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278 Two, 7-8.
Three 1/3.
100 and we have.
A man.
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For the as did he hear the Holy Spirit and minister to our yeast and what?
We know that it's the true desire of the new man within each one of us that belongs to the Lord Jesus. And we pray that as we are together here today that.
There might be that work of the Spirit in our hearts that these things would be carried out in our lives, that there would be changes made. Help us to not be satisfied with the status quo of our lives, but to press on to know the Lord Jesus.
To follow him. So we pray direction and help in the ministry here in this meeting and we pray in Jesus name, Amen. Amen.
Chapter 14.
Start with verse 13.
John, 1413.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If he shall ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father. And He shall give you another comforter, that He may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you.
Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more. But ye see me because I live, ye shall live also at that day ye shall know that I am in my father, and ye, and me and I in you. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him not Ascariot. Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loves me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings, and the word which He hears not mine, but the Fathers which sent me These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name. He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If you loved me, you would rejoice.
Because I said, I go unto the Father, for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass, you might believe here after I will not talk much with you. For the Prince of this world cometh and have nothing in me but that the world may know that I love the Father. And as the Father gave me commandment, Even so I do.
Arise, let us go hence.
We've had these various gains that would result from the Lord going back to heaven and sending the Holy Spirit. We have noted a number of them so far. And now we come to another in verse 13 and 14. And that is that they would have a greater power in prayer than before because they were going to ask in His name. When He has the promise there that if you ask anything in my name, I will do it. What a wonderful promise that was.
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Might be helpful to notice in that regard that this is the first of four references to this privilege, the resource that they were going to have after the Lord Jesus left them.
This one, as you say, Brother Bruce, he brings out the name in which we ask. And so that's why when we pray, we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that qualifies what we ask for, doesn't it? If we're asking in his name, we're going to be careful what we what we ask for. I'll use an illustration. It's been used before. But we'll suppose, Brother Bruce, that you come to Smith Falls to stay with my wife and I for a little while.
And, uh, I'm in and out and so I tell you, there's a store down at the end of the street and, uh, I have an account there. And anything you need during the day while we're gone, you go down and ask in my name and they will put it on account. Don't, please don't pay for anything. Just ask for what you need. And they know me well enough that they'll put it on my account. But let's suppose you go down the next day and for the sake of illustration, you ask for a carton of cigarettes and a case of beer.
The store owner knowing me would say I'm not so sure I can give you that.
In Jim Hyland's name, I know Jim Hyland and he isn't involved in those kinds of things. And he probably would refuse you the request, but you wouldn't go down in my name knowing you and ask for something that you know I wouldn't approve of. And so when we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus, it qualifies as we say what we ask for. But if we just so quickly to the 15th chapter, he brings out something else in connection with this resource.
Chapter 15 and verse 7, if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. Here's the condition when we pray, and I think of that verse that says if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. But when we pray, if we're going to have an effective prayer life in making requests.
We must abide in Him, There must be a walk in communion and fellowship, and if there's not, it's going to hinder our prayers and what we, we ask for. So we ask, but it's a condition here abiding in Him. Then just drop down in the same chapter, the verse 16. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain. Now notice this, that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father.
In my name He, He may give it you. Well, this is the one we pray to. They came to the Lord Jesus when He was here directly, but now they were going to have an even far greater privilege. They were going to know God as their Father in the intimacy of relationship that we spoke of yesterday. And as a result, they could come now directly to the Father and make requests. We could develop these, but then just one more very quickly in the 16th chapter.
And verse 23 in that day ye shall ask me nothing whatsoever. Ye shall ask the Father in my name. That will, will that I'm sorry, he will give it you. I wanna make a comment or two about this because I've talked to some recently, especially some young brothers who have a little confusion with this verse. This is telling us when we've spoken of the, the, the condition we've spoken of the, the condition in which we asked the one who we pray to. But this is when.
And when it says in that day you shall ask me nothing, what is that day? He's referring to the day when he was going to leave them and be absent from them. But some have misconstrued this to say that we should never ask the Lord directly for anything, that we never pray directly to the Lord. That is not what this statement is saying. This statement is saying that the day was coming when the Lord Jesus would no longer be physically with them on earth.
