The Help the Spirit Gives

(John 14:15-31)

I. Introduction.
A. Orientation.
This morning,
We saw how we can know
That we have really trusted the Lord
That we have gone beyond
Simply knowing and believing,
But have closed savingly with Jesus
From the heart
And that is through our obedience.

If there is anything weve learned from the Reformation

Its that we arent saved by our works,
But by faith in Jesus and His works alone.
But I hope its equally clear
From what we saw this morning
That we cant be saved apart from works:
They are the evidence that we really love Jesus.
Jesus says, If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

B. Preview.
The disciples already loved Jesus

2
And had shown that love
Through their obedience when He said this
Which means they already had the influence of the Spirit in their lives.
But Jesus went on to talk
About a further work of the Spirit He was about to send:
He their present Comforter was about to leave;
But He would send another Comforter
One that would dwell within them,
And would be with them forever.

He was talking about the promise of the Father

That He would pour out on the Day of Pentecost.
What He describes here is the difference
That day and that outpouring
Would make in the lives of His disciples.
Most of these things continue into the present,
And so they are things
That we not only can experience,
But things we should experience
In our walk with the Lord.

This evening,
Lets consider the blessings
The Lord has given us

3
Through the outpouring of His Spirit.

II. Sermon.
A. First, Jesus says the Spirit would take over the ministry
He had been providing to that time
Only His ministry would never come to an end.
Jesus tells us in verse 16, I will ask the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that He may be with you forever.

The word helper means

Someone who provides protection or security.
Jesus had been their Guide and Shield to this point
But the help He had given in His earthly ministry
Was coming to an end
He was about to leave and return to heaven.
But He would not leave them defenseless.

1. Who was this Helper?

Jesus says He is, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with
you and will be in you (v. 17).
Jesus is the truth,
So not surprisingly,
His Spirit is the Spirit of truth.
He is the One through whom Jesus had given His truth
Through the OT prophets
And the One who would lead His apostles into all the truth

That they might complete His Word.

This particular ministry He would provide

Would be exclusively for them
Not for the world
Well see later His ministry to the world
Would be one of conviction.
The world could not receive
The ministry of the Spirit Jesus was speaking of
Because it didnt see Him or know Him
They were still in the darkness of sin.
They first had to be born again of the Spirit.

But the disciples knew Him

He was already with them;
He was at work in their lives;
And there was One already with them
Who was just like Him: Jesus.
When Jesus said, He who has seen Me has seen the Father (v. 9),
He could just as easily have said, He who has seen Me has seen the Spirit
They are not all the same Person,
But they all share the same character.

The Spirit was already with them

5
But notice Jesus says He would be in them.
This may be describing the difference
In the Spirits work before and after Pentecost.
The Spirit was with them now,
Working His graces in their hearts
Making them love Jesus and His ways,
But then He would be in them
Taking up residence in their hearts,
Making them the living temples of God
When the earthly Temple became obsolete at Jesus death.
The difference in the Spirits ministry
Is usually characterized as more
Its the same, only now with more power
This is what makes it more powerful.

Jesus was leaving,

But He would not abandon them
He would come to them in the person of the Spirit.
He says in verses 18-20, I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me;
because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My
Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

He could have been referring here to His resurrection

That they would see Him again,
After His crucifixion,

Alive from the dead

But He was more likely speaking of
The way He would now dwell within them.
They would no longer see Him with their physical eyes
At least after He went to heaven
But through the eyes of faith.
When the Spirit came,
They would know that what Jesus said was true:
That He was in union with His Father,
That they were in union with Him,
And that He dwelt in them by His Spirit
And having His Spirit in them,
They would not only continue to live after they died,
But one day His Spirit would also raise them from the dead
He would protect their souls and bodies.

2. How did they know they would receive this Spirit?

That He would come and remain in them?
Because He was already with them
Jesus said that was evident because of their love for Him,
Which could be seen through their obedience.
We read in verses 21-23, He who has My commandments and keeps them is
the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and
I will love him and will disclose Myself to him. Judas (not Iscariot) said to
Him, Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself

7
to us and not to the world? Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves
Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come
to him and make Our abode with him.
When Jesus tells His disciples
That He and His Father would come and live in them,
He was speaking of the Spirit.

