[8:00 a.m.] Another Helper (John 14:15-31)

Let's look at John chapter 14 verses 15 to 31, and really John

John 14:15–31 John 14 · chapter mention

chapters 14 through 16 go together because it's the

overall arching theme of Jesus teaching about the role and the

person and the work of the Holy Spirit.

So give your attention to the reading of God's Word.

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 the 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'm

going away, and I will come to you.

If you love me, you would have rejoiced, because I'm 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 maybe leave.

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. This is the word of the Lord.

All right? And you may take your seats and

we're going to jump right in. When it comes to the Holy

Spirit, there's either an overemphasis upon him or there

is an under emphasis upon him. My Greek professor at the ETS

named Doctor Wallace. He shared with us in class his

concern about the under emphasis of the Holy Spirit in the

Evangelical Church and he later wrote an article about it that

he entitled Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit?

The uneasy conscience of a non charismatic Evangelical.

And in it what he does is, he argues, the danger of a purely

rational approach to the scriptures without realizing the

relational aspect of the Spirit who inspired these scriptures.

He says under emphasizing the Holy Spirit can lead to a purely

intellectual approach to God. We're one's relationship to God.

It's rationally based on how well we can interpret and

control the text and keep our doctrine in line.

But then on the other hand, we have an overemphasis on the Holy

Spirit, which when I was doing campus ministry at Baylor, I

heard a sermon from a pastor in the church who actually said

this. He says when you got Jesus, you

got the peanut butter, but to have a really good sandwich you

need the Jelly. The Holy Spirit's the Jelly.

Now whether this pastor knows it or not, he did something that

the Holy Spirit would never do and that is elevate himself

above Jesus. So instead of arguing for a

balanced view as if we need to tone down our emphasis on the

Holy Spirit or we need to ramp up our emphasis on the Holy

Spirit, I just think we better need to understand who the Holy

Spirit is and what his role is. Remember where we are.

We're in chapter 13 after washing the disciples feet.

Jesus says one of you is going to betray me.

And then as Judas leaves, Jesus explains that the hour for the

Son of Man to be glorified has finally come.

Jesus says, I'm going to be leaving you and where I go, you

cannot follow me at this time. And then Peter, he wants to

know, well, why can't we follow you?

And then he boldly proclaims, I will lay down my life for you.

And Jesus says, Peter, tonight you're going to deny ever

knowing me three times. So the disciples, their hearts

are all troubled. They're confused, they're

uncertain, they're fearful of what lies ahead because Jesus is

talking about departing and leaving them.

I mean, for three years they have been with him.

They have enjoyed his presence. They've seen him teach, they've

witnessed his power, they've seen his love, his compassion in

the way he deals with people. Jesus has turned their worlds

upside down and then built them back up.

They've come to believe and trust that he is God's Messiah.

But now he's talking about leaving them, going back to his

Father, and they can't follow him at this time.

So what does all this mean? I mean, if he leaves, what's

going to happen to us? Is Jesus abandoning us?

Are we going to live as orphans, left to ourselves, with no one

to lead us? But in chapter 16, verses 6

through 7, listen to what he says, because I have said these

things to you, talking about His leaving.

Sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the

truth, it is to your advantage that I go away.

For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.

But if I go, I will send him to you.

See, what they think is to their disadvantage.

Jesus is actually saying they're better off if I go.

You see, if I do not go, then I cannot send the Holy Spirit.

So having the Holy Spirit it's actually an advantage over

having Jesus's pre glorified body with them.

Let that sink in for a moment. Most people think that the

disciples had it better than we do, right?

Because they visibly saw Jesus, they touched Jesus, they were

eyewitnesses to everything he did and said.

See, none of us have had the privilege of physically seeing

Jesus. And we think that if we did,

wouldn't it be so much easier, right?

Seeing is believing after all, right?

And if I could just see Jesus like they did, I wouldn't

struggle so much believing in him.

If I could see Jesus just like that, I wouldn't doubt so much.

May it be easier for me to live with him if I just physically

saw him, because I would know him better.

But what Jesus is teaching his disciples and what he's teaching

us is that when he sends the Holy Spirit, they would actually

know Jesus better. They will better understand who

Jesus is and the significance of what he came to do.

They would better understand the intimate relationship that Jesus

has with the Father. They would better understand the

relationship that the Father and the Son have with them.

So rather than losing Jesus, they will actually gain him in a

more intimate way. Now, before we look at how the

Holy Spirit's presence is to our advantage, we have to deal with

something that's very misunderstood.

And because it's misunderstood, many Christians misapply this to

their lives and misunderstand what role the Holy Spirit plays.

Many people have interpreted the Spirit's work in chapter 14,

verse 26 as a direct application to all believers.

He will teach you all believers all things.

And then they also look at chapter 16, verse 13 to prove

this as well, where Jesus says the Spirit will guide you into

all truth and He will declare to you the things that are to come.

