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Jesus the Way to the Father
John 14:8-17 and 25-27
Good News Translation (GNT)
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8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father;
that is all we need."
9 Jesus answered, "For a long time I have been
with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
Why, then, do you say, 'Show us the Father'?
10 Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the
Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I have spoken to you," Jesus
said to his disciples, "do not come from me.
The Father, who remains in me, does his own
work.
11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father
and the Father is in me.
If not, believe because of the things I do.
12 I am telling you the truth: those who believe in
me will do what I do - yes, they will do even
greater things, because I am going to the
Father.
13 And I will do whatever you ask for in my name,
so that the Father's glory will be shown
through the Son.
14 If you ask me [d] for anything in my name,
I will do it.
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
15 "If you love me, you will obey
my commandments.
16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you
another Helper, who will stay with you forever.
17 He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about
God. The world cannot receive him, because
it cannot see him or know him. But you know
him, because he remains with you and is [e]
in you.
25 "I have told you this while I am still with you.
26 The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in my name, will teach you everything
and make you remember all that I have told
you.
27 "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my
own peace that I give you. I do not give it as
the world does. Do not be worried and upset;
do not be afraid.
Footnotes
John 14:14 Some manuscripts do not have me.
John 14:17 is; some manuscripts have will be.
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Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)
Jesus the Way to the Father
John 14.8-17 and 25-27
Philip still didn't understand. According to the Old Testament,
no one had ever seen God face to face.
Now Jesus had just said, "You have seen him" (verse 7).
Therefore, Philip answered, "Let us see the Father, and we'll believe."
In Philip's mind, Jesus was only a man.
He still didn't understand that Jesus was actually God Himself.
Jesus gently rebuked Philip. "Do you still not know who I am?"
He asked Philip.
Philip had known from the first day he met Jesus that Jesus was the Messiah.
But he had never really seen God in Jesus.
Then Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."
Jesus was the revelation of the Father.
Those who look at Jesus without faith see only a man.
Those who look at him with faith see God.
Even for us today, Jesus remains the revelation of God,
even though He is no longer present with us in bodily form.
Through the reading of the New Testament, together with the help of
the Holy Spirit, we too can see Jesus.
Philip should have known that the Father was living in Jesus,
because the works and the words of Jesus clearly came from the Father.
Jesus had said, "The Son can do nothing by himself".
When we see Jesus' works and hear His words,
we are really seeing God's works and hearing God's words.
The faith of a Christian has two parts.
First, we must believe in Jesus Himself personally.
Second, we must believe that what He has said is true.
But Jesus knew that the disciples' faith was weak.
So He said, "Even if you can't believe my words now,
at least believe the miracles I have done.
My miracles will show you who I am".
Jesus never despised weak faith;
after all, most Christians start out with weak faith in the beginning.
But faith must be strengthened, or it will not endure when trials come.
Then Jesus gave His disciples a great promise:
They would do greater works than He had done.
But when Jesus said that His disciples would do greater things,
He meant mainly that they would bring more people to God than He had brought.
These greater works would be converting works.
On the day of Pentecost, about three thousand people believed
through the preaching of the apostles.
That was more people than had believed during Jesus' entire
three years of public ministry.
The disciples needed the Holy Spirit in order to do these greater works,
but the Holy Spirit could not come to them until after Jesus had died
and gone to the Father.
Today also, Jesus' disciples, through the power of the Holy Spirit,
are continuing to do greater things than Jesus did.
Jesus' promise is for us too!
In order to do mighty works, the disciples would need to pray.
In order to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, we need to pray for it.
We need to pray for it in the name of the risen Christ,
with whom is all authority and dominion in heaven and on earth.
Jesus said, "I will do whatever you ask in my name."
"Whatever" we ask in Jesus' name He will do!
There are no limits to the power of prayer.
We usually ask Jesus for such small things.
But He can do anything. He can do more than all we can ask or imagine.
Let us not set limits on Jesus by our small prayers!
To pray in Jesus' name means to pray in His stead,
to pray as His representatives on earth.
When we pray in His name, we pray with His authority.
We pray for His sake. We pray according to His will.
When we pray in this way, Jesus will do whatever we ask.
It does not matter whether we pray to Jesus or to God;
they both hear and answer together.
Everything Jesus did on earth was to bring glory to the Father.
Everything He does through us is also to bring glory to the Father.
Therefore, the purpose of our prayers and requests must be to glorify God.
If what we ask for is not going to glorify God, Jesus will not do it.
God doesn't only hear our prayers - He looks at our whole life.
If we do not live our lives for His glory,
He will not believe us when pray for His glory.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God
But we ask: Who can live all day solely for God's glory?
We can't do it, we say.
True, in our own strength we cannot.
But we have no excuse, because the power of the Holy Spirit
has been promised to us.
But we must pray for it.
Through the Holy Spirit's power, we shall be able to lead,
lives to the glory of God.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit (14:15-17)
Just as the proof of faith is obedience, so the proof of love is also obedience.
It is easy to say to Jesus, "I love you," but we must then prove it by our actions.
Christians obey Jesus, not because they are obliged to, but because they want to.
If we love and obey Jesus, He will send us another Counsellor, the Holy Spirit.
If we are not experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives,
it is because in some area of our life, we are not obeying Christ.
All of our spiritual knowledge, our spiritual strength, our spiritual joy,
peace, and love come from the Spirit. Our new birth, our new spiritual life,
comes from the Holy Spirit.
After His death Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to take His place,
so that the disciples would not be left alone.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit was sent to do the same things that Jesus Himself did on earth.
The world, that is, the world of unbelieving men, cannot accept the Spirit.
Those who do not accept Christ cannot accept His Spirit.
JOHN Chapter 14 v25-27
There were many teachings of Jesus that the disciples could not fully understand
while Jesus was with them on earth. But after His death, the Holy Spirit not only
reminded the disciples of Jesus' words and actions, but He also taught them the meaning
of those words and actions.
The Holy Spirit does the same for us today.
Even though we now have the New Testament in written form, we still need the help of the
Holy Spirit to fully understand it and to apply it to our daily lives.
The Holy Spirit is still today the chief guide and teacher of the church.
But remember, the guidance of the Holy Spirit will never contradict or oppose the teaching
of the Bible in any way.
If anyone receives any teaching that is contrary to the teaching of the Bible,
let him know that that teaching is not from the Holy Spirit.
One of the greatest gifts Jesus left with His disciples was peace.
This was not the kind of peace that the world gives.
The world's peace depends on outward circumstances. It is a false peace. It doesn't last.
The world's peace lasts only as long as there is no trouble or sorrow or fighting.
As soon as any kind of trial comes, immediately the world's peace vanishes.
But Jesus' peace is spiritual peace.
First, it is peace with God.
Second, it is an inner peace in our hearts and minds.
Even though outer trials come, Christ's peace remains in us.
Third, Jesus' peace is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
As long as the Holy Spirit is in us,
the fruits of the Spirit will also be in us
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