So that they could come directly to him like they had for those years of his public ministry. But brethren, there are times when we do pray to the Lord. I'll give you 2 examples. There are times when we ask for the gospel. He's Lord of the harvest. And as Lord of the harvest, he says, pray the Lord of the harvest that he'll raise up laborers, send them into the harvest field. We pray that he'll provide for them, give them fruit for their labor, give them souls, and so on.
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Another time is he's head of the body.
And when there are things that affect the body as a whole, we come to the head of the body and we look for direction.
So there are times when we come directly to the Lord. Generally, yes, we pray to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus.
But don't take this statement and say that we should never pray directly to the Lord. One more example.
We thank the Father for sending the Son, but wouldn't we be in grates if we didn't thank the Son for coming in obedience to the Father and giving Himself at Calvary's cross? We never want to confound the persons of the Godhead. To thank the Father for dying for us is simply unintelligent. And so we want to, we don't want to confound the persons of the Godhead. But I think these four scriptures, if you go back and meditate on them, you'll find them very helpful in connection with this resource that is introduced to us in our chapter.
Maybe another question. I hope this is a, a good question. Uh, but it, it was asked and, uh.
When we pray just to the Lord Jesus, then do we have to say in thy name?
Is that was, uh, our discussion out on the court last night. We didn't, we didn't have an answer. Is there, could you answer that or not? Is that.
Well, I suppose our prayers are always are never perfect. I can put it that way. We perhaps stumble sometimes. Perhaps we don't always use the right terminology or we use certain terminology in a wrong context. I don't have an answer to Tim's question specifically, but I would say to quoted him to all our prayers and praises. Christ adds his sweet perfume and love. The sensor raises these odors to consume. And so while we want to be careful and intelligent.
We've been saying in our prayers, however we pray, in the end, the Lord Jesus takes those prayers like the high priest with the sensor in the Old Testament, and he presents them to the year of God. And as imperfect as my prayers may be, when they reach the year of God, he has taken them as my high priest and they're perfect to God. And I'm thankful that God then takes that and He knows the in thoughts and intents of our hearts too.
Even though we don't express it in perfect language, that's really all I can say on the matter. I'm not sure there's a specific answer, maybe someone else has something.
I would suggest that there are times when one gets up to give thanks for the emblems on Lord's Day morning, and perhaps, uh, when we get up to give thanks to the, uh, cop.
We might begin the prayer with.
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We thank thee, and then at the end of the prayer and Lord Jesus, we give thee thanks and thy precious name and then sign off with Amen. In the revelation it says I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I think there is nothing wrong and I think it's very appropriate to begin with the Lord Jesus and to end with the Lord Jesus.
That we have 22 hymns that are directly addressed to the Lord Jesus.
If you shall ask or petition anything in my name, the Father will do it.
It says I will do it. So E even if I'm addressing the Lord, it's not as if I'm commanding him or directing him to do something. I think it's still in the sense that I asked him in His name. In other words, thy will be done. If this is inconsistency with you and your character then.
It I I I'm asking that this be done and so.
Maybe that's a help, maybe it's not very good.
Mm-hmm. Thank you.
His table. It's not the Father's table, it's the Lord's table, and so we address him as such.
I think it's nice here as well when it uses this, uh, little word ask. It's different in connection with the Lord Jesus. Won't get into that right now, but it's uh, really in verse 13, whatsoever you shall ask in my name, it's a spirit, umm, in connection with, uh, how we address the Lord Jesus and how we pray to the Father in his name. And there is the need that we express our need and our dependence upon him.
And in John's epistle chapter five, he adds a little bit to it here. He says in chapter five of first John and verse 14 that this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. And if or since we know that He hear us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him. So he adds this little expression, Umm.
If it is according to His will, isn't it nice? Do we not have the confidence that God knows what's perfect for us? And so we we express our desires to Him, and we rely upon the perfection of His will. And we ought to ask, not demand, not insist upon, but to ask according to His will. And we just ask if it is His will, and recognize that His wisdom exceeds our natural wisdom.
And he delights to supply the need according to his wisdom.
Per perhaps umm, if you brought up a good point and, and I really enjoy if someone has developed these 3 verses a little bit better. It says that whatsoever you shall ask in my name that well, I do doesn't really say so much of praying to the Father here. It's that the Father might be glorified. So and then it goes on. It says if you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. So it's.
