GETTING AT THE ROOT OF SIN

The Holy Spirit convicts the world about sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). The first conviction is manward in emphasis. The second emphasis is Christward and the third is Satanward. The explanatory clauses point toward the emphasis in each case (John 16:9-11).

First, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit convicts the world "concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me" (John 16:9). The focus here is manward. The word translated "because" (οτι) could be translated "that" indicating the content of the conviction, but it is better understood as the cause or grounds for the sin. Unbelief in Jesus is the grounds for the conviction.

Jesus says "sin" (αμαρτιας) not "sins" (αμαρτιων) as the object of the preposition "concerning" (περι). The prosecution proves the sin. Sins, plural, are the symptoms not the disease. Sin, singular, is the disease, and the disease is unbelief in Jesus. The Holy Spirit does not convict people of breaking the "Ten Commandments" except as a means to prove the sin of unbelief. Breaking specific laws are sins but not sin itself. Sin, the heart of the disease, leads to lawlessness, the symptoms of the sickness (1 John 3:4). The Holy Spirit uses the Law to prove sin like a doctor uses an MRI to prove a disease. The disease at the root of all our sins is the sin of unbelief.

The sin of Adam and Eve in eating of the fruit of the forbidden tree (Gen. 3:6) was an act that demonstrated a faithless heart. Unbelief issues in rebellion and leads to lawlessness. Paul wrote, "Whatever is not from faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23). Jesus said that people are convicted because they do not believe in Him. The ultimate sin is a sin of omission not commission. The ultimate sin is something we don't do instead of something we do! Not believing in Jesus is the source of all sins.

The Holy Spirit convicts the world individually not collectively. The "world" (κοσμον) is singular. The verb "they do not believe" (πιστευουσιν) is plural. The Holy Spirit proves sin to the world by proving sin to each individual in the world. The sin of unbelief is individual not corporate, and the guilt is personal not collective.

No matter how much good we do in life, the good we do cannot outweigh the one thing we fail to do if we fail to trust Jesus. Sooner or later the unbelief produces sinful actions. Unbelief is the root of sin. Just like a gardener must pull up the weeds by the roots so the Holy Spirit must convict us of our sins at the root. We can do many good works, but, if we do not believe in Jesus, we stand guilty before God's eternal court.

The prosecuting attorney will never rest His case until He proves our guilt leading either to conversion or condemnation.

THE PROSECUTING PARACLETE

Photo by Pat Bartlett

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to "convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (Jn16:8). The verb translated "will convict" (ελεγξει) has 4 possible meanings: 1) to expose; 2) to convict; 3) to reprove; 4) to punish (BAGD, p. 249). The same meaning should be applied to all 3 targets - sin, righteousness and judgment - which eliminates #1 and #4. To merely reprove the world seems rather weak so the best understanding is to convict or convince the world.

The Holy Spirit convicts the whole world. He does not convert the whole world. The verb was used in a legal setting meaning "to cross-examine for the purpose of convincing or refuting an opponent" (Bernard, John, 2:506). Jesus says, "I am sending the paraclete (παρακλητος) to you" (προς υμας), in other words to believers, as a legal friend (Jn. 16:7). The paraclete is our legal friend, but He is also the world's prosecutor.

The prosecutor's role is to prove sin, righteousness and judgment to the world whether the world changes or not. The prosecutor proves the guilt to the world so the world can see where they stand before God. The guilty verdict has already been pronounced on the world (Jn. 3:18, 36), but the world needs to be convicted of their guilt before they will ever accept a Savior (Carson, The Farewell Discourse, p. 139).

The preposition "concerning" (περι) which is repeated with all 3 categories of conviction can simply be understood as an undefined "with regard to" but seems to carry greater weight. It is better translated as "about" indicating that the Spirit convicts the world of the facts about sin, righteousness and judgment. The conviction does not guarantee the conversion. Conviction is the necessary prerequisite to conversion, but conversion requires regeneration to be complete.

How does the Spirit do His convicting work in the world? He does it, at least partly, through us. Twice in these verses Jesus uses the second person pronoun not the third person pronoun showing us that He is addressing the disciples not the world. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit "to you" (Jn. 16:7) meaning the disciples. He also addresses the disciples by saying "and you no longer see Me" (Jn. 16:10). So Jesus speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world but sends the Holy Spirit to believers transforming believers into the Spirit's conduit to the world (Carson, The Farewell Discourse, p. 143).

The Holy Spirit uses us to bring conviction to the world, but He alone accomplishes conviction. This truth simultaneously relieves our pressure and endows us with confidence as we witness. We don't have to convince anyone by ourselves , and yet our words are invested with His convicting power!

ABSENT BUT PRESENT

Photo by Pat Bartlett

Jesus raises a perplexing question in the minds of the disciples. Why is it better for Jesus to leave them than to stay with them? Up until now, He has walked and talked with them; taught them and showed them how to live; and encouraged and strengthened them with His presence. How could it possibly be better for their friend and teacher to leave them now? Yet Jesus said it. It must be true.

"I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you" (John 16:7). Grammatically, the clause "that I go away" (ινα εγω απελθω) is the subject of the verb "it is to your advantage" (συμφερει). The verb carries commercial overtones of profitability (Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary, p. 598). Jesus says it is profitable, or expedient, for them that He go away.

John only uses the term two other times in his gospel (John 11:50; 18:14), and both times it comes from the lips of Caiaphas, the High Priest. The words of Caiaphas give us the first clue to a partial answer.  "It is expedient (συμφερει) for you that one man die for the people" (John 11:50). It is better - more profitable - that Jesus go away because He goes away to die so they might live.

The self-absorbed disciples did not grasp the greater purposes behind Jesus' departure. Jesus had come to die. The cross was God's purpose for Him from before time began. He was also  leaving them so the Holy Spirit, the Helper, could come. The Spirit's purpose in coming was to glorify Christ, but the Spirit must have a glorified Christ to glorify  (John 7:39). The ascension of Jesus following His cross work glorified Him. He left to be glorified, and the Holy Spirit continues to magnify Him as the risen Lord.  The glorification of Jesus leads to the empowering of the disciples through the Holy Spirit.

The personal presence of Jesus would eventually hinder the personal growth of the disciples and the expansion of His kingdom on earth.  As long as Jesus remained in bodily form, His presence was limited to His physical location on earth. Omnipresent indwelling was only possible if Jesus left them and ascended into heaven as the glorified Christ. It was better for Jesus to depart so that that He could always be with them as they scattered around the globe (Mt. 28:20) through the presence of His Helper wherever they might be.

The Holy Spirit does not merely replace the absence of Jesus on earth. He completes His presence in our lives (Bernard, John, 2:504). We can experience the depths of spiritual intimacy with Jesus in our lives because Jesus departed and the Holy Spirit arrived. The Holy Spirit fills our daily lives with the presence of Jesus in ways that would be impossible if Jesus still walked this earth. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your empowering presence.

USING JESUS VS. FOLLOWING JESUS

Sea of Galilee

Jesus has more users than followers in the American church today.  We use Jesus to sanctify our success and stimulate our worship experiences. Blinded by our self-interests, we often seek a Jesus who serves our needs and promises our prosperity. Our hearts grow restless and bored unless the sermon shows us quickly how Jesus can meet our specific needs now - today - in this moment! We care more about our earthly Jesus than our heavenly Lord.

Jesus saw these tendencies in His first disciples as well. He wistfully said, Now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are you going?' (John 16:5). Yet Peter had just asked Jesus that very question only a few hours earlier (John 13:36). How do we harmonize the two verses? What is the question Jesus longs to hear from us?

Some have suggested that the answer is in the present tense of the verb "ask" (ερωτα) as if Jesus was saying that no one (ουδεις) was asking Him the question at that precise moment.  He was not thinking of what Peter said hours earlier that evening.  However, such a solution seems a bit disingenuous, as if Jesus cared more about the timing of the question than the heart of the questioner.

Jesus knew Peter had asked the question that Peter cared about instead of asking the question Jesus wanted Peter to care about.  The words are the same, but the intent is so very different. Peter didn't care about the destination of Jesus only that he felt abandoned by Jesus, and it led to a false bravado in his infamous pledge. The disciples were devastated that Jesus was leaving them (John 16:6). They were not interested in the plans of Jesus only the loss they feared for themselves.  They only cared about the problems for them not the purposes of the Lord (Morris, John, pp. 695-696).

We, too, seek selfish answers for life on earth not serious inquiries to understand the glories of our Lord in heaven. Like a child whose father is leaving us to go to work, we often ask "Where are you going?" The father will not be present to play with us! Our intent in asking is selfish. How different the question of a lover who wants to know all the details about where and what because of love for the one leaving not merely the loss of personal presence.

Jesus cares more about the heart of the questioner than the form of the question. A follower of Jesus wants to know everything there is to know about Him and His eternal purposes even if the knowledge is not immediately applicable to his earthly situation. A user of Jesus only cares to know what will meet his problems in that specific moment and cares little to know what is not an immediate life app!

What drives our questions shows the shallowness - or depth - of our relationship with Jesus.

AVOIDING THE BAIT STICK

Why did Jesus warn us about suffering and persecution in this world? He wanted us to expect hardship so that we might "be kept from stumbling" (John 16:1). It is a purpose clause introduced by 

ινα, and the verb is the passive form of a word (σκανδαλισθητε) from which we get our English word "scandal." Jesus warns us so that we will not be scandalized by the sufferings we experience in life.

The noun originally referred to a stick of wood that kept open a dead fall trap for small animals (Colin Brown, Dictionary, 2:707). The bait stick held up a rock or a log which would crush the prey when the bait stick was dislodged. The word later came to mean a stone or other obstacle over which a person tripped and fell down.

The verb meant "cause to sin" (to fall) and in the passive meant being led into sin through unbelief or apostasy (BAGD, p. 752). The connection to apostasy is important in the passive. The verb mean to fall away from what was once believed or to be misled from the truth (Colin Brown, Dictionary, 2:708). A professing Christian is scandalized when pressure entices him to fall away from the truth he once clung to by faith.

In the parable of the soils, the seed that fell on the rocky soil sprouted quickly (Mt. 13:20-21). The person received the gospel with joy "yet he has no root in himself, but is temporary, and, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away" (σκανδαλιζεται). Pressure (θλιψεως) causes the person to strike the bait stick in his agitation and be crushed by the enemy's trap.

Jesus predicted that there will come times of persecution (θλιψιν) when Christians will be hated. "At that time, many will fall away (σκανδαλισθησονται) and will betray one another and hate one another" (Mt. 24:9-10). The lie that God promises us prosperity and popularity is the bait stick of Satan leading many to fall away from Christ.

Avoid the bait stick! How? We must remember Jesus' warning that suffering, pressure, and persecution will come to us (John 16:4) so we will be prepared to face the hardships with faith. As the saying goes, "forewarned is forearmed." The best defense against the scandal of suffering is to expect the suffering. If we are not prepared for hardship, we will fall away and cause others to stumble with us.

After Jesus told the disciples that He would suffer and be killed, Peter vehemently objected.  Peter told Jesus not to think this way (Mt. 16:21-22). Bad things wouldn't happen to Jesus because God wouldn't let them happen. I recognize my own false trust in this same bait stick many times. Peter was the epitome of positive thinking. Jesus called him, "Satan," and said that Peter was a bait stick in Satan's trap because he was not setting his "mind on God's interests but on man's" (Mt. 16:23).

Lord, help me to avoid the bait stick by expecting pressure in this world and by keeping my mind on your interests instead of mine!

OUR SPECIAL FRIEND

Jesus promised us a special friend who is called alongside us to help in our time of need (John 15:26). The word "paraclete" (παρακλητος) is hard to fully translate but is best understood as a legal friend not a spiritual comforter (Morris, John, pp. 662-666). What does Jesus tell us about our special friend?

1. He is our personal friend not an impersonal force. The word "spirit" (πνευμα) is neuter in gender leading some to imply that the Spirit of God is an influence or force.  However, the pronoun used (εκεινος) is masculine and the closest antecedent is πνευμα not παρακλητος. The pronoun indicates personality. Jesus consistently uses a personal masculine personal pronoun when speaking about the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 16:8,13,14) proving that He is a person not merely a force.

2. Jesus sends Him to us from the Father. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is the one "whom I, myself, will send to you from the Father." The pronoun is emphatic (εγω πεμψω). Jesus had said earlier that He would ask the Father to give us a special friend (John 14:16). What the Father gives, the Son sends. Our friend is the answer to Jesus' prayers for us; the gift of our heavenly Father; and the commissioned representative of the Son.

3. He is the Spirit who speaks the truth.  Jesus calls Him "the Spirit of Truth" (το πνευμα της αληθειας). The genitive - "of the truth" - is best understood as an objective genitive. He is the Spirit who communicates the truth. We need a legal friend to speak the truth at all times even when the truth might be unpleasant or inconvenient for us.

4. Our friend proceeds from the Father. Twice Jesus uses the prepositional phrase "from the Father" (παρα του πατρος) in this verse. The preposition is used often for Jesus coming from God (John 7:29; 16:27) so the Spirit and the Son both come from the Father. The verb "proceed" (εκπορευεται) should not be understood in terms of eternal procession in this verse but rather in the sense of proceeding from the Father for a specific work. The use of the preposition παρα instead of εκ supports this understanding. The Spirit, as our friend, continues the work of Jesus, as our friend, and both come to us from the Father. All three persons of the trinity are intimately involved with our lives.

5. He points people to Jesus. Jesus says that "He will testify" (μαρτυρησει) about Me." The verb means to bear witness to, to speak well of, someone (BAGD, p. 493). The most important role our special friend has in our lives is to point us constantly to Jesus. The Spirit of God is the shy member of the trinity. He does not call attention to Himself but prefers to work backstage - behind the scenes - to magnify Jesus (John 16:14). Any work on earth that is truly Spirit directed, Spirit energized and Spirit stimulated will emphasize Jesus Christ over the Holy Spirit.

PRESUMPTUOUS SIN

Presumptuous sin is scary! Presumptuous sin incurs a greater guilt - a deeper culpability - than ordinary sin.  A person sins presumptuously when he knowingly and constantly rejects truth in order to confidently and willfully commit sin.

Jesus said, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin" (John 15:22). He is not saying that a person would have been sinless if Jesus had not come. All of us are sinners. Jesus is speaking about the specific sin of conscious unbelief. Jesus came. Jesus spoke the truth. People saw Him.  People heard the truth, and people rejected Him and His message. Those people "have sin." The verb "have" (ειχοσαν) means to hold it, grip it or own it! It is conscious sin. They own it without excuse.

Jesus goes on to say, "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well" (John 15:24). People not only willfully rejected Jesus' message, but they confidently rejected Jesus' works. They "have seen" (εωρακασιν) and "hated" (μεμισηκασιν). The verbs are perfect tense verbs indicating a "seeing" and "hating" that are ongoing into the present moment. Presumptuous sin not only owns the sin but carries the rejection forward without remorse leading to the judgment of God.

The Old Testament Law distinguished between ordinary sin and defiant sin (Numbers 15:30), defining defiant sin as blasphemy! Presumptuous sin is a special category of sin leading to greater culpability for sin.  Jesus told the Pharisees that he came to help those who were blind to see and cause those who see to become blind. The Pharisees claimed they were not blind so Jesus retorted, "If you were blind you would have no sin (you wouldn't own it); but since you say, 'we see,' your sin remains" (John 9:41).

When we present the message and the works of Jesus to people, they become culpable for their choice. We become, as Paul says, "the smell of death" or "the smell of life" to them (2 Cor. 2:16). A person who knows all about Jesus and still rejects Jesus has greater guilt than one who never hears or knows.  On a broader scale, when I know the truth and willfully choose to reject the truth, I am guilty of presumptuous sin. The Psalmist David wrote: "Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; ... Let the word of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord" (Psalm 19:13-14).

