Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.cccharlotte.org/sermons/96782/show-me-john-141-21/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Hey guys, thanks for listening to our Calvary Chapel Charlotte podcast. I will walk by faith and not by sight. [0:48] You can turn to John 14 if you want. So last week, or last time we got together, we looked at our kind of theme text for this series on the Holy Spirit. [1:03] 2 Corinthians 13, 14, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. The effect of the Son's grace we saw was salvation, the effect of the Father's love, resurrected life, and the effect of the Holy Spirit, the fellowship with the Holy Spirit, the effect of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, was unity. [1:25] It would all keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of Christ. And the work of the Spirit is to unite us in love, in love, not to unite us in gifts, not to unite us in powerful ministries, not to unite us in, but to unite us in love. [1:42] All of those things are just expressions of love, of God's love for us. We said that without the fellowship of the Spirit, we are simply a divided group of individuals seeking to accomplish by our own efforts the work that only God can do through a spiritually united body. [1:59] And a spiritually united body is in love, body of love. Without the fellowship of the Spirit, we're just seeking on our own to accomplish things that God did not intend for us to accomplish on our own. [2:10] That was never the idea. We also saw that, thankfully, as we fellowship with the Spirit, as we want to leave time, you know, each Wednesday to fellowship with the Spirit, we do not have to understand all about the Spirit to fellowship with the Spirit. [2:23] You know, if you think of marriage as a picture of that, when someone first gets married, they can fellowship with their spouse without understanding all about them. Twenty years later, I can still fellowship with my spouse without understanding everything about her. [2:38] But we can fellowship without having to understand. And you experience that in the Spirit when you gather with other believers that a group of believers maybe don't know them very well. Or maybe you're at another ministry, another church, or you meet someone who's a believer. [2:51] And there's a fellowship, a koinonia, that happens that is completely apart from understanding. And sometimes that works against us because our fellowship very often is due to proximity. [3:03] Right? We're all in the same local body. And the fellowship of the Spirit brings an instant connection. You think, man, I'm so connected to this person. But then they go to another church, they leave, you don't hear from them. And you think, oh, that wasn't a very true friendship. [3:15] No, it was. It's just because we don't have the boundaries sometimes and barriers of knowledge that friendship puts up. Okay, I've got to get to know this person. [3:25] I have to grow in relationship with this person. The Spirit cuts right through that. And there's a fellowship, there's a koinonia, but we have to guard against kind of a jadedness and thinking that, well, that person, you know, they said they're a believer, but they're, you know, they're not fellowshipping with me anymore. [3:40] Well, maybe it's just proximity. We're just not here anymore. But the more we fellowship in the Spirit, what happens? The understanding we do gain of one another and the friendships we do build, they're deeper and stronger and more lasting because they have that unity of the Spirit. [3:54] Okay. So last time we saw in our first stop on our road, I say road to understanding the Spirit. And that just keeps going on and on and on and on. We'll never get to the end of that road to understand him fully. [4:08] But we looked at the introduction with the fellowship of the Spirit. That was just our introduction. And then I remove our little bus. And this week, as we move along, we will be in our second stop, which is basing the understanding of the Holy Spirit in Jesus's words. [4:26] You know, Jesus's words, they are like the seedbed for all of the New Testament, all of the roots of doctrine and truth that are found in the epistles. The Jesus's words are like the garden, the seedbed for it, the soil. [4:38] They all come from there. And so as we look at the Holy Spirit and what he is and how he interacts with us, we want to start with that foundation and work forwards. So we're going to look at the Holy Spirit according to the words of Jesus, which is in the upper room. [4:53] This will be a, we'll be here for a couple of weeks. It's a two week stop. So we'll be here this time and the next time. But we're going to see our friend Philip again today. [5:06] We've spent a little bit of time with him on the Sea of Galilee. And Philip is going to say something to Jesus. He's going to say, show me, show me, Lord, show me, show me these things. Show me the father, show me all of this. [5:20] And Jesus is essentially going to say, okay, okay. You know, there's times where they ask Jesus something and he just kind of says no, or maybe you think after the resurrection, right before the ascension, they say to Jesus, are you now Lord going to restore the kingdom? [5:34] He doesn't say yes. He doesn't say no. He just kind of says, maybe it's not for you to know the times and seasons the father has placed into his own hands, but it's enough for you that you be endued with power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you. [5:48] So there's some things