So many people believe that Jesus is speaking to all

believers here, so they've used these verses to argue that the

Spirit speaks directly to us without the mediation of God's

written word. That he reveals new revelation

to people concerning what God's will is for certain aspects of

their life. Now I want to just briefly argue

that what Jesus says here about the Holy Spirit has a direct

application to the disciples first.

And because it does, it applies to us in a slightly different

way. See first and foremost the role

of the Holy Spirit in John 14 through 16.

It's meant to be a direct application to the disciples

because they were going to be the ones who write down the New

Testament, the inspired New Testament from the Holy Spirit.

In chapter 14, verse 22, Jesus is asked why does he plan to

reveal himself to the disciples and not to the world?

Jesus's answer at the end of verse 24 stresses that his words

that they hear, it has divine origin and authority.

Why? Because they're the Father's

words. All that Jesus said and taught

was inspired by the Father. He only speaks what He hears His

Father speak. So what makes verse 26 so

important is that this inspiration, it doesn't cease

with Jesus's departure. Because when the Holy Spirit

comes to and dwell Jesus's disciples, he, the Holy Spirit,

will teach the disciples all that Jesus taught.

The Holy Spirit will remind the disciples of all that Jesus did

and said. Therefore, Jesus is manifesting

Himself to His disciples and not to the world.

Because when he departs, what's he doing?

He's now giving His authority to be His witnesses to His

disciples. So they now are going to

continue Jesus's work through their witness.

The disciples are going to manifest Jesus to the world

through their teaching and their written testimony.

See in the four Gospels, what do we have?

We have the written form of what the Spirit reminded the

disciples concerning all that Jesus said and taught.

Which means because of the Spirit's direct work in the

disciples to write the New Testament as a witness to

Christ, the spirits work in our lives.

It cannot be separated from the words that He inspired the

disciples to write. In other words, how do I

simplify this? The Holy Spirit does not give

Christians today direct new revelation.

He helps us to better understand and personally and subjectively

experience the revelation already written.

And yes, I did say subjectively experience, which makes us

Presbyterians nervous. I'll explain this more in a

minute, but look at what he calls the Holy Spirit in verse

16 and verse 26. It's the Greek word paraclete.

It's one called alongside in order to help.

This is why some have translated it helper, counselor, advocate,

or comforter. And in chapter 15, verse 26,

Jesus says that when the Helper, the counselor, the Advocate, or

the Comforter comes, whom He will send the Spirit of truth,

who proceeds from the Father. Listen to this.

He, the Holy Spirit will bear witness of me.

That's his role. His role is to take what is

Jesus is and make it known to you.

Now don't miss this, this helper, this counselor, this

advocate, this comforter, the spirit of truth who proceeds

from the Father and bears witness about Jesus.

He's the one who's not just going to come alongside to help

us to understand and know Christ better on occasion.

But according to verses 16 to 18 of chapter 14, what will He do?

He will and dwell forever. Those who believe see Jesus's

departure. It means that you are not left

as an orphan because Jesus is going to come to you and the

person of the Holy Spirit. And when he comes to dwell

believers, he will never leave. See, look again at verse 16, the

Holy Spirit, He's not a different kind of helper than

Jesus is. Jesus is saying, I'm not going

to send you another helper of a different kind.

I'm going to send you another helper of the same kind.

The Holy Spirit will be your helper.

He will be your advocate. He will be your counselor.

He will be your comforter, just as I have been.

He's going to continue my ministry in you.

So this helping, this advocating, this counseling,

this comforting role of the Holy Spirit has an inward subjective

aspect to it and an outward objective aspect to it as well.

And the only way I can explain this is with an illustration.

Golly, when I first saw the movie Saving Private Ryan long

time ago in the theaters, it gave me a knowledge of war.

But sitting on the same row with me was an elderly man who was

weeping and wailing bitterly throughout that whole 24 minute

scene when they invaded Normandy.

And I didn't find out why until after the movie.

Because he was there. I knew about war from what I was

watching. This man subjectively experience

the reality of war because he was there, the Holy Spirit.

He works inwardly in us in such a way that we subjectively and

emotionally experience the truth about who Jesus is and the

implications of what he's done. In other words, he subjectively

enables us to feel the reality that God loves you.

Listen to how Paul puts it in Romans 5 verse five.

He says in hope it does not put us to shame because God's love

has been poured out into our hearts.

How through the Holy Spirit who's been given to us so Paul

was saying our hope and God will never put us to shame because

the God we hope in proves to us that he loves us by giving us a

personal experience of his presence through the Holy Spirit

God. In other words, he gives a real

subjective experience where we actually feel the love of God in

our hearts and we are inwardly comforted by the Holy Spirit, so

we know God is with us. Jesus says it this way in our

text, verses 20 through 21. In that day you will know that I

am in the Father, and you are 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 I will manifest. I will make myself known to Him.

