| Back to Home Page | Back to
Book Index |
John Chapter
Fourteen
I. Content of the Chapter
The Great Departure and Coming of the Son of
God the Savior
A. His
Great Departure:
1. The purpose of His departure ---- prepare
a place (v.1-3).
2. The way of His departure ---- “I AM”
(v.4-6).
3. Where He left for ---- “the Father”
(v.7-11).
4. The result of His departure ---- He left His
believers to do things greater than He will do (v.12-15).
B. His
Mysterious Coming:
1. Through which He will come ---- another
Helper (v.15-20).
2. To whom He will come ---- he who loves the Lord
and keeps the Lord’s word (v.21-24).
C. His
Departure was His Coming:
1. The Lord told His disciples His departure while
being present with them. And His disciples will understand it in the future
(v.25-26).
2. The disciples will have peace and joy
after the Lord’s departure (v.27-28).
3. When what the Lord had told the disciples before
came to pass, they might believe (v.29).
4. The
ruler of this world is coming, and it is time to
go (v.30-31).
II. Verse by Verse commentary
John. 14:1 “"Let not your heart
be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”
YLT:
“`Let not your heart be
troubled, believe in God, also in me believe;”
Meaning of Words: “troubled”: agitated;
Literal Meaning: “Let not your heart
be troubled”, “you” refers to the Lord’s disciples. Their heart was troubled
for two reasons: (1) the Lord would depart from them (see 13:33). (2) They felt
worried about their forthcoming state.
“You believe in God, believe
also in Me.” ---- “Believe in”, such believing is subjectively, not
objectively. Here, the Lord mentioned “God” and “Him” together, suggesting that
He (Christ) is God who is omnipresent and never restricted by time and space.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) “Let not your heart be troubled”, in fact the most troubled one was the Lord
Himself. However, He comforted His disciples with good words. How considerable
the Lord to others was!
2) In the other three Books
of Gospels, they all recorded the prayer of the Lord in Gethsemane (see Matt
26:37-38; Mark 14:33-34; Luke 22:44). Only in this book, the Lord even spared
his efforts to comfort His disciples, because of His distinct status of “the
Son of God” in this book from that in other three books. Though the Lord has
infirmity in His humanity, how surpassing He is in His divinity.
3) This verse shows us
a way of being delivered out of “trouble” ---- to believe in God and Christ. Only
being hid in God and Christ will prevent one from being attacked by the
sadness. Faith that dissipates our grief is our health.
4) When you are
disturbed by some grief, if you lift up your believing eyes, you will see the
brilliant and glorious rainbow in the clouds of sadness.
5) “You believe in
God, believe also in Me.” ---- It indicates that if a man believes God, he must
believe the Lord. To believe Christ is to believe God. In other words, he who
does not believe Christ does not believe God (see 1John2:28; 5:10).
John. 14:2 “In My Father's house are
many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a
place for you.”
YLT:
“in the house of my Father
are many mansions; and if not, I would have told you; I go on to prepare a
place for you;”
Meaning of Words:
“mansion”: residence, abode;
Literal Meaning: “In My Father's house are
many mansions”, “My Father's house” refers to the dwelling (temple) of God. God
not only dwells in the heaven, and dwell in Christ as well (see v.10-11; 8:16,
29; 10:38). God took the physical body of Christ as His residence, however, the
spiritual body of Christ had been established through His death and
resurrection (see 2:19-21). At present, the church, as a whole, is the house of
God and the habitation of God in Spirit (see Eph 2:21-22). However, the
physical body of every individual Christian is also the house of God as well as
the habitation of God in Spirit (see 1Cor 3:16-17; 6:19). Therefore, there are
“many mansions” in My Father's house.
“I go to prepare a place for you.” ---- The
departure of the Lord Jesus meant that He left His disciples through His corporeal
death. “Prepare” indicated that there was an interval of a period of time. Actually,
the Lord Jesus rose up three days after His death. “Place” refers to the church
produced by His death and resurrection.
The church is neither the physical building nor the
religious organization, but a sort of spiritual organism, which is not composed
of the flesh and blood. The death of the Lord Jesus is to deliver us out of the
corruption of sins, yet His resurrection makes us become partakers of His divine
nature and life (see 2 Pet 1:4).
The church is on one hand “the house of God” (see 1
Tim 3:15) and God dwells therein. On the other, it is the gather of the
household of God (see Eph 2:19), where believers live and walk. In other words,
the church is the place where God abides with believers together. Therefore, the
Lord’s death and resurrection is the necessary process of preparing a place for
us.
