Trinity – Simply True

The battle for the world when God is Father

Calling God our Father raises a variety of images in our minds. But the image generally preferred in our Christian prayers and songs is probably of God being welcoming, generous in love and ready to meet our needs.

There’s good reason for this because Jesus says our Father in heaven is attentive to us and ready to help.

It’s surprising, then, to see how Jesus (in Matthew’s Gospel) often links God being Father with the coming of his kingdom or rule. It becomes clear that the two belong together.

This is certainly true in the Sermon on the Mount, and now, it continues.

Disciples are spreading news of the kingdom around Galilee. And although Jesus says they will be like sheep among wolves, they need not be worried about how to defend themselves. The Spirit of their Father will show them what to say when the time comes.[i] The Father will meet their needs. And when the battle is over, Jesus will acknowledge his disciples before his Father in heaven.[ii]

Jesus Christ isn’t training his disciples to be heroes, or wimps. He’s teaching them to love and to labour for the kingdom, but also to trust their Father, as Jesus himself does, and to drink deeply from his strength and graciousness.

So, as the disciples continue their kingdom ministry, opposition grows. Sometimes there’s good news.[iii] But there’s also bad news[iv]. Many reject the message of the kingdom. They’ve thought God would ‘dance to their tune’, in the way children expect their playmates to join their game and play by their rules.

And it’s in this setting that Jesus prays a simple prayer of thanks to his Father.[v] And he lets us listen in.

This is enormously helpful for us because the prayer reveals how the Father works. And it shows us how to focus on the kingdom and not be diverted by opposition.

Here’s the prayer.

Jesus gives thanks—I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth.

He’s thankful because—you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to little children; yes Father, for such was your gracious will.

He explains that—All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Here’s two things that are clear.

First, whatever turbulence is being caused by kingdom ministry, nothing is getting out of hand. The Father is Lord of heaven and earth, and Jesus is deeply grateful.

In fact, he’s full of joy. Luke’s account of the same prayer tells us he’s rejoicing in the Holy Spirit.[vi] That would be something to watch—Father, Son and Spirit, watching and delighting in the progress of the kingdom!

If the Father has complete authority—everywhere, he’s not running a democracy! There’s no balance of powers. And there’s no doubt about outcomes. The Father is managing the planet and its peoples.

But he’s using his authority so that arrogant people who don’t want God around can’t get their hands on what’s happening, because they can’t see it!

On the other hand, the Father is revealing his secret to ‘little children’—people who know their need for grace, and their unworthiness to be significant. They know they need God. They are being awakened. They are seeing who Jesus is.[vii] They are recognising that God, the Father, has come to help them and to be with them.

All this is God’s gracious will. He’s using his authority in the interests of love. There’s nothing sinister or unjust anywhere. Everything he’s doing is with a view to his kindness and mercy taking the upper hand. This is how the kingdom grows—one person at a time—by people discovering the identity of the Son and being grateful to the Father for his grace.

We need to join Jesus in this delight. He’s not getting engrossed by our little gains and losses. In fact, he’s just told his disciples not to delight in their mission successes but in their names being written in heaven.[viii]

It’s easy to become obsessed with how well we are going and forget that the battle is always wider and deeper and longer than we can grasp. And it’s easy to imagine that we are the important player in what’s going on!

So, we need to begin all our responsibilities where Jesus does—with our hearts happy in our Father—happy that he is Lord of heaven and earth.

Second, the Father has entrusted everything to the Son. He’s wholly responsible for everything God plans to do. But at the heart of this commissioning is a relationship.

Jesus is not thinking of a list of projects. He thinking about the Father knowing him—the only one who does. And he’s thinking about him knowing his Father—again, the only one who does.

It’s not simple to have a relationship like this. We tend to relate to others with an image of who we are. But with God—Father and Son—there’s nothing to hide and everything to enjoy.

Such knowing can only be the knowing of love—persons wholly focused on the other.

We can understand why Jesus needs substantial time with his Father in prayer. No-one anywhere else understands him! But then, he wants every word and act of his to reflect the Father—so that people seeing him will see the Father.

It’s out of this relationship that Jesus exercises his authority—revealing the Father to those he chooses.

