This Devotional message is part of the Clayton Church Value-Based Discipleship series, which was launched on Sunday 23 July 2017. View the series index here.
Passages
John 14:15-31
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
Judas (not Iscariot) said to him,
Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?
Jesus answered 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. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
These things I have spoken to you while I am still 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 have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
John 15:9-17
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Scripture
The first passage from John 14 has previously been studied as part of the Timothy Group 4-Column study:
My Words
Retelling the story for someone else (you – my audience). The relevant verses from previous studies are repeated here in my rendition.
John 14:15-31
We, as believers, in loving God should obey his commandments. Jesus, the Son of God, will commune with the God the Father, and provide us with the Holy Spirit, who will remain with us as long as we remain obedient to Him. The Holy Spirit will be a force that only believers can see and come to know, and as you draw close to him, He will assure you.
Jesus assures us that He/God will always be with us even though He has to physically depart the world. For us believers, we have this assurance because we live in the truth that Jesus is resurrected and alive. With this knowledge, we will have complete unity with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them.
One of the disciples then asked why Jesus would only reveal himself to believers and not the whole world. Jesus replied,
All those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and live with them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not do what I say. And remember, my words are not my own. This message is from the Father who sent me.
Whilst Jesus remained on earth in his resurrected bodily form, he taught these principles with much passion. He also prepared the disciples that after He left, the Holy Spirit, sent in the name of the Father, would take over in teaching, revealing and reminding believers of these truths. Jesus taught next on the peace of God which would fill all believers to calm them and empower them in ways the world would struggle to understand. In this spirit, Jesus explained that His return to the Father was a prime example whereby believers would rejoice and take heart at his departure, whereas the world would bemoan and criticise through a spirit lacking peace. Jesus ended this conversation with,
I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the prince of this world approaches. He has no power over me, but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.
John 15:9-17
Jesus has cherished us just as God the Father has also cherished us. Be rooted in God’s love. When we show obedience, this is an example of what it means to be rooted in God’s love. And the best example is Jesus, because He was obedient to the Will of God, and this demonstrated what it means to be rooted in love. Jesus told us, his disciples, this so that we would be complete in experiencing the joy and delight of the Lord. In fact, our obedience will lead to an abundance of God’s joy and delight in our lives.
Jesus’ commandment is that we are to show love for each other because He first loved us. The ultimate act of love is demonstrable in sacrificing our lives for one another. We are not just followers of Christ, but in showing obedience to Him, we are considered in close relationship, a friendship of trust and equality in that we share everything with each other. This is unlike a master-servant relationship where there is a clear distinction between the two roles. Everything that God the Father shared with Jesus, the Son of God has been entrusted and shared with us too, so we are indeed in a close trust relationship with God. It is important to realise that the basis for our relationship with God began first with Him loving and choosing us. It is because He first loved us that we can love Him back – in this way He chose us, not us choosing Him. As a result of bearing and showing love to each other, should manifest itself in the visible signs of a healthy loving relationship and attitude towards others. When we are consistent with this mindset, in abiding in God’s love, and loving one another, our will becomes aligned with God’s will and thus, whatever we seek and request in His name will come to fruition.