Controversial Clarification:
“In My
Father's house are many mansions”,
according to the traditional interpretation of the Christianity, they held that
it indicated that there were sufficient places for believers to dwell in the
heavens of God the Father. Although we could not say it was absolutely wrong,
it still might carry other meanings according to what the Lord Jesus spoke
here:
1. In this chapter, the Lord’s “departure” was
for the purpose of His “coming”. He had mentioned that “I will come again (v.3)”, “I will come to you (v.8)”, “at that day (v.20)”, “We will come to him and make Our home
with him (v.23)”, “I am going away and coming
back to you” (v.28) and etc. All
the above refer to His coming to His believers in the state of the indwelling
spirit after His death and resurrection, not the second coming in the last day.
2. The Lord Jesus in this chapter promised the
believers that for the sake of His “going” and “coming” afterwards they could
enjoyed many spiritual advantages on the earth when they still lived rather
than after their death.
3. The Lord said: “you in Me, and I in you (v.20)”. It means the Lord abides with us
together, which can be practically experienced when we still live on the earth.
4. The Lord also said: “We (God and Christ) will come to him and make Our home
with him (v.23).” The word “home” was the same word as “mansion” in
this verse, which proved that the places that the Lord has prepared by His
death and resurrection had been fulfilled from the earth.
Therefore, we may interpret the meanings of “many
mansions” according to the view of the whole chapter.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Just like Christ today is in the heaven and also
on the earth. The places that He has prepared for us are both in the heaven and
on the earth. Such place is none other than the church.
2) The church is the “house
of the Father”, so it is heavenly. Everything in the church should originate
from the heaven and be unto the heaven.
3) Every true believer is
the “house” of the divine Trinity.
4) The word “mansion” in the
original embraces a meaning of “step by step”. The more one’s spiritual life
has increased, the more the spiritual blessings he will enjoy.
John. 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am,
there you may be also.”
YLT:
“and if I go on and prepare
for you a place, again do I come, and will receive you unto myself, that where
I am ye also may be;”
Meaning of Words: “receive”: associate with oneself, take;
Literal Meaning: “if I go and prepare a place
for you”, “if” can be
interpreted as “since” or “mean”,
not “suppose”.
“I will come again.” ---- “Come again”
does not mean the second coming of the Lord
(see 1The 4:16-17), but His coming in the spirit after His death and resurrection
(see v.18-19; 20:19-22).
“If
I go…I will come again”, it proved that the Lord’s “departure” was for
the purpose of His “coming”. Jesus had to “go” in His flesh, so that Christ
could “come” in spirit. The Lord went for the purpose of fulfilling the
salvation. Christ “came” to give His life.
“Receive
you to Myself”, it does not mean
receiving us to the heaven. If so, we should go there after death. “Myself”
refers to Christ Himself, like what the Lord had said later: “you in me”
(v.20).
“Where
I am, there you may be also.” ---- Coming to the
believers in spirit, the Lord receives all of them in Him (see v.20), and He is
in God the Father (v.10-11). Therefore, believers in Him have been brought in
God the Father (see v.23).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The church is in: (1) Christ (see 6:56); (2) God
the Father (see 1 The 1:1).
2) “Where I am, there you may be also.” ---- Where there is the presence of the
Lord, there is the heaven.
As long as there is the presence of the Lord, believers shall enjoy “the
spiritual reality on the earth just like in the heaven”.
3) “Where I am, there you
may be also.” ---- Christ has really seated Himself at his right hand in the
heavenly after His death and resurrection, so we can sit down together in the
heavenly in Him (see Eph 2:6). Christ on one hand lives on the earth as well as
a man of the heaven on the other.
4) If we believers really
seat ourselves in the heavenly with the Lord, we should have the heavenly
insight, life and utterance and shall never be under the power of any earthly
things.
5) The greatest consolation
of man is abiding with his beloved. The greatest of a believer is abiding with the Lord who loves us.
John. 14:4 “And
where I go you know, and the way you know."”
YLT:
“and whither I go away ye
have known, and the way ye have known.'”
Literal Meaning: “where I go you know”, for the Lord had ever told them that He
would return to God the Father
(see 7:33; 13:3).
“The way you know”, “way”:
method. At that moment, the disciples might have known that they have none
other way to go to God the Father than that they should believe in the Lord
Jesus (see 3:36).
Enlightenment
in the Word: as regards a
certain spiritual matter, we shall know it from the outward objective knowledge
to the inward subjective one, which can be counted the true knowledge. Otherwise,
we will know Him only in vagueness like Thomas (see v.5).
John. 14:5 “Thomas said to Him,
"Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the
way?"”
YLT:
“Thomas saith to him, `Sir,
we have not known whither thou goest away, and how are we able to know the
way?'”
Literal
Meaning: Thomas, an ingrained skeptic (see v.25), was
bound by the material attitudes, so he could not follow the revelation of the
Lord Jesus.
