Lesson #229
With this lesson we begin the next and last major section of chapter 14, defined by John 14:15 – 31. We begin this section with Jesus drawing a relationship between our love for him and our obedience to his commandments: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15 ESV). It is easy to say, “I love Jesus.” But what evidence is there that your statement is really true? If our love for him leads us to do his will, to love each other, to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him through good and difficult times, then we have evidence of our love for him. This is like a child who truly loves his parents will, without hesitation or complaining, do all that is required. As a child of God, no matter what opposition faces us, we will demonstrate our love by our faithful obedience.
Just how important is this love for God? How does it compare in value to faith? Consider the following: “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2 NIV). This is a very powerful statement and even relates to our salvation. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8 – 9 ESV). Paul tells us we are saved by grace through faith, but Paul also said that without love I am nothing. It appears that a saving faith is to be undergirded by love that will obey his commandments after salvation. “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16) and as his children his love dwells in us and must manifest its characteristics through us and one of those is obedience to him.
Following this instruction to obey his commandments, Jesus informs us that we will be given a Helper: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16 ESV). After making atonement for our sin, Jesus becomes our Mediator with God, and through his mediation and intercession will flow the blessings of his grace to us. One of those blessings is the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who will come and dwell in us forever and be God’s active agent to empower us in righteous living. This active agent, the Holy Spirit, is the source from which flows that which empowers us to love and obey, but we must stay focused on Jesus Christ and deny our friendship with the world. From testimonies I hear and read, those who suffer deeply under persecution, attest to the blessings of this Helper in their lives. How desperately we as western believers need to live in a way to experience the Spirits presence, help and power in our daily lives, because this Helper will empower us in righteous living forever. We desperately need practice in this today to better understand his role in our lives for ages to come.
Prayer
Father, obeying his commandments as evidence of our love for Jesus, requires that we know his commandments. If we do not know his commandments, then how will we show any evidence that we love him? Father, in preparing this lesson, I fear that we may have a greater love for the things of the world than we do for the Lord. At least it seems much easier for believers to spend time and energy in their friendship with the world than they do with the Lord Jesus and his word. Observing a believer’s life for a while provides evidence of what or who is loved, and I am not so sure that Jesus is anywhere near the top of the list. Father, have mercy on us and encourage us to get our priorities right so that we produce the right evidence.
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