Beware of presumptuous sin.  Lord, keep from it!

A FAULT LINE WITH THE WORLD

The result of abiding in Jesus is that we are not abiding in the world. The contrast is sharply black and white - no gray allowed.  The result of not abiding in the world is that the world hates us.  Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before you" (John 15:18). The word "know" could be a command instead of a statement (Bernard, 2:491). Facing the hatred of the world, Jesus commands us to know they hated Him first (πρωτον), either first in time or first in importance. Our union with Jesus establishes a fault line with the world leading us to expect persecution from the world.

Jesus states two reasons why the world hates us.  The first reason is because Jesus chose us for Himself (εξελεξαμην - middle voice). "I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you" (John 15:19). Three times Jesus uses the same prepositional clause "out of the world" (εκ του κοσμου) in this one verse. "If you were out of the world the world would love its own; but because you are not out of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you."

The preposition "out of" (εκ) can indicate either origin or separation (BAGD, p. 234). The first clause expresses origin - often used in the sense of family origin. If our birth family is the world, the world would love us.  We are part of the world so why would they not love us? However, we are not out of the world in terms of our birth family any longer. We originate from Jesus. We have a new birth family (point of origin) as those who abide in Jesus.  Our birth family rests in His choice - electing love.  He chose us "out of the world." The final clause indicates separation. The world is the place from which Jesus separates us by His choice to become part of His birth family. The world hates us because Jesus chose us for Himself.

The second reason the world hates us is because they do not know God the Father. "But all these things they will do to you for My names sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me" (John 15:21). Ignorance of God the Father leads to persecution of the Son and His followers.  Ignorance of the nature of God leads to failure in recognizing Jesus. When people don't know who God is they cannot know who Jesus is. Jesus has said that to know God the Father you must know Jesus (John 14:6, 9). Now Jesus reverses the truth - to know Jesus you must know God the Father.

Intimacy with Jesus precludes intimacy with the world. If I am intimate with the world I cannot be intimate with Jesus. If I am intimate with Jesus I cannot be intimate with the world. The world will notice the difference and hate me for it.  The question is: If I am not hated by the world is it because they do not see any difference in me?!

THE OBEDIENCE OF FRIENDS

We don't commonly associate obedience with friendship. We associate affection with friendship and obedience with slavery.  A friend is not ordered to obey like a servant.  There is no duty among friends, we think.  The essence of friendship is voluntary action. Friends can choose how to act while still being accepted as friends.  Yet Jesus says, "You are My friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:14).

The condition (εαν ποιητε) expresses a degree of "reduced probability" (Louw Nida, 89.62). It is not certain that we will obey so it is not certain that we will experience friendship with Jesus. Jesus invites us to be His friends, but the friendship is conditioned on doing what He commands. Doesn't this condition turn us into servants not friends?

Jesus goes on to explain that He calls us friends and not servants because a servant doesn't know the mind of the Master, but Jesus discloses to us "all things" (παντα) that He has heard from His Father (John 15:15). The obedience of affection rises out of the self-disclosure of friendship. A friend shares the heart behind the command. Our knowledge changes the nature of our obedience. There is an obedience out of love that is an act of voluntary affection. Such obedience is a choice which explains the conditionality of our friendship with Jesus. In His love, He risks making known (εγνωρισα) His deepest desires to us, and in our love, we choose to obey His commands. When we choose to obey out of love we enjoy the affection of friendship that comes from His self-disclosure (See D.A. Carson, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God).

Friendship is commonly mutual. Friends usually choose each other but not so with Jesus. Jesus says, "You did not choose (εξελεξασθε) Me but I chose (εξελεξαμην) you" (John 15:16). The verbs are both in the middle voice indicating that the choice is a matter of personal interest. We did not choose Him for ourselves, but He chose us for Himself. Jesus chooses us to be His friends. Jesus chooses to disclose Himself to us as His friends.  He risks possible rejection to call us His friends.  He invites us into his friendship if we will choose to obey Him out of love. This is not an election (choosing) to eternal life but an election to friendship. Therefore, a person can be a follower of Christ without being a friend of Jesus thus turning orders into duties and relationship into religion. When we obey out of love we enjoy the mutual affection of our friendship with Jesus.

How do we know that we love Jesus? We know we love Jesus when we love one another. The teaching on friendship is bracketed by the command to love one another (John 15:12, 17).

If I won't love Jesus' friends, I can't be Jesus' friend!

INEXHAUSTIBLE JOY!

Jesus intended us to experience a life of inexhaustible joy. The noun translated "joy" (χαρα) was used 7 times in the upper room that night before the cross (Jn. 15:11 (2x), 16:20,21,22,24, 17:13) but had been used only once in John's gospel prior to that night (cf. Jn. 3:29, Morris, John, p. 674). Jesus intends His teaching to produce joy in our hearts. The byproduct of abiding in Jesus is inexhaustible joy.

"These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full" (Jn. 15:11). "These things" (ταυτα) looks back to the previous instruction about abiding in Jesus' love by obeying His commands (Jn. 15:10). Jesus emphasizes an inseparable connection between love and obedience throughout His teaching in the upper room. There is a double purpose for abiding in Jesus: 1) that My joy may be in you, and that 2) your joy may be made full.

"My joy" (η χαρα η εμη) is Jesus' own joy not the joy produced by Jesus (Meyer, John, p. 434). The Son and the Father experienced an inexhaustible joy in their love for one another from eternity past.  God was not a lonely God before creation. He was complete in His own happiness. Jesus' joy stood on the twin pillars of eternally abiding in the Father's love and always obeying the Father's commands (Jn. 15:10). The obedience of a slave produces duty, but the obedience of love produces joy so Jesus' joy is the product of His loving obedience. The happiness Jesus enjoyed with the Father is the happiness He wants us to enjoy with Him. We will experience the same joy He experiences with the Father by abiding in His love through obedience to His commands.

Our joy is filled up to its fullest extent when we commune with God in prayer (Jn. 16:24). The word translated "made full" (πληρωθη) means to be filled up or to be completed (BAGD, p. 671). Jesus asks His Father "that they (us) may have My joy made full in themselves" (Jn. 17:13). The pronoun is plural and reciprocal (εν εαυτοις). Joy is relational, communal and reciprocal. Joy is not found in isolation. Our joy is filled up as we experience our love with Jesus and with each other.

The tri-unity of God is a community of infinite love and inexhaustible joy. Our friendship with each other is grounded in our friendship with God - Father, Son and Spirit. Our joy is made complete as we experience the dual community of God and church (1 Jn. 1:3-4).  We will not find true happiness in isolation. Our greatest happiness is relational happiness because we were made to enjoy God in the people of God united as one in Jesus.

O, Lord, my lack of inexhaustible joy stems directly from my lack of love for you and your people. Open my heart to your joy by opening my heart to your love.

GLORIFYING THE GARDENER

Jesus tells us, "By this my Father is glorified" (John 15:8). The words "by this" (εν τουτω) are in the emphatic position at the start of the verse.  Jesus is referring forward not backward to the upcoming purpose clause. We glorify God in two ways: 1) by producing much (πολυν) fruit and 2) by being (or becoming) his disciples.  Abiding in Christ is the means of producing fruit and being his disciple bringing glory to the gardener.

The second half of the verse is problematic.  Jesus is clearly speaking to those already his disciples so how could they glorify the gardener by becoming his disciples? Several translations supply the word "so" which is not in the text thereby turning the second clause into a result of the first clause.  Bearing much fruit proves (or shows) that they are true disciples of Jesus is a common way to interpret the verse.

There is also a textual problem with the verb. Is the verb "become" a subjunctive (γενησθε) mood or a future (γενησεσθε) tense? The manuscript evidence is evenly divided, but it is probably better to take the verb as a future because of the grammatical structure of the passage. Often a purpose clause introduced by "that" (ινα) would take the subjunctive. However, this construction has two verbs connected by "and" (και). As such, it is a special case where the first verb is in the subjunctive mood and the second is a future tense. The future tense indicates a further consequence or future result that stands independently of the first one (Blass/Debrunner, Grammar, p.186). Therefore, being a disciple is not a result of bearing fruit but rather a second way to glorify God. We glorify God by bearing much fruit and by being Jesus' disciples. Both are necessary to glorify God.

