John 14 - NIV Quest Study Bible

Jesus described heaven as a house with many rooms, which implies unlimited space and permanence. While he did not give details about heaven or its specific location, he assured his followers that wherever he was, they would be there with him as well. Jesus was more concerned that the disciples be assured of heaven’s existence than that they knew all the specific details regarding it.

Yes. The Bible clearly identifies Jesus as the only means of salvation (Jn 14:6; Ac 4:12; Php 2:9 – 11). Believing in Jesus and his unique work (Ac 2:37 – 39; 16:31; Ro 10:9) is the only way to gain access to God’s forgiveness. No number of good deeds can earn a person an eternal reward. No other faith system leads people to the one true God. Some people chafe at such an exclusive stance, but the words of Jesus and the apostles leave no other option (Ac 4:12; 1Ti 2:5). See the article What about those who have never heard about Jesus? (Ac 4:12).

Jesus said, Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father (v. 9), by which he meant that he speaks and acts for God because he is in God and God is in him (vv. 10 – 11; 17:20 – 23). He proclaimed that the Father and Son equally possess all the attributes of deity. In other words, Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh.

Yet Jesus also made several distinctions between himself and his Father. First, his mission as the Son was to bring glory to the Father (14:13). Second, he came into this world because the Father sent him (v. 24). Finally, once his mission was complete he was going to the Father (v. 28). Jesus also made distinctions between himself, his Father and the Holy Spirit (vv. 16 – 17,25 – 26; 16:7 – 15).

Jesus’ statement that he and the Father are one is as mysterious from our perspective as the Biblical teaching of the Trinity. See the article How can we understand the Trinity? (Mt 3:16 – 17). Yet because the Bible teaches the unity of God and the deity of Jesus, we must exercise faith to believe that what Jesus taught is true. How exactly one God is comprised of three distinct but not separate persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) cannot be fully explained by human logic or reason.

Jesus was not granting his followers sweeping supernatural powers that would allow them to outperform his own miraculous signs. Rather, he was promising the coming of the Holy Spirit and a resulting worldwide ministry. Though the substance of his followers’ miracles were the same as those Jesus performed, their scope was greater because they were multiplied through the growth of the church. As the book of Acts describes, people of the early church fulfilled this prediction that they would do greater things.

The church is a spiritual organism and, at the same time, a human organization. We become members of the organism by new birth and baptism (1Co 12:13) and members of the organization by covenant. Most of the controversy about the church becoming what Jesus intended is focused on this organizational form. The real issue, however, is not with organization, but with people who occupy it (both leaders and members).

On the one hand, we Christians still live with our own version of the flesh, not realizing that we are angry, envious, competitive and self-righteous, which are all barriers to communication. On the other hand, we tend to see the sin of others so much more clearly than our own. We each have our own set of expectations as to what the church should be. We go from church to church in search of this ideal, which gets in the way of living dynamic, loving lives in the imperfect church we are in. In Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, “He who loves his dream of community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter.” We all have our own dream of what the church should be like, and when we cannot find it, we grow disillusioned. However, true fellowship is based on faith and not dreams — on truth and not emotions. Bonhoeffer boldly suggests that the sooner disillusionment comes, the better: “Therefore the very hour of disillusionment is instructive because it teaches me that neither I nor my brother can live to ourselves, but only through the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.”

In other words, the church will become what Jesus intended it to be when we receive one another with grace and forgiveness instead of measuring one another by our own faulty expectations.

The original Greek word for this title was a legal term with a broader meaning than “counsel for the defense.” It meant “one who is called alongside to help.” It conveys the idea of an encourager in the sense of a legal consultant. Just as Jesus encouraged and assisted his disciples, the Holy Spirit would be there for them. We can depend on the Holy Spirit to guide, instruct and encourage us every day in the ways of Jesus.This teaching regarding our relationship with Jesus corrects two possible misunderstandings. First, we may think love and obedience are antithetical, but they are actually complementary. Indeed, John said, This is love for God: to keep his commands (1Jn 5:3). Second, we may think love is only an inward feeling, but it is both an inward feeling and outward actions. Thus, just as the Son loves the Father and obeys him (Jn 14:31), so also believers love the Son and obey him (v. 15).Spirit-led teachings are recognizable because (1) they reinforce Jesus’ teachings (here); (2) they are grounded in the written Word of God, which itself is a work inspired and directed by the Spirit (2Ti 3:15 – 17; 2Pe 1:20 – 21); (3) they promote righteousness and convict us of sin (Jn 16:7 – 8); (4) they bring glory to Jesus (16:13 – 14); and (5) they acknowledge the deity of Jesus and that he came in the flesh (1Jn 4:2).This is a title for Satan. Jesus defeated Satan at the cross (Col 2:15; 1Jn 3:8). Though Satan is still active, his time is short (Rev 12:12). In the age to come, Satan will be powerless and confined forever under judgment (Rev 20:7 – 10). See Why was Jesus’ time limited if Satan had no hold over him? (Jn 14:30; below).Satan has a hold over people because they are sinful; since Jesus was sinless, Satan had no hold over him. However, Jesus knew his time was limited because Satan was working in Judas to betray him. But Satan was not in control of the situation; God was. God allowed Satan’s plot to continue because it was providential (according to God’s larger plan to redeem the world). God uses even the devil’s schemes to ultimately glorify his name and accomplish his will.