Known Day 5 Parakletos: Digging Deeper
July 14, 2023
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
John 14:16-20
19 In a little while the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live too. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you.
The Original Intent
1) What does verse 16 teach us about a triune God?
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you Another …” Three persons are mentioned in this verse. Jesus tells His disciples He will pray to the Father to send the Spirit. Though not a biblical term, these three Persons are often referred to as the Trinity.
In studying other religions, you’ll discover Christianity is the only religion which believes God is triune existing as a singular deity in three persons who are equally God. If you’re unfamiliar with teaching about the Trinity, it may be a confusing concept, but Scripture clearly teaches God exists in three Persons or Beings. (Matthew 3:16-17, Matthew 28:18-20, John 15:26-27, Acts 10:37-38, Titus 3:4-6)
Tim Keller refers to this relationship of three-in-one as “the Divine Dance. The Trinity means that God is, in essence, relational. Three persons in dynamic orbit about each other, a dance of love, delight and adoration. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit glorify each other. At the center of the universe, self-giving love is the dynamic currency of the Trinitarian life of God. The persons within God exalt, commune with, and defer to one another.
When early Greek Christians spoke of perichoresis in God they meant that each divine person harbors the others at the center of his being. In constant movement of overture and acceptance each person envelops and encircles the others.” (Tim Keller, The Reason for God)
There is no perfect human illustration of how the triune God functions; what we do know is the eternal nature of God. He is the One who would be with them forever via the Spirit’s presence. (verse 16)
The human nature of Jesus would no longer be with the disciples, but He was sending them a spiritual Person who would never leave them! Interested in further study of the Trinity in easy to read language? Try “Delighting In The Trinity” by Michael Reeves!
The Everyday Application
1) What does verse 16 teach us about a triune God?
It is impossible to rightly apply Scripture’s teaching regarding the Holy Spirit without a proper understanding of its teaching about the three-Persons God. Though it is not an easy doctrine to wrap our minds around, it is an essential one if we want to understand the work of the Spirit in our lives.
There are misunderstandings about the authority of the Spirit as it relates to the Trinity. This has led to a wrong view of the very nature of God, eventually leading to a skewed perspective concerning authority and submission in other areas of the believer’s life. The Trinity is not comprised of three greater and lesser gods. Though we may not be able to completely understand or explain it, there is one God who exists in three distinct but equal persons. (Philippians 2:5-6)
Confusion has led many to see the Spirit in a 3rd place position of inferiority within the Godhead. We must not think of the Trinity as company heads with a President, His VP, and the secretary. In doing so, we have neglected the authority of the Spirit: God Himself!
Francis Chan writes with anguish, “From my perspective, the Holy Spirit is tragically neglected and, for all practical purposes, forgotten. While no evangelical would deny His existence, I’m willing to bet there are millions of churchgoers across America who cannot confidently say they have experienced His presence or action in their lives over the past year. And many of them do not believe they can.” (The Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit)
The Spirit is not less powerful than either the Father or the Son. The Spirit of God has always been in existence. Sister, if you’re spending time with God, you’re spending time with the Spirit! (Jude 1:20-21)
The Original Intent
2) Who is the Spirit of truth and how will they recognize Him? (verse 17)
Verse 17 says of the One who will come, “He is the spirit of Truth.” The term “Another” in verse 16 translates a Greek term (allos) that means “another of the same kind.” This counselor, “one called alongside to help,” is like one who would serve as an advocate in the Roman legal system. (studylight.org)
Jesus had been their Helper, Friend, and Advocate physically present in the flesh. They had even seen Him speak to the wind and waves on their behalf. (Mark 4:35-41) Jesus is saying He will send Another Counselor (Greek, “paraklçtos“) who is like Himself. One full of truth just like Him. (John 1:14, John 14:25-26) This is how they will know He is the Spirit of God. A form of this same Greek root (parakalço) is used of God the Father in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.
The verb form of this word (parakaleô) is found in several places in the Old Testament. For example, the psalmist and prophet spoke of this kind of comfort and rescue by God. (Psalm 69:20, Isaiah 35:3-4) Jesus told His disciples they would recognize Him. And while the Spirit’s presence brings comfort, courage, and truth, we know Satan’s presence brings the exact opposite!
He pits himself against the Spirit by bringing confusion, doubt, and lies. (Genesis 3:1, Job 1:9-11, 1 Peter 5:8) The world is blinded by these, but Jesus assures them they will know the Spirit because He has been with them, making Himself known. (verse 17)
To know Jesus is to know the Father and the Spirit. Now, when Jesus physically leaves, it will be even better because the Spirit will dwell with them permanently. Jesus may not be in the boat with them, but the Spirit will!