What does it mean to be/become a disciple? The verb (γινομαι) is a fairly loose term with multiple meanings. It can mean to come about or take place - to become. It can also man to "be" as a substitute for the verb "is" (ειμι). I suggest that the verb used in this context simply acts as the equivalent of "is" or "are" (BAGD, p. 160). We can translate the verse this way.  "By this, My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and you will continue to be My disciples."

What is a disciple?  Disciples (μαθηται) are learners or pupils - students and followers of a teacher (BAGD, p. 485). Learners are always learning and never learned.  Disciples are continuously in process. Discipleship is a developmental process - a growing way of life - just as fruit growing on a branch is a process.  Jesus is not talking about the point of origin but a continuing process. We have been pupils in the past. We are pupils now, and we will be pupils in the future. To return to the analogy of the vine and the branches, discipleship culminates at the end of life when the fruit of our lives is full and luscious thereby glorifying God, the master gardener.

WHAT HAPPENS TO FRUITLESS CHRISTIANS?

The analogy of the vine and the branches in John 15 is all about fruit bearing. We bear fruit through our communion with Jesus just as the branches bear fruit through their connection to the vine. When we fail to remain in communion with Jesus, we become fruitless because apart from Jesus we can do nothing (John 15:5). Fruitless branches are cast away not because of a lack of life but because of a lack of fruit (John 15:6).

The analogy is an extended figure of speech and figurative language should not be taken literally. Jesus is not a literal vine and God, the Father, is not a literal gardener.  We are not literal branches. The throwing away is not a literal throwing away and the fire is not a literal fire.

The fruitless believer is thrown away "like a branch" (ως το κλημα) so what happens to fruitless branches is an illustration of what happens to fruitless Christians.  We are judged for our uselessness and set aside as worthless to the master gardener if we become fruitless Christians.  There are 5 verbs that illustrate God's progressive judgment of fruitless Christians.

1) Fruitless Christians are discarded or thrown aside (εβληθη εξω). God stops using us in His work. We become useless and hinder His purpose to bear fruit.  He sets us aside when we fail to stay in communion with Him. 2) Fruitless Christians are dried up (εξηρανθη). The word was used to describe the withering of trees and plants or the drying up of a river (BAGD, p. 548).  It is a passive verb. When we are set aside by the gardener (passive voice), the discarding causes us to begin to wither spiritually. We lose our vitality. We become brittle and bitter, and we break easy. Jesus said that if salt loses its potency it is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled (Mt. 5:13). Fruitless Christians may even be removed from life on earth (1 John 5:16).

The next 3 verbs all have plural subjects. "They gather them and they cast them into the fire and they are burned." The first 2 verbs are present active indicatives and the 3rd is a passive, yet all 3 can be translated as idiomatically passive. All the discussions explaining the identity of "they" in this verse are 'fruitless' discussions!  The construction is a Semitic idiom for an impersonal subject (Moulton, Grammar, 2:447-448). A third person plural subject was used with an active voice as a substitute for an impersonal passive in the Hebrew style of writing so the identity of the subject is simply impersonal.

I think these 3 verbs all refer to what God does with fruitless Christians at the Judgment Seat of Christ.  1) Fruitless Christians are gathered together at the judgment of Christians. 2) Fruitless Christians are tested by fire. The fire is a figure of speech for God's holy evaluation of our lives. The fire reveals the worthlessness of our fruitlessness (1 Cor. 3:13). 3) Fruitless Christians are left with nothing because they did not abide in Him and through that abiding produce fruit that possessed eternal value. The sum total of their lives is burned up (καιεται). This is precisely the imagery for the judgment of Christians that Paul uses (1 Cor. 3:13-15). The fruitless Christian suffers loss, but he is saved "as through fire" (1 Cor. 3:15).

O Lord, keep me walking and talking with you so that I do not become fruitless in my life!

THE CONDITION FOR BEARING FRUIT

Jesus identifies two conditions - which are really one condition - necessary for fruit bearing in John 15:4. "Abide in Me, and I in you." Abiding is necessary for producing fruit. The branch is not capable of producing fruit by itself (αφ εαυτου) "unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me."

Some form of the verb "abide" (μενω) is used 11 times in this chapter. The word means to remain, stay or continue (BAGD, p. 503), and it can have the sense of dwell or live together. For example, the word is used of Mary who stayed or lived with her sister, Elizabeth, for 3 months (Luke 1:56).

Jesus states the first condition as a command, "Abide in Me." It is an aorist active command (μεινατε) indicating action that is undefined in terms of duration. However, the two following uses of abide in this verse are in the present tense indicating that the abiding is to be an ongoing abiding as opposed to an event. We must continue to remain in Christ in order to produce fruit because the power that produces the fruit flows from the vine, Jesus Christ.

The command that we remain in Christ implies that we are already in union with Christ otherwise how could we remain? Since it is a command for us to take action, it also implies that we can stop remaining in Christ.  These 2 implications, taken together, show us that the verse is talking about our communion with Jesus not our union with Jesus. We are never commanded to be in union with Christ, but we are commanded to stay in communion with Christ. The source of life is being in Him. The source of fruitfulness is remaining in Him.

Jesus states the second condition as an addition to the first, "And I in you" (καγω εν υμιν). There are 3 ways to understand the clause (Morris, John, p. 670).  1) Jesus is commanding Himself to remain in them, but this makes little sense.  2) The second command is a continuation of the first one. "Remain in Me and make sure I remain in you." 3) The second condition is actually a promise predicated on the first condition. "Remain in Me and I promise to remain in you." This makes the best sense of the verse (Meyer, John, p. 430). We can only take care of our part in the relationship.  We cannot make Jesus remain in us. He promises to remain in us on the condition that we remain in Him so the two conditions are really one condition. The result of this mutual living together is fruit bearing.

The vine does not block its life flow into the branches, but the branches might block the life flow from the vine.  Jesus does not disconnect from us. We disconnect from Him, and the result is fruitlessness. Personal, persistent and continuous intimacy with Jesus produces fruitfulness because He promises that His life will flow into us as we remain connected to Him. Our continuous communion with Jesus unleashes the power of His spiritual life flowing into us to produce fruit.

THE GARDENER'S JOB

There are two levels of fruitlessness in the analogy of the vine and the branches (John 15:2). There are "no fruit" branches and "some fruit" branches, but both are still branches (Christians). God, the Father, is the gardener. He intends that all branches will bear "much fruit" so He cultivates the branches in order to make them fruitful.  What does the gardener do to make us fruitful Christians?

LEVEL ONE, NO FRUIT CHRISTIANS: "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away." The verb translated "takes away" (αιρει) has three possible meanings (BAGD, p. 24). The first meaning is to lift up or pick up. The verb is used of picking up stones to stone Jesus (John 8:59). The second lexical meaning is to lift up and carry.  The man Jesus healed by the pool of Bethesda lifted up and carried his pallet (John 5:8,10,11,12). The third meaning is to take away or remove with the sense of killing someone.  The crowds screamed about Jesus to Pilate, "Away with this man" (Luke 23:18). So which interpretation would be correct in John 15:2?

Many translations understand the verb in the sense of take away, remove or cut off.  This interpretation would be a judgmental action, and verse 6 is used to bolster the argument that this is an act of judgment by God. Some even view it as the "sin unto death" where God removes a person from this life (1 John 5:16). I think it is better to understand the verb in the sense of lift up. This fits better with the sequence of "no fruit" and "some fruit" in this verse. It also conforms to the normal process of gardening. The branches of the vine grow heavy and trail across the ground. If left on the ground they not only become fruitless but eventually rot. The gardener's first job is to lift up the branches so that they can become fruitful.  God does this in our lives whenever we become fruitless because we are mired in the dirt of life. God's first action with fruitless Christians is not to condemn us but to assist us. He lifts us up from the dirtiness of the life into which we have fallen.