the Lord shows us very clearly and there's some that he doesn't, but he will respond to Philip's question here. So as we look at this, we want to see what did Jesus say about the Holy Spirit in different stages? [6:01] What did he say about the Holy Spirit before his resurrection? And that's where we're going to kind of anchor ourselves in this stop. We're going to eventually see after the resurrection, he's going to say some things about the Holy Spirit. But we want to see what does he say about the Holy Spirit, particularly right now before the resurrection as he's, he's, he's laying this out to the apostles. [6:18] So we're going to be in John 14 and John 14 is the roots of many things. It's the first time he really talks about the Holy Spirit and the way that he's going to, um, as we talk about it tonight. [6:30] It is the beginning of what will be the church. It's the first time he talks about his leaving and his returning. It's the first time he, he really puts it to them that, Hey guys, you, me and the father and the spirit, we're like all going to be one in this. [6:43] Uh, we're going to see the high priestly prayer in John 17. Well, we're not going to this study. We will, as we move through John, we'll eventually get there. But I do want to show you John 14, um, kind of a brief outline. [6:58] John 14 through John 16, verse 16 is a series of questions and answers and responses. So Jesus, at the end of John 13, he's saying to them, where to the disciples, where I go now, you can't go, but you will go eventually. [7:12] And they're like, well, where are you going? And Peter says, I'll go wherever you go, Lord, I'll go even to death. And that's when Jesus says, Oh, Peter, you're going to deny me three times. And then he says to the rest of them, but let not your heart be troubled. [7:24] And that's where he starts in, in verse, um, John 14. So verses one through four, Jesus is following up on the end of John 13. He declares his leaving and promised return. [7:35] Verse five, then Thomas asks where and the way. All right, where are you going? And what's the way to get there? Verses six through seven, then Jesus will answer. He declares he is the way to the father. [7:47] I am the way, the truth, and the life. And he's the way to know the father. So when Thomas asks, well, where and what's the way? And Jesus gives him this answer. Verse eight, there's another question. [7:58] And this is Philip. Philip says, show me, show me the father. He asked Jesus to show them the father. And verses nine through 21. And that's as far as we will get tonight. [8:09] Jesus answers the question of how the father will be shown to the disciples specifically. How is he going to be shown to the disciples? He's going to do that through this other comforter that he sends through the Holy Spirit. [8:21] Verse 22, Judas 2.0, not the one who's already gone. And in the upper room at this point, Judas 1.0 has gone to betray Jesus. But the other Judas, that was an apostle of his, Judas 2.0, asked Jesus how he will manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world. [8:39] In response to what Jesus will say. He's, well, okay, how are you going to do that? So first we have here, Philip asks, show us the father. And Jesus says, okay, here's how the father will be shown to you. Then Judas specifically asks, well, Jesus, how will you manifest yourself? [8:53] And then Jesus will say, well, here's how I'm going to do that. And then verse 23 through John 16.16 is Jesus' answer to the disciples or to Judas of how he will manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world. [9:10] That encompasses John 15. I am the vine, you are the branches. It's all an answer to this question here in verse 22 when Judas says, how are you going to manifest yourself to us, Jesus? How are you not going to manifest yourself to the world? [9:23] And that's as you get towards the end of John 16. Jesus answers how a disciple knows Jesus and is shown Jesus. That's what he will cover. [9:34] Hey, here's how you know me. Here's how you're shown me. And how the world does not see Jesus. So that's kind of the breakdown as you go through the upper room. They hit this point where this is back and forth kind of discussion. [9:47] And then Jesus will finish John 16. That discussion ends. There's different discussion starts again about, well, where are you going? Can we go? How do we get there? And then John 17, Jesus just begins to pray. [9:58] It's the high priestly prayer. So as we pick up, we're going to pick up in John 14. We're not going to go through all the 14. But what we want to see is Jesus's response to Thomas and Philip, essentially. [10:13] Okay. You're going away. What's in it for us? How are we going to do this, Jesus? Please show us. We're actually going to pick up in verse 8 with our buddy, Philip. [10:29] And Philip said unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us. Show is to exhibit or to evidence. You ready for your biweekly? [10:40] Does biweekly mean twice a week or every other week? Biweekly? I don't know. I was thinking about that today. Triweekly? Would that be three times a week? Or every third week? [10:51] I don't know. But anyway, every two weeks, our study in Greek is we look at different Greek words. So show means to exhibit or evidence. So Philip is saying, Lord, give us evidence of the Father. [11:05] Exhibit him to us. And it will be enough. It will suffice. It means to be enough to be content. We'll be content. We'll have enough. Philip seems to be consistent and that there's just never quite