1 “Jesus *said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. John 14:9–12

2 Jesus described His own relationship with the Father first, and then says the most amazing thing that ties us to Jesus in everything He was as a man. Remember that Philip wants to see the Father and learn what the Father is like. Jesus says, “If you want to see the Father, then look at Me because the Father is doing in me everything that you see Me doing. It is not Me doing my works.” And then He says:

3 “otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” John 14:11-12 What works will we do? And what works did Jesus do? It wasn’t Jesus doing the works, it was the Father in Jesus doing His works. So guess what! Jesus is telling us that as the Father worked in Him because Jesus was in union with the Father, so the Father will work in US because we are in union with Him, and our works will be greater because the Father, the Son, and the Spirit will be working in millions of submitted believers rather than just in Jesus!

4 “otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” John 14:11-12 Jesus was marking a major shift in the relationship between God and man, that had never existed since the fall of man. Prior to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit had never been resident in mankind on a permanent basis. Following the resurrection, the Holy Spirit would come upon every believer in the same way that He came upon Jesus. In fact, everything about life was about to change for God’s people.

5 “otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” John 14:11-12 He wasn’t telling Philip that He was deity – He was inviting Philip and the disciples, and each one of us to join Him in this new relationship where the Father was not just among us, and along side us, but actually INSIDE us, NEVER to leave us through all eternity, at work in us, doing the Father’s work right now! Do you remember a few weeks ago how the Scriptures first describe God as “among” His people, then to “along side” His people, to ultimately “INSIDE” His people? That is where we are today!

6 Now let’s go back to our text and and put this all together. What Jesus said was: “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 see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16–18 We all know Jesus is speaking about the Holy Spirit, but there is MUCH more in the text than that!

7 What Jesus is saying to us is: “Yes, I have to leave you, BUT you aren’t going to be left like a bunch of orphans. In fact, this new deal is going to be much better for you all. The Father is going to give you “ ἄ λλον παράκλητον” which means “another person of the same kind who is called along side to help, to defend, to intercede, comfort and counsel”. In other words, “It is better because I can only be in one place at one time in this state, and you guys are going to be going all over the area and you are going to need much more than I can be to you as a Man. It is going to be tough at first but you are going to see the incredible power of what God has in store for you very shortly. You will see.” But there was even MUCH more than that! In addition to the Holy Spirit, there was …

8 The Father, who is just as much in us as are the Holy Spirit and the Son. Notice the relationships. “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. John 17:11 Jesus is actually asking the Father to “keep” His people. This is the word “τηρέω” which means “to protect, guard, keep inviolate”.

9 The Father, who is just as much in us as are the Holy Spirit and the Son. Notice the relationships. “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. John 17:11 Notice that the purpose or the conclusion of the Father keeping us is that “we may be one even as the Father and the Son are one”.

10 The Father, who is just as much in us as are the Holy Spirit and the Son. Notice the relationships. “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. John 17:11 The English is misleading. It does not mean that we are not “one” now and that Jesus is praying that we will “become” one.

11 "Yet Jesus does not here pray for this oneness of the disciples, i.e., that it may come to pass. Perhaps this misconception is due to the translation; “may be one” is taken to mean, “may get to be one.” But ὦ σιν does not have this force. It assumes that the disciples are already one; v. 6–10 shows that beyond question. Since they are already one in the name that the Father gave to Jesus, he requests that the Father guard them “in order that they may go on being one.” The verb is not the aorist γένωνται, “become,” “get to be one.” Lenski

12 “Even in v. 21 Jesus does not introduce this idea. He prays only for this, that the oneness already established may remain unbroken by the guardian care of the Father. How will it be kept intact? By keeping the disciples “in the name,” in the Word, in the utterances of Jesus ( ῥ ήματα, v. 8).” Lenski So, Jesus is NOT saying, “Oh Father, our people are so messed up. I pray that they will give up their selfishness and finally become unified with one another as You and I are one.” He is praying that screwed up Christians will learn the reality of, and the power that is available to them in the union they possess already with the Father, and that they will capitalize on what they are and already have!

13 “Even in v. 21 Jesus does not introduce this idea. He prays only for this, that the oneness already established may remain unbroken by the guardian care of the Father. How will it be kept intact? By keeping the disciples “in the name,” in the Word, in the utterances of Jesus ( ῥ ήματα, v. 8).” Lenski The idea is that we may break away from our unbelieving past and engage the reality of what we actually are so that our quality of life may be connected with and empowered by our true identity, which is God’s nature. When this happens, we are actually living our design. You can tell when you are living a lie. When the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, etc… is not your constant experience, it is due to a lie and its impact on the mind and the choice.

14 “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. John 17:18 You see, there is a direct relationship between Jesus being ready to receive the work from the Father, and we who receive the work from Jesus. That is, we are to Jesus, what Jesus was to the Father as He lived on planet Earth.

15 The parallels in relationship between Jesus and the Father and us and Jesus are more than glaringly obvious. The part that perfect UNION played between the Father and the Son of man in human flesh, is identical to our union/relationship with God. It is more than clear that we are called to exactly the same union with the Godhead that Jesus enjoyed as the Son of man in human flesh. Let’s see if this is more obvious as we read the text again. Let’s make sure we understand this. The union that is critical, central to everything about life for us is ALREADY in place in our lives since we received Christ as Savior. It isn’t that we have to do something to come into union.

16 The parallels in relationship between Jesus and the Father and us and Jesus are more than glaringly obvious. The part that perfect UNION played between the Father and the Son of man in human flesh, is identical to our union/relationship with God. It is more than clear that we are called to exactly the same union with the Godhead that Jesus enjoyed as the Son of man in human flesh. Let’s see if this is more obvious as we read the text again. It is simply a matter of choosing to step into its power by faith and watching what it can accomplish in your life. Beyond the personal growth and purification, the Spirit of God will also contact other struggling Christians and lost people because of the power that is resident in us.

17 “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” John 17:21 What could be the meaning of the phrase “they also may be in Us”? Clearly Jesus is not speaking recklessly, hyperbolically, or metaphorically. There is a stark realism here that a large body of Christians today dismiss as an idealistic and “feel good” goal that no human being but Jesus will attain this side of eternity, and that is a tragedy. So what is Jesus literally trying to communicate by His prayer to the Father? All that Jesus had in His relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit as a man is exactly the same thing that is available to us, every day of our lives. That is the only way that the world will be convinced that the Father sent Jesus, by looking at the likes of us! The only way to see God in us by any comparison to Jesus, is for the Father to be in us as He was in Jesus.