LEVEL TWO, SOME FRUIT CHRISTIANS: "Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." The verb translated "prune" (καθαιρει) originally meant to clean, sweep or cleanse (NIDNTT, 3:102). The noun form was used as a technical term in agriculture for the use of chemicals to get rid of parasites or fungus. The gardener cleanses the branch of impurities and cuts away the extra woody growths that will hinder the production of fruit. The gardener's goal is to help he branch produce more fruit.

God, the spiritual gardener, takes both of these actions in our lives as needed.  When we become mired in the dirt of life and stop producing fruit, God lifts us up so we can grow spiritually. When we are struggling to produce fruit because parasites are affecting our lives or distractions are impeding our growth, the gardener cleanses us with the insecticide of grace and cuts away the distractions in our lives.  He will not let us continue as we are but will work to clean us up and prune us down.  We may not like the process, but the product is God's luscious fruit.

FRUITLESS BRANCHES

The extended metaphor of the vine and the branches in John 15 deals with fruit bearing through abiding in Christ.  The word "fruit" (καρπος) is used 8 times in verses 1-16.  The word "abide" (μενω) is used 11 times in verses 1-16.  To "abide" means to remain or continue. Branches produce fruit by remaining connected to the vine.  The life flowing from Jesus (the Vine) produces the fruit in believers (the branches.).

Jesus is speaking about real believers. The Father is the gardener. Jesus is the vine and believers are the branches. Jesus says that the gardener will take action regarding "every branch in Me that does not bear fruit" (John 15:2). The branches, Jesus says, are "in Me" (εν εμοι). A branch is not a branch if it is not "in Me," Jesus says. He is speaking only about branches that are in union with Jesus. Every branch in the metaphor is connected to Christ. Jesus is not talking about branches from other vines.  These branches are all from His vine. Therefore, all branches in this metaphor are genuine believers.

Some branches, Jesus implies, are not bearing fruit (μη φερον καρπον). Bearing (φερον) is an attributive participle describing fruit (καρπον). An attributive participle is used to attribute a characteristic or an action to the noun it modifies (Blass Debrunner, Grammar, p.212). The resulting clause explains the branch. The branch Jesus is talking about is a "not bearing fruit" branch.  Since all branches are in Christ, this fruitless branch is a fruitless believer.

The participle "bearing" (φερον) is a present active participle.  The branch is not actively producing fruit, and the branch is not currently producing fruit. The time of the participle is connected to the time of the main verb. The main verb in this case is also a present tense verb (αιρει). Therefore, the time of the the participle is present time. The Christian in view is not presently bearing fruit. Jesus is not considering a person who has never borne fruit. A professing - not genuine - Christian would never have borne any fruit. Jesus is not talking about such a person here. He is talking about a believer who is not currently producing fruit not an unbeliever who pretended to produce fruit.

There are 3 conclusions we can draw from this opening clause in the metaphor. 1) All branches (believers) are united with Christ. 2) Jesus intends that every believer will bear fruit. 3) Believers, at times, become fruitless, and that  fruitlessness must be addressed by the gardener.  What the gardener does to address fruitlessness (vs. 2) will have to await the next blog post!

THE RULER AND THE CROSS

Jesus tells the disciples that He will not speak much more with them because "the ruler of the world is coming" (John 14:30). The ruler is Satan and the coming is his coming to kill Jesus.  Satan choreographs the events leading to the cross. The Pharisees, Pontius Pilate and the crowds are secondary causes of the cross. The first cause is Satan. The cross is a cosmic battle fought by Satan against God through human proxies who are dominated by their ruler.

Only one man in the history of the world had no foothold that Satan could use to rule him - Jesus! Jesus said, "he has nothing in Me" (John 14:30). The "in Me" (εν εμοι) is placed first in the clause for emphasis. The double negative added further intensity to Jesus' affirmation (ουκ εχει ουδεν). Literally Jesus says, "in Me not he has nothing." The clause is translated idiomatically in several ways.  "He has no claim on Me" (ESV).  "He has no hold over Me" (NIV). The ruler of this world could find nothing in Jesus that he could use to rule Jesus in any way.

Satan rules this world by finding flaws he can use to dominate people. We are all flawed by sin and Satan uses these sinful flaws to rule us.  There were no spiritual weaknesses or sinful flaws in Jesus. Pontius Pilate used a similar expression to announce that he could find no guilt (ουδεμιαν αιτιαν) in Him (εν αυτω) (John 18:38). Jesus was sinless as the author of Hebrews later writes (Heb. 4:15), but His sinlessness is more than merely a lack of sinful actions or behaviors.  Jesus claims here that His sinlessness is a "necessary causal condition" (Meyer, John, p. 424) for His freedom from the power of the ruler of this world. The sinless perfection of Jesus was intrinsic to His nature giving Satan no foothold in His life.

The sinless perfection of Jesus in His very nature is the necessary foundation for His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. Satan could seize nothing in Jesus to rule so Jesus could offer Himself as a sacrifice of love on the cross thereby defeating the one who had choreographed the crucifixion. Jesus freely gave Himself to show the world that He loved and obeyed the Father as He says in the next verse (John 14:31). The first motivating focus of Jesus on the cross was love for His Father. We take second place in the mind of Jesus. The cross was a free offering of love satisfying the Father on our behalf  precisely because Satan had no foothold in Jesus that he could use to defeat God's plan to save humanity from the ruler of this world.

THE JOY OF TRUE LOVE

Love's deep joy comes from love's self-sacrifice.  When I truly love someone, I experience joy in sacrificing myself for that one.  The principle is counter intuitive to our human expectations.  Jesus demonstrated the principle on the cross and taught it to us in John 14:28.

"You heard that I said to you, 'I go away and I will come to you.' If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I."

The disciples were saddened by their coming loss. Their myopic self interest interfered with Christ's eternal interests making their sadness selfish.  The conditional sentence is a second class condition where the condition is assumed to be unfulfilled or contrary to fact (Robertson, Grammar, p. 1012). The protasis is "if you loved Me" (ει ηγαπατε με). The imperfect tense indicates they were not loving Him on an ongoing basis.  Jesus does not doubt that they have loved Him, but their sadness at His going proves they were not continuing to love Him. If they had kept on loving Him, they would have experienced joy even in His departure (Robertson, Grammar, p. 1015).

The apodasis - "you would have rejoiced" at My going - (εχαρητε αν) - acknowledges the reality of their joylessness. The verb means to experience gladness.  They were "losing" Jesus, and their sense of loss led to sadness because they could not see beyond their self interest.  Their sadness was rooted in their limited self interest.  They could not see that letting Jesus go would lead to greater joy. Some suggest that Jesus was demonstrating a playfully tender appeal for their love (Bernard, John, 2:555). I see it more as a wistful appeal. Jesus wished they could love Him so much they would rejoice in His departure because what He was doing for them was so much better than they could possibly guess.

In reality, our true self interest lies in seeking Christ's greater interests where we experience real joy. Jesus longs for us to love Him so deeply that we can rejoice in Him even in our losses. The deepest love rejoices in the greatest loss by looking beyond our loss to see His love.  The depth of my love for Him is measured by the joy I feel in His love even in my loss.

MY PEACE!

"Peace, I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, not let it be fearful" (John 14:27).

We, humans, perceive peace as the absence of conflict, chaos and disorder.  Jesus presents peace as the presence of harmony, wholeness and order.  Biblical peace is not the absence of negative emotions. Christ's peace is the presence of personal convictions leading to a sense of well-being. Peace (ειρηνη) reflects the Old Testament teaching of "shalom." Biblical peace is an assurance of order in the midst of disorder, wholeness in the midst of chaos, and well-being in the midst of conflict because we know all matters are in our Father's hands.

Jesus leaves us peace and gives us His peace. The two verbs help us understand the peace we have in life.  First, Jesus leaves (αφιημι) peace to us. The word is often translated "forgive" or "pardon" and can even mean "divorce" in the sense of sending someone away. Here, however, Jesus uses the word in its most common sense of leaving behind something in the manner of a bequest to a loved one. The same word was used in John 14:18 where Jesus said, "I will not leave you as orphans."  The bequest of Jesus is peace not abandonment. Jesus leaves behind a sense of inner wholeness and order despite outer chaos and conflict.