It's it's a petition that's made that the Lord is going to accomplish something that the Father might be glorified. So it it might be nice if someone would develop exactly what is it that is being represented here. What's what's to be asked for that's consistent with the Lord doing. We might really understand what these verses mean.
This is the help for what goes on in that 12 verse. For the works that they would do that was fairly, fairly. I say unto you, He that believeth on me the works that I showed, shall He do also. The work that I do he should do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto the Father.
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And then he says.
Mm-hmm. And what store, you shall ask in my name. So specifically, I believe the interpretation is that this was, uh, the help for the greater works that they would do. Yeah, of course it, it applies, there's applications, but I think that's the interpretation of it. Is that does that sound right? Yes. And it's interesting when you go through the book of the Acts, after the Spirit of God is given, after Christ has gone back to heaven and the Spirit of God is given, if you notice the instances in the book of the Acts where there's prayer, there's power and blessing.
And.
There are a few times when there is, doesn't seem to be prayer mentioned and there isn't the same blessing. So the power for the Christian life is, is prayer in the power in the, in communion with the Spirit. It's prayer in the Spirit of God that gives any one of us, whether it's in our lives individually, in the family or personal or collectively. The more pro prayer, the more power and blessing there's going to be. But I think you see it exhibited so beautifully in the Acts when they go out and uh, even in the first chapter of Acts before the Spirit is given.
They're in prayer and then after the Spirit is given, there's prayer to the Father, to the Son, and the power of the Spirit, and there's much blessing as a result.
I may suggest umm, you know I'm asking a new question, suggestions that this is not where we learn how to pray. Umm.
It's like.
You know, they didn't even know who the father was.
Who brings us, you know, maybe spiritual intelligence or divine intelligence. Do you see that he's threatened full. I don't think it's a matter of either or because the God and Father of our Lord and Christ. If you look and see how all is praying into the epistle. He brings both together when he wants. It's just he brings to God our Father and.
Of our Lord your strike without me, I just kind of throw this out the question.
But, uh, you know, there's many Christian circles where all they learn is the Lord's Prayer. And so I don't know that it's, uh, you know, wrong and right. But as we grow, and I'm not trying to judge anybody by their prayer, and that's not what I'm saying, but it's been a big thing that I've thought about is how we pray sometimes awkward, sometimes we pray for the Father, sometimes we're praying to the Lord Jesus. In fact, I really like how Paul when he prays and he expresses its Goddard.
I really like somebody to look at the scriptures because they all have our own ideas here. And then there's what Scripture has here. Maybe somebody could bring us out all doctrine because that's where we're at right now. It's all done, yeah.
So. So is it right to say then that this is not really bringing out general requests to the Lord?
But it's really bringing out what represents the furthering of his work.
We do have a scripture in in Romans 19, the character of the request two, because in some cases where we know the mind or the will of God, we can ask in a positive way.
But where we don't know, we can ask enough if it's the Lord's will. And you get that in, in the, uh, verse 10 of the first chapter, making requests, if by any means now at length, I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. So it was a request of the Lord and he didn't know the answer. He didn't have a prosperous journey. He had a perilous journey. But thank the Lord, we have the epistle to of the Romans.
In God's mind and in God's will, it worked out that way for blessing.
So the more we walk in fellowship and communion with the Lord, the more we are going to ask His will.
Whether it's a connection with the gospel, whether it's in connection with the blessing of the people of God, whether it's in connection with something in the local assembly or I believe too. And we can apply it in connection with our family, our personal life. Because it's we want to make it clear that when it says here you shall, if you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. And then as we read in the 15th chapter, where he says again in verse 7.
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Ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. It doesn't mean he gives us everything we want rather, but there are again qualifying things. Is it for the glory of the, of God? Is this gonna bring glory to the, to God the Father? Is this going to be for the blessing of, of souls? That ought to be our first thought when we pray in connection with something. But just in connection with this in a practical way, very practical way. Go back to the Psalms for a moment.
Psalm 37, I believe.
Psalm 37.
And verse 4.
Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. I would just suggest that what we have here is again not that He gives us everything that we desire, but in the measure in which we walk in fellowship with Himself. His desires become our desires.
And if His desires are our desires, then when we ask for something, it is going to be according to His will, and He will bring it to pass. But brethren, if we're willing to leave it in His hand, it may not be exactly to pass in the way that we thought, or as quickly as we thought committed unto the Lord. He'll bring it to pass. But as our brother Ernie said, it is so important in the day-to-day things of life to always pray in the spirit of the Lord Jesus.
Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done in James. It tells us we ought to say, if the Lord will.
We shall live and do do this or that. Now there are things, as Ernie said, that we should. We don't have to wonder if it's the Lord's will. Let me just give you an example off the subject a little bit. Let me give you an example. Maybe there's someone here who's praying about whether they should remember the Lord or not in the breaking of bread. Well, it's good to be exercised as to the place where the Lord is, but you don't have to pray and ask the Lord if it's His will for you to remember Him in the breaking of bread.
He has asked us to do in in remembrance of me. And so there are some things we have scripture for. You're praying for a loved one. You don't have to pray and ask the Lord if it's his will that that loved one be saved because it's God's will that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. But again, very practically in the day-to-day things of life, it is good to pray that if it's like if it's by will because as we said earlier, often our prayers are very imperfect and checkered with self.
Asking in our prayers with any kind of accuracy, and then according to the will of God, he mentions two things.
If you abide in me, that's communion, and my words abide in you. That's intelligence. When these two things are coupled together in our prayer requests, as the rest of the verse flows, it says you shall ask what you will, and it should be done unto you. And so it brings in the dimension of state of soul as well when these things are being asked.
Mentioned yesterday that in this chapter we have a, uh, the disciples being brought into relationship with the three divine persons. And again, that was a revelation. Really. They knew a little of that in the Old Testament, but not much. I, the, uh, first three verses we mentioned they're brought particularly in relationship with the Lord himself versus 4 through 14 with the Father and then the rest of the chapter with the Spirit of God.
But I just wanted to mention that I found it very helpful to see that there's different names that are characteristic of the dispensations in Scripture. For instance, in the days of the patriarchs, the name that God used in particular with the patriarchs was the Almighty, the one that could fulfill and would then have the resources to fulfill his promises to the patriarchs. And I think this is important before I go on, because you often find that, uh, Christendom.
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Uh, people just use the generic name of God, it's God, God, God without distinguishing as Scripture does so often. And so as I mentioned, the different dispensations have different characteristic dispensational names. And umm, uh, when Israel went forth out of the land of Egypt, uh, they were introduced to God as the name of Jehovah was the particular covenant name of God with Israel when they entered into the land under Joshua.
We noticed that the name there was, uh, the, the, umm, the Lord of the whole earth because it looked forward to the time when the Lord would take possession of the earth. And when we come to the New Testament, of course, we know that the particular dispensation name that God takes with this dispensation is Father. That's the most intimate name. Well, how about the next dispensation? If we can call the tribulation the dispensation? Well, it's Lord God Almighty.
You notice that expression, the number of times in the Book of Revelation, because he's taking his rightful place, He's taking the, the, uh, his rightful deed to the earth. And then how about the, uh, the Millennium? Well, he's called the most high God, so it's good to distinguish the names here, isn't it? And so as we pass on beyond the Father here, we recognize that we have that special relationship with God, knowing him as our Father. That's the characteristic.
Dispensational name at this present time.
These men would be the servants of the Most High God, sensationally out of faith.
In communion with the Lord and according to His will, and so on.
But it's the time frame for the answer that comes to bear upon our state of soul. And as we pray and we agonize before the Lord and we see no answers, we see nothing coming. And very often we begin to question whether we're asking in the right way or the right time or the with the right name. And I don't think that that's really the issue with regard to our personal prayers. It is to persist in prayer. Scripture tells us to persevere in prayer.
I think we got an illustration of that in the story of Elijah and Mark Carmel. If you just turn over there real quickly, I'll give you a few little pointers illustrated in that, uh, incident when he prayed.
That's, uh, first Kings 18, I believe it is.
Yes, first Kings 18 verse 41. And Elijah said to Abhi, get the eat and drink, and for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of caramel. He cast himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, go up, now look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and said, so there's nothing he said.
Go again seven times it came to pass, and the 7th time that he said, Behold, there right with a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up and say, they have prepared thy chariot, and get thee down for the rain. Let the rain stop thee knot. And it came to pass the meanwhile that the heavens were black plows and wind, and there was great rain. So you get another number of different things here, elements we might call them, of effectual prayer. First of all, there was the sound of rain.
How did you know that there was no rain yet?