If we read the Gospels, we can see Jesus doing just this. He encounters a vast array of people. He seeks to know each one as they are. And he wants them to know that they are known by the Father in the same way he is known.

In everyday life, if someone tries to be ‘their own person’ without regard to parents, mentors and friends, they tend to become unreal, and probably, deeply lonely. We all need personal relationships that are deep and satisfying. But we are created for more than that. We need to know God—as our Father. We need to know we are known by him.

So, it’s important for us to know that the Father’s kingdom is happening because of a relationship. Jesus calls us all to be known by the Father, and to know the Father.

And now, Jesus speaks directly to us in our need.

Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

There’s a context for what Jesus says here. Pharisees are manipulating God’s law to their own advantage, gaining attention by making out to keep it, and accumulating power by being able to teach it. Living in this environment is wearisome!

They, and we, all need to turn from a religion that starts with us. Any religion or ideology that starts with what we do rather than with the Father who has sent his Son will always be a burden too hard to bear.

We can never steer our way around our fallen nature. We can’t make other people conform to our image of what they should be. We don’t even know what’s really happening—either around us or within us. There’s no rest here!

We need to come to Jesus. And Jesus explains why.

Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Perhaps we are accustomed to hearing these words and they may not be penetrating our sorry lives. If we’re still confident in ourselves, if we’re sure we’ve got the right scheme to change things, we haven’t understood Jesus.

Our persistent turmoil ceases only when we know who is in charge. It’s the Father. And it’s because of this that Jesus doesn’t need a career goal; he’s been given a calling. He doesn’t need to compete; he’s living inside his Father’s promises. He knows the Father—not just knows what he’s like. So, he’s gentle and lowly in heart.

We need to learn from him.

Our Father in heaven is the authority that no-one needs to fear. His headship brings us into his family, with Jesus as our older brother.

There’s much more to learn from Jesus about the Father and we’ll look at this next time, in the Gospel of John.

[i] Matt. 10:16-20

[ii] Matt. 10:28-33

[iii] Luke 10:17-22

[iv] Matt. 11:16-24

[v] Matt. 11:25-30

[vi] Luke 10:21-22

[vii] Matt. 16:17

[viii] Luke 10:17-24

Come to the Father !

How should we approach our Creator? Clearly, this is the most important question we could ask. Jesus says we must come to God as our Father. And, of course, Jesus is showing that he is the way to the Father.

We’ve seen how important this is to Jesus. He lays down his life to sanctify us—so we can legitimately come to the Father as his children.[i]

And now, the apostles teach us who trust in Christ, how we should live before our Father. They commonly address us fellow Christians as ‘brothers and sisters.’[ii] We belong to the Father, and so, to one another.

The apostles have been disciples of Jesus. They’ve learned from him. But this identity as disciples seems to get caught up in the new status given to believers—as children.[iii] We still learn from Christ—eagerly—but do so as those who are in him[iv], and so, in the family of the Father. This is where God wants us to spend our present life, and future.

James Packer, in his widely read book ‘Knowing God’ writes,

’If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. … “Father” is the Christian name for God.[v]

Here are several wonderful truths about the Father that the apostles make clear in their letters. I hope it’s not too simplistic to choose several words starting with the same letter, but it may help us remember who God our Father is.

The Father is the fountainhead and finale of our life in Christ. He’s the focus for our prayer and worship. And he’s the framework of the new creation to which we now belong.

First, our Father God is the fountainhead and finale of our life.

Paul warns the Corinthians, and all of us, about the subtle influence idols can have. Many things in this world are attractive, and seem easier to get than a relationship with God. Because of this, we need, not just to know about God but to know him—that is, to have a relationship with him.

So, Paul says, for us, there is one God—the Father. Everything comes from him, and is for him. And everything he does happens through Jesus Christ.[vi]

The Father and our Lord Jesus are one God. But there are different ways in which they are God to us. The Father is the fountainhead of all things—in creating the world and in saving us. And the Son is the one by whom the Father’s purpose and grace comes to us.

Jesus never wants to be ‘all of God’ to us. He comes from the Father, and her takes us to his Father.

This pattern of from the Father and through Christ is repeated in the way the apostles begin their letters to churches.

