is working within us; and we also need to be watchful for those
opportunities to present themselves to us, so that we can express what God is
working within us!
3.
VS 14:13 - “‘And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father
may be glorified in the Son’.” – Jesus tells His disciples that whatever they ask in
His Name that He will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son
3.1.
Jesus begins to inform His disciples how it shall come
to pass that greater works than those which He performed shall be performed
through them. It shall be through prayer
to Jesus and to the Father in His name that His works shall be done.
3.2.
Jesus always used limitless language when He taught on
prayer. He says here that ‘whatever’
we ask in His name, He will do for us.
This is the present lesson that Jesus is seeking to teach His disciples
about prayer, that what they may ask for in prayer “has no limits as to the
magnitude of its scope.”
3.3.
When we talk about what the scripture teaches us as
Christians about prayer, we should realize that we must take into account what
every passage in the Bible says about effectual praying. We can’t just take one verse without
balancing that verse with all else that is taught, for instance:
3.3.1.
When asked by
His disciples why they were not able to cast a demon out of a little boy, Jesus
taught His disciples about “believing”
prayer that is able to move mountains:
Luke 17:18-21, “Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy,
and he was healed from that moment. Then
the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive
it out?" He replied, "Because
you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a
mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there' and it
will move. Nothing will be impossible for you”. In that instance Jesus taught the necessity
of “faith” to effective prayer.
3.3.2.
Praying according to the Father’s will is another
condition required for effectual prayer according to 1 John 5:14-15, “And
this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything
according to His will, He hears us. And
if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the
requests which we have asked from Him.”
3.3.3.
Obedience
is another key to effectual praying according to 1 John 3:22, “And
whatsoever we ask we receive of Him because we keep His commandments and do the
things that are pleasing in His sight.”
3.3.4.
In this verse the requirements of effectual prayer are
asking “in His Name,” and His motive for the Father being glorified in
the Son. Many pray and use the Name of
Jesus when they pray sort of like rubbing a bottle so that the Genie comes out
and will perform whatever you ask of him.
They think that if they simply use the magical phrase “in Jesus’ Name”
that their prayers will be answered by God.
However, to ask in Jesus’ name means “to ask as representing Jesus
person and work, as well as His present will” in that request. It is as if in one’s praying he is actually a
delivery boy delivering a package on behalf of or as representing another
party. Also, prayer that is prayed for
God’s glory through Jesus will always have heaven’s blessing providing it is
prayed according to His will.
3.4.
Since Jesus used unlimited language here in describing
the things that we Christians can ask for in prayer, we ought to pray for
things that are “beyond even our imagination” as to how God might answer
our prayer. We ought also to never lose
hope in our praying for people, especially our loved ones. God has called us to stand in the gap for the
land, as Ez. 22:30-31 says, as “prayer warriors” for Him.
4.
VS
14:14 - “‘If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it’.” - Jesus again
uses unlimited language as He tells His disciples that if they ask ‘anything’
in His Name that He will do it
4.1.
Jesus reveals in an even deeper way His divine nature to
His disciples by telling them that in the future when He goes to be with the
Father, they can pray to ‘Him’,
and that “whatever” they may ask (providing that it conforms to all of
the other scriptural qualifications for effectual praying), He shall do what
they ask of Him.
4.2.
We Christians may pray directly to Jesus, not just to
the Father in His name.
5.
VS 14:15 - “‘If
you love Me, you will keep My commandments’.” -
Jesus tells His disciples that if they love Him that they will keep His
commandments
5.1.
Jesus challenges His disciples to show their love for
Him by obedience to His commands. If
they love Him, then by definition of “agape” love, which is the Greek
word used for love in this verse, then they will keep His commandments. This does not mean that they shall be
perfect, only that they shall be constrained by that love for Him to direct
their life to the habit of hearing and obeying all of His commands.
5.2.
As we
Christians go about here on the earth doing even greater works than Jesus did,
we are to be His representatives and be about our Father’s business, not off on
our own doing whatever things that we want and desire to do.
5.3.
Paul
referred to Himself in His letters as the Lord’s “bond-slave,” a word
that related back to the slaves of the Old Testament who would voluntarily give
up their freedom when they could be freed, choosing to live out the rest of
their lives as slaves to their master.
We Christians have been redeemed and purchased by the blood of the Lamb
and our lives are not our own to do our own bidding.
5.4.
We Christians ought to commit ourselves to being not
just hearers of His word, but also to be doers of the word. If we truly love the Lord we will be
committed to being a doer of the word.
Have you made this commitment once and for all?
5.5.
Because we
are the Lord’s bond-servants, purchase by Him, it is imperative that we realize
that we must not pick and choose those things that we shall obey from God’s
word. We are to commit ourselves to do
all of the Lord’s will and serve Him with all of our life.
6.
VS 14:16-17 - “‘And
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with
you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it does not behold Him or know Him, but
you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you’.” - Jesus tells His disciples that He will ask
the Father and that the Father will give them another ‘Helper’ that He will be
with them forever, the ‘Spirit of truth’
6.1.
