LOVE BY OBEYING
John 14:15-17 NET.
15 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. 16 Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever — 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you.
I imagine that if you stopped everyone in this county and asked them if they love Jesus, the vast majority would say yes. We live in a world that apparently loves Jesus – billions of us. But how do you know if a person’s love of Jesus is genuine or not? That is where today’s text can help. It says that people who genuinely love Jesus are going to demonstrate that love. What’s more, it says that the way they will demonstrate their love for Jesus is concrete and easy to recognize. It says that genuine lovers of Jesus obey his commandments.
We have been studying the commands of Jesus here at Piney Grove for three years now. We isolated each command and examined it in its context to discover its full meaning and how it can be applied to our lives today. But that is the easy part. Jesus didn’t say “If you love me, you will learn my commandments. No, the way we truly demonstrate love for our Lord is to obey them. The Greek word is τηρέω, which means to keep. You keep a commandment by doing what it says to do or not doing what it prohibits. A commandment is a special message from God. But we can only keep commandments when we take that message and let it alter our lives. That is what it means to keep it. Once you encounter the commandment, if you had been breaking it, you repent of that rebellion, and you own it. From that time on, you are changed by that act of repentance.
We learned that Jesus gave many commands, and we have had to meet him at the altar regularly and deal with each one. The more we allowed the command to challenge us and change our behavior, the more like Jesus we became. The more like Jesus we became, the more love for Jesus grew inside us. We have discovered a more profound commitment to Jesus and a stronger appreciation for him with each trip to the altar. What Jesus wants is for us to learn the habit of letting him change us each time we encounter a command from him. We learn to love Jesus by obeying him and our love for him grows as we allow him to keep reviving us with his commands in God’s word.
In today’s text, Jesus identifies three ways that we can know if this process is really going on in our lives. We all want to be the real thing, not just people who appear to be obedient Christians. We want to be actually obedient Christians.
First, only obedient Christians truly love Jesus (15).
Jesus said that if we love him, we will obey his commandments. He did not say that if we put our names on a church membership list, he would accept that as a substitute. He didn’t say that if we had family members who were obedient Christians, we could be accepted on the basis of their obedience.
Love is loyalty. Lots of people admire Jesus and approve of his words. But that does not mean they love him. Jesus himself gave the evidence that would indicate if a person truly loves him. True love is a commitment. Since Jesus is a king, the kind of love he requires is the love of a loyal subject. Our generation has problems with that kind of love. They want a Jesus they can like, but not a Jesus whom they have to obey. They want the other Jesus. They want a Jesus who will accept them on their terms. They want to do what they want and get Jesus thrown in as a minor side-project.
The world wants Jesus without all those costly commandments. They want a baby in a manger, but not a prophet pronouncing tragedy coming upon the rebellious. They want a good shepherd as long as the shepherd does not mind them straying off on their own and getting into trouble when they want to. The only problem is that a good shepherd will not allow his flock to stray. He disciplines the unruly. The world doesn’t want a Jesus like that.
But those who genuinely love Jesus invite him to take control of their lives. They realize their need for him and are willing to do anything he asks them to do because they know obeying him is the only way they will ever know true freedom.
The world does not mind the idea of a Jesus who accepts them just as they are. They do mind a Jesus who insists on bringing them back into a relationship with his Father. That would involve change. They don’t want a Jesus who wants to change them.
Only obedient Christians can truly love Jesus because they are the only ones who want to be saved. Salvation is not possible without repentance, and repentance does not happen without change.
Second, only obedient Christians can accept the Advocate (16,17a).
Jesus used the word Advocate for the gift of the Holy Spirit here. The actual Greek word in verse 16 is παράκλητος. This word is variously translated in different versions as Helper, Advocate, Comforter, and Counselor. It speaks of a person who is called alongside another person to assist them.
The best way to understand how Jesus uses that title for the Holy Spirit is to keep in mind that Jesus intended the Holy Spirit to do what Jesus did while he was here on earth. He had a ministry of discipling and he gave us his Holy Spirit to continue that process after he ascended to heaven.
Jesus said that he was going to ask the Father to give us the Holy Spirit. We know from the Book of Acts that he followed up on that promise. The Holy Spirit descended visibly upon the obedient Christians in Jerusalem at Pentecost. Ever since then, the Holy Spirit has been available for all true Christians to help us grow in our faith and to empower us to disciple others. That is an amazing gift, and the fact that people still keep coming to Christ after all these centuries is evidence that He has not lost his power.
Now, Jesus said in verse 17 that the world cannot accept this gift. He is earmarked for only truly obedient Christians. It does not matter how much an unbeliever might want the Holy Spirit; they cannot have Him. The seven sons of Sceva in the book of Acts wished to use the Holy Spirit’s power, so they tried to invoke the names of Jesus and Paul to access that power. The demons replied, “I know about Jesus, and I am acquainted with Paul, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). A man named Simon approached Peter and tried to purchase the Holy Spirit with money. But Peter said “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could acquire God’s gift with money! (Acts 8:20). There is only one way to accept the Gifty of the Holy Spirit. It is given to repentant, obedient Christians.
Finally, only obedient Christians can possess the Advocate (17b).
Jesus went on in today’s text to explain just how his apostles were going to receive this Advocate. He said that He already resides with them and will be in them. The Holy Spirit was not absent from the world before Pentecost. But He came to work his power alongside[1] those whom he decided to bless. After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was still capable of showing God’s power alongside others. But he could also work through obedient Christians because at Pentecost he came inside.[2] them.
Thus, the Holy Spirit has two ongoing missions. He is the Advocate for every believer, assisting them in learning and putting into practice Christ’s commands. He is also the empowerment that enables every believer to proclaim the gospel to the nations.
He is available to you and me. If we need more wisdom to walk according to the commands of our King, the Advocate is there for us. If we need the power to fulfill the great commission, the Holy Spirit is in us. Jesus told the watching faithful that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). That same Holy Spirit is provided for us, to accomplish the same mission. He is also available to help us obey our King.
LORD, we acknowledge what the Scripture teaches. The Holy Spirit is within us. Empower us through your Holy Spirit to be obedient to our Master and, by so doing, to show that we love him.
[1] Greek παρά.
[2] Greek ἐν.
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