Gospel of John 09.vp

Ses s i on 6: Our Lover , Our Way -Truth-and- L i fe , and Our Vi ne 153

d. To pray as Jesus would were he in our given situation (i.e., John 17; Matt. 6.9-13)

4. The categorical promise: If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it, 14.14.

IV. Jesus Promises the Coming of the Holy Spirit, 14.15-31

Here our Lord promises the coming of the Counselor or Helper which may be derived from an image of an advocate or defending attorney. The Holy Spirit is our Helper, our Comforter, the One called alongside to aid us as we seek to represent the interests of Jesus and his kingdom in our everyday relationships and affairs. The Holy Spirit is “another Helper” like our Lord Jesus, the one who defended the woman taken in adultery (see John 8.1-11) and the blind man who was excommunicated from the synagogue (John 9.35-41), or called to comfort and deliver in the case of Lazarus’s sickness and death (John 11). He is like our Lord – another Helper.

A. The coming of “another Helper” to be with the disciples forever: the Spirit of truth, 14.15-21

1. The sign of authentic love for Messiah: If you love me, you will keep my commandments, 14.15.

a. A common OT idea, i.e., the link between obedience and love for God (e.g., Exod. 20.6; Deut. 5.10, 29; 6.5; 11.1, 13, 22; 13.3-4; 19.9; 30.6, 14)

b. For those in the new covenant of God, the power to obey the commandments was neither rooted in sincere efforts to keep it nor in trying to discover opportunities to fulfill it , but by the enabling of a new heart and a new Spirit from within that would empower the keeper to fulfill God’s law, Ezek. 36.27ff.