John 14

Notes

Ver. 1-3. Be not discomposed or terrified at my being betrayed, nor at my approaching ignominies and death, nor at the disappointments and sufferings which ye may be called to undergo on my account; but labour to live by faith, not only on God's promises, but also on my character, offices, relations, work, and fulness, as represented in the gospel, as the blessed means of quieting your hearts. For in heaven, where my Father dwells in the highest manifestations of himself, there are many delightful abodes, and some in which ye shall have eternal rest and satisfaction after your toil and trouble on earth. If it had been otherwise, I would have faithfully and kindly undeceived you; but I am going away from you by death to secure that glory for you, and, by my ascension, to take possession of it in your name, and to prepare everything in the best manner for your arrival thither.—And when, and as surely as, I go in this manner to prepare heaven for you, I will quickly return, by my Spirit, to prepare you for it; and will receive your souls at death, and your whole persons at my second appearance, into my immediate presence and fellowship, that ye may be for ever in a state of freedom, honour, and delight, where I already am in my divine nature, and shortly will be in my human. 6, 7. I myself am the only mean of access to and acceptance with God, and of your receiving grace and eternal blessedness from him. I am the Way, as, by my own blood, I am entering into the holy place, and will thereby open a path for you to follow me. I am the Truth, as all the legal types and ancient promises are fulfilled in me, and as I attest the truths of God and teach you the sure way to heaven. And I am the Life, as I have life in myself, and am the author of spiritual and eternal life to all that believe in me; so that no man can acceptably approach to God in worship, or have any comfortable communion with him, by faith and love here, or any personal admission into his immediate presence hereafter, in any other way than by me. And if ye had known what I am in my . person, natures, and office, ye would have known what my Father is, who is one with me in all essential properties. And as ye have begun to see him in the manifestations which I have made of his power and goodness, ye shall hereafter, by the descent of the Holy Ghost, and by other means, know more and more of him, 9-11. Whoever is duly acquainted with me, who am his express image, in my person, offices, and work, hath seen the most lively, displays of the Father's perfections. Why, then, after so long acquaintance with me, do you unadvisedly desire a visible representation of him to satisfy all your doubts? Do you not yet believe that I and my Father, though distinct persons, are essentially united, and have the most real, mutual, and intimate communion in Godhead? For neither do I preach the doctrines which you have heard, nor perform the miraculous works which you have seen, but as inseparably united to and sent by him. Believe therefore upon the authority of my Word, and upon the credit of my miracles which I perform in so godlike a manner, that I and my Father have an essential and inseparable inbeing in one another. 12-14. And I assure you, my disciples, that if ye believe in me, according to the declarations which I have made of myself, ye shall be enabled to do as great miracles as ye have seen me do; nay, be instrumental in the far greater and more extensive work of converting multitudes of Jews and Gentiles through all nations of the world; because I will ascend to heaven to intercede for and send down my Spirit upon you and them. And whatsoever ye shall ask for the glory of God, and your own assistance, acceptance, and success, upon the ground of my grant and promise, and with humble dependence upon my wisdom and power, faithfulness and grace, merit and advocacy, I will certainly perform it in answer to your prayers, that the Father may manifest his glorious perfections through my obedience and sufferings, and in my gracious and almighty works. 15-17. Since such shall be the fruits of my departure from you, instead of being anxiously concerned at losing my bodily presence, or at the disappointment of your secular expectations, show your affection to me in a conscientious respect to all my commandments. —And to encourage you herein, I, as your High-priest and Advocate, will intercede effectually with my Father for you; and he, in concurrence with me, will send you another Counsellor, Advocate, and Comforter, to supply the want of my bodily presence, in instructing, assisting, and exciting you to every duty, in pleading your cause against your enemies, and comforting you in all your tribulations: who shall not abide with you a little while, as I have done, but in every period of time and eternity—even the Holy Ghost, who, being of the same nature with me and my Father, is truth itself, infinitely faithful, and the author and teacher of all truth; and whom carnal and unregenerate men do not entertain or embrace, because they have no true knowledge of or affection towards him; but ye who are enlightened and renewed by his operation have an experimental acquaintance with him; for he at present dwells, and works, and manifests himself in you, by his gracious and miraculous influences; and shall quickly further 'manifest himself in you with increasing light, power, and consolation. 18-20. And though I am going from you by death, I will not leave you destitute, exposed, friendless, and forlorn, but will pay you repeated visits after my resurrection; and will return, by my Spirit, after my ascension, to your unspeakable comfort and advantage. Shortly these wicked men who reject, despise, and abuse me, shall see me no more on earth, but ye shall see me alive after my passion; and because I am the living God, and shall rise again to an immortal life in my manhood, and always live in heaven as the head of my mystical body, ye shall, in union to my person, in fellowship with me, and by virtue derived from me, live spiritually, in a state of justification, sanctification, and consolation, in this world, and of glorification in the next. And when I have risen from the dead, as a triumphant conqueror over sin and Satan, death and hell, and have poured out my Spirit upon you, ye shall begin more clearly to understand that I am essentially one with the Father, and that ye are spiritually united to me as the source of your life. 21-24. Whoever, by virtue of this union with me, not only hears, but receives, hides in his heart, and faithfully observes, my commandments, he manifests his love to me; and shall in return be accepted and approved of, and delighted in, by me and my Father; and we will favour him with the peculiar manifestations of our glory; multiply the tokens of our special presence with him, by our Word, ordinances, and Spirit, and continue to hold the most free and intimate fellowship with him, as the spiritual house and temple in which we desire to dwell. 26, 27. But when, after my death and ascension to heaven, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father shall, for my merit and upon my intercession, send as a Guide, Advocate, and Comforter, to supply my room and carry on my work, is come unto you, he shall lead you into a more clear and extensive acquaintance with all truths necessary to be known or preached, and shall revive in your minds the remembrance of all the particulars which ye have heard from me, that ye may fully apprehend and properly improve the same. And meanwhile, as your parting and dying friend, I not only earnestly wish for you, but promise, and graciously bestow upon you- all that solid and substantial peace and happiness which i I secure and enjoy, and which the world neither can give you nor take from you. Let therefore no apprehensions of my approaching death, nor of your own loss or trouble, discompose your minds. 28, 29. i Ihave told you that I am just going to leave you with ; adesign to return and receive you into my Father's heavenly palace. If your love to me were truly spiritual, regular, and considerate, instead of being troubled, ve would, both for my sake and your own, rejoice at ny departure to my Father, that I, his servant as man and mediator, may with him enjoy the utmost blessedness, and all power in heaven and earth, as the reward of my obedience and suffering, to exercise it for your advantage.—-And I have told you these things beforehand, that when you see them accomplished ye may be the more confirmed in your belief of my being the Prymised Messiah, able and ready to fulfil whatever have promised to you. 30, 31. I shall have little opportunity of discoursing more to you before my death; for Satan, who formerly pretended to offer me all the-kingdoms of this world, and who powerfully works in the hearts of its rulers and people, is now making his last effort, stirring up his evil instruments, to unite their stratagems and force for murdering me. But he can find no corruption in me to work upon by his temptations, or to give him power over me. Nor can he hinder my death from tending to the glory of ny Father, the salvation of believers, and destruction of his own kingdom, or even bring it about, without my own free consent. But to make it evident, both to friends and foes, that I love my Father, and am now heartily willing to obey his commandment in laying down my life for all the world, let us therefore rise from this table and retire to the garden, whither my enemies are coming to apprehend me.