enough to satisfy him. [11:19] In John 6, when Philip says 200 penny worth of bread is not sufficient. It's the same word as this word here, suffice. It's not enough. It won't content them. That every one of them may take a little. [11:31] Philip seems to be kind of consistent that there's just never quite enough to satisfy him. Again, don't mix up this Apostle Philip with Philip the Evangelist, who is one of the deacons in the book of Acts. [11:44] But this Philip, he says, Lord, if you will give us evidence, that will be enough. So we're going to see the evidence Jesus is going to give. [11:55] He's going to exhibit the Father. The Holy Spirit is given to, in verse 8, to show the Father. And this is kind of in your outline if you have one of those papers. Verse 12, to equip us for exhibiting the Father. [12:07] The Holy Spirit is given to, in verse 13, to glorify the Father. And the Holy Spirit is given to unify with the Father. But understand, this whole discussion here, as Jesus brings up the Holy Spirit, is in response to this plea. [12:24] Please show us the Father. Manifest him forth to us. It's the first here, in verse 8, it's the Holy Spirit is to do what? Well, he's going to show us the Father in response to Philip's question or to his plea. [12:37] Verse 9, Jesus said unto him, Have I been so long with you, and yet you've not known me, Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father. And how do you say, show us the Father? Essentially, Jesus is saying here, there's nothing of the Father that the Son does not exhibit. [12:52] There's no part of the Father that the Son has not exhibited. Philip, if you've seen me, you've seen all of the evidence. You've seen everything exhibited to you of the Father. Again, we're not studying John 14 right now. [13:04] We want to glean from this in regards to the Holy Spirit. So, verse 10, Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? Don't you believe that yet, Philip? [13:16] The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself. Remember, Philip is the one who, when he comes to Jesus, he brings Nathanael, and he says, we've found the one of whom Moses and the prophets have spoken. [13:28] Philip knew his Bible. He says, Philip, the words that I speak unto you, they're not of myself. Don't you recognize that they're the Father's words? That they line up with the word of God? But the Father that dwells in me, he does the works. [13:40] Don't you recognize that the works that I'm doing, that they're the Father's works? Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me. Or else, believe for the very works' sake. [13:52] So, Jesus' words and works, what do they exhibit? They exhibit the reality of his relationship with the Father. Jesus' words and Jesus' works exhibit a reality of relationship. [14:04] So, as we're going to see, the Holy Spirit's given to us to do the same thing. That our words and works should exhibit the reality of a relationship with our Father. And we also see that the words and works of the Son, what do they do? [14:16] They exhibit the Father. Jesus is saying here, uncategorically, it is my words and my works that manifest forth that will exhibit the Father. Verse 12, truly, truly, one of those truly true words of Jesus. [14:28] I say unto you, he that believes on me, the works that I shall do, he shall do also. And greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. [14:39] Father. Verse 8, the Holy Spirit's given to show the Father. Here, Jesus is saying, hey, you will be equipped. So, we're going to see that the Holy Spirit's given to equip for exhibiting the Father. [14:51] There's a bunch of words in here that we want to look at to give us understanding what Jesus is saying here. Okay, greater works than these shall he do? I'm going to do greater works than Jesus? Man, I mean, you could take that and you could go off into some goofy ideas, right? [15:04] I'm going to go and start raising the dead. I'm going to go calm the seas. I'm going to, you know, I'm going to do greater works than Jesus. Work. There, when we want to see, so, he that believes on me, what will the one who believes on him do? [15:17] Well, the works that he shall do also. So, what are those works? A work is just that which occupies. Something that Jesus is occupied with. He's saying, he that believes on me. That which I am occupied with, shall he do also. [15:30] Do is to make, author, produce, bear, carry out, or execute. Jesus is saying, hey, the one who believes on me, he will produce that which I'm occupied with. [15:45] The one that believes on him should be about the things that Jesus is occupied with. What's coming forth from my life? Is it the things Jesus was occupied with? I was like, well, no, I got the power of the spirit for, make me healthy, wealthy, and wise. [15:58] Is that what Jesus was occupied with? The works that I do, shall he do also. He is just the other one. [16:09] And greater works is not originally in the Greek. And greater than these, shall he do. Greater is not greater as in, like, more powerful. It's the word for greater quantity. More numerous. [16:20] More abundant. Because I go unto my father. So Jesus is saying here that there is the one who believes in him. He's going to be able to have a greater quantity produced in his life of the things that Jesus was occupied with. [16:39] And than these, sorry, I missed one phrase here. Than these is of this sort. So he's saying that there will be more numerous of this sort. So, the things that we will do, those of us who believe on him, will be the things