NLT Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 59
page 1833
8Philip
14:9
John 1:14, 18; 12:45
2 Cor 4:4
Col 1:15
Heb 1:3
14:10
John 5:19; 10:38;
17:11, 21-24
14:16
John 14:26; 15:26
14:17
Rom 8:15-16
1 Jn 3:24
14:18
Rom 8:9-11
2 Cor 3:17-18
14:20
John 10:38; 15:4-5;
16:16, 23; 17:21-24
14:21
John 15:10; 16:27
1 Jn 2:5
2 Jn 1:6
14:22
Luke 6:16
Acts 10:41
•
J ohn 1 4
said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
9Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know
who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to
show him to you? 10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The
words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.
11Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because
of the work you have seen me do.
12“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done,
and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14Yes,
ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit (214)
15“If you love me, obey* my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will
give you another Advocate,* who will never leave you. 17He is the Holy Spirit, who leads
into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t
recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in
you.* 18No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19Soon the world will
no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20When I am raised
to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
21Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And
because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself
to each of them.”
22Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord,
why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”
14:15 Other manuscripts read you will obey; still others read you should obey.
14:16 Or Comforter, or
Encourager, or Counselor. Greek reads Paraclete; also in 14:26. 14:17 Some manuscripts read and is in you.
offers full and complete satisfaction to those who follow him. He is, in
truth, the only living way to the Father.
14:9 Jesus is the visible, tangible image of the invisible God. He is the
complete revelation of what God is like. Jesus explained to Philip, who
wanted to see the Father, that to know Jesus is to know God. The search
for God, for truth, and for reality, ends in Jesus Christ. (Also see Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:1-4.)
14:12-13 Raising the dead is about as amazing as anyone can get;
how could the disciples do anything greater than that? The “even greater
works” would come because the disciples, working in the power of the
Holy Spirit, would carry the Good News of God’s Kingdom out of Palestine
and into the whole world.
14:14 When Jesus says we can ask for anything, we must remember
that our asking must be in his n ame—that is, according to God’s character
and will. God will not grant requests contrary to his nature or his will, and
we cannot use his name as a magic formula to fulfill our selfish desires.
If we are sincerely following God and seeking to do his will, then our
requests will be in line with what he wants, and he will grant them. (Also
see 15:16; 16:23.)
14:15-16 Soon Jesus would be leaving the disciples, yet he would
remain with them. How could this be? The Advocate—the Spirit of God
himself—would come after Jesus was gone to comfort, encourage, guide,
and intercede for the disciples. The regenerating power of the Spirit came
on the disciples just before Jesus’ ascension (20:22), and the Spirit was
poured out on all the believers at Pentecost (Acts 2), shortly after Jesus
ascended into heaven. The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God within us
and all believers, helping us live as God wants and building Christ’s church
on earth. By faith we can have access to the Spirit’s power each day.
14:16 The word translated “Advocate” combines the ideas of comfort
and counsel. The word could also be translated “Comforter,” “Encourager,”
or “Counselor.” The Holy Spirit is the very power of God in us working
for and with us.
14:17 The following chapters teach these truths about the Holy Spirit: He
will never leave us (14:16); the world at large cannot receive him (14:17);
he lives with us and in us (14:17); he teaches us (14:26); he reminds us
of Jesus’ words (14:26; 15:26); he convicts us of sin, shows us God’s
righteousness, and announces God’s judgment on evil (16:8); he guides
us into truth and gives insight into future events (16:13); and he brings
glory to Jesus (16:14). The Holy Spirit has been active among people from
the beginning of time, but after Pentecost (Acts 2), he came to live in all
believers. Many people are unaware of the Holy Spirit’s activities, but to
those who understand Jesus’ words and the Spirit’s power, the Spirit gives
a whole new way to look at life.
14:18 When Jesus said, “I will come to you,” he meant it. Although Jesus
ascended into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to live in believers, and to
have the Holy Spirit is to have Jesus himself.
14:19-21 Sometimes people wish they knew the future so they could
prepare for it. God has chosen not to give us this knowledge. He alone
knows what will happen, but he tells us all we need to know to prepare
for the future. When we obey his words and live by his standards, we show
that we are his true followers. For his followers, he promises he will not
leave us; he will come to us, he will be in us, and he will show himself to
us. God knows what will happen, and because he will be with us through
it all, we need not fear. We don’t have to know the future to have faith in
God; we must have faith in God to be secure about the future. If you have
not yet become a follower of Jesus, or still have real questions about him,
ask God to reveal Jesus to you. He could come to you through a friend,
an insight from the Bible, an inner prompting in your spirit, or some other
way. But he will come and reveal himself to you if you ask.
14:21 Jesus said that his followers show their love for him by obeying
him. Love is more than lovely words; it is commitment and conduct. If you
love Jesus, then prove it by obeying what he says in his Word.
14:22-23 Because the disciples were still expecting Jesus to establish
an earthly kingdom and overthrow Rome, they found it difficult to understand why he did not tell the world at large that he was the Messiah. Jesus
confronted Judas by saying that those who truly loved him would know
who he was. Not everyone, however, could or was willing to understand
Jesus’ message. Ever since Pentecost, the Good News of the Kingdom has
been proclaimed in the whole world, and yet not everyone is receptive
to it. Jesus saves the deepest revelations of himself for those who want
to truly know him, love him, and obey him.