Loving Obedience John 14:15-20

Have you thought much about things you love? We use that terminology frequently… What does love actually mean? -Does it mean something we like strongly? -Does it mean we are loyal to something/one? -Does it mean a strong commitment to someone? One thing is usually not associated with love…

I. We have an Admonition to Loving Obedience “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15, NKJV)

A. Love is presented as a motivating factor The larger context indicates the flow of the passage This is the first reference in this Gospel to the believer’s love for Jesus

John 13:1 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (NKJV)

John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (NKJV)

John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (NKJV)

1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” (NKJV)

John 17:6-8 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.” (NKJV)

1 John 4:7-11 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (NKJV)

B. Obedience is indicated as a desirable objective The prescribed test for love is obedience Jesus exhibited His love for the Father by obedience What does the Bible teach about obedience? “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil 2:8, NKJV)

II. We have a Promise of Divine Provision “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16–17, NKJV)

A. We have a divinely appointed advocate This provision is for specific purposes and functions Several ministries of the Spirit: regeneration, indwelling, baptizing, sealing, filling, illuminating, convicting & restraining This text also provides a strong reference to the Trinity

-This provision is intended to be enduring, not temporary “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9, NKJV)

B. We have a unique indwelling person The paraclete is specifically identified as the Spirit of truth “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” (John 15:26, NKJV)

John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (NKJV)

John 1:32-33 “And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’” (NKJV)

John 3:5-8 “Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”” (NKJV)

John 7:37-39 “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (NKJV)

-The indwelling of the Spirit is not the same as the filling of the Spirit The indwelling speaks of the presence of the Spirit The filling speaks of the control of the Spirit

Parallel passages… “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,” (Ephesians 5:18–19, NKJV) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16, NKJV)

III. We have an encouragement in not being abandoned “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:18–20, NKJV)

A. The anticipated departure would be temporary Jesus was returning to the concern over His departure He indicated His clear intention to return to them

B. The anticipated provision could be multifaceted There are three ways this can be understood The context favors the immediate timeframe of post-resurrection reappearance

Have you thought about the impact of being in Christ? “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1, NKJV) “so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” (Romans 12:5, NKJV)

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (NKJV) If, by faith, we are united with Christ through the redemption of His shed blood and indwelt by His Spirit, why would we not lovingly obey Him?