By Rev. Ron Purkey
Guest Columnist

Read John 14:1-31

Rev. Ron Purkey

“I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” (John 14:16)

While he was with the disciples, Jesus Christ supplied their needs (see John 16:22-24); now that he was returning to heaven, he gives them the privilege of prayer. He promises to answer prayer the Father might be glorified. To pray in “his name” means to pray for his glory, asking for whatever he himself would desire. The “greater works” spoken of in John 14:12 refer to the wonderful miracles and blessings the disciples experienced as recorded in the Book of Acts (see Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:4). The works he does through us today are “greater” in the sense we are mere human vessels, while he was God incarnate ministering on earth.

Christ had much to say about the Holy Spirit in the next chapters in John’s Gospel. Here he calls him “the Comforter,” literally, “The one standing alongside to help you.” The word “another” means “another of the same kind,” for the Holy Spirit is God just as Jesus Christ is God. The Holy Spirit living within the disciples would take the place of the Savior living beside the disciples. He is also called “the Spirit of Truth.” The Holy Spirit uses the word of God (the Bible) to convict sinners and to direct saints, and God’s word is truth (John 17:17). The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit because he comes in response to faith.

There is considerable discussion over what Christ means when he says, “I will come to you” (John 14:18). Literally it reads, “I do (present tense) come to you.” This statement probably includes several things: Christ’s coming to the apostles after his resurrection; his coming to them in the person of the Holy Spirit; and his future coming to take them to heaven.

In John 14:21-26, Jesus Christ speaks of a deeper relationship the disciples will have with God the Father and God the Son through the Holy Spirit. They thought they would be “orphans” (literal meaning of “comfortless” in John 14:18), when actually Jesus’ going to the Father made possible a deeper relationship between the saint (the redeemed person) and his Savior. This relationship involves obedience to the word (John 14:21) and a love for the word (John 14:24). It involves too the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26).

The Christian who spends time learning the Bible, then goes out to live the word of God, will enjoy a close, satisfying communion with the Father and the Son. Love for Jesus Christ is not a shallow emotion to be talked about; it means loving and obeying God’s word by the power of the Holy Spirit. In John 14:1-3, Jesus talked about the redeemed person going to heaven to abide with the Father and the Son; but here he talks about the Father and Son coming to abide with the redeemed person.

Read Ron Purkey’s Bible study outlines at www.rcpbibleoutlines.com free on the website. Purkey has been an ordained Baptist minister for 50 years.