John 14:1-31

A place for you. Knowing God. Show us the Father. Ask me anything. If you obey my commandments.

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JOHN 14:1-31

A PLACE FOR YOU

… I am going away to make ready a place for you. ³ And if I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be too. (John 14:2-3)

These verses can be a great source of comfort for those who may be going through challenging times.

KNOWING GOD

⁶ Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7)

Jesus explains the essence of eternal life in this way: “Now this is eternal life - that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.” (John 17:3) Therefore, based on verse 7, knowing Christ means knowing God the Father. Knowing Christ entails being clothed in His complete righteousness, allowing you to approach God’s throne of grace.

SHOW US THE FATHER

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be content.” ⁹ Jesus replied, “Have I been with you for so long, and you have not known me, Philip? How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:8-9)

The interpretation aligns with the one provided in the “Knowing God” section above.

ASK ME ANYTHING

¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me, believe because of the miraculous deeds themselves. ¹² I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:10-14)

As indicated in verse 10 above, the miracles that Jesus performed originated from “the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds.” Nevertheless, the verses mentioned raise a couple of questions for believers. Jesus states that they will accomplish “greater deeds” than he did, and he also assures them that he will carry out “whatever you ask in his name.”

Greater deeds

What actions could be considered greater than the miracles of raising the dead, restoring sight to the blind, and feeding thousands? Perhaps the greater deeds involve guiding others to Christ so they may attain eternal life. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, he performed miraculous acts that impacted physical life. However, during that time, the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to believers. Without the Holy Spirit, there can be no true life.

Whatever you ask

Jesus promises that he will fulfill whatever you ask in his name. This is a challenging topic to address, as some individuals or belief systems might take it at face value despite their experiences suggesting otherwise. Certainly, God works miracles quietly in the lives of believers according to His divine providence, but it doesn’t happen every time, and He doesn’t always grant every request. So, how do you resolve this apparent conflict?

There is, however, a crucial aspect that can help us navigate this dilemma. Jesus did mention that, in order for Him to answer our requests, we must ask in His name. This raises an important question: what does it mean to ask in His name? Is it simply by saying “In Jesus’ name, Amen?” Or does it involve asserting the authority of believers, if they indeed possess such authority? Could it be that many Christians assume they can stand in Jesus’ name without proper authorization?

Is it possible for a Christian to be in Jesus’ name when making one request and not be in His name with another? More often than not, they may not truly be in Jesus’ name when making their requests.

Alternatively, could it be that most Christians mistakenly believe they are genuinely in Jesus’ name? To stand in the name of Jesus means to represent Him accurately as He is. Can any human, despite being declared righteous without personal merit, adequately represent the Most High? This might explain why we don’t witness more miracles in the course of our Christian lives.

Stating that you are acting in God’s name is a significant declaration. Contemporary prophets often make proclamations in the name of God, but the peril lies in doing so without explicit divine authorization. Such actions may constitute blasphemy.

This could be a subtle way in which Jesus hints at why he doesn’t respond to all our prayers. To make a request in Jesus’ name, the impulse to pray in that manner must originate from God himself.

Finally, even if God were to grant all our requests, can we be certain that every one of our petitions aligns with His will and His divine plan for our lives? Shouldn’t we trust that the Father knows what is best for us?

Subsequent chapters might offer further insight into the implications of acting in Christ’s name.

IF YOU OBEY MY COMMANDMENTS

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. ¹⁶ Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever (John 14:15-16)

As indicated in these verses, the prerequisite for receiving the Advocate, without whom eternal life is unattainable, is adherence to the commandments. This essentially reiterates what Jesus mentioned in chapter 5, verse 29:

“²⁸“Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹and will come out - the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation. (John 5:28-29)”

Jesus continues to allude to the Old Covenant to urge them to transition to the New Covenant. If you persist with the Old Covenant, can you have confidence that you will experience a resurrection unto life rather than facing condemnation?

The New Covenant simply requires faith in God and the cross:

²⁴“I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life.”

As a result, verse 15 mentioned above pertains only to those who are still under the law. If you believe that you can fully adhere to all of God’s commandments, you are more self-deceived than the young ruler depicted in Mark 10. You may argue that you don’t have to adhere to all of the commandments, only as many as you can manage. However, James warns: “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10).

If you have moved into the New Covenant, you are set free from the constraints of the law.

But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code. (Romans 7:6)

(Next study: John 15:1-27)

Nghi Nguyen

- Scripture quoted by permission. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.