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John 14:18
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16 And I will pray the Father, and aHe will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—  
17 athe Spirit of truth, bwhom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you cand will be in you.  
18 aI will not leave you orphans; bI will come to you.  

Indwelling of the Father and the Son

19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but ayou will see Me. bBecause I live, you will live also.  
20 At that day you will know that aI am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  
21 aHe who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and1 manifest Myself to him.”  
22 aJudas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”  
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, aand We will come to him and make Our home with him.  
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
<< John 14:17   John 14:19 >>

What Does John 14:18 Mean?

This prophecy anticipates a time when Jesus, not yet died, resurrected, or glorified, would come to His disciples through the Holy Spirit. A condition for receiving the Spirit is keeping His commandments. The Spirit is described as being both with and in believers. Before conversion, the Spirit is with a person, drawing them to Christ; without this miraculous work, enmity against God and spiritual confusion would prevent conversion from beginning. Our calling is a tremendous act of mercy. For the disciples, the Spirit was with them in Christ, teaching and guiding, but would be in them literally beginning at Pentecost in Acts 2. Having God's Spirit means living in His presence, for God comes to make His home in us, making us temples.




John 14:15-18

This is a prophecy. When this was spoken, Jesus had not yet died, so He had not yet been resurrected and glorified. Thus, the Spirit was not yet given either. He shows another condition (in addition to the ones in John 7:37-39) for the giving of the Holy Spirit: "Keep My commandments."

Notice that the Spirit is described as being with and in. This clarifies the matter of coming to Christ. We have to be called and to respond. If we fail to do the latter, even though God's Spirit is "with" us—leading us to Christ—it will never be "in" us unless we respond and meet the conditions.

For the disciples at the time, the Spirit was with them—in Christ, teaching and guiding. However, a time was coming when it would be in them, literally. This did not occur until Pentecost, in Acts 2. So it is with us: The Spirit is with us before conversion, and it is by this means that God brings us to Christ.

If God did not do this miraculous work, the enmity against Him (Romans 8:7)—coupled with our spiritual confusion—would never permit the process of conversion even to start. Our calling is a tremendous act of mercy on God's part; it is a miraclethat we even respond. If it were not for that—for God's mercy in choosing us to be called—we would never make it off the starting block. God has to work a tremendous miracle even to get us to be willing to come to Christ and begin to learn.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twelve)


 
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