That's in verse 41, the sound of abundance of rain. There is intelligence. He knew that it was coming. He went up to Carmel. That speaks to us of nearness to God, communion. He cast himself down. That speaks to us of humility. He put his face between his knees. That speaks to us of dependence. Knees and Scripture always speaks of dependence. He looked toward the sea. That speaks of faith that would watch for the answer.
And again, he says, go seven times. There's perseverance.
Last but not least, he said, go over and prepare the chariot to Ahab. There we have.
Confidence.
And so when these things are present with us, the Lord will delight to answer his prayers. But let's not give up just because the Lord delays the answer. Delays are not denials. He's chasing our spirits. He's searching for the right spirit in our us as we wait for these prayers to be answered. And it's not for us to wait till the Lord when it should be done.
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The next person says if you love me, keep my commandments. It doesn't say if you keep my commandments. Uh, you'll be showing your love to me.
And I was just thinking connection with the what was just said about the different names of God in connection with the dispensations.
I it's not that I have to keep in my mind, well I need to use this expression because it's correct for the day in which I am, but rather.
If I'm in the good of the relationship into which I have been brought, then through the Spirit of God, I'm going to cry. ABBA Father, it's going to be that which flows from my heart. And so if we love him.
Then.
There's going to be a desire to keep his commandments and hear his commandments are not the law. It's the sense of his instruction the the things that he has given us. And so I think a lot of times.
As Bruce has just said, when the prayer is not answered, we get hung up. Well, maybe I didn't ask it the right way. As if it's uh.
A formula and and that's and and and really a lot of times the waiting is to produce that cry from our heart. That is really what God is waiting to hear that cry of ABBA father in complete and utter dependence. Now it's good to realize that we have been brought into this relationship as sons sonship and by the Spirit of God we can indeed try ABBA father that God is not some distant.
Figure he's not a heavenly Father in the sense that he's far away. Now, sometimes we, we say heavenly Father to distinguish from our earthly father. But and so it is good to realize that we have a nearness. And if if we have never knelt by the side of our beds and just poured out our hearts to our Father, then we're, we're missing something. But what I'm saying is you can't use certain words to get into a certain state of soul. It's the state of soul that produces the words that God wants to hear.
The explanation of the difference between the commandments of the Old Testament and the commandments of the New Testament put in very simple terms. The commandments of the Old Testament were. Do this and you will live The commandments of the New Testament are.
Live and you will do this. So in the Old Testament, the commandments were given to man in the flesh who had a nature that was at enmity with God and didn't want to fulfill those commandments. The difference is now that God has given us a new life, and that new life that we have in Christ is a life that wants to do His commandments, and so it manifests.
The life that is already there, it's, it's, it's beautiful to think if you are a real believer, you have a desire to do those commandments. I still remember a problem in South America one time that came up between a couple of sisters that got into a disagreement and one of them said I hate that sister and a brother I thought was wise in his answer, he says.
If you are not born again into God's family, maybe it is true you do hate that sister. But if you have been born into God's family, you have a life and a nature that is capable of loving that sister. And that's the truth of the matter. Brethren, these are commandments of the New Testament. The New Testament is full of commandments. It should be our desire. We read through the New Testament and.
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There's lots of commandments there. Quench not the Spirit, despise not prophesying. Those are commandments. It doesn't say do it if you like.
Loving one another, that's a command it's given many times. Doesn't say if you feel like it. No, you have a nature that loves like God loves. God loves us not because we're lovable. God loves us because God is love. And in that same way, we can love one another.
These are the commandments that you're talking about.
Through fear of death where their whole lifetime subject to ******* as you say. Why would a person not go out and pick up sticks on the Sabbath day? Because there was a penalty. If the law was carried out to the letter, there was a penalty and the penalty was very severe. It was ultimate. And so a person kept the commandments in the Old Testament.
For a different reason. I'm not saying there weren't those in the Old Testament whose heart didn't respond. There certainly was. David said I love the Lord and one of his songs and so on. And so he says, if ye love me. It's interesting in John's gospel that this is the first time he speaks of the disciples love for the Lord. Many times in this gospel we have the Lord's love for his disciples. We noted it yesterday at the beginning of this ministry in the 13th chapter.
Having loved His own, which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. But now we come to this, if ye love me. But brethren, it isn't that we try to generate a response of love within ourselves for the Lord. I don't think that's going to work. What is it that's going to generate a response of love to the Lord Jesus? What is it that's going to deepen our love for Him? Well, it's to be occupied with Himself and to appreciate more His love for us.
So many times before this verse, this statement, the love of the Lord for his disciples is confirmed, and that is the springboard. Then for him to finally say, if ye love me again. If we were to go back to an illustration in the Old Testament, when the bride and the Song of Solomon was asleep, and then she's awakened and she begins to be restored to her bridegroom and she goes over his qualities.
And, uh, she's occupied with himself more and more, and the the clouds and the lattices removed and so on. What happens at the end? Her response is far, far greater. There's no doubt her love is far deeper at the end of it all. Why? Because she was trying to generate a response within herself. No, occupied with the bridegroom, his love for her, his qualities and his beauties.
Awakened within her, perhaps an affection that she never had before. And brethren, that's what we need. And if we, if there's love, then his commandments are not going to be grievous. Because as Albert Hey Ho used to tell us in Christianity, when there's love, a request has the power of a command. And you don't have to beg someone to do something for you. If there's real love. No, in fact, maybe you don't even have to express it out loud, But they know that's your desire and there's real love and affection there.
Oh, they go ahead and do it. You say, oh, I didn't even have to ask because there was real affection. So that's what he wants from us. If we're going to keep his commandments, it needs to be that there is that love to him and then we are going, there's going to be an unconscious almost response to keep his word and to not deny his name.
If we have the Spirit of God, we would have power to walk like that.
But I, I have some questions regarding the context here because he's asking them to love me and keep my commandments. And then he says, and I will pray the father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. So this is almost like you got the, the, the horse before the cart. You know, I don't I, I understand what we're saying and I appreciate it because if we have the Spirit of God, we have the power.
To be able to love him and to keep his commandments. But this is asking to love him and to keep his commandments before he has the Spirit of God.
00:50:05
Then he says I will pray the Father and he will send you another comforter. Help me to understand the context here.
The book of John. I remember Eric Smith saying this often times the book of John can easily be outlined with three words. The 1St is life. That's the 1St 12 Chapters of John. So this is predicated on having new life isn't it? The natural response of new life is the love the Lord Jesus. Now it's true the power comes later on, but the natural response of life.
Is, uh, to love the Lord Jesus and to seek to keep his commandments. The power comes perhaps later on. And then the second word that gives us an outline for John the, the chapters we've been going over 13 through 17 is light. He's giving them the intelligence that goes along with this new life. Now, just as Bob was saying about the commandments, we had to have the life first before we could appreciate the new commandments. And then finally in the last chapters.
18 through the end of the book, it's the Lord Jesus shows his love in a way that's unmatched in the universe. So those 3 words, I think, give us an outline. And again, that's one of the ways that it's absolutely different from the Old Testament commandment. But I do have a question for you, Bob, that I'd appreciate, uh, your addressing. Speak about these commandments. How does that differ from Christian legality?
The commandments of the New Testament are given to man in Christ that has the desire to do them, and they are channels to direct that new life in Christ. But it is not a legal force thing like it was in the Old Testament. That's the way I understand it.
There is legality and I think it is trying to put the flesh under a code of ethics that it's not able to take care of, wouldn't you say? Is that what you have in mind? I wanted to hear your answer, but.
And it's more outward moral conformity without the heart being gauged. We can line everybody up and have them look the same and do the same thing. Like we used to have tin soldiers when I was a boy. But that's more outward moral conformity without the heart being engaged. But when the heart, as we've been saying, is really engaged, then there's a, there's that response to please and to walk according to the truth and the commandments that he has given us. Because as we've been saying, it really is a question of the heart. Just say to in connection with what Ed raised.
That you have to realize, as we said at the beginning of these meetings, that in these chapters he's making provision for them after he left them and the Spirit of God is given. And so it's an anticipation of his departure. What you have in these chapters is really the seed of the truth that is later developed in the epistles because as we find later on, there were many things that he wanted to tell them and develop, but they couldn't take the minute this time.
He just gives them, shall I say, a very basic outline of those resources that we're going to be provided for them after he was gone and the Spirit of God came down. But it's really an anticipation, isn't it, of what they would have and enjoy and appreciate after He had departed out of the world under the Father.