Paul asks that grace and peace, or mercy or comfort, will come to his fellow believers from the Father—and through Jesus Christ.[vii]

Peter says we are chosen for salvation, by the Father, to be sprinkled with Christ’s blood. By the Father’s mercy, we are born again with a living hope through Christ’s resurrection.[viii]

And John says the Father’s eternal life is revealed to us through Christ’s coming.[ix]

Without the blessings that come to us through Christ, we would not want to know God as Father, let alone be reconciled to him. We would see him as austere and unreachable. But Jesus washes us clean, dignifies us with his righteousness and floods us with his love. Through him, we want to know the Father who sent him to be our Saviour.

Paul is awed by all this, and worships. ‘I bow my knees before the Father.’ He wants the riches of the Father’s glory to strengthen us—by the Spirit and by Christ dwelling in our hearts.[x]

There’s something more Paul tells the Corinthians, and us. He says everything is for the Father.

Jesus models what this means for us. He’s lived his life on earth for the Father.[xi] But at the end of history, he will present the kingdom—all he has labored for—to his Father. He wants us to see the Father being everything to everyone.[xii]

This is the great objective of Christ—to have us before his Father, sharing in the relationship he enjoys and bringing glory to the Father.[xiii]

This is a truth we need deeply. We are created for relating, for serving, and to be appreciated. If we don’t come to know the Father and live for him, we are in danger of other things in this world becoming ‘father’ to us. We start to drift. We’re coming from no-where and going no-where. We prostitute our personhood on people and things that cannot be god to us. We become warped and deeply unsatisfied.

Jesus has died and risen to restore this relationship and to make us whole. If we now live our life in Jesus our Lord, from the Father and for the Father, our whole life is brought into balance. Other relationships take their place around this but don’t have to bear the weight of ultimate significance.

It’s an enormous relief to know that, through Jesus, we have come home to the Father.

Second, the Father is the focus of our attention.

For us, calling God ‘Father’ is not just remembering the right name. It’s a cry of recognition. In the same way that a young child’s first words may be ‘mummy’ or ‘daddy’, we cry ‘Abba, Father’. Like an infant, we are recognising the God who has given us new life, and whose provisions and words are our sole means of staying alive. The Father has our full attention![xiv]

Paul talks about this cry of recognition in two of his letters.[xv]

The Holy Spirit has come to us, and he cries out within us, ‘Abba Father’. We are speaking to God in the way Jesus did.[xvi] The Spirit is witnessing to our spirits that we are children of God.

The Holy Spirit is God—together with the Father and Son. He’s enabled Jesus to live among us and fulfill his ministry. He’s enabled Jesus to pray to the Father. Now he’s come to us to enable us to call on God as our Father. His special ministry is fellowship.[xvii] We are being included in the divine companionship!

This is not something to try and make happen. It’s a gift. And entirely necessary.

For example, the Galatians are in danger of relating to God legally—not truly. While they were still worshipping idols, they’d been slaves to their passions and to the demands of the world. And now they’re in danger of reducing their new life in Christ to a list of demands.

They’re thinking of God as an owner of slaves, not a Father of children. If they don’t know God as their Father, their behaviour will become wooden and false.

The world, and our own human nature, makes slaves of us—as we try to satisfy cravings on the one hand and demands on the other. We’re never really doing what we want to do, even while we’re claiming to be free.

But the cry of ‘Father’, coming from our hearts, and coming from above, is persuasive evidence to us that God is not harsh or demanding. We’re legitimate and permanent members of his family. Our names are known, our needs are important. We have a place in his enterprise and an inheritance to come.

We’ve not just been justified. We’ve come home!

Then, in his letter to the Romans, Paul says we must stand nobly and say ‘No’ to our fallen nature. And to do this, we need to know we are God’s children. We’re not slaves of our broken humanity. The Holy Spirit, poured into our hearts, is conveying to us all the love of the Father and all the victory of his Son.[xviii] And we need this certainty to keep us confident of receiving our family inheritance.

Again, in his Ephesian letter, Paul surveys the broad sweep of God bringing people of all nations to himself.[xix] He calls this God’s wisdom, realized through the unsearchable riches of Christ. And, for this reason, he bows his knees to the Father.[xx] He is the fountain-head of all that we need for life and godliness.

So, he asks the Father to further reveal this wonderful Christ to his church—so they will be filled with all the fulness of God! He, the Father, before whom Paul kneels, has more to share with us than we could ask or think of!

