THE PROMISE OF THE PARACLETE

JOHN 14:15-26

          If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 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. After a little while the world would no longer see Me, but you will see Me, because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. “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 disclose Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 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 abode with him. 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. These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 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 that I said to you (NASB).

INTRODUCTION

          It is every father or mother’s desire that he/she will leave a better legacy. That is why parents invest their time, money, and resources in the lives of their children. That was the concern of Solomon when he wrote Ecclesiastes. His concern was that his older son might waste the resources that he left for him, and so he called all his toils vanity. His fear became a reality because his older son Rehoboam was responsible for the split of the nation because of a bad decision. Every investor’s fear is whether his successor can carry on productively the investment he/she is leaving behind. We have seen corporations and industries fold up because the new CEOs could not continue the original vision of their predecessors.

          Someone has said that when a successor abandons the vision and the goal of a father or an investor who has died, the deceased person turns in his casket. I believe Bill Gates and Warren Buffett all have such apprehensions whether their successors can build on their investments when they pass off the scene.

          Jesus was not worried when He was dying and leaving the disciples behind. He knew that someone who was just as capable as Him was going to take care of the work He was leaving behind. That someone is the Holy Spirit. I would like to share with you on the topic: “The Promise of the Paraclete.”

Background

          In the Gospel of John chapters 13-17 are known as the Farewell Discourse. Most of these discourses took place in the Upper Room when Jesus was with the inner circle of His disciples. In chapter 13, He has taught them the importance of humble service and mutual love. In the early part of chapter 14, He has shared with them the necessity for His leaving them to prepare a better place for them. In this passage, Jesus shares with them that He will not leave them alone.

I.                  THE REQUEST FOR THE PARACLETE VV. 15-17

Jesus follows His promise of verse 14 with a reminder of the ethical

 implications of being His follower. If you really love Jesus, then that love will be shown in keeping His commandments. To love the Father is to love His children, and to love His children is to love the father. Jesus has demonstrated His love for His own (John 13:1ff). He has declared His love for the disciples to the end. He has exhorted the disciples to love one another (13:34-35). Now for the first time in John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the disciples’ love for Him. This includes you and I who call ourselves Christians. The love that Jesus is talking about is more than just saying, “I love the Lord,” or even singing, “I love You, Lord.” It is rather love that is demonstrated in deeds. It is appropriate for you and me to say to our spouses from time to time, “I love you.” We are not to be like the man who said to his wife, when I said I do at the altar on the day of our marriage I meant I love you and when I feel different I will let you know. That is a “cop out,” it is cold love. Occasionally, our spouses should hear the love word, but more than that love must be displayed in deeds. There are many Christians that say, sing, and pray that they love Christ, but they do nothing to prove that they truly love Him.

          Jesus is saying that He is praying to the Father on our behalf concerning the Paraclete, and this is dependent on our obedient love for Him. This does not mean that you have to do something to earn the Holy Spirit. God gives the Holy Spirit to you and me as a gift. You do not do anything to receive a gift because if you do, then it is no longer a gift. However, love for Christ must always reveal itself in obedient service to Him. Jesus says that what He will petition the Father on your behalf is the Paraclete, and He will be with you forever. The Greek word for Helper is parakletos, which means, “One called alongside to help." I have told you that when we try to translate some Greek words into the English language, the language breaks down, because there is no single word in English language that can adequately convey the idea of the term in Greek. Paraclete is one of such words. So, the word has been variously translated as Helper, Comforter, Encourager, Counselor, Intercessor, and Advocate. The Paraclete is all of these designations and more, but the English words that are closer to the term are Advocate and Counselor. New Testament scholars are of the consensus that Advocate is the best rendering of Paraclete provided it is not restricted to professional legal representation. The same word Paraclete is used for Jesus Christ in 1 John 2:1. Let’s settle two more issues in this verse and move on. Jesus used the adjective another to describe the Paraclete. In the Greek language, there are two words for “another,” which are allos and heteros. Allos conveys the idea of “another of the same kind” and heteros carries the idea of “another of a different kind.” Guess what! Jesus uses allos, another of the same kind when He promised the Holy Spirit. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you bought a VISIO High Definition TV from Wal-Mart or Best Buy and something happened to it so you took it back to the store where you purchased it. The customer service personnel or the manager told you that they would replace it with another one. They asked you to come back in a week’s time to pick it up, but when you went to pick it up, it was not a VISIO High Definition TV model you liked. In the transaction, your mistake was that you did not specify that you want another of the same kind. They have replaced it but it is another of a different kind. In the petition of Jesus He says He will ask the Father and He will give us another of the same kind of Paraclete like Jesus. You know why the distinction is important? It is because if the Helper, the Counselor, or the Advocate were of a different kind, He would not be able to do the exact work Jesus wanted Him to do. In other words, because the Holy Spirit is another Advocate of the same kind, He will be able to continue the work Jesus is leaving behind in our lives. Jesus is asking the Father to give us the Holy Spirit who is a member of the Triune God and who is of the same essence as the Father and the Son are. This is why I tell you that those of us who are Christians in a real sense are more privileged in the whole wide world. The second thing that is worthy of note is that when the Holy Spirit comes He is coming to be with you and me forever. In the case of Jesus, He has to go before the Paraclete comes. Jesus has to die for our sins, but when the Holy Spirit comes, He comes to stay forever. Jesus’ earthly life was temporal, but the Holy Spirit is coming to stay permanently.

