TEXT: John 14:15-

SUBJECT: Exposition of John #36: The Spirit's Comfort

The design of this chapter is to comfort the Apostles who are disturbed at the prospect of our Lord's death. For years, He had been their "all in all"; but now He was leaving them. They thought alone and for good.

But this is not true. He is like a groom leaving his fiancee' to build her a home. When he finishes the job, he'll come back for her, and they'll live happily ever after. This is what our Lord is doing for us. He's gone to heaven to prepare us a place. When it's just right, He'll return, and we will be "forever with the Lord".

There is much comfort in these words. But it's a long way off, isn't it? For the Apostles; and maybe for us too. What would they have in the meantime? What do we have? Anything but hope? Yes. In Christ, we have present comforts galore.

What are they? Let's see.

The Holy Spirit, vv.15-17.

Before He comes to the comfort itself, our Lord reminds us of who will have it. It is they who "love [Him] and keep [His] commandments". There is a connection between holiness and comfort. What is it? Our Lord doesn't say. For practical purposes, it's enough to know the two go together. People who love and obey Christ will have His comfort. People who don't, will not have it. This is true of the unsaved, about whom God says. "There is no peace". It is also true of backslidden believers. They're described in Psalm 32: "When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me, my vitality was turned into the drought of summer".

How often have we wished for comfort without love, for peace without obedience! How terrible it would be if God gave them to us! Thankfully, He does not.

What is our present comfort? We needn't guess: "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with your forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you".

Christ is going to His Father. When He arrives, He'll make a request: "Father, send the Holy Spirit". To whom? Not to the whole world, for most people want no part of Him. "Send Him to My disciples"--to those who "love Me and keep My commandments".

Will the Father grant His wish? He already has! Forty days after the crucifixion, our Lord ascended to God's Right Hand. Ten days later the Holy Spirit was sent.

Has He been grieved over the centuries? He has. Have His gifts been abused? They have. Has His ministry been neglected? It has been. But our Lord's prayer was so powerful and the Father's patience is so great, that the Spirit has not been taken back! He "abides with [us] forever"!

The Apostles knew of the Holy Spirit; He dwelt with them in Christ. But now, they would know Him more better. Starting at Pentecost, He would indwell them--and us--in a new and blessed fullness.

A bit later, we'll see He comes to the world as a Prosecutor. He does not come to us, however, in that capacity. He comes as "the Helper". Or "the Comforter"; or "the Counselor"; or "the Advocate" or "the Protector". Each of these words is true, but none captures the whole idea. There is no standard English word to translate the Greek. And, therefore, I'll coin my own. The Holy Spirit comes to us as

"The Alongsider".

He comes alongside to support, defend, encourage, and guide us. Everything our Lord did for the Apostles, the Holy Spirit would now do for them. And for us. They lost nothing by the Lord's departure. We haven't either.

The words are meant to encourage; they do. But they do more than that: they also teach theology. They teach the Holy Spirit is God. After all, how could anyone or anything take the place of God but God Himself? If the Spirit is not Divine, He cannot replace the Lord Jesus in a meaningful way. But He is. And He does.

In the last thirty years, there has been a growing interest in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Overall, I think this is good. But we must beware, lest we allow His gifts to become more important to us than He is Himself. We don't need more of the Spirit's gifts nearly as much as we need more of the Spirit.

"O Spirit, breathe upon these bones

that they may live".

If the hope of heaven doesn't comfort your soul, maybe the Spirit's abiding presence will. If that doesn't do the trick, maybe this will...

The Resurrection, vv.18-20.

The crucifixion left the disciples feeling abandoned. But feelings can't be trusted. They were not forsaken! Christ would--once again--"come to them"--cf. v.18. How? Not by the Holy Spirit (although that's true). He would come to them "in the flesh"--by the resurrection. For three days and three nights, they "saw [Him] no more". But then, they saw Him again. His life gave them life--now and forever.

When they saw the Dead Man raised to life, they knew He was in union with God and they were in union with Him. The life they now had was nothing less than Divine life! In the words of Henry Scougal, they knew

"The Life of God

in the Soul of Man".

This "Life" cannot be explained from the pulpit; it has to be known in the heart. Christianity is not a set of ideas; it is not a moral code; it is not a ritual; it is Life! How do you define "life"? You don't! You live it.

"Awake, you who sleep!

Rise from the dead,

And Christ will

Give you light".

The Lord's resurrection is a fact. More than five-hundred people saw Him alive. If you read about them, you'll see they weren't the superstitious fools they're made out to be. They were skeptical--"slow to believe". One even demanded scientific proof--"Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe". Later, he would say,

"My Lord and my God!"

One witness was worse than skeptical; he was hostile. Yet he too was convinced and began preaching "Jesus and the resurrection".

This is our second comfort for the present time. Our Lord has entered into life, and in union with Him, we have the very same life. Now!

Loving fellowship, vv.21-24.

The third comfort we have in this life is God's loving fellowship. Who has it? The people who obey "the commandments" and "the words" of Christ. The Father loves them and--with His Son--pays them a visit. And never goes home.

Nothing is more enjoyable than the visit of a good friend. The longer the visit, the better the time had. Years ago, I spent a night with a friend talking about everything we could think of--from Dr. John Gill to Bullwinkle! To this day, the hours are precious!

That's precisely what lovers of Christ have with the Father and His Son. They move in with us! And keep us company. Now and forever. "Remove thy foot from the neighbor's door, lest he be weary of thee and hate thee" warned Solomon. This applies to everyone...but God!

"Author of the new creation,

Make our souls Thy habitation".

Summary, vv.25-31.

This chapter is full of comfort. The comfort is ours if we but recall the words of Christ with understanding. Are we able to do that? Yes we are, because the Holy Spirit brings them to mind. It is He who teaches us what we most need to know when we most need to know it.

The consequence is--in a word--"peace". His peace--unlike any other--is real, thorough, and lasting. It is so great that not even the Savior's death can disturb it.

And make no mistake about it: His death is at hand. Satan is on the way. His death, though, will not be the loss it seems to be. It will but prove what our Lord has said from the beginning: that He loves His Father and submits to His every wish with joy.

The Christian life is full of problems. There are "fightings without" and "fears within". But we have more than problems. We also have comforts. And our comforts greatly outweigh our troubles. What problems do we have? Financial? Health? Family? They are real; they are serious. But how do they compare to the other side of the ledger? In addition to our bills to pay, we have the comfort of the Holy Spirit! In addition to our aches and pains, we have the comfort of the resurrection. In addition to our troubled marriages, we have the comfort of God's loving fellowship.

Who knows? Maybe God is bringing these problems into your life so that you'll come to know His comfort in a new and deeper way. One thing is sure: If you partake of the sufferings, you will also partake of the consolation. And in these comforts, one thing will become more and more clear: "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God". He told us these things for that very purpose; so that "when it comes to pass, you may believe". God make us believe. For Christ's sake. Amen.