that Jesus was occupied with. [16:53] And of the same sort Jesus does. And in greater quantity. Not a greater quality. More abundant. More numerous. Why? Because look at the body, guys. Look how big the body is. [17:04] You know. There's a lot that can be done. Jesus, when he was here, constrained himself to one body. Jesus has gone to heaven. He constrains himself to one body. But many parts. [17:17] I wanted to point out the Greek phrasing here. Because I think it will help us understand this verse. Shall he do also. Is poeo kakenos, poeo kakenos. [17:31] Bet I butchered that. So in the English it's translated, in greater works than he shall he do also. But it's in the Greek it is, and more numerous, do even he also. [17:43] Do even he also. There's a heavy emphasis here that this other one will do even these things also. And if we put this all together, all of our definitions together, and we kind of make up our own literal translation or amplified Bible, it looks like this. [18:00] Truly, truly, I say unto you, he that believes on me, that which I am occupied with, shall produce even he also. Produce even he also. It's like Jesus is like, guys, even you. [18:15] And you, and you, and you, even he also. And of greater quantity of this sort shall he produce. Because I depart unto my Father. Disciples are like, why are you leaving? [18:27] Don't leave us. And now they're like, ooh, whoa, Lord, what's going on here? We think it'd be a negative thing to have Jesus depart to his Father. And here, the disciples are being told by Jesus, even he also shall produce this. [18:45] Produce even he also. Even you. Judas, Philip, Peter, Thomas. The one who believes that the Son originates in the Father is the one who will also find his origin in the Father. [19:00] See, when we believe that Jesus originates in the Father, that his words and works prove that he is of the Father, what happens then? We're born again. We find that we have an origin in the Father as well. So the Holy Spirit is given so that a greater quantity of the sort of work that exhibits the Father is given so that a greater quantity of this work is birthed of the ones who believe the Son was birthed of the Father. [19:25] When you believe the Son is birthed of the Father, you have the promise of the Holy Spirit birthing in you, in us, a greater quantity of the things that Jesus was doing. Jesus says in John 9, 5, as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. [19:42] So this quantity of work to be produced will not be exhibited until Jesus is with his Father. Until he goes to the Father, it's not available to the apostles. And he tells them in Matthew 5, you're the light of the world. [19:53] A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. But then he says, as long as I'm in the world, I am the light of the world. So when he leaves the world, he says, hey guys, it's time to be the light of the world. We need a source. [20:03] We need something to charge us up. And we need something to say, okay, well, what's going to be the source of these greater works? This reality that Jesus speaks of, it will only come to pass after resurrection and ascension. [20:19] It is only after resurrection that God can become our Father. To that point, God cannot be our Father. Remember how angry the Jews were that Jesus made himself out that God was his Father? [20:30] Can you imagine if all the disciples go, yeah, ours too? Man, you understand why they wanted to stamp out this Christianity, the way in the book of Acts. [20:40] Now we have not only Jesus, but all these little, all these people running around saying that God is their Father. It's only after resurrection God can become our Father, that we can be birthed of the Spirit. Only after ascension that the Spirit's given for the greater work of being a light to the world. [20:57] Only after Jesus' light leaves the world does he send then another light into the world. Only after Jesus' comforter leaves the world will he send another comforter into the world. [21:07] Only after Jesus leaves the world does he then send another to be the one who will exhibit the Father. Verse 13. Whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do. [21:20] For what purpose? That the Father may be glorified in the Son. So verse 8, the Holy Spirit's given to show the Father. Verse 12, given to equip for exhibiting the Father. And we see here, it's to glorify the Father. [21:32] Father, whatsoever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. What are we to ask in his name? What does it mean to ask in his name? [21:44] Just to declare the name of Jesus? Well, Jesus said that he did nothing in his own name. That everything he did was in his Father's name. To ask in his name is to ask according to the nature, character, and authority of one. [21:57] Jesus is saying, I did nothing in my own nature, my own character, my own authority. It was all according to the Father's nature, character, and authority. So what are we supposed to ask in his nature, character, and authority? [22:11] Luke 11, 13, it said, If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more should your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask? God, I want to be equipped. [22:23] I want to manifest forth the Father. I want to manifest forth the nature, character, and authority of the Father. Jesus would say, I can of my own self do nothing as I hear I judge. [22:35] My judgment is just because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me. So whatever is done in Jesus' name, it will glorify the Father. There's nothing that can be done in Jesus' name that will not glorify the Father. [22:51] Only those things that glorify the Father can be done in Jesus' name. So Jesus is laying this foundation for the apostles because he's going to introduce them to a new friend. What's his friend going to be like? [23:04] He's going to be a lot like me. He's going to do the things I've been doing. He's going to manifest forth the Father. He's not going to act in his own nature, character, and authority. He's going to act in the same nature and character and authority that I act in. [23:16] Put some things in perspective. Some of the crazy things throughout history that people have attributed to Jesus' name. Some of the things that people have attributed to the Holy Spirit's name. [23:28] Does that glorify the Father? Is it of the same type, character, nature? The same things that Jesus is occupied with? Verse 14. [23:41] If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. So how will he accomplish those works? And glorify the Father? We have to ask. And he'll equip us then to manifest forth the Father. [23:54] What are we asking in his name? To be equipped. To manifest forth the Father. To show forth God's glory. If you love me, keep my commandments. Commandments is a charge, injunction, or prescribed order. [24:07] I'm not saying keep the law. You know, the natural outcome of love is to attend to the desires and wishes of the one that you love. It's just a natural outcome of love. [24:18] You attend to that person's desires and wishes. Jesus says, if you love me, keep my commandments. The idea isn't, man, I better keep his commandments so I can start loving him or prove I love him. No. He's saying the natural outcome of love will be that you will be about my desires and wishes. [24:33] You'll be about the things I'm about. And I will pray the Father. And he shall give you another comforter. [24:44] That he may abide with you forever. So, we put these things together. If you ask anything in my name, I'll do it. If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will respond to what you're asking. [24:56] If you ask anything in my name, I'll do it. Lord, I really need to always be comfortable, always happy, and always... Is that going to glorify the Father? Is that going to manifest forth the Father? [25:08] What he says here is, yeah, I will answer. I will pray the Father, and I'll give you another comforter to answer your prayers. Because you've asked in my name. So, we've asked according to the nature, the character, and the authority of Jesus. [25:21] I'll pray the Father. He'll give you another comforter. That he may abide with you forever. However, this is a person. These are person terms. Personal terms. [25:32] He may abide with you forever. I will pray the Father, and he, who the Father, is a person. She'll give you another comforter, and that it may abide with you forever. The Holy Spirit is not a force, or a power, or just some indistinct entity. [25:47] And I think we all know that here. But if anybody's watching online, maybe you don't know that. He's a he. He's a person. He's just as, I was going to say material, but just as, is just as identifiable as the Father and the Son. [26:07] We're going to see three names of the Spirit. In verse 16 here, we see that he is the comforter. In verse 17, he'll be the Spirit of truth. And in verse 26, he is the Holy Spirit. [26:18] I really like Spirit of truth. Man, that changes me. You're like, well, the Holy Spirit did this. The Holy Spirit. You start saying Spirit of truth. The Spirit of truth told me to do this. Ooh, I mean, it's got to be in keeping with the truth. [26:30] You know, if I just call him the something else, or the Spirit, or the Holy Spirit, maybe I can kind of like fudge it a little bit. But all of a sudden, I say, well, the Spirit of truth is asking me to do something that's not in keeping with the truth. [26:42] Hmm. I don't think that really fits. I'll pray to the Father, and he'll give you another comforter. Another means in like manner. I'll give you one in like manner, that he may abide with you forever. [26:55] Jesus has just told the apostles he's going to leave them. Now he's going to tell them he's giving them another comforter, and they're thinking, well, yeah, how long? When's he going to leave? He says, no, he's going to abide with you forever. He will remain. He will tarry. [27:05] He will stay. Comforter is the word you may have heard before, parakletos in the Greek, the paraklete. Not parakeet, but paraklete. They don't stay with you forever. [27:17] It means summoned to one side, an intercessor, one who comes alongside for the purpose of helping, for the purpose of interceding. He's the helper. [27:28] He's the comforter. So Jesus is saying that another in like manner, as I have been alongside you, as I have been summoned to your side or summoned you to my side, as I've been the intercessor, there's going to be another one. [27:43] He's going to be with you forever. However, you know, you think just a little tongue in cheek, if the apostles really are grasping this, they're probably like, man, Jesus, get out of here. Let this guy come. This is exciting. [27:57] Even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it sees him not, neither knows him. The spirit of truth is only accessible to the people of truth. [28:10] But you know him. This word for know is gnosko. Another Greek word. It's to know, not just like, oh, I know who that is. There's a deeper no. [28:20] It's an intimate no. It's a no due to relationship, time, and