Enlightenment
in the Word: our
natural concept may often prevent us from knowing the spiritual things of God.
John. 14:6 “Jesus said to him,
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me.”
YLT:
“Jesus saith to him, `I am
the way, and the truth, and the life, no one doth come unto the Father, if not
through me;”
Literal Meaning: “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. ---- The three definite
articles (“the”) indicate that the way, the truth and the life refer to
something in particular. “The way” refers to the way to God (see 1:51). “The
truth” shows that one can know God through truth (see
v.18). “The life” refers to the divine right of enjoying God (see v.12).
Since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, men
had been completely isolated from God. There would be possibility for man to
draw near God again, only if these three problems as below had been resolved: (1) there should be a right way for
man. (2) Man should know the truth. (3) Man should have the life of God. There
are many ways on the earth, but none
of them led to God for man. There may be much truth on the earth,
which however can not help man to know God. There are various kinds of life,
none of which is the life of God. Therefore, no one can draw near God.
Verily, the Lord Jesus
Himself is the way. His physical body was broken on the cross, dedicating for
us a new and living way which enabling us to draw near
God (see Heb 10:20). Verily, He is the truth, and the truth of God has been
declared through Him (see 1:18). Moreover, verily, He is life, and we have
obtained the life through Him (see 20:31). Therefore, once we have believed
Jesus is the Son of God and received Him as our savior, the three problems of drawing near God ---- the way, the truth, and the life
---- have been resolved for us overall, and thus we can come to God and cry “Abba, Father”.
“No one comes to the Father
except through Me.” ---- “Come to the Father”, having been the way, the truth,
and the life of us, the Lord has purposed
to take us to return to the Father, not the
heaven.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) There are many religions in the world, almost
all of which believe there is god. However, it does not equal to having true
contact with the living and true God. The greatest difference between
Christianity and other religions is that Christianity has Christ who is the way
so that they can enter the fellowship with the true God. However, other
religions have no way. Therefore, no matter how they worship, it is still of
vanity.
2) One can come to God and
draw near Him through only Christ, neither any doctrine, nor any method, nor
any work.
3) The way is employed to
walk in. If a man knows only where the way goes but never walks in it
personally, he will never arrive at the destination. If a man has not received
Christ, he can never draw near God.
4) When we believe and
receive Jesus Christ as our savior, we begin to walk in the spiritual way. He
will present us perfect in the heavenly Father.
5) Only Christ is the truth,
all the other logics concerning god is wrong. Any truth without Christ is not truth.
6) Christ is the truth. He
not only teaches the truth, and He is the truth of Himself. What He is and has
done and has spoken are all truth. If a man wants to know more about the truth,
he should know more about Christ and experience Him.
7) Christ is the reality
(another meaning of “truth” in the original) of all divine things. Only through
experiencing Christ, one can experience all the divine things.
8) Christ is life. The
growth of our spiritual life is none other than that “He must increase, but I
must decrease (see v.3:30).”
9) Without the way, men do
not know how to walk. Without the truth, men do not know what he should
believe. Without the life, men cannot live.
10) Believers are walking in
the way of Christ ---- believing this truth and receiving this life.
11) “No
one comes to the Father except through Me.” ---- And salvation is in none
other, for neither is there another name under heaven which is given among men
by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
John. 14:7 “"If you had known Me,
you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen
Him." ”
YLT: “if ye had known
me, my Father also ye would have known, and from this time ye have known Him,
and have seen Him.'”
Literal
Meaning: “If you had known Me, you
would have known My Father also.” ---- Christ, the only-begotten Son in the
bosom of the Father, has declared the Father (see v.1:18). Therefore, as long
as one has known Christ, he will know the Father.
“And have seen Him”, it does not mean
one has seen the substance of God, but the divine nature of God ---- holiness,
righteousness, mercy, love-kindness and etc (see Col 1:15; 2:9; Heb1:3).
John. 14:8 “Philip said to Him,
"Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." ”
YLT: “Philip saith to
him, `Sir, shew to us the Father, and it is enough for us;'”
Meaning
of Words: “sufficient”: content, enough;
Literal
Meaning: Philip was probably
eager to see God with his corporeal eyes. Such idea however was false.
Enlightenment
in the Word: believers will feel
sufficient if they really have seen God in spirit.
John. 14:9 “Jesus said to him,
"Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He
who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, "Show us the
Father'?”
YLT: “Jesus saith to
him, `So long time am I with you, and thou hast not known me, Philip? he who
hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how dost thou say, Shew to us the
Father?”
Literal
Meaning: “He who has seen Me has seen
the Father.” ---- It indicated
that the disciples had surely seen the divine virtues in the Lord Jesus.