Second, Jesus gives (διδωμι) us His peace.  Peace is a gift or a bestowal in the midst of our personal experiences.  Jesus leaves us with a sense of order in life because He is in control, but He also gives us a sense of well-being that we can experience in the middle of our circumstances. We will be alright in the end because He controls the end!  Three times He uses the verb to give (διδωμι). Jesus tells us "I, myself (εγω), give you My (εμην) peace. Wholeness in the midst of chaos, order in the midst of disorder, and harmony in the midst of conflict are His personal gifts to us. His peace is not like the peace of this world. The peace of the world is dependent on circumstances - actually, the absence of bad circumstances. The peace Jesus gives is our inner wholeness to transcend our circumstances.

Life is filled with troubles and fears, but we don't have to succumb to either troubles or fears. The verb "to be troubled" (ταραςςω) means to be stirred up, unsettled or thrown into confusion (cf. John 14:1), but we don't have to be unsettled or stirred up because our trust is in Jesus.  The verb for "fearful" (δειλιατω) means to be cowardly or timid.  Jesus commands us not to be confused or cowardly because He gives us inner assurance that everything is under His control.

We can face any situation with His peace.

FULL DISCLOSURE

How can we know Jesus?  We can know Jesus only to the extent that He discloses Himself to us just like in any intimate relationship. Intimacy requires self-disclosure, and self-disclosure only takes place in the context of a committed and trustworthy love.  Apart from a commitment to love, there will be limited self-disclosure, so the depth of a friendship depends on love's commitment.

"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him" (John 14:21).

Obedience to Jesus is the evidence of our love for Jesus.  It is not enough to have (εχων) His commands. We must keep (τηρων) them. The "having" and the "keeping" are ongoing actions that prove an ongoing love (αγαπων). My friendship with Jesus does not depend on what others think about me or how successful I am in ministry. My identity does not come from my ministry.  My identity comes from my identification with Him. The level of intimacy I enjoy with Jesus depends on my obedience to Him as the proof of my love for Him.

Jesus promises to disclose Himself to those who love Him as demonstrated by our obedience to Him. The word "disclose" (εμφανισω) is in the future tense. Jesus promised to disclose Himself to the disciples in a way that He had not yet disclosed Himself to them although serving together for the past three years on earth. The word means to "reveal" and emphasizes a self-revealing or self-disclosure. It was a word used in the Greek translation of Exodus 33:13 in the context of a theophony - a self-revelation of God. Jesus promised full disclosure of Himself but only to those who love Him.

Jude was shocked (John 14:22). He expected a visible and public revelation of Jesus as God. He could not grasp a self-disclosure that was personal, private and intimate. How could Jesus reveal Himself to those who loved and obeyed Him in a way that He did not reveal Himself to the world? Isn't full messianic disclosure public?  This was Jude's expectation. He did not grasp the point Jesus was making about the intimacy of true friendship and the self-disclosure that takes place between friends.

The self-disclosure Jesus promised was a spiritual, personal and private illumination in the heart of a true disciple. Jesus said, "I will disclose Myself to HIM." The word was used figuratively in the Jewish wisdom literature of something that took place in the soul of a person (BAGD, p.257; Bernard, John, p.550). Jesus promised to disclose Himself to those who love Him in the intimacy of a personal friendship. This is the language of the Spirit with our spirits (John 14:26; 16:14-15). It is relational language.  The greater our love for Jesus, the more He discloses Himself to us and the deeper our friendship grows.

LIFE IN LIFE

Jesus promised His disciples that He would not abandon them as orphans but would come back to them after the resurrection (John 14:18-19; 16:16-22). "In that day" (εν εκεινη τη ημερα) after the resurrection they would experience a mutual indwelling with the triune God (John 14:20). Jesus must be referring to the period of time from the resurrection to the ascension. He has just promised them the indwelling of the Spirit (John 14:17), and, after the resurrection, Jesus breathed the Spirit on them (John 20:20-23) as a temporary infilling until the Day of Pentecost following His ascension to heaven.

Our deepest intimacy with God comes from this mutual indwelling. Jesus said, "In that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in ME, and I in you" (John 14:20). The triple repetition of the preposition "in" (εν) indicates "the space within which something is found" (BAGD, p. 258).  Jesus is in the Father. This is the foundational indwelling for our benefit.  We are in Jesus, and Jesus is in us. The Son and the Spirit are in us who are in the Son who is in the Father. It is a position of amazing security like our most precious documents placed inside a fire box that is, in turn, placed inside a bank vault!

It is also a position of deepest, life-giving, life-sustaining intimacy. Jesus is in us, and we are in Jesus like a fish is in water, and water is the fish; or like a bird is in the air, and the air is in the bird (Johnson, private notes). This total and mutual immersion of life in life forms a spiritual connection deeper than the most intimate human bond can ever hope to achieve.

Here, in this verse, we find the basis for the extended metaphor of the "Vine and Branches" (John 15). Jesus explains our deep connection with Him in the analogy of the vine and branches.  A cleft graft uniting a fruit-bearing shoot with the stock of a vine is literally a linkage of life inside life. The stock is split, and the branch is sliced so that the branch fits deep into - and matches up with - the stock. The life of the stock flows into the branch.

We are in Jesus, and Jesus is in us - life in life. His life flows in us who are living in Him.

THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE SPIRIT

The role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers changed significantly with the physical departure of Jesus from this world. Jesus promised His disciples that the Father "will give" (δωσει) the disciples a friend to come alongside them when He is gone (14:16). This friend is called the "Spirit of Truth" (14:17) and the "Holy Spirit" (14:26). He is a friend who provides a depth of intimacy we could never have enjoyed prior to the departure of Jesus.

Jesus told His disciples that they currently knew this friend "because He abides with you and will be in you" (14:17).  The external textual support is strong for either a present tense or a future tense, but the context requires a future tense. There would be no reason for Jesus to request another "friend" if the friend was already there in the same way as He will be there later.  The future tense of "will give" (δωσει) in verse 16, and the undisputed future tenses in verse 26 require us to understand the coming of the Spirit as future to that day. We enjoy a more intimate work of the Holy Spirit than believers in the Old Testament experienced.

Three prepositions teach us about the changing role of the Spirit. In verse 16, Jesus says that the friend "may be with you forever" (μετα). In verse 17, the Spirit "is abiding with" them (παρα). A change is coming and the Spirit "will be in" them (εν). We cannot make ironclad distinctions between prepositions, but, when used in a context like this, we can draw out some nuances of meaning in the contrasting phrases.

The base meaning of the preposition μετα is "in the midst of" or with someone in the sense of a union or association (Robertson, p.609). The fellowship of the Spirit is with us in our Christian lives (2 Cor. 13:14). The simplest meaning of the second preposition παρα means beside or alongside of someone. It emphasizes His personal presence with us. Jesus has already been with them in this sense along with the Holy Spirit (14:25), and Jesus promises to continue to be with them in the future (14:23). The idea is that both are with us in the sense of at our homes (Robertson, p.614).

The third preposition εν introduces the new role of the Spirit. The emphasis of εν in this context is that our friend will not just be near us but inside of us. This is the basic meaning (Robertson, p. 586), and Jesus implies this very distinction here regarding the changing role of the Spirit. The Spirit had formerly been alongside them but now will be inside them. This will be the new role of the Spirit unknown and not experienced before this time.

The third preposition εν is the most intimate of the three. This preposition is a favorite word used by Jesus to explain our new intimacy with God in this chapter, so we should understand it in its full force. Jesus has just told them in verse 9 that He has been with them (μετα), so they should have known the Father because Jesus is in (εν) the Father and the Father is in (εν) Jesus (14:11). He tells us to ask our requests in (εν) His name (14:13-14). Jesus culminates the lesson in intimacy in verse 20 by saying, "I am in (εν) the Father, and you are in (εν) Me, and I am in (εν) you" (14:20).