understanding and experiential knowledge. But you know him for he dwells with you and shall be in you. [28:36] You see, the world will never see, they'll never perceive or, excuse me, they'll never know, they'll never experience what they don't first believe. Why can't the world see them? [28:46] Why can't the world know him? Because they won't believe. They don't believe. They're not going to be able to see and they're not going to know because they don't believe. They can't partake. They're not born of the spirit. The spirit of truth is promised to dwell alongside and within the people of truth. [29:03] Because we are the only ones who can perceive him. The only one who can know him. Because we are the ones who've believed and been born of the truth. Now there are three experiences. We have three promised gnoskos, as it were, with the spirit of truth. [29:17] Two of them are here and one is in Acts chapter 1 verse 8. Our promised experience, our promised gnoskos to go with the spirit of truth is that he will be with you. [29:28] That's para, to come alongside. He'll be in you. It's Greek word en. And then in Acts 1 verse 8, Jesus says the Holy Spirit will come upon them. That is epi. So we have three experiences with the truth. [29:40] The spirit of truth. He's with us. He's in us. And he's upon us. He's got us pretty well covered. Jesus says, I will not leave you comfortless. [29:52] I will not leave you without an intercessor. I will not leave you without a paraclete. Not a parakeet. Paraclete. I will come to you. What is Jesus saying? [30:03] Is Jesus breaking context and just reminding them again that he's going to come back to them? In the context here, what is he saying? He says, this one who will come to you is the one who's going to bring near my life to you. [30:13] Is the one who's going to bring me near to you. Jesus doesn't give empty promises. His promises aren't just to make people feel good. This promise contains a person. Jesus says, this is the one who will bring me near to you. [30:27] The paraclete is given so that we might walk in truth as Jesus did. So we might experience Jesus' life. Then we might experience the life of the Father. Jesus' life of truth. [30:40] It perfectly manifested the Father who was the source of truth. And he says here now, I will send you one that will bring me to you. Yes, Jesus will return. [30:51] But in context, what he's saying here is this other one, this paraclete, is the one. Don't think that in giving him, this is a substitute for me. And like, I'm checked out now. [31:03] I'm still in this, guys. Psalm 119, 160 says, Thy word is true from the beginning. And every one of thy righteous judgments endures forever. The life of truth, it perfectly manifests the Father. [31:18] And Jesus was from the beginning. The Father was from the beginning. And the spirit of truth then makes the life of truth available to us. Why? So that we can manifest forth the Father in this world. [31:31] Jesus is not bodily in this world manifesting forth the Father. Jesus isn't some indistinct spirit that's kind of moving through the world manifesting the Father. Jesus has given us another comforter, another paraclete. [31:45] He's given us one to come alongside us, to dwell in us, to be upon us, so that we could take the task of manifesting the Father to the world. So that's a big task. He's given us a big comforter. [31:58] In John 14, 6 and 7, as we already referenced, Jesus said unto him, and this would be to Thomas, who said, Lord, we don't know where you're going and we don't know how to get there. And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. [32:13] No man comes unto the Father but by me. If you had known me, gnoskoed me, you should have known my Father. And from henceforth, you do gnosko him. [32:24] You do know him and have seen him. Jesus said he's the way, he's the truth, and he's the life, and there's no one who's going to come to the Father without going that way. [32:35] So the Spirit manifests the Father through the life of the Son, right? Remember, he's with us, he's in us, and he's upon us. The Spirit takes the life of the Son, the way, the truth, and the life, and he manifests it. [32:51] Or he manifests it to us so we can manifest the Father. He's the way, that would be with, right? He's with us in the way. The Holy Spirit comes and guides us in the way. He leads us in the way of Jesus. [33:03] He's the truth. Where Jesus is the truth, the Holy Spirit brings that truth and he puts it in, within us. And where Jesus is the life, man, the Holy Spirit brings the life of Christ and puts it upon me to be clothed in righteousness, to put on that new life. [33:17] The Spirit manifests the Father through the life of the Son. It is through the Holy Spirit that the way, the truth, and the life, that we can partake of that so that we can, like Jesus, manifest the Father. How do you know? [33:32] How do you know if you're acting in the Spirit of truth? How do you know if you're walking in the way, if the truth is in you, if his life is upon you? Why? [33:43] I'm, I think I am. How do you know? We know when our life of truth manifests the Father. We know when we can look at our life and say, you know what, this, this is showing forth the Father. [33:57] It's showing forth his love. It's showing forth his grace. It's showing forth, it's showing forth his redemption. This life of truth I'm living. If it doesn't manifest that, chances are we're probably not walking in the Spirit, walking in the Spirit of truth, living out a life of truth. [34:16] Verse 