John. 14:10 “Do you not believe that I
am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not
speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. ”
YLT: “Believest thou
not that I in the Father, and the Father is in me? the sayings that I speak to
you, from myself I speak not, and the Father who is abiding in me, Himself doth
the works;”
Literal
Meaning: “Do you not believe?” ---- Believing is significantly essential
for a man to see the spiritual things.
“But
the Father who dwells in Me does the works”, it indicated that the Lord did not live by his
outward life, but God the Father who is in Him.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Many believers, like
Philip, usually enjoy the presence of the Lord, but do not know the Lord
Himself who are with us.
2) The Lord’s life on the earth and His words and deeds
are the example of we Christians ---- we shall live by the guidance of the
indwelling God in us.
John. 14:11 “Believe Me that I am in the
Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works
themselves.”
YLT: “believe me,
that I in the Father, and the Father in me; and if not, because of the works
themselves, believe me.”
Literal
Meaning: the Lord in this
verse means that the disciples have to believe He is in God and God in Him
since they have seen His works, for His words and deeds are out of God.
John. 14:12 “"Most assuredly, 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 My Father.”
YLT: “`Verily,
verily, I say to you, he who is believing in me, the works that I do -- that
one also shall do, and greater than these he shall do, because I go on to my
Father;”
Literal
Meaning: “and greater works than
these he will do”, there are two
meanings of the “greater
works”: (1) greater range
(see Matt 28:18-20); (2) greater effect (see Act 2:41).
John. 14:13 “And whatever you ask in My
name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
YLT: “and whatever ye
may ask in my name, I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son;”
Literal
Meaning: “whatever you ask in My name”, it means “you are in My name” in Greek. The
Lord’s name is the Lord Himself, so “in the Lord’s name” means “in the Lord, be
jointed to the Lord and draw the right of the Lord.”
“That
the Father may be glorified in the Son”,
all the things accomplished by the Lord in His name have manifested the nature
of God the Father so that men can see God the Father through us, and thus God
has been glorified.
This verse has revealed three matters as below: (1) believers should be
jointed to the Lord (in the Lord’s name) so that their prayers will be efficacious.
(2) Believers pray, and the Lord works. (3) Prayers can be answered, and are
purposed to glorify God.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) This verse can be
regarded as the explanation of verse 12. Believers in the New Testament will “do greater things” than those the Lord will do, which will be
accomplished by prayers. Obviously, what the believers have done is still done
by the Lord (see 15:5).
2) Prayer in the name of the
Lord means that we are jointed to the Lord in what we have prayed. The Lord’s need is ours, and ours are His. Only such
prayer is acceptable to the will of the Lord and is easy to be answered and
fulfilled by the Lord.
3) We should not pray by
ourselves before God, for the natural life of us is unacceptable before God. We
should pray in the name of the Lord as well as in the Lord so that our prayers
shall be granted.
4) If we want to supplicate
in the Lord’s name, we should
have intimate fellowship with Him. Otherwise, we cannot understand the will of
the Lord. The more we are intimate with the Lord, the more we will know about
His will.
John. 14:14 “If you ask anything in My
name, I will do it.”
YLT: “if ye ask
anything in my name I will do .”
Literal
Meaning: “I will do it.” ---- “I” refers to the Lord Jesus. Some
Bible exegetes hold that this verse is a proof for believers in the New
Testament that they can pray to the Lord Jesus directly.
John. 14:15 “"If you love Me, keep
My commandments.”
YLT: “`If ye love me,
my commands keep,”
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) That a man knows the
commandment of the Lord can not prove that he loves the Lord. Only keeping the
Lord’s commandment shows
that one loves the Lord truly.
2) Love without obedience is
dead. The more one loves, the more he keeps the Lord’s commandment.
3) Yes, if a man has been
drawn near by the Lord, he cannot help from not loving the Lord. Keeping the
Lord’s commandment for
the one who loves the Lord is voluntary and easy. May we love the Lord more and
keep more His commandments.
John. 14:16 “And I will pray the Father,
and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--”
YLT: “and I will ask
the Father, and another Comforter He will give to you, that he may remain with
you -- to the age;”
Meaning
of Words: “Helper”: beside caller, friend, Advocate,
comforter, persuader, counselor, Legal Helper, Intercessor and strengthener;
Literal
Meaning: “I will pray the
Father”, the word of “pray” is interrogate in Greek, which is not “asking” like
the subordinate to the superior (see v.13-14), but beseeching another one “in
an equal status”.
“He will give you another Helper.” ---- “Another” does not mean another category,
but another one of the same category. “Helper” means “a man is called to help
another one” in Greek. This word in the juridical situation refers to the man
who accompanies the parties to appear in court and takes care of all the
affairs concerned the case. Such man’s work is intercession, vindication, exhortation,
preservation and consolation.