Our life as God’s children is like that of the prodigal son in Jesus’ story. We’ve been received home. We have a place of honour, and a future. Perhaps we could imagine this son, home again, on the day after the party his father arranges. He’d be up early, looking around for things to do! Does this describe our relationship to the Father? I hope it does!

I’ll take up a third aspect of how the apostles understand God being Father to us in another article. He gives to us the framework for our families, and churches, and for the future of our world.

[i] Heb. 2:11 with John 17:21

[ii] The apostles speak of believers most frequently as ‘in Christ’, or similar phrase. The second most frequent is ‘brothers and sisters’. The third most frequent is ‘saints’.

[iii] A disciple is an undistracted learner. That’s what the apostles were. It’s the way converts are spoken of in the missional book of Acts. But in the letters that speak to the inner life of the church, not at all.

[iv] Eph. 4:22.

[v] In ‘Knowing God’, p. 224. The whole chapter on adoption as God’s children is wonderful to read.

[vi] 1 Cor 8:6. This verse is an adaption of Israel ‘Shema’ or confession of faith, suggesting that God is now our covenant Father.

[vii] Paul’s opening greetings; and Eph. 5:20; Phil. 4:20; Col. 1:12

[viii] 1 Pet. 1:1-3

[ix] 1 John 1:1-3

[x] Eph. 3:14-16

[xi] John 17:4

[xii] 1 Cor. 15:27-28

[xiii] Rom. 15:6; Eph. 5:20; Phil. 4:20; Col. 1:12; 3:17; 1 Thes. 3:13; 2 Thes. 2:16; Rev. 1:6

[xiv] Because Christ is our Saviour, and our life, we do well to have him as the focus or our lives too. But it’s important to know God in all the ways he’s revealed himself to us. We need to let our affections widen, and receive all the ways God is being God to us.

[xv] Gal. 4:4-9; Rom. 8:12-17

[xvi] Mark 14:35-36

[xvii] 2 Cor. 13:14

[xviii] Rom. 8:9; the Spirit is the Spirit of God and of the Son.

[xix] Eph. 3:8-11

[xx] Eph. 3:14-21

Jesus—Son of God

It’s good for us that we know the names and titles given to Jesus. They help us to know him, rely on him and worship him.

As we’ve seen, those who believe in Jesus know him as Leader and Saviour, they cherish him as the Christ who fulfills all God’s promises, and they honour him as their Lord. When the apostles speak of Jesus, they usually include one or more of these titles.

But Jesus is also the Son of God. As a title, it doesn’t appear in the New Testament as often as those above, but it’s always used in significant ways. We could say that calling Jesus ‘Son of God’ takes us to the heart of who he is.

But first, it’s helpful to know that this way of talking about Jesus has a history. Adam has been referred to as God’s son.[i] Then, God calls Israel his son.[ii] And the Messiah God promises to send is also identified as God’s son[iii].

So, when Jesus comes among us as the Son of God, he is all that an Adam should be—a true human being. He is all that God’s people should be—living by the word of God.[iv] And he accomplishes all that God has promised his Messiah will do.

But for Jesus, ‘Son of God’ is not just a title. It’s a relationship. It’s who he is.[v] God and Jesus are Father and Son—from eternity and to eternity. He doesn’t become God’s Son when he steps into our history.

As we would expect, it’s Jesus who tells us most about this.[vi]

When he’s only twelve, he expects his parents to find him in the house of his Father—God.[vii] This is natural for him. Mary must remember the story of his birth. She knows that her husband isn’t the father. An angel has told her that her child will be ‘holy, the Son of the Most High’, or, ‘the Son of God’.[viii]

When Jesus is baptized, God speaks to him audibly. ‘You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased’.[ix] This identifies Jesus as the coming King of Psalm 2. But Jesus hears his Father acknowledge him, warmly and publicly.

All of the known prayers of Jesus (except one he prays from his cross) are addressed to God as his Father. For example, he rejoices when his disciples report on their preaching tour.[x] And he explains that no-one really knows who he is—except his Father. That’s intimacy. And, apart from him, no-one knows his Father either—unless the Son chooses to reveal him to them.

