Jn 14-1

How to follow Jesus: Armed with faith and hope in His work

Context: After disclosing the plan about ‘one flock with one Shepherd’ (Jn 10), its goal (resurrection and eternal life, Jn 11), the way to get there (by ‘dying with Christ’, Jn 12), the guide on that road and the marks whether we follow Him (Jn 13), Jn 14 now teaches to look to the Holy Spirit not only for love, but also for faith and hope as additional indispensable pieces of armor for a spiritual war in the heart.

Read: John 13:36-14:31

• If it was simply to warn them of his death, why describe the hereafter by emphasizing that they cannot go there? Why state the obvious that this body cannot enter heaven, if this were really all he wanted to say? They already knew that (Jn 11:24).
• If it were only to comfort them by the hope of resurrection (vv2-3), why emphasize instead that in the meantime He will have to first come invisible to this world, v19? =>

• How does that compare to what Jesus taught here in v23?
  • Hint: Why did Spurgeon not say “to earth“?
  • Why and how is the church tempted time and again to try to establish ‘heaven on earth‘, even though such attempts are doomed?* cf Jn 18:36
• Read again Jn 14:21-23. According to v22, is spiritual warfare about ‘bringing heaven to earth’, or ‘only’ to souls, or both?
• Did Jesus promise the Holy Spirit here as armor to convince an unbelieving world of the gospel by a display of ‘miraculous’ healings?** Why, or why not?
  • What else did he promise, v2+v17?

• What is this war about, and where does Jn 14:1 locate its battlefield? [A war in the hearts of believers against Satan’s attempt to make them abandon the new life and give up when facing trouble]
• How was Jesus’ own heart tempted with trouble here, Jn 13:21? [Consider how it would test your faith in God if one of your associates betrayed you, and if you knew that your traitor had been chosen for that very purpose by God himself in whom you put your trust?
• Of what trouble did Jesus warn his disciples, v1? [cf Jn 13:38 sin, especially of denying Jesus]
• How can we be certain that spiritual warfare (i.e. the business of the Holy Spirit in us) is not to be waged by miraculous healings or other displays of supernatural powers to the world, v22-23?

• Why does Jesus add here “believe also in me? [cf Jn 3:14-18; Eph 6:16; Isa 40:28-31]
• How might that apply to you? How do you distinguish a general faith in God from a faith that specifically believes also in Jesus? Is the difference about the ‘number of gods’, or about the kind of god we believe in? Why?
• How do vv6-7 explain what it means to “believe in Jesus”? How does that differ from what even the devil believes?
• What helps or hinders you to believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father?
• How was faith in Jesus essential to bring you to God in your own experience?

• Why is it impossible to actually come to the Father if one does not believe that Jesus is ‘the way, the truth and the life’?
• Why is faith in Jesus so essential if you want to win the spiritual battle mentioned in v1?
• vv10-11: What did Jesus do to convince Philip that God can indeed only be found through him?
• v10: What role did Jesus attribute to his own prophetic word in this process? i.e. what are the ‘works’ worked by his words, v10? cf Ro 10:14

• What works (and even ‘greater’ works) could Jesus possibly have had in mind?
• Some commentators believe that these works are miraculous signs: Are they mistaken? What speaks for or against their idea?
• One bible verse comes close to their view: Mk 16:17 (this passage is missing in many ancient manuscripts). Even if that text is genuine, does it really say that “whoever believes will perform signs”?
• Read Acts 4:29-30 and 1Cor 12:29. What did the followers of Jesus teach on that subject? [a) signs are from God who may or may not do them. b) Paul asked rhetorically whether all work miracles, implying that his answer was a resounding no: Not all are supposed to work miracles. cf also Jn 10:41-42 where the Evangelist emphasized the fact that even John the Baptist led many to faith without performing signs
• If all who ‘walk in the Holy Spirit’ were promised to perform even greater signs than Jesus, what would that say about the ‘faith’ of those who admit that they work no such miracles?

• What works that are truly done by all believers, irrespective of spiritual gifting?
  • Which ones are described by the immediate context? v1  [Fearlessness], v15 [Lasting love]; cf 1Cor 12:31-13:8; Jn 10 (Ps 82) [Victory over unrighteousness and injustice].
  • How? v11; Why? v12 [spiritual union, prayer, cf Eph 6:18]

• Is v12 for you a promise to grow in faith, or a criticism of your faith as inferior or impotent? Why?
• Where does v13 direct you to find strength if you trust Jesus, v13?
• How do you determine whether your prayers are prayers “in His name”? cf Mt 6:9-10
• What helps (or hinders) you to cultivate such prayer?

PRAYER: Thank God for the Holy Spirit and his work in believers that they grow in love, faith and hope. Pray for those tempted by persecution or deception to abandon faith and to give up hope in the face of tribulation. Pray for discernment if the work of the Holy Spirit, and how you can partake in it by encouraging and serving one another. Pray for growing in the confidence that the Spirit works out God’s purposes through the prayers of those who trust and pray in the name of Jesus.

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* Another way to understand why this present world must first pass away, as described by John elsewhere (1Jn 2:16-17; 4:4-6) is by asking yourself: If it could not receive heaven’s owner (v27), how could the present world be expected to be more welcoming of heaven itself?

** This is arguably the defining implicit and explicit assumption underlying the so-called Prosperity Gospel and related offshoots such as the self-declared ‘New Apostolic Reformation’ (formerly Third Wave movement).  

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