“Helper” has appeared five times in the New Testament in Greek ---- four
of which refers to the Holy Spirit (see v.14:26; 15:26; 16:7), and another one
is “advocate (see 1John2:1)”, which refers to the Lord Jesus. The Lord is our “helper”.
When we are stumbled or commit sins, He is our advocate, helper and intercessor
before the Father (see 1John 2:1；Rom8:34;
Heb7:25). The Holy Spirit is the other “helper” of us and abides with us
forever. When we are infirm, discouraged, ignorant and blind, the Holy Spirit
is our helper, leader and intercessor (see Rom 8:26-27).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The Holy Spirit ---- the
embodiment of Christ ---- substantiates Christ into the believers, accompanies
us, serves us and takes care of all our need.
2) The Holy Spirit
looks after us in every possible way. Whatever we need, it will grant us
perfectly and abundantly.
3) Now the Lord is the
Spirit, but where the Spirit of Lord liberty (2Cor 3:17).
John. 14:17 “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. ”
YLT: “the Spirit of
truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because it doth not behold him,
nor know him, and ye know him, because he doth remain with you, and shall be in
you.”
Literal
Meaning: “the Spirit of truth”, there are several reasons why the spirit
is the spirit of truth: (1) the Holy Spirit moves men to speak the words of God
(see 2Pet 1:21). (2) The Holy Spirit never leads a man to the spirit of error
(see 1John 4:6). (3) The Holy Spirit bears witness of Christ who is the truth
(see v.6, 15:26). (4) The Holy Spirit will lead men into the truth (see 16:13).
“Whom the world cannot receive”, the world is of the flesh, so the Holy
Spirit cannot abide with them (see Gen6:3). Only the Holy Spirit will bring
demonstration to the world, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (see
16:8). Only the one who receives such working of the Holy Spirit can obtain the
indwelling spirit.
“He will be in you”, the works of the Spirit in the New Testament are
distinct from that in the Old Testament. Today, the Spirit dwells with us and
never leaves. However, in the Old Testament it only occasionally fell upon the
men who were specially chosen for some divine ministries, e.g. the prophet, the
priest, the king, the judge and etc.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) “The Spirit of truth”, the Holy Spirit is the “reality” (another translation of the “truth” in Greek) of Christ. The greatest work of
the Holy Spirit is to bear witness of Christ ---- to substantiate Christ into
the believers and make us know and experience Christ (see 1John5:6, 20).
2) “For He dwells with you and
will be in you.” ---- The Holy
Spirit is the indwelling spirit (see Rom 8:9, 11; 1Cor 6:19). He lives in the
believers of the New Testament in order to be their life and provision of life
(see Rom 8:2, 6).
John. 14:18 “I will not leave you
orphans; I will come to you.”
YLT: “`I will not
leave you bereaved, I come unto you;”
Literal
Meaning: “I will not leave you
orphans”, “orphans” refer to children whose parents have been
dead. They are quite alone and miserable, and no one comforts them or helps
them.
“I will
come to you.” ---- This verse
indicates Christ comes to His believers in the state of the Holy Spirit after
His death and resurrection.
Controversial
Clarification: “I will come to you.” ---- Some Bible exegetes explain it as
follows: (1) the Lord’s revelation after His resurrection. (2) The second
coming of the Lord. If so, believers during the two thousand years after the
times of the apostles had truly become “orphans”, who had been still waiting
for the second coming of Christ earnestly.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The Lord’s promise has
already been fulfilled today. He comes into us in spirit and dwells in our
spirit and abides with us forever. Therefore, we will never feel alone in any
situation, for the Lord dwells in us.
2) The one who has not
the Lord is a wretched and solitary orphan. He is oppressed by the devil and
has no help.
John. 14:19 “"A little while longer
and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you
will live also. ”
YLT: “yet a little,
and the world doth no more behold me, and ye behold me, because I live, and ye
shall live;”
Literal
Meaning: “Because I live, you will
live also.” ---- Christ lives
in believers, and believers can live by Him (see Gal 2:20).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Our life comes from believing the Lord
and being jointed to the Lord. We can not survive without the Lord.
2) If we have truly
seen the fact that Christ lives in us, our Christian life will be transformed
dramatically.
John. 14:20 “At that day you will know
that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
YLT: “in that day ye
shall know that I in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you;”
Literal
Meaning: “at that day”, it refers to the day when the Holy Spirit
enters into the believers after the Lord’s death and resurrection, namely, the
day when “I
live, you will live also (v.19).”
“You
will know that I am in My Father”,
it unveils that the relationship between the Father and the Son is of great mystery,
which shall be known by subjective experience rather than subjective knowledge.
“You in
Me”, all the blessings of believers originate
from the state of being in Christ (see Eph1:3).