19, Jesus says, yet a little while and the world sees me no more, but you see me because I live, you shall live also. Is he talking about resurrection? Yes, but in context, he's referring to the life of the Spirit. [34:27] Later on in John 14, he will talk to them about the resurrection and him being gone and then reappearing shortly. But he's saying here, yet a little while in the world, it will see me no more because I'm going to ascend to the Father. [34:39] It's not going to see me anymore. But you will. You will perceive me. You will know me. Why? Because I live. You shall live also with the same quality of life because of the Spirit. [34:52] And at that day, you shall know that I am in the Father and you in me and I in you. At what day? Verse 16, I'll pray the Father and he'll give you another comforter. At that day, the day of the paraclete is when we will know. [35:05] At that day that the comforter comes alongside you, dwells in you and is upon you, you will know that I am in the Father and you in me and I in you. You will have unity. [35:16] It goes right back to what we were talking about last time. The fellowship of the Spirit is for unity. And that day shall you know. Romans 8, 16 says, the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. [35:33] Without that, how do I know? How do I know I'm in the Father and we're in Christ and him in us? Man, because God's given me the witness of his Spirit. At the day of the paraclete is the day that we are in now where we know that if we are in the Son, that means we're in the Father because the Son is in the Father. [35:52] And if he is in us, that means he wants to manifest forth the life of the Father just as he did when he was here. verse 21, Jesus says, he that has my commandments and keeps them, it is he that loves me. [36:08] Again, it's just like he said earlier. The one who loves me, he has my commandments and he keeps my commandments. I dare say there's nobody in this world that doesn't love Jesus who has his commandments. [36:20] They have his commandments? I don't need that. They're not keeping his commandments. And I don't mean keeping a law. As soon as we hear keeping his commandments, we have this idea of, well, trying to do good and do right things. [36:30] That's not at all. Jesus' commandments have nothing to do with ability and they have nothing to do with our performance. His commandments are to do what? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. [36:41] His commandments are to believe. His commandments are to take up your cross and follow him. You're not going to do that in any way, shape, or form unless you love him. Not a chance. [36:52] And he that loves me, he shall be loved in my Father. Not because of what you do, but because of who you are. And I will love him and will manifest, will show myself to him. [37:06] Here we see in verse 21, the Holy Spirit is given to unify us with the Father. Verse 21, what does it center around? It centers around love. The whole thing is about love. [37:17] He it is that loves me and he that loves me shall be loved in my Father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. How is he going to manifest himself to us? Through the Spirit of truth. [37:29] The Spirit of truth is the way that Jesus manifests himself to us and it all centers around love. 1 John 4, 9 and 10. [37:40] In this was manifested, was shown forth the love of God towards us because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is love. [37:52] Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Those who love God have received God's love in the person of his Son. [38:04] There's nobody who loves God who's not first received God's love. The only way you receive God's love is in the person of his Son who loved us and gave himself to be the propitiation for our sins. [38:16] What is the evidence here tells us of God's love in verse 21? The evidence of God's love is we have his commands and we keep his commands. It's not something we don't know, we don't understand, or we're just hoping, we're just guessing. [38:29] We have his commands. He loves us enough to give us the things. We said, what do commands mean? I don't know if I can find it again real quick. It meant those things that a charge, an injunction, a prescribed order. [38:47] Do you want to live according to God's prescribed order? I do. I love him and he loves me. I want to live according to his prescribed order. Well, you know, I don't, I just want him to bless whatever I do. [38:58] Well, according to the scripture here then, maybe, not that you don't love him, maybe you need to receive more of his love. Because you see, when you receive his love, you'll love him in a way that you want to keep his commands. [39:11] You want to have his commands in your life. The solution to obeying God is not for us to try and love him harder. It's to receive more of his love. To allow him to display, to manifest forth more of his love to us. [39:24] The love of God and the word of God are at the center of being one with God. And this was manifested to the love of God. He sent his only begotten son that we should live through him. [39:38] He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me. The love of God and the word of God, they're at the center of being one with God, of being united with God. What unites us? [39:49] What brings us into unity with the Father and with the Son and with one another? It's the Spirit. It's the fellowshipping with the Spirit that brings us into unity to take part of the love of God and the word of God. [40:03] Without