Sunday, May 31, 2009: Spirit Is Life

Spirit Is Life
John 14: 15 – 31.

I. Introduction.

It’s interesting how we use the phrase “to make a living.” “Making a living” is common way to describe our careers—the jobs we work in exchange for financial compensation. For some reason, we associate the word “living” with money…As if money is the most important thing in life. Yet, there is more to life than money. (At least I hope there is more to life than money.)

Ironically, it is possible for a person to become so consumed with “making a living” that there is no time left over for “life.” There simply has to be more to life than “making a living.”

Every day, husbands and wives drift farther apart, because work interferes with their relationship. Children and parents long for more time together. Friendships, church and spiritual lives get placed on the backburner. I once heard it said that no one says on their deathbed, “I wish I had spent more time at work.”

Yes. Making a living is not the most important thing in life. But, what is the meaning of life? Why are we here?

Since we are at church today, you should expect me to offer a spiritual answer to those questions. If we were at the lake, the baseball field, the soccer field, or still in the bed, perhaps we would hear a different answer.

As Christian men and women, we are supposed to be “Christ followers” before anything else…Christian first, American second…Christian first, husband or wife second…Christian first, student second. Our primary identity ought to be our relationship with Jesus. Therefore, we should describe life in terms of what Jesus has said to us. The meaning of life for Christian men and women is the meaning we find when we read the words and teachings of Jesus.

There is a unique passage of Scripture in the Gospel of John. It spans almost five chapters from John 13 – John 17. Some New Testament scholars refer to this as Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse,” since it was the final extended discourse Jesus gave to his disciples before his crucifixion and resurrection.

The Farewell Discourse began immediately following the Last Supper. Jesus and his disciples observed the Passover meal on Thursday evening before Jesus was crucified on Friday. They gathered in a borrowed, upper room to share this symbolic meal together.

The scene began when the disciples discovered that they needed to wash their feet before the Passover meal. However, there was no servant present to perform the washing. So, Jesus did the unthinkable. He picked up a towel and a bowl of water to wash the feet of all twelve disciples.

The evening began in confusion…the Master serving the most basic needs of his followers. Then, the confusion grew as Jesus talked to his disciples over supper.

First, Jesus told his disciples that they would all leave him. The twelve men who had followed Jesus most closely—listening to his teaching, witnessing his miracles and going out to do the work of ministry—would all run away from Jesus in his most agonizing moment. Peter objected to Jesus’ words by saying, “Though all go away, I will never leave you.”

This is when Jesus made his second confusing statement. Even Peter will turn his back on Jesus. Not once. Not twice. But, Peter would deny knowing Jesus three times in the next few hours.

Third, Jesus dropped a bombshell on his disciples. He told them that one of them would betray him by handing him over to the Roman and Jewish officials. The Romans and Jews would beat Jesus and crucify him, but the grave would not be able to hold him. Jesus would rise from the dead in just three days.

All of this was difficult for the disciples to accept. Yet the most difficult thing Jesus said was when he told them he was about to leave them. After three years of shared ministry and life together, Jesus was going to a place where the disciples could not accompany him. Yet, in the midst of all this “bad news,” Jesus had some “good news” for his disciples. Yes, he was going away. BUT, he would come back.

There are three important theological doctrines wrapped up in Jesus’ promise that he would come back.

First, it could be a reference to the resurrection. Jesus would die an agonizing death on a Roman cross. He would be physically absent from his disciples for three days before coming back to them.

Second, it could be a reference to the Second Coming. This is a very important part of our Christian faith. Jesus died and rose again. Then, he spent forty days with his disciples, reminding of all he had done and taught them during their three years of ministry together. But, as we witnessed last week, Jesus ascended into heaven to be glorified at the right hand of his Father in heaven. Yet, as Jesus left the disciples, the two angels promised that Jesus would “come again” in the same way he had ascended.

Third, it could be a reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had to leave his disciples in order to send the Holy Spirit. If we read Jesus’ words about leaving and coming again in this context, we can find great hope and comfort. Jesus was offering his disciples a remedy for their confusion and stress. There is immediate help.

Read John 14: 15 – 31.

If we remember all Jesus has said about leaving and coming again, then we can find some great comfort in these words. For example, notice what Jesus said in verse 18, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

These words imply that Jesus and his disciples had a very special, intimate relationship. His absence from them would leave them feeling abandoned, like a child who has lost both parents. I think the King James Version translates this with the word “desolate.” That is certainly one word to describe loneliness and abandonment, but the Greek word is actually the word “orphanos.” It is the root word for our English word “orphan.” So, Jesus literally acknowledged that his disciples would feel like “orphans” without him. BUT, Jesus was not going to allow that to happen.

The disciples would not be like orphans, because Jesus was coming again. Yet, once again, we can learn a lot from the Greek text. The Greek verb here is a present, active verb. It does NOT say that Jesus “will come” to his disciples. It says that Jesus “is coming” to his disciples. We ought to read this as, “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.”

