John Chapter Fourteen: The Blessing
By: Deji Yesufu
There is a close relationship between theology and the sciences. In fact, the revolution that our world experienced with scientific discoveries was founded upon the liberties that theology brought into the minds of men. Sound biblical understanding is something that the Holy Spirit births in the hearts of men – it is something that is self-taught after one has received some basic foundational truths. You see this happen between Jesus and his listeners, often the Apostles, a lot. Our Lord will teach a doctrine, but he would expect that people will come to some other realization themselves. He does this because Christ understands that the human mind needs only some basic foundational learning; the Spirit within them, which is God’s light in all men, will build a greater understanding of these. This is how our world has witnessed the revolution in learning that we have. Men build upon previous understandings, discoveries, and technologies of other men and of generations past. We see this reality of foundational truth, learning from the Spirit, and growth in understanding play out in John Chapter fourteen. In this chapter, Jesus introduces the Apostles to the Blessing – the Holy Spirit.
From verses 1 to 11, Jesus reaffirms his deity. It is a doctrine he has been teaching throughout his ministry but he takes a while to affirm it in almost clear terms to the disciples. He still leaves a lot of space for them to come to their own deduction on the subject, but he leaves very little room for them to reach any other conclusion. In the very first verse, he redefines the Jewish religion for them stating: prior to this time, your conception of God is as defined by the Torah – which is not wrong. Henceforth, your conception of God must be defined by the image you see of me. This is not out of sic with biblical truths. Throughout the scriptures, God has revealed himself little by little to his people. And the reality of the New Testament is that God has chosen now to reveal himself to us in his Son, Jesus Christ. And lest the disciples were still in doubt of this truth, he emphasizes it some more: “… I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me…” Christianity has many core truths. One such truth is simply the fact that Jesus Christ is God. He is the Son of God. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one. They are three persons, and we serve one Almighty God. If this gives you any headache, it is because these truths are taught by the Spirit to the human heart. And they form the foundation upon which greater truths, mysteries, and even scientific discoveries are founded.
As he helps the Apostles affirm his deity, he then introduces them to another core biblical truth and that is the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is saying from 12 to 21 that he would soon be leaving the world but he would be sending the Holy Spirit to the disciples. He begins to teach them about the Spirit: how to receive him, and how to dwell with him. Jesus shows us that we receive the Holy Spirit by faith. In other words, the Spirit will be given to all those who believe in Jesus. We will not feel anything; or hear anything – we will simply know that the Spirit of God is with us because we are of Christ. But even more than receiving the Spirit, we must learn to dwell with him. The Holy Spirit will demand complete obedience from us. He is the Spirit of truth, and he will help us to comprehend all truth – which will include biblical truth, scientific truths, historical truth, etc. The Spirit is the maker of the whole world, and only he understands the workings of our world therefore only he can help us to understand our world better. Jesus completes his discussion here by stating that when the believer is in harmony with the Holy Spirit, walking in obedience and growing in understanding the truths the Spirit reveals to our hearts, that believer will have the Father and the Son come and make their home within him. “…I will manifest myself to him…” is the way the Saviour reveals these things. There is a sense that Jesus never ceases to speak to us in parables. It is because if we gain an understanding of biblical truths by reasoning into them with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will only grow in grace and in the knowledge of this truth.
Jesus concludes his discussion in John chapter fourteen by counselling on how we must dwell with the blessing of the Holy Spirit. His counsel revolves around the central reality of obedience. Jesus is saying that the same way we received the Spirit in faith, is the same way we must obey the Spirit: by faith. There are many things the Lord will make demands on us for, and we would be required to do those things not because we understand it all but because we take God at his word. Christian growth comes mostly as we walk by faith and not by sight. Jesus then emphasizes the fact that the Holy Spirit is a Teacher: “…He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you…” This brings me back to my opening argument: all truths in our world are God’s truths. The foundation and basic truths of the world are biblical truths. We do not understand how a man might declare himself to be God, but if he has given sufficient biblical data to that effect, and followed those claims up with sufficient miracles, we take him by his word. We walk by faith and not by sight. Second, we submit to his counsel on his Spirit. He says he will give us his Spirit: we receive the Spirit by faith. We grow in the Spirit as we obey the commands of Jesus in the scriptures. All these open God’s people to higher truths: the Holy Spirit then guides us into all truths.
The reality of our lives is that every man created by God has a purpose within them. Your purpose, destiny, and assignment are wound up within the truth that the Spirit reveals to you. Your truth will not contradict Holy Scripture; it will be a passion that you alone possess within you; it will be your calling; you may not be able to define it – but you are certain of it. As we walk with the Lord, in the light of his word, his Spirit strengthens our comprehension of these truths and helps us to obey them. It is biblical truths that have given us all the scientific revolutions we have today, and all the improvement in social concerns all around our world. The Church is the ground and the pillar of the truth. If the world is looking for answers anywhere, the Church should provide them with the foundational truths they are looking for. May God grant that we are a living church that hears what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.
Amen.
Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan.
Share this: