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On my heart, brethren, to connect our chapter.
With the afternoon address.
And I want to spend a few minutes to do so. I believe they are perhaps.
Far more connected than without thinking about it, we might realize.
In our chapter we have, as we had before, a journey to a destination, and the Lord Jesus was preparing his disciples for that time when he would no longer be physically with them.
And he would be going to the father's house, and they would be separated from him in that way. And so he prepares them, and he brings before them.
The importance of recognizing that there were certain things that they didn't have.
Unless he went away.
That's very significant, that for their blessing, for their good, He was going to be separated from them and they were going to receive as a result. And I'll just bring out one connected with the sun, one connected with the Father, and one connected with the Holy Spirit.
If you'll turn back a couple of pages to chapter 10.
And this has to do with the sun.
John, Chapter 10.
He says in verse 11.
I am the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the shape.
Here's the Lord Jesus.
As the Good Shepherd giving his life for the shape.
And he says I don't know if I can find the verse instantly.
I am.
Come that they might have life more abundantly.
10 verse 10. Thank you verse 10.
I am come that they might have life more abundantly.
That more abundantly is directly connected with what we had in the last address.
It was necessary for him to be separated from them, to go to the cross, to die, to be raised from the dead, in order to bring to them life more abundant.
And that life more abundant.
Was.
Characterized by life and resurrection.
And to go one step behind beyond resurrection life in John's way of presented it, yet I think it hasn't even better expression than resurrection life, and that's eternal life.
He had to die and in that way be separated from them in order to bring them into life more abundantly. Which was.
Described as resurrection life, yes, but also eternal life.
Because man was created initially in the first creation, directly connected with time.
In fact, to him We just Sang was expressing things of eternity. But we're so used to it we don't have words to express it. So it said endless ages roll.
In other words, when time shall be no more. But we don't know what that means in reality.
But God, in the infinite nature of his love toward us, is going to take us into being into a place and condition with Himself that's no longer connected with time.
It's connected with what himself he is as eternal, and consequently he says this to them because if you John's gospel gives us a mixture of time and eternity and many of the truths of the gospel, you can't pin down the time. They bridge time and eternity.
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And their nature and their character. And he says to.
In chapter 3 to John the Baptist, I mean Nicodemus, she must be born again.
And introduces to him eternal life. Did John go home that day and say I've got eternal life?
You had no understanding. He went home and perhaps that day he was born again.
But being born again, he had no sense of the blessing that's connected with what's eternal. The next chapter, in chapter 4, the Lord beats the woman at the well and the Lord blesses her soul and clearly she gets life. She goes to tell everyone, oh, I've got eternal life.
Know if she had no clue, she had no understanding in that way. She just knew that this person, he said I'm going to you need a well of water in you and so on. And she needed something and she got it. But in truth, she didn't really know what she'd gotten in in in its true sense of the word. And so as you trace it through John's Gospel.
Did the disciples the very end of the gospel right to the time of the Lord's death?
If you'd asked John, John, even the one that wrote it, John, do you have eternal life? Your master's been talking about it for 3 1/2 years. You know what, John? I believe what I had to say, no.
I don't really know.
And.
The same was true of Peter and the rest.
They were being brought into a place of having life more abundant.
What they really didn't have the understanding of it until after the Lord's death and resurrection, because it wasn't until after death and resurrection that they were brought into the knowledge of what they had and the abundance of it in his character. And so in our chapter, it's necessary that I go away and it connects with.
Lord Jesus and He after his resurrection, brings them teaching wise into the knowledge and joy and understanding of that character of life. Because when the Lord gives eternal life, it's a life which is outside the realm of time as to its nature and as to its existence.
And yes, when they were born again, they got life of that because he's the giver of that life.
But the abundance of it could not be made known until He Himself had died and rose again. And then it's in that character that they entered into that life, a life in resurrection which in His very nature was eternal, and then the second one with respect to the Father.
In our chapter 14.
It begins with the word.
You believe in God.
You believe in God. They did.
I made a quick count this morning. I may have missed one or two if you go through the rest of the chapter.
I believe at least 23 times he refers to my God.
Or.
To to God himself or the five students Him. I'm gone 23 times. He refers to my father.
Or the father.
But not once does he say your father.
23 times or so he refers to my father or the father but.
And so it's the way it was until his death. Now turn over to Chapter 20.
In resurrection, the very first morning of resurrection.
And what is the very first message of Christ in resurrection?
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Communicating that's connected with if I go away.
We, John 20.
And verse.
16.
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Robot eye, which is to say, Master.
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I'm not yet ascended to my Father, to who my Father pick up from our chapter.
As he repeats, is his father.
I ascend unto my father, and your father.
First time, first person in the history of man.
It was said that to whom that was said. It would never said to Abraham. It was never said to Isaac. It was never said to any person in the history of man until this woman. On what day?
The resurrection day and in resurrection.
They were, as He says, touch me, not because they were being introduced to new creation that would take them outside of time and into a relationship with God that had never been known or realized by any human being in the history of man until this morning.
If you will, the Lord Jesus, I think, couldn't wait almost He had to immediately.
Communicate the blessing that I'm going to not be with you.
I'm going to my father's house. We enjoyed the hymns. The father's house. You and I know it.
As our Father's house.
There wasn't a single person in the history of man up to this point that would ever have said Abraham never said my father's house. He didn't know God his father.
Neither did anybody else, because it wasn't until the death and resurrection of Christ that a work was done that enabled God to bring us into that character relationship.
It had to be into a character that was consistent with his own being as light and love, and until the work of Christ. We couldn't be brought into such a relationship of light and love where sin could not enter, and as such eternal life had no place until it was.
Well, in order not to go on, I'll just briefly.
In back in chapter 14.
With respect to the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of God, as it said in chapter 14.
He told them that that spirit was going to dwell in them and dwell in them forever.
What was necessary that the Spirit be able to do that?
They had to have a life over which sin had no claim.
The Holy, Holy Spirit of God could not dwell in one. He could work on one. He could animate one, as he did for thousands of years, but he couldn't dwell. He couldn't come to live in one who was in the earth, creation as their connection with God.
And so thou the Spirit could.
Receive ye the Holy Spirit as we had in the in the afternoon meeting. He could do that.
Finally, and to his satisfaction and bring them into again, I say I'll just thought I don't want to spend any more time the thought of taking us from what's of time and to what's eternal and giving us a life and a nature which is suited to the Father's house.
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We can be a little bit incredulous or impatient with the disciples, including John.
When we just read from chapter 1 of John, read our way through because we tend to give the disciples credit for reading along with us and being exposed to what we've read. But I think it's helpful.
To realize that John wrote this gospel apparently very late in life. Historians tell us it was 90 AD, which would be.
Approximately 55 or 60 years after the Lord Jesus ascended upon high in the day of Pentecost and so on. And so as an old and aged man LED of the Spirit of God, because the Spirit of God, the Lord Jesus told us that the Spirit of God would would come and would empower them, enable them.
Bring things to their remembrance.
Because as you read through, you say to yourself, naturally, how did they remember all these conversations?
It's the Spirit of God brought to their remembrance, and it's an aged apostle with all the light and spiritual growth.
That he had experienced looking back to what he had gone through walking up and down with the Lord Jesus.
Sleeping where he slept, eating where he ate, going from town to town, from place to place, and all of these words that he heard in the Spirit of God gives him to express that. So I I feel we need to be a little generous to them. I say that in light of verse.
8.
Philip saith And him Lord, show us the Father, and it suffice with us, And we say, Well, that was an unintelligent question.
We're thankful though that he asked that question because of the profound answer that the Lord gave and John is might say, looking back and rehearsing these things which give a give testimony to their own, as dawn is said to their own lack of understanding or capacity at that time. And you and I also have the lens of looking back from all of the scriptures that we have in our lap here and.
To have.
Known that there is such a one as the Father and such a one as the Son, these divine persons, distinct divine persons, but one in the Godhead. We've learned that they at this time it was it was new.
And I would add to that his epistles.
Go beyond his gospel.
In teaching us what we have.
Particularly.
Brought into an eternal family.
The family of God.
And he doesn't develop. It's my father. The relationship we have in the gospel. We can say at the end of John's gospel, my father, God is my father. And I can say I have a father. But in his epistle we learn more. It's a really to me, a revelation. Beyond that, John was given to understand the nature of the family of God that we've been brought into as a result.
What John's Gospel emphasizes of his person and his work.
And so he addresses them in that way as being in the family of God. And so we have.
John was used of God, but the depth of this, the wonder of it, is such that I think that's why it's the last one, perhaps the last inspired scriptures that are written.
And so is bringing us into that which we so we just gradually get a little inkling for.
But we won't really comprehend in it and much fullness until we're there.
Question.
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The Lord is not upbraiding. Philip or the others for lack of intelligence are not paying attention.
There's something else here.
What exactly is it? I mean, yeah, we, we will give the benefit of the doubt that they haven't been reading this along with us, you know? And it's only when the age of 1 puts these things back down, we can see it all in retrospect.
But what is the Lord really saying to them? What was the problem?
They were used to looking at things naturally as they walked with the Lord Jesus. And these are.
Developments or something that is far beyond what they were used to. And I think that's why. And I must say, brother and I find that's the case with us too, that our thoughts are so elementary.
They are so formed by our earthly way of thinking that when these things are expressed, we just kind of barely touch them and.
This this discussion made me think of a time.
Brother Chuck Hendricks was asked by somebody says when we get to heaven, will we see the Father?
And his answer was yes.
How well here it is he that hath seen me.
Hath seen the Father. He was the perfect revelation of who the Father was. And I think that's so tremendously beautiful. So when we look at the Lord Jesus, we see who the Father is. Yes, we will see the Father, and we can see him right now too.
When the Lord Jesus was preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, repent and so on, there are expressions where he says your heavenly Father or refers to.
Uses the name Father, but I believe it was to a Jewish mind and there is a passenger too in the Old Testament where the.
The prophet speaks of God, the God that they knew as Father.
But that is distinct from the revelation of the person, the divine person of Father that awaited the revelation of the New Testament. And this as dawn has been outlining out for us the the the sonship that we have by the Holy Spirit and dwelling whereby we cry ABBA Father and the knowledge of a believer that there is.
A father.
Let alone my father.
And also the sun that that revelation of the distinction.
Divine persons along with the Holy Spirit, that's new and new, what we call New Testament.
Truth I believe and so I think that is is is why Philip is asking this question, which it's kind of an honest question and and the Lord's revelation. I remember the first time I read this, it made my hair stand up. He that had seen me has seen the father. We don't want to explain John by using Paul necessarily.
But Paul.
In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
And so as John says here.
The Sun. It was the United thought of the Godhead.
That the sun would you might say, be that go go on point. He would be the one that would manifest declare God and throughout the scriptures the Holy Spirit takes a supportive place to to honor and exalt the Son and the Father is.
Content. I hope I'm not overstating to be manifested through the sun. And so here we are as John's epistle.
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We're brought into this fellowship. It's a triangle and we we have the Father and the the exalted Son and the Holy Spirit indwelling. This is the fellowship we're brought into and this is completely new ground that is being spoken about or or alluded to here in this chapter. It seems to me, I hope I haven't overstated any of that, but I think that's.
Excuse. Go ahead.
If the word problem is used with respect to it, the problem I think, is the universal one of faith.
That's the question, He says, and it's right here and in this passage, verse 1, you believe God and then he says tells them you believe God, believe also in me. And so he says some things and there is honesty. Thank God there was honesty in Him and what he said.
But then he says, show us.
I've got to see it for myself. And on the resurrection morning, Thomas says if I don't see, I'm not going to believe. And that's if I don't see with my eyes, I'm not going to have faith. And so he says to them, emphasizing it right here, he says.
Verse 10 He asked him the question, Believe us thou not.
Verse 11.
Believe me.
That is a you in verse 3012. He don't believe it. The the universal difficulty we have is not intelligence.
That is, it's not what we know, and we don't know that comes along. The one of the least intelligent believers on the resurrection morning was Mary, and she's the first one to get the wonderful blessing of knowing it's my Father and your father.
She addresses Him as Messiah. That's how she knew Him on the resurrection morning. There was faith and there was belief in her, but not intelligence. And the Lord was showing that a lack of intelligence is not a real problem to us learning.
What is the difficulty in John and every other? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
And from John 3 and so on the the question of each person that interacted with the Lord is do I really believe on this person or do I not? And.
It's still true today. Yeah, that was true with everybody. It's still true today. You meet, you go out that door, and the first person you meet, you ask them, and the root of the response is going to have to do with their faith, not their intelligence.
Yeah. I was wondering where the previous communication was. That should make him say, you know.
You know, do you believe? And it's in the first verse.
And in the 1St chapter, when they start to know him, the questions raised, well, we'll come and see. In other words, find out. You'll find out for yourself. And from chapter 1 of John, they're being encouraged in that.
When you get to his epistle, Paul, John, if I could put it this way, he assumes you believe.
And then Reveal makes shares with you what he has seen and heard and now understood.
That was what they had and their blessing as part of the family of God.
You forget what we have today. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us because the natural man cannot discern things of God. That is the biggest reason why we understand a lot we did here in this juncture. They were told, let not your heart be troubled. They look at it from the human standpoint. They had trouble knowing that oh, he's going to leave.
But at that point, they are told to believe, to trust in him.
Now I'm going to jump ahead a bit. It's interesting because we talked about God, we talked about the sun, we talked about the Holy Ghost. Well, here is using the word comforter. So he said, I'm not going to leave you comfortless. He's going to send a comforter indirectly. He's answering the question in the beginning. Let not your heart be troubled. Oh, because I'm going to send you a comforter so your heart won't be troubled, but.
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Time, as if you're not gonna understand this as yet, but it will come, that time is gonna come when they will be indwelled by the Spirit, like we have the privilege today of having the Spirit in US teaching us. And that's one of the function, isn't it? Where perhaps on to another subject altogether, like the Spirit of God teaches us about the things of God and leading us to Christ through the Word of God.
So it goes as if it's a complete circle. They don't know it as yet, but they shall and they will.
But the other truth too is the Father and the Son. He emphasized that too, that I'm in the Father and the Father is in me. The Trinity is being explained to them, yet they still don't understand that neither they have seen God because they have seen the Son.
Think of that relationship that we can call God our Father that like has been said is not known In the Old Testament times. Abraham was called the friend of God and wonderful Moses spoke to God, to God face to face, but none of them called Godfather. I must say within a in Psalm 22 That we read often.
On Lord's Day morning.
If you look at it and down through verse.
21 It's all the complaints of the Lord Jesus prophetically, as he contemplated the awfulness of the cross, what it would mean to them.
But notice in verse 21 he says save me from the lion's mouth, and that's the last.
Petition in his complaints, and he says, the second part of verse 21. For thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. How was he heard?
He was heard in Resurrection.
And what does he say immediately?
I will declare thy name unto my brethren. And that's exactly what he did when he started. When he comes in contact with Mary Magdalene, that's been read in this meeting already, that he says to Mary Magdalene, I ascend unto my Father, and your father He declared unto him the name of the Father, and so.
This is something we need to learn to enjoy, brethren.
We speak to the Lord Jesus and that is very proper, but we need to learn to address the Father to enjoy the intimacy of that relationship. We are his sons and daughters and his family. We can address him as Father. I think that's so wonderfully beautiful. It seems like, like I think Don mentioned.
God could not or the Lord could not wait.
But that was the first thing he communicated. I send unto my Father, and your Father. He declared unto the his brethren the name of the Father.
I'd like to just point it out. If it didn't actually say it in the Bible, it would have been blasphemy.
You know they picked up stones to stone him at one point. Was it Johnny?
For making God.
His father.
Declaring deity. Now my my orthodox brother-in-law didn't like it very much. I said, So do you refer to God as ABBA? Oh, you know, he gave me a really sour look and he said Ave. national father, you know, but not ABBA.
Wondering, and I hope this is not out of place, but we read in John 20 of my Father and your father, my God and your God. I think of the precious promise in Revelation 21, seven. It doesn't use the word Father, but it's definitely implied. He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he will be.
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My son, the word father is not there, but that definitely is.
Implied in the thought of fatherhood there and.
Hope that is not irrelevant.
That will be our enjoyment through eternity. You will not only be God, but that we will be His Son.
No way going to be able to go verse by verse in the chapter so I'm going to pick a verse, make a comment or two on and not try to follow.
Any chronology, if you will?
It's connected with.
Verse.
21.
Be that half my commandments, and keepeth them. He 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.
Verse 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If any man loved 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.
Going to make a practical comment about it without trying to get into the what we might call the doctrinal side of it, and it's this.
The measure in which we are going to enjoy the truth that we've had in this reading meetings, in this conference with respect to.
Subject matter that is before us here is directly connected with.
Walking in obedience.
And our happiness and our enjoyment of these things, and our peace.
These things do, and the God of peace shall be with you.
Our enjoyment of our relationship with God as our Father, with the Lord Jesus is directly connected with walking in obedience. And if I walk, say yes, I'm going to heaven, but I want this. I want. We may not say it, but we live it.
Something else is the focus of our attention and our hearts.
We are not going to enter in much into the enjoyment of this the truth that we have. God has to occupy us with ourselves when we're not walking to please Him and when we are walking in obedience.
I delight as he said, I delight to do thy will.
Oh my God, that was a perfect expression of what the Lord Jesus delighted in in his life was to do the will of the Father and when we are submissive and obedient in that way.
The practical result is the enjoyment of these things. Because he's free. The liberty of the Spirit is free to bring us into the enjoyment of them. But if.
We're walking our own way. The energy of the Spirit is the Lord abandoned us? No, He's just as much with us as whether we are or not walking obediently. But in the ways of God He does. He has to occupy us or occupy His own energy with bringing us into conformity rather than bringing us into enjoyment.
If you go back to the Old Testament example of Jacob, there was faith in Jacob. There was an appreciation.
Of the promises of God.
Boy, he didn't enjoy a whole lot of his life in fellowship with the Lord.
He was the Lord had was to constantly having to work with him because.
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He he wanted to get the blessing his own way and he was, if you want to characterize his life, he was a schemer.
I think we had otherwise and it was could we say?
Our times are in thy hands regardless. Yes they are.
Make one quick comment about that him I enjoyed as it was some the first 3 verses of that hymn. Our times are in thy hand are with respect to whom?
Who were they first 3 verses? Who were they in respect to when we say our times are in my hand?
We set it to somebody who we say it to or sing it to.
Father, we wish them there. The first 3 arts of the Father, the last three are to the Son.
And so the first three our times are in my hand, Father. We wish them there.
The first four.
Jesus the Advocate or Jesus crucified one and then chapter verse 5, Jesus our advocate.
And so we're we're in the Father's hands and we're in the Son's hands regardless, but the enjoyment of it is directly connected with fellowship with God.
Just to add to that, him was the thought to that not only the first 3 addressed to the father, but the first family. If you look at it, you can summarize what one word called dependent upon the father. The second stanza he can use that word for submission, which we don't often practice that. And the third stanza, if you can use one word to sum it up is confident. So we have to have dependent.
Submissions then we have confident and there's more. I don't want to prolong that with the Lord himself.
Speaking about the Holy Spirit, when he uses the word comforter, it's the same word as advocate that's used in first John 2IN relation to the Lord Jesus, it's one who represents us completely, but just want to draw attention to something that's helpful in verse 17 says even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not.
Neither noreth him.
But ye know him, and this part is what I'd like to comment on, for he dwelleth with you.
The Spirit of God was in the Lord Jesus. Of course, he came on the Lord Jesus at his baptism, and so he was with them. He was an indwelling them. Yet that couldn't happen until redemption's price had been paid. But then it says and shall be in you. That's future.
So it was only after the Lord's resurrection that he actually.
Could come upon them and that happened at the day of Pentecost. Although it's interesting what brother Bruce was bringing out that.
He breathed on them and said, Receive ye Holy Spirit. In other words, he was communicating through the Spirit of God that life in resurrection, just as he had breathed into man's breast, the nostrils, the breath of life. That was natural life.
Now in resurrection, he breathes on his disciples and communicates to them that resurrection life that we now enjoy.
You know, it's interesting we live in, as you've been talking about a most magnificent time, right? Because we are sealed.
With the Holy Spirit, we have the Holy Spirit inside of us and as we've been talking about that He will teach you all things. And so we are so abundantly blessed more than anytime ever in history because of the Lord's work at the cross. But then also just like on when the Lord came upon the two on the road to Mayus, He made as if he would go further. And so in our lives too, He we know that you can quench the Spirit or grieve the Spirit.
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So as Don was talking about, for us to appreciate these things, we really need to, as John the Baptist said, he must increase, but I must decrease. So if we can get to that.
State in our hearts, so to speak, and we know all the other scriptures where they can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I can. Without Him I can do nothing and everything else. But we don't always apply that in our lives and the Lord does not force it in our lives because we can quench a spirit, but we have an opportunity.
To really put ourselves in the background and bask in the sunshine of His love. And the most magnificent thing that's ever happened that when we were dead in trespasses and sins, the Lord came here to redeem us. And now we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. He's given us this wonderful book that contains all things that pertain to life and godliness. But then in our lives, you know, the enemy can come in and whisper things and we have to think about where.
Coming from and I don't mean the enemy is very subtle and so you have to examine yourself and say is is this really a thought of the Lord or is this the enemy trying to discourage me distract me, put me on a wrong path. And I've been visiting with others and people have heard me talk about it in this room too often that the the one of the greatest tools of the enemy is discouragement because.
If if you keep hope, and we have every reason to be hopeful both in this life and the life to come because.
As another said, hope when it comes to God is a deferred certainty. It's not hope as we think about it. And so someone was talking about it that we measure things. I think Bob was saying we measure things kind of horizontally. But we have a new life. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. So all of us have this opportunity.
And as we walk in it, and I think, you know, I'm sure at different times in our lives, we've all experienced.
That you have had these periods where you really enjoyed the Lord deeply in your heart, maybe you know, and hopefully maybe very privately, but sometimes publicly. And it gives you a peace and a joy that passes understanding, right? But then all of a sudden the cares of this life come along. The enemy whispers some things. We get a little discouraged, we get a little distracted, but the secret is then to turn our eyes upon Jesus.
And and avail ourselves of all that we have and like, Jude says.
Keep yourselves in the love of God.
You know right it says now by the faith, hope and love these three, but the greatest of these is love. And so God is like God is holy, but his love is so awesome, so infinite, and it is available for all of us to bask in as we journey on here waiting for his return. And so we can take courage, be hopeful, be a blessing to one another, speak words of life and and have our lives transformed because we are in Christ and is a new.
And we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. So we are so abundantly blessed. And that should fill our hearts with joy as we carry on. But of course, if you're like me, you know, maybe a few days from now might not be as enthusiastic, but hopefully I come back to that and you too.
Just want to go back a little bit perhaps for some of us who are a little bit slow in understanding.
I think someone mentioned those three questions in there and I thought that was a good framework to help us summarize the chapter. I thought that was a good way to put it. The first question was in verse 6. Thomas raised that question. Lord, we know not whether thou goers and how can we know the way. And I think we spend a bit of time on knowing where he has gone and.
Perhaps if you are not clear on that, there'll be some reading to do afterwards.
And then the second question was in verse 8, Philip that we just spend a lot of time in the last few minutes speaking on the question Phillips has was show us the father and it suffice of us, and I trust that that was answer to understand the father, we have to understand a father and a son working together that they manifest each other and to know too that we mentioned about.
For turn the Holy Ghost, that too is sent down from the Father by the Father. And then one more question in verse 22. That will be Judas, and specifically tell us not Iscariot. Is it Lord? How is it that thou will manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
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And I trust that over the next few minutes, if we don't have to answer, that will be answer shortly.
It's interesting because.
He speaks in verse 21, My commandments.
In verse 23, my words.
And.
It's interesting because if you go to John's epistle, you have that same.
Distinction, My commandments, my words. And so he says in verse 23, If a man loved me, he will keep my words, and my father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. That word abode is the same word that is used in verse 20, verse two of our chapter.
The word mansions is really a boat. It's the same word. In other words, an abode that is being that is he said would be prepared for us, but in verse 23 is a place of an abode. The Father and the Lord Jesus will come and make our their abode with us.
And it's through keeping.
Not only his commandments, but his word. And I'd like to just say that his commandments, there's things that he specifically tells us to do or not to do. And there's many commandments in the New Testament. It's not just 10 commandments, it's many commandments.
Rejoice evermore. That's a command, isn't it? Do you rejoice always, Brother David?
But that's a commandment, isn't it? And I like to think of it that way. But what's the difference between his commandments and his word?
And I like to think of his word as the expression of his mind, of his thoughts. And he wants us to share that, not merely the commandments, but his thoughts. And I sometimes put the illustration, if there's two boys in a family, one of them always obeys his father when he gives them a command, but he's not that close to his father.
But there's enough. The other boy is obedient too, but he's close to his father, and he's talking with his father about all his father's thoughts and desires. And which of those two boys has more confidence to come and to make a request of his father. It's going to be the second one because.
He's one who has cultivated his father's confidence.
And knows his thoughts about things. That's his word is the communication.
Of his thoughts and so it's not only keeping his commandments, but it is keeping his word. And in that there is a special.
Blessing in that the Father and the Son will make their abode with him. Just let me point it out in first John chapter 2, that same distinction. I find it interesting. Perhaps others have something to say about it too. But notice in verse.
Four of first John 2 and verse four. He that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar.
And the truth is not in him and verse.
Let's see here.
Good, thank you. But whoso keepeth his word, in him, verily is the love of God perfected. So there seems to be a further step of enjoyment if we not only keep His commandments, but keep His word. It's acquaintance with God's thoughts.
In his word.
That's the direct.
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Answer to the question in verse 22, How is it that that will manifest thyself unto us and not under the world?
Does the Father and the Son come to abide in a person of the world?
Of course not.
And if they don't, then they're not manifest in the heart.
So God manifests in our hearts, He makes himself known in our hearts in a way that a person of the world has no idea, no sense. There's not manifested to them what we have in our own hearts.
If you talk to a person of the world that doesn't know the Lord Jesus.
That Scripture teaches many things that's in there incapable of knowing, understanding, appreciating, caring about the things that might be the most precious of your life. And you can speak to an unbeliever and all the intellect in the world can't understand it. It's not a matter only of the intellect, it's of the heart.
And if we don't have hard knowledge, then our head knowledge of the Father and the Son is.
Useless. It's incomplete in that way, and so the Father and the Son are not manifest in the relationship here unless there is.
The relationship itself has to be there. Another thought in verse 22, and this is showing where they were coming off of Israelite ground, is that to the Israelites with their earthly promises. If God was making manifest, it would be obvious in the world. Worldly prosperity, worldly blessings.
And that's what the world is looking for today too, in the Christian life. How does this do me any good? How do I find? How does this benefit me? And the answer is that for us today, there may not be a worldly benefit, a visible benefit of God manifesting himself to us. There's something much greater when he's abiding in our hearts.
One question, one question I'd like to.
Press here in the verse 31, he says that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, Even so I do. Is this the only place where the Lord Jesus says I love the Father?
I can't remember of another flood, but maybe somebody can.
Since our time is up, homework.