“And I
in you”, it means that
Christ dwells in believers (see Col 1:24-27).
Note that there are three “in”s in this verse. In the past, “the Son is in the Father and the
Father in the Son (see
v.10-11)”, but now we believers are also brought into this divine and
mysterious relationship.
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." ”
YLT: “he who is
having my commands, and is keeping them, that one it is who is loving me, and
he who is loving me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will
manifest myself to him.'”
Meaning
of Words: “manifest”: appear, declare,
reveal;
Literal
Meaning: “he who has My commandments
and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.” ---- Verse 15 tells us that love is the
motivation of keeping the commandments. This verse reveals that keeping the
commandments is the manifestation of love.
“And
manifest Myself to him”, it does not mean
the revelation when the Lord comes again, but the revelation in spirit. The
Lord will manifest Himself to all those who love Him and keep His commandments.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Whether a man loves the Lord
can be measured by the fact that whether He keeps His commandment or not.
2) We should not love
the Lord in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Loving the Lord is the root, and
keeping His commandment is the fruit. Only the one loves the Lord truly will
keeps His commandments.
3) Although we have
known in truth that the Lord dwells in us, we may have not been conscious of
His presence in the real experience. Only when we love and obey Him will we
enjoy His presence clearly. This is that the Lord will manifest Himself to the
one who loves Him.
4) The Lord’s commandment for believers is to love one
another (see 13:34). Obviously, if the spiritual condition of the church is
normal ---- there is the witness of loving one another ---- Christ will surely
manifest Himself more to such church.
John. 14:22 “Judas (not Iscariot) said
to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to
the world?" ”
YLT: “Judas saith to
him, (not the Iscariot), `Sir, what hath come to pass, that to us thou are
about to manifest thyself, and not to the world?'”
Literal
Meaning: “Judas”, most Bible
exegetes believe that this Judas is the son of James (see Luke 6:16), who is
also known as Thaddaeus (see Matt 10:3; Mark 3:18).
“Iscariot”, at this moment, the Judas who betrayed the Lord was not on
the spot (see 13:30).
“Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” ---- His
words indicated that he thought the Lord’s revelation was: (1) a kind of
naked-eye revelation, which could not be revealed to only a small group of men.
(2) All the Jews had the portion in the kingdom of the Messiah, so even the
Jewish who did not believe the Lord could also see this Messiah.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) If a man neither believes
nor loves the lord, the Lord cannot manifest Himself to him.
2) Believers see the
Lord through the word of God and faith. Today, everyone, through faith, can
enjoy the intimate fellowship with the Lord.
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.”
YLT: “Jesus answered
and said to him, `If any one may love me, my word he will keep, and my Father will
love him, and unto him we will come, and abode with him we will make;”
Literal
Meaning: “make Our home with him”,
“home” is the same word as “mansion” (see v.2), which means dwelling in some
place for a long time, continually, changelessly
and with long patience.
This verse mentions the progressing
steps: (1) love the Lord Jesus; (2) Keep the word of the Lord; (3) enjoy the
great love of God; (4) enjoy the life that the divine Trinity abides with him.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) “If anyone loves Me, he will
keep My word.” ---- Keeping the Lord’s word is not only the proof that a man
loves the Lord, but also the natural result of loving the Lord.
2) He who loves the Lord
must keep “all” the word of the Lord rather than only a
part of the Lord’s word.
3) Love is the way of
more surpassing excellence (see 1Cor 12:31; 13:13). Love is the greatest power,
which can remove the barrier between God and men and protect men from stepping
over the fences of the Lord’s
word.
4) The divine Trinity
is “in” those who believe them (see v.16-17), but
abides with those who love Him. “Be
in them” may sometimes be
unconscious, but “abiding with them” may sometimes be conscious. Therefore, to
love the Lord runs further than believing the Lord.
John. 14:24 “He who does not love Me
does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the
Father's who sent Me.”
YLT: “he who is not
loving me, my words doth not keep; and the word that ye hear is not mine, but
the Father's who sent me.”
Literal
Meaning: In the previous
verse, that “if
anyone loves Me, he will keep My word”
is positive, but “he
who does not love Me does not keep My words” is negative.
John. 14:25 “"These things I have
spoken to you while being present with you.”
YLT: “`These things I
have spoken to you, remaining with you,”
Literal
Meaning: “These things I have spoken
to you”, “these things”
equal to the “all things” in verse 26, including all the doctrines the Lord had
spoken when He still abode with the disciples.
John. 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and
bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. ”
YLT: “and the
Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach
you all things, and remind you of all things that I said to you.”
Literal
Meaning: “the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in My name”, “name” is the reality of a man. “The Lord’s name”
is the reality of Christ. Since the Holy Spirit is called by the Lord’s name,
it is the substantiating of Christ.