          In verse 17, Jesus says that the Advocate is the Spirit of Truth (cf. 15:26; 16:13). In John 14: 6, Jesus says that He is the truth and in John 4:23-24, He says that those who worship the Father must do so in truth. Truth is closely associated with the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As Jesus communicated truth by word and deed, the Spirit will do likewise. Jesus says that the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit, because it does not see Him or know Him. The world means people who are in rebellion to God’s offer of grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. The world is a reference to those who have turned their backs on Jesus. The world does not perceive the activities of the Holy Spirit; therefore, it does not know Him. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with the world. The Holy Spirit has a different work to do with the world, as we will see in chapter 16. The inability of the world to receive, see, or know the Spirit is due to its rejection of the revelation of God in Jesus and the consequent blindness under the judgment of God.

          While Jesus has been with the disciples, He Himself has been their Advocate. He has stood beside them like a Counselor for the defense summoned to the side of a prisoner to plead his case and strengthen him in the hour of trial. Jesus has prayed for Peter that his faith may not fail (Luke 22:32). He has defended the disciples against the charge of the Pharisees that they had broken the Sabbath law (Mark 2:23ff.).

II.               THE DEPARTURE OF CHRIST VV. 18-21

Jesus has told the disciples several times that He was going away (13:33, 36;

14:2 ff). Jesus says that He will not leave the disciples like orphans. An orphan is a person who has lost one or both parents. Orphans feel abandoned; they are bereft of parental protection and care. Jesus is saying to the disciples and to you that He will not leave you to battle your way through the world alone. He assures you that He will come to you (the word come is a present tense), which provides greater certainty. Here Jesus is talking about His resurrection and post-resurrection appearances. In verse 19, Jesus is saying that in a short while the world will not see Him. He is talking about not a distant or remote future, because His crucifixion is just around the corner. His hour to depart this life has come. After His death, the world will see Jesus no more. Physically, Jesus will be removed from the world, and spiritually they have never approached Him. The next time the world sees Jesus again will be during the judgment day. But with the disciples, it will be entirely different. The crucifixion will indeed separate the disciples from Jesus, but will be for a short time. The crucifixion would not be the end of Jesus’ life. After the crucifixion, there will be the resurrection. Death cannot prevail over Jesus. He will rather triumph over death---Hallelujah. The resurrection of Jesus is the guarantee that the disciples will not be overcome by death. The same goes for you and me who are Christians. The life of Christ means life for you and me.

          In verse 21, Jesus is saying that on the day of His resurrection, the disciples will know that He is in His Father, His Father is in Him, and the disciples in Him and He in them. We call this the mutual indwelling of Christ and believers. In verse 21, Jesus goes on to say that the person who loves Him is the one who has His commands and obeys them. To have the commandments of Christ means to keep them. This means that it is more important to obey the commands of Christ in daily life than to have a firm intellectual grasp of their content. Love for Jesus is not a matter of words only; if it is genuine love, it must be demonstrated through deeds. In other words, the lover does what the loved one asks. Also Jesus is saying that the Father is not indifferent to the attitude that people take toward the Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus then says that He will reveal Himself to those who love Him. You like to keep company with those who love you. Jesus keeps His distance from those who reject, hate, and are plotting His death.