He could say I have finished the work which thou has given me to do. He hadn't even gone to the car. It's all in vicivatory like you say. Even when he said I am the way, the truth and the life that hadn't come yet. But he was the way to the Father. There was no way to the father unless he died and and brought us into relationship. He's the truth as to the father. He manifested him while he was here, he said.
He tells him, Thomas, uh, have now been so long with me and no, it's not the father. So and he is gives the life that we can enjoy the father communion with the father. So he's the way the truth and the life. Oh, that's not common history. But as we say, John anticipates and so.
00:55:00
He writes outside the realm of time. Yeah. Yeah, that's good.
So verse 16 begins with an end that doesn't separate versus.
15 and 16 it assumes that there is that new life and desire to do his commandments, and there is the Spirit of God as the power of that new life hadn't been given yet but was characteristic of Christianity when it was, uh, coming to full display in the book of the Acts. I will give, pray the Father, and he shall give you.
Another comforter, beautiful word. It's the same word we have in first John chapter 2 and it's translated in our Bibles as advocate. It's one who represents us. We have one advocate in the presence of God, the Lord Jesus. We have another 1A comforter or an advocate here with us.
Uh, uh, representing us and acting for us. Wonderful truth.
That he may abide with you forever.
The Spirit of God will be with us forever. Never again will there be a time when the Spirit of God will not dwell in US completely. Wonderful truth.
Then he expands on that. He says even the spirit of truth. It's interesting. The Spirit of God sometimes is mentioned as the Spirit of God, sometimes the Holy Spirit.
But here it is the spirit of truth. It's in connection with the revelation, the complete revelation that we have of God as the Father.
Even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him. And notice this last part, for he dwelleth with you.
The Lord Jesus was there and the Spirit of God had filled him, so he was with them. But then notice the last phrase is shall be in you. That's future because it was on the day of Pentecost that the Spirit of God came down and dwelt in them. And from that time forward, a believer who in this day accepts the Lord Jesus as his Savior.
Believes the gospel of his salvation according to.
Uh, Ephesians 113 when he believes the gospel of his salvation, he sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, and the Spirit of God never again leaves that person.
Is that collective?
Vernon was simply that when he says he is with you, that is the truth that was at that moment he was the Spirit of God was with them in that he was in the Lord Jesus. He filled the Lord Jesus. He's with them and shall be in you and I would say that is.
The truth that we are brought together by 1 Spirit, By 1 Spirit have we been baptized into one body?
The Spirit of truth in the Lord.
But he was trying to come individually.
Indwell them because.
So I I think that the Spirit of God did not indwell them collectively at that time, did they? No, but he.
Was with them collectively. That's the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the context here, it's int, it's individual, isn't it? John isn't taking up here the subject of the church collectively. It's the individual believer and the resources for them individually. Now there's plenty of scriptures when we go on to Paul's ministry and so on. And when you go on to the book of the Acts and you read what happened to show that the Spirit of God did come to do 2 Things.
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To dwell collectively in the Church of of God, the new unit that was formed on the day of Pentecost, and individually in each, in each believer. So we find in Corinthians 2 Things collectively where the temple of the Holy Ghost and individually our bodies are the temple of the of the Holy Spirit. So those two things are true, but in the context here, it's a very, it's intensely individual.
Does that in the new translation, uh, read for he shall allow with you, or does it does it take well with you?
It says verse 17 in the new translation says the Spirit of truth, whom the well cannot receive, because it does not see Him, nor know him, but ye know him, for He abides with you, and shall be in you.
I like this expression, the comforter, and it's beautiful to see that it's the advocate of Bob pointed out, but I like it the way it is right in our King James Bible for this reason. And it's really part of the it's really the thought and that is that the Spirit of God sent down on the day of Pentecost has come down to meet us in our present need to minister Christ to us mainly in as to our present need. And what did the disciples need at this time?
They need a comfort and so he's telling them there's gonna be an another comforter. The Lord comforted them on the occasion. He was the comfort of their hearts. At the beginning and ending of the chapter, He says let not your heart be troubled. He gives them these things for their comfort. But he says, I'm not gonna be with you the way I have been, but I'm not gonna leave you comfortless. I'm gonna send down Ano another comforter. And rather is there someone here who needs comfort today? Your heart is sorrowful.