Jesus calling God his Father is very surprising to those who hear him. No-one else is doing that. In fact, the Jews find it offensive. He’s claiming to be equal with God.[xi]

John writes his whole Gospel to show that ‘Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God’.[xii] And he begins his book with with an explanation of what ‘Son’ means.[xiii]

He is the Word of God—that is, God speaking and acting and revealing himself. He is God. All creation comes into being through him. He is the life and light that we all need.

And now, this Son of God has become flesh. He’s a human being.

None of us have seen God. But this Son of God is side by side with his Father God—intimately! And he’s revealing God. It’s through him that we know that the God of all the earth is Father, and Son. And later, that he’s Spirit too. God is a community of persons.

Jesus demonstrates what Son of God means by the way he lives, and so becomes a light shining into our dark places.

For example, he doesn’t need the approval of others. He doesn’t depend on the protection of the state. He is free to place others before himself—even in the most extreme of situations. He does this because he lives and loves in the certainty of his Father’s love.

All of us, by nature, have suspicions about God, want to avoid him and even get rid of him. Our lives become confined to what we can see and do. But God sends his Son among us to set the record straight. He’s a perfect representation of his Father[xiv]—full of grace and truth.

All that we’ve looked at here is a sample of what God wants to show us. We’ll spend our whole life discovering who this Son of God is—and all of eternity too.

And now, among the various ways that Jesus is spoken of as Son of God, here are two that stand out.

First, God’s Son has come to be an offering for sin

When Jesus talks to Nicodemus, he likens himself to the image of a snake on a pole that Moses erected. People could look at this and be healed of their snake bites.[xv] It’s a vivid story. And Jesus says he also will be lifted up on a pole so people will have a place to look and be saved.[xvi]

John explains this to us. Jesus is the Father’s only and beloved Son. But God so loves the world that he sends this Son for us, so that we will not perish.[xvii]

The Son of God is not just on our planet to give us advice. We’re lost. We’re rebels. We’re dead. We need a rebirth![xviii]

Then, moving on to the teaching of the apostles, Paul, on several occasions, links Jesus being Son of God with him being the offering for our sin.

We are reconciled to God by the death of his Son.[xix] God sends his own Son among us, sinless, but wholly vulnerable to the ravages of what sin can do to him—and does do to him.[xx]

God condemns sin—all of it, while his Son is bearing those sins. And we who trust him are washed clean![xxi]

So, Paul now chooses to live by faith in the Son of God who loves us and gives himself up for us.[xxii]

Very wonderfully, God’s Son has broken into our selfish world to show us what God is really like. And to show us what life is really about. Being Son of God is all about him being full of grace and truth.[xxiii] It’s about turning enemies into friends.

Second, the Son of God creates a fellowship with God that we can share

Like parents who encompass their children in the love they have for each other, God’s Son comes to tell us what life in the divine family is like.

Jesus describes this union as being in each other. It’s love language and deeply personal. Being ‘in’ another person is being focused on them rather than being focused on ourselves.[xxiv]

Jesus has been teaching and demonstrating this life for us. He’s the way, the truth and the life of his Father. In other words, he’s wanting us to recognise the Father in the way he goes about being the Son.[xxv] And he’s wanting us to come into the fellowship in which he lives.

A little later, Jesus tells us that the Spirit and he and the Father will come and reside in the apostles who have come to love him and obey him.[xxvi] And he includes us all when he says, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him’.[xxvii]

The truth of our sharing in the relationship of Father and Son needs to work its way through all of the duties and relationships we have. Jesus is insistent that we love one another. In the hours before his arrest and trial, he mentions it nine times.[xxviii]

So, being a Christian is a life of fellowship with God’s Son.[xxix] And God’s sends the Spirit of his Son into our hearts so that we can say ‘Father’[xxx]—with the same intimacy Jesus would have used in Aramaic (abba).

Clearly, we need to grow and mature in this new life we share with the Son of God. We are members of God’s family—his church, and by coming to know the Son of God fully, we grow up to maturity, together.[xxxi]

If God doesn’t tell us what it means to be human beings, we’re left with theories and chance. It’s a bleak landscape. We can divert ourselves for a while, but in the end, it’s all for nothing.

But Jesus says, ‘If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’[xxxii] Human life without the Son of God becomes ridiculous. We’re walking in the dark. Worse than that! We’re being led around—unwittingly—by Satan!