III.           A QUESTION OF CONCERN V. 22

John the Gospel writer identifies this Judas by distinguishing him from the Iscariot. Remember that the Iscariot had already left them in chapter 13. Judas’ question must have been the perplexity of all the disciples. He asked what had happened that Jesus would reveal Himself to them but not to world. What Judas is saying is that when Jesus is risen from the dead, He should manifest Himself not only to them but also to all, whether believers or not. He was expecting every eye to see Him. Judas is thinking that something has happened to disrupt Jesus original program, but Jesus will bring him along. Jesus will not leave Judas and the disciples in the dark. The truth is that they did not understand everything that Jesus was saying to them.

IV.           JESUS’ ANSWER AND FURTHER CLARIFICATION VV. 23-26

Jesus’ answer to Judas is summarized in love. If the unbelieving world had

wanted to participate in Jesus’ glorious resurrection and exaltation, it would have loved Him through obedient response to Him. Anyone who loves Jesus keeps His word (cf. John 8:51; 17:6). And the Father will love such a person and both the Father and the Son will come and make their home in his/her life. Here Jesus is not talking of a temporary dwelling, but a permanent home.

          In verse 24, Jesus reveals the negative side of His statement. Those who do not love Christ do not keep His teaching. Today you can see and hear the contempt that some people have for Jesus and His teaching. Even some people don’t want the name of Jesus to be mentioned in schools in the United States and other parts of the world. They show their hatred and animosity by enacting laws that prohibit the name and teaching of Jesus from schools and some public places. The truth of the matter is that the word that Jesus preaches is not His own but the Father’s. There can be no higher authority, because the Father sent the Son.

          The mission of Jesus points to the permanence of God’s purpose of love. I have a problem with those who say that they did not have the opportunity to hear the gospel. If you are honest and a true seeker after God, why don’t you take time to read the New Testament, at least read the Gospels? If many people go to hell, it is not God who is sending them there. It is their own rebellion against the truth that is sending them there. When you seek the truth honestly with an open mind, the Holy Spirit will do His work of regeneration in your life. On the contrary, the rejection of Christ means the rejection of the Father.

          The disciples have been thinking that Jesus is leaving them at the mercy of a cruel and hostile world. But in verse 26, Jesus tells them of the functions of the Paraclete when He comes. This is the fullest description of the Spirit to be found in the Gospel of John. In the Greek language this is what the words look like, the Spirit, the Holy. The word “Holy” emphasizes the Spirit’s character. The character of the Spirit is holiness. This must serve as a caution to some of you who attribute everything to the Holy Spirit. The Paraclete is holy. He is pure, undefiled therefore you cannot associate that which is evil and impure with Him. If you go to a church and you fall down and you begin to bark like a dog or hiss like a snake, or laugh uncontrollably, don’t say it is the doing of the Holy Spirit. Barking, hissing, and uncontrollable emotions are the works of evil spirits and not the Holy Spirit, because some of the fruit of the Holy Spirit is gentleness and self-control. The Holy Spirit will not give you anything that is not of His character or nature.

          Those of you who attribute everything to the Holy Spirit, listen as Jesus prescribes some of the functions of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will teach the disciples and you all things. Jesus is saying the primary function of the Holy Spirit is teaching. The Holy Spirit is the divine Teacher. He will illumine your mind to understand the word of God and know who Jesus is. The Holy Spirit will also help the disciples to recall what Jesus has taught them. In other words, the Holy Spirit is not coming with a new or different agenda. He is coming to continue the work that Jesus began. Those of you who want new revelations, I have news for you. The Holy Spirit is not coming to give new or different revelations. He is coming to help us to recall what Jesus has already taught us.

          If you want to know people that were dull of hearing and poor in understanding, they were the disciples of Christ. When Jesus was arrested and crucified, they soon forgot all His promises to them. They even forgot the resurrection of which He repeated several times to them. But all these are to change when the Holy Spirit comes. That is why I have a problem with those who claim to be Christians but there is no change in their lives. Christians who drink alcohol uncontrollably in public functions demonstrate lack of self-control. Whatever happened to sobriety and abstinence from alcohol use and other social vices. I have a problem with some of you who claim to have been Christians for fifteen or ten years, but you cannot turn to the Gospel of Matthew and read it with understanding. You are still a baby in Christ. The truth is that you have not yielded to the Holy Spirit to control your life and mature you. You will see the difference Pentecost will make in the life of the disciples when we get there. That is what the Holy Spirit wants to do in your life. Therefore, I encourage you to surrender your life to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit will take his residence in your life and your life will be transformed.