The Everyday Application
2) Who is the Spirit of truth and how will they recognize Him? (verse 17)
From beginning to end, the Holy Spirit is active in the big story of the world. At the beginning of the story, He was there creating us. At the end of the story, He is there calling us to Home with Him.
The Spirit of God came and went in unique ways in the Old Testament, but His presence is both evident and undeniable. (Genesis 6:3, Numbers 27:18, 2 Samuel 23:1-2, Ezekiel 2:1-2) It’s unlikely that talk of the Spirit was totally new to Jesus’ disciples. They had likely read or heard the passages of Scripture referring to the Spirit of God.
We don’t know how much the apostles understood in that moment, but they would come to understand the Spirit was also their Lord and their God. He was not merely a vague vapor or mist. He was not a force or an energy. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God personified! (bible.org)
“If you or I had never been to a church and had read only the Old and New Testaments, we would have significant expectations of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If we read and believed these accounts, we would expect a great deal of the Holy Spirit. He would not be a mostly forgotten member of the Godhead whom we occasionally give a nod of recognition to, which is what He has become in most American churches. We would expect our new life with the Holy Spirit to look radically different from our old life.” (The Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit)
Since we have read #HisWordsBeforeOurs and believed Him, let us boldly ask for our lives to be radically changed by the Spirit.
The Original Intent
3) How will Jesus be with His disciples if He is leaving them? (verses 18-20)
Jesus is sharing with His disciples on the day before His death. It seems they kept missing exactly what Jesus was saying to them about His departure. (John 14:1-5, John 13:33, John 14:12, John 16:4-5) Though it appears they weren’t really listening, Jesus is reassuring them again. (verse 18)
There will come a time when it would all sink in, and they would need to remember these comforting words. Jesus demonstrates the kindness of a parent by telling them He will provide for them when He’s no longer there. (verse 19) Jesus doesn’t mention His death at this point, though He has before. (Matthew 16:19-21, Luke 9:21-22, Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 26:1-2)
In the next few days, He would die and be raised to life and return to Heaven. (Acts 1:7-9) Though He’d be absent in body, Jesus would be present with them by His Spirit; and though He was going back to heaven, He would return again to gather them. (Matthew 25, Mark 13:26-27, Acts 1:11) Putting all this together, we can understand why the disciples were probably a combination of confused, troubled, and dismissive. They could not possibly fully grasp all that was to happen to Jesus, nor did they want to think about Jesus leaving them.
What comfort these words would eventually bring “in that day…” (verse 20) Jesus had a nature which could not die. As God, His presence would never leave them. Thankfully, they wouldn’t need to remember all this by themselves. To comfort them with this truth, the Holy Spirit would come to stay forever and He would continue to remind them of everything Jesus had taught them. (John 14:25-26)
The Everyday Application
3) How will Jesus be with His disciples if He is leaving them? (verses 18-20)
Have you ever considered the significance of having a counselor who is just like Christ? Sister, imagine what it would be like to have Jesus walking beside you in the flesh, functioning as your personal guide through life.
What peace would come from knowing we would have constant access to perfect truth and flawless guidance. I can’t fathom the benefit of having Jesus here physically. I rejoice and wonder at the glorious thought! But, oh sweet Friend, did you see it in all these verses? The disciples had Jesus’ presence. Every day.
And somehow it just wasn’t enough to keep them from sin. What is even more amazing is that when Jesus told them about His departure, He said the Spirit’s coming would be better for them! (John 16:7) I’m not sure believers have internalized and applied this truth as Jesus intended.
It seems it is mostly head knowledge to many of us, and we have not owned the reality of the Spirit within us. I know there have been many days I have “forgotten God” and the power of the Holy Spirit in my life. “Many Christians, you see, function as deists. They act as if God rules from the heavens and has spoken in his Word, but does not act on earth or move in their souls — at least in any way that they can sense those movements.” (J.D. Greear, Jesus, Continued: Why the Spirit Inside You Is Better than Jesus Beside You)
Oh, how I want to consistently recognize God the Spirit in my daily life and take note of the ways He’s working which may not be visible to the human eye, but very visible to my heart! As believers and followers of Jesus, let’s hear Him clearly and trust Him entirely: Don’t let your hearts be troubled!! (John 14:1)
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