that, there's no gnosko. There's no experience, experiential knowledge. There's no experience of the love of God. [40:15] There's no understanding of his commands if we don't have the periclete, if we don't receive the one that Jesus sent in the world for that express purpose. If you had known me, if you had gnoskoed me, you should have gnoskoed my Father also. [40:33] From henceforth, you gnosko him and have seen him. If you had understood me, believed me, received me, you would have also my Father. [40:47] And from henceforth, we now get to experience the Father. How? Because of the Comforter, because of the one he sends. That's the point. [40:59] That's why I want to start with Jesus' words and build from there and not start in the epistles and like, yes, the gifts are so valid and they're important and we need them operating in our lives. We want to be led by the Spirit. [41:10] We want to see God doing great things and moving in our midst. But to what purpose and what end? Just so that we can, you know, say we've done great things or whatever, or, you know, so many people have gotten saved or we had a revival or, okay, but to what end is all that? [41:25] So that people might know the Father. They might come into the love of God and understand God's love through God's word. As Jesus manifests forth the Father just as he did when he was here, the same way he's going to do it through us guys. [41:40] Did Jesus march on Rome and say, I'm going to be king? No, he didn't. Did Jesus collect a lot of powerful people around him? No, he didn't. Did Jesus seek to make sure that ministers are always well-stocked and loaded with, overflowing with cash? [41:58] No, but every time they had a need, he was able to supply it. What did Jesus do when he was here? What nature and character and authority did he act in? I came not into the world to condemn the world, but the world through me might be saved. [42:13] I did not come for the righteous, but for sinners. And I think sometimes we think that the Holy Spirit is going to work in our lives and we're going to do all kinds of things that are greater as in different than what Jesus did. [42:24] Jesus was humble, submissive, broken, yielded, surrendered, and powerful. What do we think the Holy Spirit is going to do in our lives? The Pericle is sent for the express purpose of uniting us with the love of God and the word of God so that we might manifest to the world the Father and the Son. [42:45] If the Holy Spirit is not uniting us in the love of God and the word of God, we are going to have no ability to be a light to the world. We're not going to manifest forth the Father and the Son. It doesn't matter how many gifts we have. It doesn't matter what we've named and claimed. [42:57] It doesn't matter how many mountains we've cast into the sea. If I have not love, I am nothing. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have power in your ministries, if you have love one for another. [43:15] Let your light so shine before men that they may see your power, your good works. again, that's not my efforts. That is, that which is in my life in the same way the works of the Father were in the Son's life. [43:29] That which is in my life which is according to the authority of the nature and the character of the Father and the Son, that they may see that and it may manifest forth the Father and bring glory to the Father. [43:42] The paraclete is sent with the express purpose of uniting us in the love of God and the word of God. That doesn't seem too scary to fellowship with that. [43:52] Seems like something I want more of. 2 Corinthians 13, 14, our verse. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. [44:05] Amen. I'm going to pray and we'll close. We'll end the live stream and then just take about 10 minutes and fellowship with the Spirit. You know, as we do that, as we build going through this, it's like, well, what can we expect fellowshipping with the Spirit? [44:20] Well, we learned last time we can expect unity. Unity. Endeavor to keep the Spirit of unity and the bond of peace. But it's that unity based around, it's based around the manifestation, manifesting forth of God's love and God's word through the Father and through the Son. [44:34] So as we fellowship with the Spirit, what promise do we have? More of the word. More of God's love. More of the life of the Father. More authority to do what? To act in the nature and character of Jesus. [44:48] Without the Holy Spirit, I don't have any authority. I don't have any ability to do that. He brings near all of those things. And so, Lord, we thank you. Holy Spirit, we thank you so much that you are our paraclete. [44:58] You are the one who draws near. You are the one who intercedes for us. Tells us in Romans that we don't know how to pray, but that the Holy Spirit interprets our utterances to God. Thank you so much that not only do you intercede for us on our behalf to God, you intercede on God's behalf to us. [45:21] Always seeking to draw us near the Father. Always seeking to draw us in line with the Son. Always seeking to bring us under the commands, the injunctions, the things that Jesus is about. [45:33] Not in our own efforts or ability or to keep a law or to be righteous, but so that we might partake in the love of God, that we might be experiencing the Word of God alongside us, in us, upon us. [45:48] Thank you that you are so faithful. Just as Jesus promised, there's not one believer you have ever left and you never will. [46:00] We pray you fellowship with us now. In Jesus' name. Amen.