How do we know all these things? Understanding, knowing, and

experiencing the intimate relationship that Jesus has with

His Father and that He and His Father has with us is dependent

on the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Look at verses 26 through 27. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all

things. He will bring to your

remembrance all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you notices, My peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives to you do I give to you.

Let not your hearts be troubled. Neither let them be afraid.

How do we not let our hearts not be troubled?

How is fear driven from our hearts?

How do we know we have peace with God?

Because through the Word of God, inwardly and subjectively, we

experience the reality of God's love for us through the Holy

Spirit. In other words, what does the

Holy Spirit do? He helps us, He counsels us, He

advocates Jesus to us. He comforts us with the reality

of His presence and gives us His peace.

But don't miss this, this subjective experience that only

the Holy Spirit can produce. Music can't produce it.

Mysticism can't produce it. Getting alone and trying to get

into a state of a higher spiritual plane can't produce

this. Notice that this objective

experience that only the Holy Spirit can produce, it's not

separated from the objective historical facts of Jesus's

life, death, and resurrection. In other words, the Spirit does

this work through the words that He inspired the disciples to

write. This is why John 14 through 16,

it has direct application to the disciples first, and why the

spirits work in US. It's not separated from His work

in them. The Holy Spirit taught them all

things concerning Christ. He brought to their remembrance

all that Jesus said and did. He bore witness to Christ.

Why? So that through their words he

would now bear witness about Christ to us, the Holy Spirit.

In other words, he does not speak forth new revelation.

He helps, He counsels, He advocates, He comforts us with

the words about Jesus already written.

The Holy Spirit's purpose, in other words, Jesus is going to

say, is to glorify me, is to take what is mine and make it

known to you. How does he do this?

By taking the recorded historical facts about Jesus's

life, death and resurrection and opening the eyes of our heart to

see the meaning of it. To make these truths more real.

Where we actually subjectively experience and inwardly feel the

reality of these truths so that because of these truths we

actually experience and are convinced that God loves us.

Which means you and I cannot experience the love of God being

poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit apart from the

words about Christ. This is my sophomore year at

Penn State when I injured my neck and this ended my athletic

career. Not wrestling.

Gave me more time to get involved with the campus

ministry, which I did, and from my experience with this campus

ministry, I was sensing God was calling me into ministry.

I was planning on going on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ,

but because of some sin issues I was told by Crusade that I had

to wait a year to get my moral life together.

So after I graduated I stayed in State College for a semester to

work on my relationship with God and to work on the relationship

I had with my girlfriend hoping that we would get married and

then after a year I would be accepted on staff with campers

to save for Christ. But during this time my neck

started getting worse and worse. I found out that I had to get it

operated on and it would be a year long recovery.

Two days after I found out about my neck, the girl that I was

dating broke up with me and in my anger I hit a cinder block

wall, smashing both knuckles and breaking these two bones in

three to five places. This happened at midnight and I

had to drive home to Pittsburgh, which was 3 1/2 hours away to

get it fixed. On that painful drive home I was

hit with the reality that my life and my sin had gotten out

of control. I was struggling to believe how

in the world could God love somebody like me and all that

was going through my head on this back roads in Pennsylvania

was Psalm one O 3, Psalm one O 3, Psalm one O 3.

I've never read Psalm 1O3I pulled over, pulled out my Bible

and I began to read these words. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and

all that is within me. Bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of his benefits.

And now he's going to list them. Who forgives all your iniquity?

Who heals all your diseases? Who redeemed your life from the

pit? Who crowns you with steadfast

love and mercy? He made known his ways to Moses.

Now he's reflecting on Exodus 32 through 34, where God reveals to

Moses the meaning of His name, Yahweh, His acts to the people

of Israel, the Lord Yahweh's merciful and gracious.

He's slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always have a case against us, nor will He keep His

anger forever. He does not deal with us

according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His

steadfast, loyal, covenant love to those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the West, so far has He removed his

transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to

His children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear

Him. I wept like a baby.

I don't know for how long, but when I read these words,

inwardly I knew I'm OK with God and God's OK with me in spite of

my sin. Because of Jesus, I was at peace

with God, He was at peace with me, and I actually experienced

His peace. Brothers and sisters, why is

Jesus leaving his disciples? Because he's going to die for

his disciples to pay for their sins.

Penalty. Three days later, after paying

that penalty, God raised his son from the dead.

Right now, his son is seated at the right hand of God the Father

Almighty. And what is he doing?

He's sending forth His Spirit to indwell believers to assure

them, to comfort them, to help them understand and know all

that Jesus has done to save them.

And because He has saved them, they are His forever and ever.

Amen. Let me pray Father, thank you

for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank you that He takes what is

Jesus's and He makes it more real and more clear to us.

So now I ask that as we are about to partake of this meal,

that you would in fact do that to all who trust in Him.

Make real the reality of your love for them.

We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.