“He will teach you all things”, “all
things”: all things which relate to life and godliness (see 2Pet 1:3).
“And
bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you”, the Holy Spirit not
only helps man to remember the true words of the Son of God, but also presents
what the Lord Jesus has said to His disciples again in a living way.
Some Bible exegetes believe
that the work of the Holy Spirit ---- to lead believers to know the New Testament ---- can be divided into three great works:
(1) the Epistles ---- “He will teach you all things”.
(2) The Four Gospels ---- “and bring to your remembrance all
things that I said to you”. (3) The Book of Revelation ---- “He shall guide you
into all the truth (see 16:13)”.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The Holy Spirit leads men
to know and ask the name of the Lord (see 1Cor 12:3), thus making men to gain
Christ (see 1Cor 1:2).
2) If we want to know
the Lord’s words ---- the
Scriptures, we should have the teaching of the Holy Spirit, which helps us to
know more about the Scriptures. May we never leave the guidance of the Holy
Spirit or even give a strained interpretation to the Scriptures, and never
receive the guidance of any spirit which does not conform to the Scriptures.
John. 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My
peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your
heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ”
YLT: “`Peace I leave
to you; my peace I give to you, not according as the world doth give do I give
to you; let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid;”
Literal
Meaning: “My peace I give to you”, “My peace” refers to “the peace of
Christ” (see Col 3:15), which is characterized by the features as follows: (1)
since a man has received the salvation of the Lord, he has obtained a kind of
peace in the state of mind. (2) It is the inner peace, which never rests with
the outer environment. (3) It is a peaceful situation between men and God, as
well as men and men.
“Not as
the world gives do I give to you”,
peace of the world changes according to the environment, which is not enduring.
“Neither
let it be afraid”, “be afraid”, it
is a kind of dreadful mood disturbing men’s heart.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) “The peace of Christ” can not do without Christ. He who has
Christ has the peace of Christ. He who has not Christ has not the peace of
Christ.
2) When we cannot feel the
presence of the Lord, we have already lost the peace of the Lord. The Lord’s presence is the foundation and assurance
of true peace.
3) If we are bound by
anything outside of Christ ---- including the self, the world, the arguments,
the customs and etc, we will lose the peace. Only when we have been delivered
out of all the entanglements will we have peace.
John. 14:28 “You have heard Me say to
you, "I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would
rejoice because I said, "I am going to the Father,' for My Father is
greater than I.”
YLT: “ye heard that I
said to you -- I go away, and I come unto you; if ye did love me, ye would have
rejoiced that I said -- I go on to the Father, because my Father is greater
than I.”
Literal
Meaning: “for My Father is greater than I”, the so-called “greater”
of the Father actually indicates the Lord’s humbleness of Himself and His
obedience (see Phil 2:8). This is the comparison concerning their ministration
and function before men, not their nature, person, authority, and glory.
Enlightenment
in the Word: what the Lord has
granted are: love (v.23), peace (v.27) and joy. The Lord’s love brings about
His peace, and His peace brings about His joy.
John. 14:29 “"And now I have told
you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.”
YLT: “`And now I have
said to you before it come to pass, that when it may come to pass, ye may
believe;”
Literal
Meaning: “now I have told you
before it comes”, “it” refers to the matter that the Lord would depart out of
this world to the Father.
John. 14:30 “I will no longer talk much
with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”
YLT: “I will no more
talk much with you, for the ruler of this world doth come, and in me he hath
nothing;”
Literal
Meaning: “for the ruler of this world
is coming”, “the ruler of the
world” refers to the devil. “Is coming” means that it was going to prosecute
the Lord.
“He has
nothing in Me.” ---- There are two
explanations: (1) Satan can find nothing to accuse the Lord Jesus (see 8:46).
(2) Satan could only kill the physical body of the Lord Jesus, but do nothing
of the divinity in Him.
John.
14:31 “But
that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me
commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here. ”
YLT: “but that the world may know that I love the
Father, and according as the Father gave me command so I do; arise, we may go
hence.”
Literal
Meaning: “Arise, let us go from here.” ---- There are many
different interpretations among the Bible exegetes: (1) it should be put at the
end of chapter 17, but the copyists of the Scriptures set it in a wrong place
---- it is only a saying without proof. (2) It is a common saying, which means
“an invitation”. (3) It means “a pause”, namely, “changing one’s breath”. (4)
The Lord said He would leave, but He did not leave at this moment. (5) It means
the spiritual departure, i.e. stand up to against the devil. (6) They really
left that place where they ate the Feast of Passover, and the words in the next
two chapters were spoken in another place.
III. Outlines of the Spiritual
Lessons
I. Features of the
Immature Believers
A.