What I Discovered
The following insights are the accumulation of insights from the previous Timothy Group studies, plus some additional thoughts shared in this August 2017 context:
- Obedience means ensuring closeness to the Holy Spirit
I will and need to remain obedient to God always in order to not grieve the Holy Spirit, and ensure He remains with me. We can claim the power of the Holy Spirit only as long as we remain obedient to God. God’s love for us is not conditional, but rather the obedient nature and characteristic remains a paramount and priority within the umbrella of emotions, actions, attitudes that encompass loving God. In simple terms, to love God is to obey His commandments. - Order: Believe first, then love and obey
A similar teaching of remaining obedient to God is clear. I take the later verse 24 further in that there are those who claim to be Christians and believe in God. I find it really interesting that these verses in John 14 all focus on love and obedience. In order to love and obey, we must first believe, and in this way belief is a prerequisite. However, God demonstrates that the focus is on love and obedience, which goes way beyond merely believing. When people claim to believe in God, these verses make me realise that that is just the first step – the more important lead-on question is “So what?” Not in a bad way – but rather, that it is great that you believe X, but as a result of that belief, what does it compel you to do? For followers of Christ, yes we believe, but we also love and obey Christ/God. - The Trinity
God is also highlighting his triune nature in that He as the Son, is one in will and purpose as the Father and Holy Spirit. This passage delves deeper into the nature of God as a triune being, one God with three persons. The love that binds them is shown in the obedience of Christ in taking up the cross and allowing the crucifixion to have Him separated from God the Father. - To Love One Another: Action Required
Jesus is urging us as believers and followers to join Him in spreading the Gospel. Whilst Jesus’ time is limited, and so too is our own, He nonetheless still has the aim to ensure that the world knows that He/Jesus loves and obeys God the Father. The sense of time and urgency also is conveyed through this passage, because Jesus states up front that the time for more talking is running out. The time to talk should instead be replaced with time for action and obeying God’s commandments. - Remain in My Love
The phrase “remain in my love” strikes me as the first of significance. I needed a little help in understanding this and found this article published by National Catholic Reporter, which states:Remain comes from the Latin re (expressing intensive force) and manere (to stay). To stay not just again and again, but expressing intensive force. Perhaps a similar sentiment is to be rooted. Be rooted in my love, God says. Be here, dwell here, stay here. Don’t go anywhere. Don’t look for other places. Be here. Be in my love.
This helped me to appreciate the depth of God’s love and intent that we are to dwell in His presence, abide in Him and His commandments. To remain in God’s love requires me to be entirely focused and centred in the nature of God’s love – unrestricted, overwhelming, caring and all encompassing.
- The Joy of the Lord is My Strength
The second thing that spoke to me from this passage is the joy aspect – love leads to joy, and joy overflowing. To truly experience and live a life that is full of love means we will find the joy of the Lord. The words of the old song ring true:The joy of the Lord is my strength!
The joy of the Lord is my strength!
And ion the time of trouble, He will deliver me.
The joy of the Lord is my strength!To be able to be filled with joy and to rejoice in the Lord is a timeless and independent of life’s experiences. We can experience the joy of the Lord no matter what we face – goodness, abundance and blessings, or even the hardships, suffering and trials. Another key phrase comes to mind from Blessed Be Your Name:
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your nameThis is a great example sung out of the joy of the Lord, enabling us to bless God and proclaim His Lordship.
- Our relationship to God
God shows me a third aspect from this passage which is the relational/friendship part of the verses. We are co-heirs with Christ in having the ability to be one with God. At least, Jesus equips us with everything He was equipped with from the Father, so we, in being filled with the Holy Spirit are empowered to do great things in His name. - Obedience Bears Fruit
The final revelation that studying the passage unveils to me is that when we are living a healthy and obedient life loving one another, and loving God, we bear fruit. When we bear fruit, whilst we do benefit, the benefit is also visible to others around us. I generally take an approach/mindset that it is not for me to judge and consider that I am being fruitful, but that this is something for others to see resulting from my nature, actions and words. We/I can only trust that as I remain obedient to God, and focus on ensuring I am living a life of love that people around me can see God being honored and glorified, and thus bear much good fruit.
Obedience Step
“I Will”
I will follow God’s commandment to love one another, and remain obedient to His calling. As I pursue obedience to God, I trust He will fragrance everything I do and overflow with blessings.
Threadless Artist Shop Design
Today’s devotion is summarised in the single design graphic above and has been added to my Threadless Artist Shop under the collection Discipleship Devotionals as John 14/15. The inspiration for this design is related to the association between the three key principles – love, obey and believe. Now I realise that I have explained it slightly differently above, but my justification is as follows. Love has to be visually first. The actual Threadless design differs and is as follows.
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