The truth of Jesus being the Son of God is not an idea to implement. It’s a power to submit to. God has raised Jesus from the dead to proclaim to everyone that this is his Son. And when we trust this wonderful and mighty Son of God, we are transferred from the tyranny of darkness to the kingdom of the Son he loves.[xxxiii]

Clearly, we need to turn away from making up an identity of our own. The Son of God has come to our planet. By the announcement of his truth, he comes to us. He gives us understanding so that we may know him. And live in him.[xxxiv] This is the reality for which we are all made. And it is the privilege to which we are called.[xxxv]

[i] Gen. 5:1 with 5:3. Also, the acknowledgement of Jesus as God’s Son is followed by a genealogy that finishes with Adam as son of God (Luke 3:22-28).

[ii] Exod. 4:22-23; Jer. 31:9

[iii] Psa. 2:7

[iv] Notice the way that Jesus ‘relives’ Israel’s journey in the wilderness, and quotes the commands given to Israel at that time in his own time of testing (Matt. 4:1-11).

[v] Some believe that Jesus having a ‘Father’ is a metaphorical way of speaking. Sons, they say, are born, and Jesus could not be God if he was born. But reasoning from our experience doesn’t work. God is not like us. We are like him. So, God has a Son—eternally. We reflect that and have children—in time.

[vi] Over 200 verses in our Gospels mention the Father and the Son, over half of them in John’s Gospel.

[vii] Luke 3:49

[viii] Luke 1:31-35

[ix] John 3:22

[x] Luke 10:21-22

[xi] John 5:18

[xii] John 20:31

[xiii] John 1:1-18

[xiv] Also Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:2-3

[xv] Num. 21:5-9

[xvi] John 3:13-15

[xvii] John 3:14-18; also 1 John 4:10

[xviii] John 3:5-8

[xix] Rom. 5:10

[xx] Rom. 8:3

[xxi] 1 John 1:7; 2:2

[xxii] Gal. 2:20

[xxiii] John 1:14

[xxiv] John 14:16-26

[xxv] John 14:6-9

[xxvi] John 14:17

[xxvii] John 14:23

[xxviii] John 14-16

[xxix] 1 Cor. 1:9

[xxx] Gal. 4:6

[xxxi] Eph. 4:13

[xxxii] John 8:31-38

[xxxiii] Col. 1:14

[xxxiv] 1 John 5:20

[xxxv] 1 Cor. 1:9

The fellowship making Spirit—John 14

Here is some of the best news about the Holy Spirit that we have. Jesus sends him to us as another Helper, like himself.

Because he lives in us, we truly know our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father, and ourselves participating in relationship with them. All of this is miracle. And all of this is God’s kindness to us.

It’s good to realise that Jesus tells us these things at a time when everything is falling apart for the disciples. Official hatred of Jesus is at boiling point. Jesus has told the disciples they will all fail badly. And Jesus says he’s going to leave them.

They need some help! But Jesus doesn’t give them a motivational seminar! He doesn’t gift his disciples with special powers. He promises to send them another Helper—like himself. And he promises them a future so joyously related to God that their troubles will seem quite different. They will be seeing life as God does, rather than from below.

These verses have special relevance to the disciples. They are being prepared—as apostles—to declare and explain and record all that Jesus will accomplish. They will need the Holy Spirit’s help to do this[i]. But the same Spirit is promised to everyone who turns to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and new life[ii].

When it comes to knowing God, Jesus has been the go-to person for the disciples. If they have wanted to know how God rules the world, Jesus tells them—or shows them. If they have wanted eternal life, Jesus grants it. If they have wanted to pray, Jesus teaches them how. And much besides. No wonder they don’t want him to leave!

But Jesus insists it will be better if he goes and the Holy Spirit comes.

He says that the disciples already know the Holy Spirit. They have been watching him at work in Jesus—directing and empowering all he has done. But this same Holy Spirit will soon be in the disciples.

This is what Jesus opens up for us too. It’s what we need—even more than having Jesus physically present. And here’s why.

In the first place, we need the Spirit to come to us because, when he does, Jesus has come to us. And we are alive to God[iii].