We see from the context of the previous verse,
obedience to God is a prerequisite for men and women receiving and being led by
the Holy Spirit. Peter said in Acts
5:32, ‘We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God
has given to those who obey him.’
6.2.
The Greek word translated here as “helper” in
verse 16 is found only in one other verse in the Bible besides John chapters
14-16, and that verse is 1 John 2:1 where Jesus is said to be our “advocate” to
the Father if we have sinned: “My
little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous”.
6.3.
In other translations of the Bible, this word
translated ‘helper’ in verse 16 is translated as “comforter” or “counselor.” The Greek word is “paraclete” and the
preposition “para” on the front of this word brings the meaning of “called
alongside,” thus the word is translated ‘helper.’
6.4.
Strongs Concordance contains the following entry for
this Greek word translated ‘helper’ :
AV - comforter 4, advocate 1; 5
1) summoned, called to one's side, esp. called to one's aid
1a) one who pleads
another's cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense, legal
assistant, an advocate
1b) one who pleads another's cause with one, an intercessor
1b1) of Christ in his
exaltation at God's right hand, pleading with God the Father for the pardon of
our sins
1c) in the widest sense, a helper,
succourer, aider, assistant
1c1) of the Holy Spirit
destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles (after his ascension to
the Father), to lead them to a deeper knowledge of the gospel truth, and give
them divine strength needed to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions
on behalf of the divine kingdom
6.5.
Christ promised the Holy Spirit would be “another”
comforter or counselor, which means that the Holy Spirit is to be a comforter
to Christ’s disciples just as He was in the flesh. The Holy Spirit was to do the very things
that Jesus did for the disciples while with them.
6.6.
The Wikpedia Online Dictionary has the following entry
for this Greek word “Paraclete” used here for the Holy Spirit:
'Paraclete' appears in the New Testament in the Gospel
of John (14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7), where it may be translated in English as
"Counselor", "Helper", or "Comforter". The
In 1 John 2:1 "paraclete" is used to
describe the intercesory role of Jesus Christ. And in John 14:16 Jesus says
"another paraclete" will come to help his disciples, implying Jesus
is the first paraclete.
In Matt 3:10-12 and Luke 3:9-17 John the Baptist says
a powerful one coming after him: "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit
and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his
threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff
with unquenchable fire." (NIV)
Verses like these are often used by Christians in
Trinitarian theology to describe how God is revealed to the world and God's
role in salvation. According to trinitarian doctrine, the Paraclete or Holy
Spirit is the third person of the Trinity who among other things provides
guidance, consolation and support to people. Other titles for the Holy Spirit
include 'Spirit of Truth', Lightfull Spirit of God Almighty, Holy Breath,
Almighty Breath, Giver of Life, Lord of Grace, Helper, 'Comforter',
'Counsellor' and 'Supporter'.
Some early Christians may have believed that Jesus
himself returned after his death to indwell his followers as the Spirit and
Helper.
Some people including Montanus in the mid 2nd Century
and Mani (210-276) claimed to be the promised paraclete of John 14:16.
Islam since the 7th Century have identified Muhammad
as the Paraclete promised by Jesus. They draw on similarities between the words
"Parakletos" and "periklutos", which can be translated as
"Ahmad" and is another name used to refer to Muhammad in the Qur'an. …However,
there are numerous Christian objections to this interpretation. John 14:16-17
specifies that the Paraclete will "be with you forever— the Spirit of
truth" whom the world cannot accept "because it neither sees him nor
knows him." Muhammed was not eternal, nor a spirit, and was seen and known
to the world.
6.7.
The Holy Spirit will soon come to dwell within every
true believer in Christ and remain with him as the “comforter” until
that person goes to be with Jesus for all eternity. The Holy Spirit was to come to the disciples
because Jesus would ask the Father that He would send the Holy Spirit to His
disciples.
6.8.
The Holy Spirit is spoken of in the masculine form in
these verses, and He is spoken of as a “person,” not a thing or a force
or entity. He is the third person of the
Trinity and scripture consistently gives Him traits which relate to a
personage. In the Bible we see that the
Holy Spirit acts as a “person” not some impersonal force, for He has a
mind, knows God’s thoughts, teaches, counsels, guides, speaks, convicts,
testifies, reveals mysteries, gives life, loves, is grieved, can be lied to,
etc., etc.
6.9.
The Holy Spirit is also God, the third person of the
Trinity. Many scriptures reveal this
truth as well, for instance He is called "God" in Acts 5:3,4
and "Lord" in 2Cor 3:17,18.
6.10.
In verse 17, Christ called the Holy Spirit, “the
Spirit of truth” because He reveals truth to God’s people, and Christ says
of Him that He will reveal “all” truth to His disciples.
6.11.
The Greek word translated ‘world’ (“kosmos”)
refers to that world that is in rebellion against God and does not acknowledge
Him or His word. That world cannot
behold or know the Holy Spirit, for He is holy and sinful men are not. Plus, the people of this world must live by
faith in Jesus if they are to know the Holy Spirit. However, Jesus tells His disciples that they
do know the Holy Spirit.