The trinity is our foundation for intimacy. We can enjoy a deeper intimacy with God because our friend, the Holy Spirit, lives inside us.  We enjoy the intimacy of our friend named Jesus who lives in perfect intimacy with the Father. We are wrapped in an intimate embrace with the godhead because our hearts are joined as one with all three persons of the godhead. It is a friendship deeper than any words and stronger than the strongest bonds.

WHAT IS A PARACLETE?

Jesus promised us an additional paraclete from the Father (John 14:16, 26) - one who would be like Him. A quick survey of translations finds the following meanings for paraclete (παρακλητον): comforter (KJV), advocate (NIV), helper (ESV & NASB), and counselor (RSV). The word paraclete is so rich in meaning that it is probably impossible to find a single English word which can plumb its depths (Morris, John, p. 666).

The verb form of this word (παρακαλεω) means "to call along side" and can be used for either exhortation or consolation (BAGD). The noun (παρακλητος) can certainly carry a sense of comfort or consolation, and the early church fathers translated it this way. The word can also be used in a technical sense of attorney or advocate. We can see this sense of the word used for Jesus and His role in God's courtroom when we sin.  "If anyone sins, we have an Advocate (παρακλητον) with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous" (1 John 2:1). Jesus is our defense attorney whenever we are charged with sin before a Holy God. The Holy Spirit, in John 14:16, is "another" παρακλητον like Jesus so many opt for "advocate" in keeping with the image of a defense attorney in 1 John 2:1.

However, by the time of the New Testament the technical legal meaning of the word had diminished in usage (BAGD) and the word had taken on a more general meaning of a helper - one who comes to the aid of another. This is a common way to understand the word.  The context of John 14 supports a meaning that is less technical and more supportive given the emphasis on teaching and peace (John 14:26-27). Helper moves us in this direction, but I think it loses some of the richness of the meaning we find for paraclete.

The word paraclete was used for a friend of an accused person not his hired attorney. The friend was more than just a helper. He was called alongside to speak about a person's character and provide personal support for his friend in need (Moulton & Milligan, p.485). He was first a friend.  He was a "pleader" on behalf of his friend. I like the thought that the Holy Spirit, as our paraclete, is a "legal friend" (Morris, John, p.649). He is our helper in a legal sense, but he is more than a hired helper and more than a legal advocate. The paraclete is a true friend who pleads for us and stands with us in our times of need.

We have two friends in high places. Jesus is our first paraclete. He is now in heaven. The Holy Spirit is our friend on earth. He is with us, and in us, here and now.  They both vouch for us when we have needs so that we find peace in their friendship.  We have two friends who stand with us through our struggles in life - one friend in heaven and one friend on earth! With friends like these, we are never alone and never at loss.

ANOTHER HELPER

Our intimacy with Jesus is grounded in the intimacy of the trinity. We catch a glimpse of this spiritual intimacy in John 14:16 where Jesus promises us, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper." The Father's gift of a Helper for us comes at the request of the Son on our behalf. Jesus' request to the Father rises from an intimate conversation about us with the Father.

The verb translated "will ask" (ερωτησω) suggests an open dialogue between two people face to face. It meant to ask a question in a conversation. Another common word for "ask" (αιτεω) is used of making a request from an inferior to a superior.  When the disciples ask God for anything in prayer,αιτεω is used, but αιτεω is never used of Jesus' own requests to God. The word for Jesus' requests to the Father is either ερωταω or δεομαι. The word ερωταω indicates an intimate conversational setting (Colin Brown, NIDNT, 3: 856-857).

Jesus promises the disciples that in the near future (note future tense) He will have an intimate conversation with the Father. The topic of this conversation will be us! I take it that Jesus continues to have intimate conversations with the Father about us. The result of these intimate conversations is that we continue to enjoy the help we need with the problems we face in this life.

Jesus asks the Father to give us another (αλλον) Helper.  The word "another" (αλλον) indicates another helper who is different but not antithetical to the first helper. The new helper is an additional helper.  There are two Greek words for "another." The first word for "another" (ετερος) tends to distinguish two subjects. The second word for "another" (αλλος) tends to add two subjects. The second word is the word used here. Jesus requests more help, or additional help, for us.

Jesus, of course, is the first Helper. He has just pledged His help in verses 13-14. What we ask in His name, He pledges to do for us as long as it brings glory to the Father. Jesus is still our advocate or helper today.  "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate (Helper - same word) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1). As if Jesus is not enough help for us, Jesus requests an additional helper. We are doubly helped by the Son and the Spirit as a gift from our Father rising out of His ongoing intimate conversations with the Son about us.

Thank you, Father, for your loving gift!
Thank you, Jesus, for your loving request!
Thank you, Spirit, for your loving help!

LOVE'S OBEDIENCE

Freedom in our obedience flows out of the fullness of our love. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Obedience is the natural, but not obligatory, consequence of love. Love does not demand obedience, but obedience expresses love.

The verse is conditional. It is a third class condition sometimes called a "more probable future condition" (Dana & Mantey, p.290). The construction suggests an element of uncertainty expressed in the future tense of the apodosis - "you will keep my commands." The majority text uses an imperative (τηρησατε), but the better attested reading is a future indicative (τηρησετε) which also fits better with the third class condition and the future tense of "ask" (ερωτησω) in verse 16.

The stress of the apodosis is on "my" commands. The pronoun is emphatic (τας εμας). There is absolute authority bound up in this pronoun. Moses told the Israelites, "These are the things the Lord has commanded you" (Exodus 35:1). Now Jesus talks about "my commandments" recalling the Lord's commands in the Law of God. Yet, instead of making obedience a response to authority, Jesus teaches an obedience that flows from love. Here is no legalistic duty to obey but a free desire to obey with an element of uncertainty in the obedience because Jesus seeks the heart more than the act of obedience.

How then can we learn to love Jesus more? We can learn to love Jesus more as we study the words and the will of the one we love.  Jesus promises us help for our obedience as we learn His ways. Verse 16 is tied grammatically to verse 15.  The promised "helper" will be in us helping us as we obey out of a heart of love.

Intimacy with Jesus is the foundation for obedience to His will.

ANYTHING WE ASK?!

Jesus makes a staggering promise to do what we ask in John 14:13-14. "Whatever (ο τι αν) you ask in my name that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything (εαν τι) in my name, I will do it." Will Jesus do anything we ask? What if I ask for the opposite of what you ask? Will He do what I ask or what you ask?

Jesus does not actually promise to do anything I ask Him to do. What He promises to do is whatever I ask as long as what I ask meets two criteria in this verse. The basis of my request must be "in Jesus name" (εν τω ονοματι). The purpose of my request must be to glorify the Father through the Son's answer (ινα δοξασθη). When I align my request with His basis and His purpose, He will do whatever I ask, but He does not promise to do what does not align with His basis and His purpose.

The basis for my request must always be "in Jesus name." Many suggest that prayer in Jesus name means on the merits of what Jesus has accomplished for us.  However, the same phrase is used in John 14:26 where the Father will send the Holy Spirit "in my name" (εν τω ονοματι). Does the Father send the Holy Spirit on the merits of what Jesus has done for us?  Perhaps, but I think there is a better sense for the phrase.

The better understanding of asking in Jesus name is that we are asking God to do something on the basis that Jesus is our representative before the Father. The Father sends the Holy Spirit to us on the basis that Jesus represents us to the Father. Jesus is in the Father. We are in Jesus, and Jesus is in us (John 14:20). Because of that representative relationship we can ask whatever we want. Prayer "in Jesus name" is not a magic formula but the expression of an intimate union with Jesus.  Our union with Him frames our request to Him. Whatever we ask will be aligned with whatever He wants because we enjoy an intimate friendship with Him.

The purpose of our request is the glory of God. We ask whatever we want in order to see the Father glorified in the Son when the Son answers our request. We don't pray for our wants but for His honor. Our requests must be aligned with His glory or the promise is mitigated.  When we are so in tune with Jesus that what we want most glorifies the Son, then we can ask whatever we want, and He will do it for us.

