Worship - Sunday at 10:30AM
Bible Study - Wednesday at 6:30PM
2003-02-16 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church
OBEDIENCE SHOWS LOVE
John 14:15-19
This passage is from the words spoken by Jesus shortly before the walk to the Garden where He would be taken captive. The last seven words really stirred my spirit a couple of weeks ago, and on a closer examination of this passage, the last seven words did also. In these five short verses, our Lord makes a proposal for us to consider, supports it with a promise, and ends with seven elegant, powerful words that grant purpose to our lives.
What kind of love...
...is offered without regard to the worthiness of the object?
...is offered without regard for the ability of the object to repay?
...is founded in humble service, self denial, and self sacrifice?
...can only be known by the actions it prompts?
...offered an only Son as an atoning sacrifice to redeem the object of this love?
...should we offer in return for this kind of love?
15. If ye love me, keep my commandments.
In the flesh we aren't fully capable of understanding the Lord's love for us, but some day we will see Him as He is. If we see what John described in Revelation 5:6 (a Lamb as it had been slain), then maybe we will understand what kind of love this is. If we love Him, we are obedient to Him. A heart with disobedience is a heart without love, and a heart without love is nothing. In 1 Corinthians 13:2, Paul wrote that "though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing." The truest test of our love for the Father is our obedience to Him. Do I love the LORD my God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength? Do I love my neighbor like myself, and with a pure heart, fervently? How many times every day do I fall short of keeping His commandments?
15. If you love me, keep my commandments.
16. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
When I try to consider the enormous price paid for the gifts of the Spirit, obedience seems a small price to pay in return. The Spirit helps us understand God, gives us the strength and courage to obey Him, and helps us communicate with Him. In Old Testament times, the Spirit of God came and went, and so did Jesus, but the gift of the Comforter is permanent. All three offices of the Holy Trinity are described in this one verse, verse 16. When Jesus says He will "pray the Father", He's defining the office He occupies now as our go-between with the Father, and as the intercessory example that we should follow. The Greek verb translated as "pray" here is "erotao", used when requesting something from an equal, quite different from the verb used when intreating a higher power (proseuchomai). True to His everlasting goodness, God is portrayed here as a generous Father to His obedient children, and He has given to us another Comforter...
17. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Mark Twain said, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes." The world is bent towards vanity, and it's eager to receive a lie. The more I choose to rely on my five carnal senses as truth detectors, the less I'm able to rely on the Guide who leads me into all truth, and the more I cripple the indwelling strength that's available to me. Remember that Jesus describes the Spirit as a person, and as such He is vulnerable. The ministry of the Spirit can be hindered, even quenched, and thereby grieved. Whenever I'm tempted to lean on my own understanding, I'm reminded of the vulnerability of the person of the Holy Spirit, and my heart repents. People who are swayed by the desire of the flesh, desire of the eye, and pride of life will consider you foolish for relying on something that they cannot see. To quote the imperative command by Jesus at the beginning of this chapter, "Let not your heart be troubled."
18. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
19. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Because He lived, and only because He lives, we are able to attain a purpose in this life. Because He was to be falsely accused, tortured, put to death on a cross, sealed in a tomb, and yet He lives, we can rise from the spiritual death in this world, and we can again rise when He returns. On that day we may finally understand the love He has for us.