6.12.
The reason why Jesus’ disciples know the Holy Spirit
is because He has been with them.
Through their relationship with Jesus, each of His disciples has come in
close proximity with the Holy Spirit, and they have heard His promptings many
times.
6.13.
Jesus tells His disciples that in the very near future
the Holy Spirit will come to live within them.
After Jesus raises from the dead, He comes in through the walls to them
and breathes on them and tells them to “receive the Holy Spirit” (John
20:22).
6.14.
Since the Holy Spirit is called to come alongside of
Christians to be a counselor and comforter, then we Christians ought to look to
the Holy Spirit for the help and comfort we need. If we need a counselor, the Holy Spirit can
and will be our counselor. We ought to
look to Him instead of the fleshly wisdom of men for our counsel. And if we need further counsel, after we have
sought the Holy Spirit’s counsel, then we need to seek the counsel of men of
God who point us to the Holy Spirit who can minister God’s word to us and meet
our need.
6.15.
We Christians should look to the Holy Spirit to reveal
the Word of God to us before we ever place our eyes upon a page of it. We ought to always pray for the Holy Spirit’s
illumination, wisdom, strength, conviction, and empowerment in all of our
difficulties, decisions, and plans.
6.16.
There are so many Christian groups who are always
looking for some new experience or spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit, but in
reality every Christian is already indwelt with the third person of the
trinity, and already has everything that deity can offer. We need to get to know the person of the Holy
Spirit who dwells within us, and if we just yield more of ourselves to Him we
shall experience much more of the works that Jesus performed.
7.
VS
14:18-19 - “‘I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will behold Me
no more; but you will behold Me; because I live, you shall live also’.”
- Jesus tells His disciples that He will
not leave them as orphans but that He will come to them, the world will behold
Him no more but they will behold Him, and because He lives they will live
7.1.
Jesus is still speaking to His disciples as a dying
parent to His “little children” (as He called them in our last study),
and He tells them that He will not leave them as ‘orphans,’ but that He
will come to them. Jesus’ promise to His
disciples is soon fulfilled when after His resurrection He comes to them on and
off over a period of 40 days, encouraging and guiding them towards winning the
world for Him.
7.2.
Jesus states here that the “kosmos,” or the
world in rebellion against God, will no longer behold Him, but His disciples
will behold Him. In fulfillment of this,
there exists no record that Jesus appeared to any other than His disciples
during the 40 days after His resurrection which led to His final ascension to
the Father.
7.3.
Jesus tells His disciples that because He lives, they
will also live. The Christian lives the
resurrection life of Jesus because he becomes united with Christ in His death
and resurrection. Paul, in Romans 6:5-12
explained this, “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we
will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified
with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no
longer be slaves to sin -- because anyone who has died has been freed from
sin. Now if we died with Christ, we
believe that we will also live with him.
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die
again; death no longer has mastery over him.
The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives,
he lives to God. In the same way, count
yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal
body so that you obey its evil desires.”
7.4.
We Christians are able to live (“zoa” in the
Greek) spiritually because Jesus was raised up to new life, therefore we ought
to make full use of that “zoa” life of God which we have available to us
as God’s children. We ought to seek to
live that life in all the abundance which Jesus promised to give us in John
10:10.
7.5.
Christians do not need to fall for any of the lies
which the devil is trying to make us believe as He tries to get us to live in
the old garbage of our life prior to knowing Christ. We have better promised to us if we shall
just let God apprehend us with His love.
There is no need for the stench of death to be smelled upon our life,
for we are designed to exude the sweet aroma of Christ.
8.
VS
14:20-21 - “‘In that day you shall know that I am in
My Father, and you in Me, and I in you’.” - Jesus tells His disciples that in the day
that these things come to pass that they will know that He is in the Father and
that they are in Him and that He is in them
8.1.
Christ promises His disciples that on the day that
they come to have the Holy Spirit live within them as another comforter, that
they will also know that He came from and presently is in the Father. Jesus
Christ forever is the second person of the Trinity.
8.2.
On that day Jesus’ disciples will also know that they
are in Him, since they have received His work upon the cross and been fully
identified with His death, atonement, and resurrection. And on that day, Christ promises that He, the
second person of the trinity, shall also come to live within them along with
the Holy Spirit (see 14:17).
8.3.
Are you oh Christian really living each moment of each
day “in Christ”? Or, do you live partly
for ourselves and in the flesh nature?
8.4.
In Phil 1:21, Paul wrote, “For to me, to live is
Christ and to die is gain”. Paul saw
himself as a “bond-slave” of Christ, and thus having no life other than
that which is as a servant of Christ. Do
you see yourself as Christ’s “bond-slave” ?
9.
CONCLUSIONS:
9.1.
Are you
making full use of the Holy Spirit who has been called alongside you to
comfort, aid, counsel, and enable ?
9.2.
Are you
seeing yourself as an ambassador for Christ and continually praying “in His
Name” as representing Him and the things that He is doing in this
world?