The closer I am to Jesus; the more intimately I know Him; the more likely I am to ask for what He most wants to do just like any love relationship. The more I seek what will honor Him, the more He seeks to do what I ask. Sadly, and all too often, what I ask for uses Him to meet my goals instead of to seek His glory. Prayer is a request between close friends not a requisition from a business partner.

TO WHOM SHOULD WE PRAY?

The normal pattern for prayer in the New Testament is to the Father through the Son. We ask the Father to answer our prayers on the basis of our relationship with the Son. Some try to make this pattern into a rigid formula for prayer despite the fact that Stephen prayed directly to Jesus pleading on behalf of those who stoned him to death (Acts 7:59-60).

Jesus promised, "Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it" (John 14:13-14).  The expression is awkward.  We don't usually request something from someone in his/her own name. In fact, some manuscripts leave out the "me" (με) and insert "the Father" (τον πατερα) in its place. There is, however, strong external manuscript evidence for "me" being the original text and the internal evidence is compelling as well.  It seems more likely that a scribe copying the text by hand would make the mistake of omitting "me" and supplying "the Father" to avoid the awkwardness of the sentence. So the best reading is με not τον πατερα.

We can ask Jesus in Jesus' name to answer our requests. Further support for praying directly to Jesus comes from the pronouns in both verses.  Jesus says in verse 13, "Whatever you ask ... I (εγω) will do." He makes the "I" emphatic in verse 14. "If you ask Me ... I will do it" (εγω ποιησω).  The εγω reinforces the με and Jesus will do (ποιησω) what we ask Him to do.

Jesus makes an extraordinary promise to answer our requests whether we ask the Father (vs. 13) or Jesus directly (vs. 14). The natural implication of verse 13 is that we ask the Father. The explicit teaching of verse 14 is that we ask Jesus. Whether we ask the Father or we ask the Son, we are to ask "in Jesus name." Whether we ask the Father or we ask the Son, Jesus answers the prayer request.  Whatever we ask, Jesus will do! He carries out the answers to our prayers.

The Father is in the Son. The Son is in the Father (vss. 10-11). To pray to one is to pray to the other. We pray to either Father or Son in Jesus name. Prayer is not a magic formula that unlocks the power of God to fulfill our wants.  Prayer is "love-talk" - the whispers of intimate conversation. Our requests Jesus promises to answer reflect that intimacy. Prayer flows out of our intimate union with both Father and Son. Answers to our prayers flow out of the intimate union of the Father with the Son.  Their intimacy with each other in purpose grounds our intimacy with them in prayer.

GREATER WORKS!

Miracles to us are merely works to Jesus. The works (εργα) Jesus did on earth often referred to miraculous deeds (John 5:20; 7:21) that no one else ever did (John 15:24). However, all of these works were part of one great work - the work Jesus came to do on earth - to save mankind (John 17:4). Jesus considered this work His greatest work.  "Works" are "a way of linking the miracles with the non-miraculous. It shows the whole of Jesus life glowed with divine glory" (Morris, John, p.689) as He worked out His salvation purpose.

Jesus said, "He who believes in Me, the works (εργα) that I do, he will do also; and greater than these he will do; because I go to the Father" (John 14:12). One of the proofs validating Jesus' claims is the fact that His followers do greater works than He did. The particle οτι is causal. His followers will do (ποιησει) greater works because Jesus goes to the Father. The departure of Jesus causes greater works to be done through His followers - by extension, us!

How did the disciples do greater (μειζονα) works than Jesus? Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead. How can our works be greater than those works? The Apostles certainly did some great miracles. People were healed when Peter's shadow fell on them (Acts 5:12-16), and God healed people by the sweat rags of Paul (Acts 19:11-12). Sadly, many today try to emulate these miraculous works not understanding that Jesus was talking about greater works than these. The comparative adjective requires a standard of measurement to apply to the comparison.

Our works are greater in power because they are done by God using weak, flawed and sinful humans. God chooses to get His work done through us requiring greater power than if He had done it Himself. When all is said and done, the works we do are ultimately His works done through us. That anyone in this world should be drawn to Jesus through our soiled works is an act of omnipotence!

Our works are greater in scope. Jesus left this world having accumulated 500 disciples after 3 years of work.  Peter preached one sermon and 3,000 people were saved. The works of Jesus have been expanded exponentially into a global kingdom by the followers of Jesus. Works expanded are greater works.

Our works are greater in value. Jesus implied that His own spiritual works were greater than His physical miracles (John 5:20) showing us that spiritual conversion is more valuable to Jesus than physical healing. There is no greater work in the mind of Jesus than the conversion of one soul. Jesus does His conversion work through us thereby using us to do greater works for Him. The miracle of conversion is the greatest work of all!

UNION AND INTIMACY

The union of the Father and the Son is proved by Jesus' words and the Father's works (John 14:10). Jesus proves that He is in the Father because He does not speak on His own initiative. He does not speak "by means of Himself" (απ εμαυτου). The Father proves that Jesus does not speak on His own initiative by the works God does through Jesus. The works verify the words.

The Father is living in Jesus (John 14:10). The word "living" (μενων) is a nominative participle modifying Father. It means enduring, continuing or remaining. The Father is continuously living in Jesus. Jesus says, "The living in me Father"  performs (ποιει) - on an ongoing basis - His works, thereby verifying the words of Jesus.

Jesus calls us to believe Him (John 14:11). What are we to believe?  Jesus defines the content of our faith not the cause of our faith in the expression "I am in the Father and the Father is in Me." The particle (οτι) should be translated "that" not "because" (Meyer, John, p 412). We are to believe Jesus when He says "that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me." This is an essential doctrine of Christianity.

Why must we believe that? We must believe Jesus' words about His union with the Father because the mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son is the foundation for the mutual indwelling of Jesus and His followers (John 14:20). We are in Jesus, and Jesus is in us. Jesus is in the Father, and the Father is in Jesus. The Father sends the Spirit of Truth to be in us (John 14:17). The Tri-Unity of God is the model for our unity in Jesus, so the Tri-Unity of God is an essential teaching of our faith.

The basis of our union with Jesus is His union with the Father. We must believe His union with the Father in order to experience our union with Jesus. The intimacy we enjoy with Jesus is grounded in the intimacy He enjoys with the Father.

TO SEE GOD

The statement is shockingly simple yet infinitely profound.  "From now on (απ αρτι) you know Him (God) and you have seen Him" (John 14:7). You all (plural) know God now (γινωσκετε). The present tense indicative verb emphasizes continuing knowledge from this point onward. You all have seen God (εωρακατε). The perfect tense indicative verb emphasizes past action that stands accomplished in the present (Burton, Moods & Tenses, p.40). Jesus expands His thought with two more perfect tense verbs in response to Philip's question. "The one who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). It is not that they will see God. They have seen God - in Jesus. Jesus makes a staggering claim.

There are two Greek words often used for sight. βλεπω means to see in terms of the physical senses or as an intellectual function of paying attention. The word used here, οραω, refers to spiritual perception (BAGD, Lexicon, p.578). John uses οραω for what the Son in His preexistence saw when He was with the Father in eternity past (John 3:11, 32; 6:46; 8:38; Colin Brown, NIDNT, 3:515-517). No one else has seen the Father - until now, Jesus asserts! The Bible teaches that God is invisible (Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17). The word is a verbal adjective related to οραω with the alpha negative added (α - ορατος). Moses "saw" God in the Old Testament but it was a theophony - a manifestation of God (Ex. 33:13,18). Jesus now claims that the disciples have seen God in a way that Moses never did precisely because they have seen Jesus.

How have they seen God?  John uses the word for seeing by faith (John 12:45). The believer perceives the Father in the Son. The unbeliever does not. I like what John Baillie said, "Through God alone can God be known!" Jesus is not saying here that He represents the Father or is the Father's ambassador to humans.  You cannot know someone through knowing someone who knows him. Jesus claims that you actually know the Father when you know the Son. He claims that when you see Jesus, you have seen the invisible God!