B. What would the Spirit do for them when He came?

1. First, He would continue to guide/teach them
As Jesus had done for them earlier
But He would also help them remember what Jesus said.
Jesus says in verses 25-26, These things I have spoken to you while abiding
with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My
name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I
said to you.
This is how they,
Paul (whom the Lord would later call),
And their associates (Luke and Mark),
Would be able to remember and understand
What Jesus said and did,
So that they might write
Their Gospels and letters to the churches
So that Gods people
Would have their Lords instruction for all time.

2. Second, He would give them peace.

Jesus told them earlier not to be troubled

By the fact He was leaving,

By what they would have to face without Him
But to believe in Him and His Father
That They would work everything together for their good.
The Spirit was the One
Who would bring that peace home to their hearts.
Jesus says in verse 27, Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as
the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it
be fearful.
Notice, they would still have their part to play
They would have to believe the Spirits testimony.
But it would be much easier to believe it
With the Spirit testifying in their souls
Than it would be from the pages of a book.

3. Third, because He was sending them the Spirit

Who would bring them these blessings
They could rejoice:

Clearly, Jesus was going to the Father,

But He was also coming to them again
In the person of the Spirit
As He poured Him out from heaven,
As He tells us in Luke 24:49, And behold, I am sending forth the promise of
My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with
power from on high.

This power/blessing was cause for rejoicing

Because with it, they could carry on His work.
Jesus says in verse 28, You heard that I said to you, I go away, and I will come
to you. If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the
Father, for the Father is greater than I.

When Jesus says the Father is greater than He,

Hes referring both to His divine nature
Since Jesus was speaking from His human nature
And His role as Servant in the work of Redemption
He submitted Himself to the Father
He doesnt mean that in His divine nature
He is anything less than God.

4. Finally, all this would serve to strengthen their faith.

Jesus concludes by saying something He said earlier:
Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may
believe (v. 29).
He wanted to comfort them,
But He also wanted to confirm them
To confirm them in who He is
That they might continue to trust in Him
In what He had told them to do
So that they might follow it
And in the success He promised them

10
So they would be encouraged to move forward.

5. He finishes by telling them in verses 30-31, I will not speak much more with
you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; but so that
the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father
commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.

His time with them was now limited

There was more He needed to teach them,
But that would have to wait for the ministry of His Spirit
The ruler of this world was coming
The devil, who usurped the world from Adam
To accuse Jesus
Though he had no grounds to do so.
But Jesus would face him and his accusations,
Be condemned and go to the cross
That He might carry out
What His Father sent Him to do
Because He loved Him
The disciples should move forward with Him as well.

Application: So what does this mean for us?

Jesus isnt with us today
As He was with His disciples
Nearly two thousand years ago
But He is with us as He was with them

11
After He ascended into heaven
By the presence of His Holy Spirit.
We have a Helper/Protector
Who is just like Jesus,
Who shares the same nature as He and His Father,
Who cares for us as They do,
Who lives in our souls,
And who will be with us forever.

If you have trusted Jesus

Because you love Him,
And if your love is genuine
As shown by your obedience to Him,
Hes there, in your soul
Hes the reason you trust Jesus,
The reason you love Him,
The reason you obey Him.

If Hes in your soul,

You also have One who teaches and guides you,
Just as Jesus did His disciples.
He doesnt reveal new truths
As He did to them
Or give you infallible recall

12
Of what Jesus said and did
But He does help you
To remember and understand
The truth He has already given.
He also helps you to see
The love of Jesus shining through it,
So that you want to do
Whatever He says.

If Hes in your soul,

He also grants you peace in knowing
That what Jesus promised is true
Everything will work together for your good,
Because you love Him.
The assurance He gives
Isnt always as strong and clear,
But it is there,
And it will help you during the most difficult times in your life
To be confident of His love towards you.

If the Spirit is present in your soul,

He has also given you the power to serve Him,
And gifts with which to serve Him,
So that your life will be fruitful in the Lords service.

13

And if Hes there

He will continually confirm His promises to you
Giving you the courage to move forward
In your service to Him.

Jesus is in heaven,
But He is very much present on earth
He is with us
In our souls
To help us serve Him.
That should give us every reason to rejoice. Amen.

http://www.gcmodesto.org