Something's happened in your life, you can be comforted because the Spirit of God has been sent down as another comforter. Now we have the Lord as our comfort too. We have the Father as our comfort too, and there are scriptures that bring that before us. Isn't it wonderful that the whole Trinity is interested in your comfort? Whatever sorrow you've been passing through, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are there to give you that comfort that's needed.
I was thinking about it to answer, uh, to Eric's question. Uh, it wasn't answered pretty well, but there is a scripture about you, the commandments not being, you know, bringing us into legality. That's not what it means. Umm.
And that's not what we have here is there's a.
Is John and the epistle's dawn. It says his dawn says later on. It's a magnifying lyrics, so they're not verbatim wireless. So it's a very positive thing. And uh, you know, we want to try to put ourselves under all kinds of rules. How I'm amazing myself. I always want to check to make sure I'm doing good enough. We all have this thing inside of us on the left and our quest profits. Nothing business is uh, but that's he doesn't want that for he doesn't want to put it under his diversion whatsoever.
50 uh, one draw apart after himself you want them to find accusing him. So we want to, uh, desire to do it out as well, but give the thing.
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He knew exactly the same from the very beginning.
He also tells us that he and his father are one, so we can presume that he knew.
The Father's heart and what the Father's will was for him.
But I'm kind of perplexed by this verse in loop.
Where he said in Luke chapter.
22.
He prayed and he says, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me.
Nevertheless, not my will, but mine begun.
Is that brother?
What I have enjoyed in that prayer is I'm not sure if we can use the word dilemma, but the Lord Jesus was facing the cross.
He was a completely holy, intrinsically holy, and the thought of being made sin was so totally.
Outside of his experience that he just shrunk from it, everything in him shrunk from the thought of being made sin for us. But in Luke's Gospel, you have the struggle there in the Garden of Gethsemane greater than in any the other gospels. That's where it says, uh, he sweat as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground, but in the complete submission.
Of a completely, uh, submissive man, some completely, completely, uh, proper man, he vows to the will of God and goes forward. And so it wasn't doubt he knew what that will was. But somebody has said it. If he hadn't have shrunk from that cross, from that thought of being made sin, you might have had reason to believe if he was completely.
Intrinsically holy, but in the submission to God.
He vows and says, not my will, but thine be done. So in the Gospel of Luke, when it comes to those three hours of darkness on the cross, you don't have the cry of abandonment because he was so completely submissive to the will of God. I mean, it is extremely beautiful to think of it in that way. I don't think there was any doubt there.
You might say delimit in that the same way as in John's gospel where the Lord Jesus comes to the point and says.
Uh, father saved me from this hour for this cause came I into this hour. And so there was those two things that were in play, but a completely perfect man met that situation. Incomplete perfection. What beautiful.
Of the characteristics of our present day brethren. The presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Today we, uh, in US collectively and individually, and to me it seems so important that we be sensitive as to the presence of the Spirit of God with us and in US collectively.
And individually, what does it mean to be led by the Spirit? What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? Is there a consciousness of that in our lives? Brethren, that's why the Spirit of God is here. He is the power of that new life that we have now that we are believers in this present dispensation. To me, it is the most wonderful thing to think of. The Spirit of God dwells.
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In US collectively, do we give him liberty to guide us in our assembly meetings and This is why I honestly value increasingly the rating meeting. Do we have the fleshiness? Yes we do. Do we make mistakes? Yes, we do, but thankfully there are brethren and the Scripture says let the prophet speak to or three.
And let the others judge. And that's what we're doing here. There might be something that I say that is not quite right, but there are other brethren that are going to say, brother, here's another verse. And in that way the truth is maintained. It speaks about the assembly in First Timothy chapter 3 of being the pillar and ground of the truth. The assembly is not the truth. The assembly is the pillar and ground of the truth. That's where the truth should be made pain. That was God's purpose.
But it is in assembly meetings like this that there is the, uh, ability to uphold the truth of God. And I think it's so important that we do give liberty to the Spirit of God in our assembly meetings.
To uphold that precious truth here it is called the spirit of truth. He will not give testimony.
To what is false and I often think, and it's interesting, brother, and sometimes in our meetings things are said that are not quite right.
The Spirit of God in you and in me are not going to give testimony. And I've often heard somebody say that didn't ring true. Why didn't it? Because the Spirit of God gives testimony to the truth of God and.
It's it's a wonderful thing to give him his place in that way.
197.