Their heart may usually be troubled (v.1).
B.
They are ignorant of
many spiritual matters (v.5).
C.
Their knowledge
about God and Christ still remains in the stage of “seeing with the physical
eyes” (v.3b).
D.
Their faith is still
immature (v.11).
II.The Lord is the Way, the Truth, and the Life
A.
The Lord is the Way:
1. No one comes to the Father
except through the Lord (v.6).
2. The Holy Spirit and the Father can abide
with those who are of Him through the Lord (v.17, 23).
B.
The Lord is the Truth:
1. He who had known the Lord you would have known the
Father also (v.7).
2. He who has seen Me has seen
the Father (v.9)
3. The Lord’s word is the Father’s word (v.24).
C.
The Lord is the Life:
1. The Lord is in the Father, and the Father in
the Lord (v.10-11).
2.
The Lord lives and
we will also live (v.19).
3.
We are in the Lord,
and the Lord in us (v.20).
4.
We have the Lord’s
peace (v.27) ---- the peace of life (see Rom 8:6).
D.
The Condition of Experiencing
That the Lord is the
Way, the Truth, and the Life:
1. To believe the Lord (v.1, 11-12).
2.
To ask in the name
of the Lord (v.13-14) ---- to abide with the Lord and be jointed to Him.
3.
To love the Lord
(v.15, 21, 23-24).
4.
To keep the Lord’s
words (v.15, 23-24).
5.
To follow and obey
the guidance of the Holy Spirit (v.17, 26).
III. The
Purpose of the Lord’s “Departure”
A.
The Lord departed in
order to prepare
a place for us (v.2).
B.
The Lord’s departure
was for the purpose of His
coming again to receive us (v.3).
C.
The Lord’s departure
enabled the believers do greater
works than those he would do (v.12).
D.
The Lord’s departure
was the coming of the Holy Spirit (v.16, 18).
E.
The Lord’s departure
made us joyful (v.28).
IV. The
Profits of “Believing into” the Son
A. Where He is, there we
may be also (v.3).
B. We have known God since we have known the Lord
(v.7).
C. We have seen God since we have seen the Lord
(v.9).
D. The works that the
Lord does he who believes Him will do also, and greater works than those
the Lord will do (v.12).
E. We ask anything in the Lord’s name, He will do it (v.13-14).
F. We have the Spirit of truth, who is our Helper and abides with us
forever (v.16-17).
G. We shall never be orphans, for He abides with us (v.18).
H. The Lord lives and we will live also (v.19).
I. We are jointed to the Lord (v.20).
J. We have the Lord’s revelation (v.21).
K. We have been granted the love of God the
Father, and He abides with us (v.23).
L. We will be guided by the Holy Spirit (v.26).
M. We have been granted the peace of Christ
(v.27).
N. We will experience the joy because of loving
the Lord (v.28).
O. We will experience the victory of the Lord
(v.30).
V. The Relationship of
the Divine Trinity
A. The Son is the manifestation of the Father
(v.7-9).
B. The Father works in the Son (v.10).
C. The Father has been glorified because of the
Son (v.14).
D. The Son prays the Father, and the Father
bestows the Holy Spirit (v.16, 26).
E. The Holy Spirit is the substantiating of the
Son (v.18-19).
F. The Holy Spirit makes men remember what the
Son has said (v.26b).
G. The Father is greater than the Son (v.28).
H. The Son walks according to the commandment
of the Father (v.31).
VI. The Proofs of the
Lord’s Deity
A. He who has seen Me has seen
the Father (v. 9).
B. He is in the Father, and the Father in Him
(v.10a, 11a).
C. What He has spoken and has done are what the
Father has spoken and has done (v.10a, 11b).
VII. The Lord’s
“Departure” Was the “Coming” of the Holy Spirit
A. The “I (the Lord) (v.16a)” is the “He (the
Holy Spirit) (v.16b)”. The “Him (the Holy Spirit) (v.17)” refers to the “I(the
Lord) (v.18-20)”.
B. “I (the Lord)” am the helper, and “He (the
Holy Spirit)” is the other Helper (v.16).
C. “His (the Holy Spirit’s)” presence (v.16-17)
is that “I (the Lord)” have come to you (v.18).
D. “He (the Holy Spirit)” is in you (v.17b) is
that “I (the Lord)” am in you (v.20b).
VIII. The Functions of the
Holy Spirit
A. Being the Helper (v.16a) ---- who is the comforter,
persuader, counselor, Intercessor of us.
B. He abides with us forever (v.16b).
C. Being the spirit of truth (v.17) ---- who
guides men into all the truth (see 16:13).
D. He will teach us all things (v.26a).
E. He will bring to our remembrance all things
that the Lord said to us (v.26b).
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Mary Zhou