We’re not accustomed to talking about people being in one another. In fact, it sounds intrusive. But when it comes to God the Father and Jesus his Son, and the Holy Spirit, this is the language we need. And Jesus uses it freely[iv].

It’s love language. God doesn’t text us. He doesn’t outsource his saving work to the church. He comes to us, as Spirit, in communion with the Son and the Father. We are being treated as family—God’s family.

So, the disciples won’t be abandoned like orphans. The Spirit will come. And in this action, Jesus will love them and reveal himself to them[v]. It won’t be ‘like old times.’ It will be better.

This is true for us too. We are Christians because Christ has sent his Spirit to be in us. And he hasn’t come alone. Jesus has come to be in us, full of the new life he has created in his own flesh—a life freed from sin and set apart for God[vi].

And we know we are in Jesus. We are not alive because of what we do. He has embraced us—complete with our corruptions and frailty[vii]. He has welcomed us, chosen us and laid down his life for us. And through this journey, he has taken us to his Father—purified. And he is happy for it to be so. These chapters of John are full of his affection.

In the second place, we need the Spirit to come to us so that our understanding of God can grow. The Spirit enables us to see that the Son has always been living in his Father. And we know that the Father has always been living in his Son. This living in another didn’t begin with us[viii].

Jesus has shown us what it is like to live in his Father. He loves him. He looks at what his Father is doing and delights to share in it[ix]. He can’t do anything without his Father[x]. He asks to be vindicated by his Father[xi]. The idea of ‘being his own person’ would never have occurred to him.

And Jesus has shown us what it is like for the Father to live in him. The disciples should have recognised this[xii]. What they had seen in him was all produced by the Father. And it’s still true now. When we ‘see’ Jesus, we have seen the Father[xiii].

But when Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, we can see all this. We know that the Son is one with the Father in being God, one in love, one in action. And we know that the Father who loves his Son now loves us who are trusting in his Son[xiv].

This is why Jesus can be so emphatic at the beginning of this chapter in telling the troubled disciples not to be troubled. And why? Because there is plenty of room in the Father’s house for them all. The Spirit comes as the fellowship maker[xv]. In this ‘God-family’, everyone knows everyone—really and deeply!

Jesus is describing a relationship that is more than knowing about God or doing something for him. It’s having fellowship or communion with him. God has fellowship within himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are knowing this, not as something to work out but as something to appreciate and to share in.

In the third place, we need the Spirit to come to us because he replaces our old self-satisfaction with love for Jesus. Like Peter and the other disciples, the life that was focused on ourselves needs to die. Jesus asks us to abide in his love[xvi], to love him by doing what he says[xvii] and to love one another[xviii].

And he knows that we will love him[xix]. And we realise that in listening to Jesus, and obeying him, we’ve been loving him[xx]. We’ve seen the smallness of living by what we can create because we’ve started to admire and be captured by Jesus. And we are starting to live in a family of God where everything is as it should be, including us.

We tend to live in our accomplishments and human relationships and wonder why we are always on the edge of unsatisfied. Here’s why. We are built to know God and be known by God[xxi]. Remember Jesus saying to the disciples, after a very successful mission, don’t be happy because evil spirits are obedient to you. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven[xxii].

I’m glad that the Father sent the Son to tell us these things and to bring them into being[xxiii]. And I’m glad our three-personed God has sent his Holy Spirit to live within us so that what we know is not a theory or an accomplishment. It’s all love.

This is what we have been born for. And it’s more important than success or safety.

[i] John 14:25-29

[ii] Acts 2:33, 38-39

[iii]John 14:6, 18-19

[iv] One person being in another is used 15 times between 14:11—15:10, besides other ways of saying the same thing.

[v] John 14:21

[vi] John 16:13-15

[vii] John 13:38; 10:14-15

[viii] John 14:20

[ix] John 14:20

[x] John 5:19; 8:28

[xi] John 12:17-32

[xii] John 14:8-10

[xiii] 2 Cor. 4:6

[xiv] Eph. 1:6

[xv] 2 Cor. 13:14

[xvi] John 15:9-10

[xvii] John 14:15, 21-24

[xviii] John 15:12-17

[xix] John 16:27

[xx] John 21:15-17

[xxi] Gal. 4:9

[xxii] Luke 10:20

[xxiii] John 14:24