Jesus is not telling his disciples to wait and hope for the Second Coming! Jesus is offering present, immediate help for his disciples. They will NEVER be left alone as orphans. You and I will NEVER be left alone as orphans. We have a present, active, immediate help in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

II. Another Counselor (verse 16 and 17a).

While we may not immediately recognize that Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit in this passage, by the end of the passage it is clear. Jesus actually used the phrase “Holy Spirit” in verse 26. However, he begins by referring to “another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.”

The phrase “another Counselor” is a very difficult phrase to translate from Greek to English. We know it is difficult by comparing the various ways it is translated in different versions of the Bible. The King James Version says “another Comforter.” The New International Version says “another Counselor.” The New American Standard Bible says “another Helper.” The New Revised Standard Version says “another Advocate.” So, which is it? Comforter, Counselor, Helper or Advocate? Truthfully, all of these are correct. But none of these is perfect.

The Greek word here is “parakl­etos.” John is the only New Testament author who uses the word. Paul never uses it. It shows up in the Farewell Discourse and in 1 John 2: 1. In the Farewell Discourse, it refers to the Holy Spirit. In 1 John 2: 1, it refers to Jesus’ role in heaven. Jesus does for us in heaven what the Holy Spirit does for us on earth. The Holy Spirit does for us on earth what Jesus does for us in heaven.

We can derive meaning from the word “parakletos” by looking to the meanings of the two words that build it. “Para” is a preposition which means alongside. “Kaleo” is a verb which means to call. Therefore, “parakletos” literally means “one who is called to be alongside.”

We can also derive meaning from the ways “parakletos” is used in secular Greek. Outside the New Testament, “parakletos” usually refers to the defense attorney in a court of law. The defense attorney is the “one who is called to be alongside” the accused person. In this light, Jesus is the defense attorney who stands alongside us before the throne of God. The Holy Spirit is the defense attorney who stands alongside us before the world.

It is also worth noting here that Jesus said the Holy Spirit was “another.” In other words, the Holy Spirit is not the first one to stand alongside the disciples. Who was the first? This seems to be an obvious reference to Jesus himself. Even though Jesus is leaving his disciples, they will not be alone. A Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Advocate just like Jesus will be with them forever.

III. You Know Him (verse 17).

In verse 17, Jesus describes a difference between his disciples and the rest of the world. This difference is evident in their relationship with the Holy Spirit. The world does not know the Holy Spirit. Followers of Jesus know the Holy Spirit.

You and I have a different understanding of knowledge than the ancient world. Our understanding of knowledge has more to do with intellect than anything else. The ancients thought of knowledge in terms of relationship. For example, think about how a person might “know God.” On one hand, you and I are tempted to think this has to do with accumulating facts and information about God. On the other hand, the ancients believed this had more to do with personal experience than intellectual data. Another example is the way we use the word “know” to describe other people. Like the question, “Do you know Andy Pittman?” If you have only heard my name or seen me shopping in Abelt’s, then you don’t know me. You have to sit down with me, experience part of my life, share time with me before you will ever know me.

By saying the Holy Spirit can be “known,” Jesus is telling us the Holy Spirit is a Person. The Holy Spirit is not an “it.” The Holy Spirit is a “He,” who can be known through experience and shared life.

IV. You Will Live (verse 19).

As Jesus describes the Holy Spirit to his disciples, I see a progression taking place. In verse 16, Jesus says the Holy Spirit will be “with you forever.” In verse 17, Jesus says the Holy Spirit “lives with you.” Then, again in verse 17, Jesus says the Holy Spirit “will be in you.”

The progression goes something like this…Among you…Alongside you…In you. There is a growing intimacy in the way Jesus describes the Holy Spirit…With you…Beside you…In you.
This reminds me of the story of creation in Genesis 2: 7, “(T)he LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the BREATH of life, and the man became a living being.”

Interestingly, in both Hebrew and Greek, the word for “breath” is the same as the word for “spirit.” The Hebrew word is “ruach.” The Greek word is “pneuma,” the root for English words like pneumonia and pneumatic.

In the beginning, when God created the first man, God reached down to earth and scooped up a handful of dirt. God molded that dirt into the shape of a man. But the man was not a living being until God breathed his breath into the man.

In the same way, you and I may think we are alive today, we might even “make a living” in some kind of employment…But we are not a living being until God breathes his Holy Spirit into our lives! This real living is the result of the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. If Jesus never left his disciples, he could not send the Holy Spirit. If Jesus never sent the Holy Spirit, we would be lonely, desolate, orphanos…We would have no life.

V. Conclusion: Jesus Gives Peace (verse 27).

I find another progression in Jesus’ words to his disciples. First, he described a growing intimacy with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is with us, beside us and in us.

Second, Jesus described the Holy Spirit in progressive terms. In verse 17, Jesus said he was giving us “the Spirit of truth.” In verse 26, Jesus said he was giving us “the Holy Spirit.” Then, in verse 27, Jesus said he was giving us “his peace,” which is not like the peace offered by the world.

The only kind of peace the world offers is a negative peace…Peace that is the absence of conflict…Peace that comes when one side surrenders or is defeated by a stronger adversary…Peace that is maintained by military presence and diplomatic threats.

Jesus offers us a peace that is positive. Jesus’ peace does not depend on the absence of conflict, but the presence of the Holy Spirit…Peace that is not dependent on any external circumstances.