Ver. 9. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. God, in his infinity of being and perfection, must be essentially invisible to every finite creature; for it is manifestly impossible for the finite, either by bodily or mental sight, to comprehend the infinite. God therefore becomes 'manifest in the flesh,' and he that has, on examination and conviction, acknowledged Jesus to be the 'Son of God,' has seen all that man can see of the eternal love, the tender mercy, the overflowing goodness, the unerring wisdom, and the saving power of 'God the Father.' C.

Ver. 12, This promise has undoubtedly a special reference to the apostles, and was most literally fulfilled when Peter, not by a power inherent in himself (as was the power of our Lord), but merely by a power derived from the name of Jesus, converted, by one sermon, gooo (Ac. 2. 41, 47), and bY another, sooo souls (Ac. 4.4); and when Paul turned to the Gentiles, preached the gospel in every nation, and reared up churches in every city. And greater by far than all miracles upon their bodies were these miracles of converting grace upon the souls of men. The promise has moreover an encouraging reference to every believer ; for he that 'attempts great things for God will also, in due time, perform great things for God.' See, for instruction and encouragement, almost every history of Protestant missions to the heathen. C.

Ver. 16. I will pray the Father. If Jesus prayed to the Father, then, say the deniers of the true and proper Godhead of the Word, how could he be God? for God would thus be found praying to God. This objection proceeds upon two oversights—1. That Jesus was as truly man as he was truly God. 2. That man prays only in proportion as he is God-possessed.— Wherefore, as in Jesus 'dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,' from him, as our Mediator, must ever ascend the voice of all our necessities to the Father, and through him must come down, in reply, 'every good and every perfect gift.' C.

Ver. 23. We will come unto him, &c. The union of Jesus and the Father in one word, 'we ;' and in one action, 'we will come;' and in one permanent 'abode' with every believer, is surely an assertion of the Godhead attribute of omnipresence common to the Father and the Son which is not to be resisted or gainsaid. Had the speaker been a mere man or the highest angel, the language had been folly, falsehood, and blasphemy! C.

Ver. 28. My Father is greater than I. This is the accustomed stronghold of all who deny the Godhead of the Son. But surely, whether they assert Jesus to be mere man or highest angel, the declaration that God was 'greater' in power than either man or angel amounts to the merest and most useless truism, conveying no new information. How, then, is the Father greater than the Son? Even as every believer is greater, not in nature, but in work, because the Son has gone in righteousness to the Father (see ver. 12), and thence supplies him with grace and power, ver. 13. Thus also the Father is greater, not in nature, but in working for the glory of the Son, than was the Son, either for his own glory or the glory of the Father. In the days of his humiliation he 'finished the work which the Father had given him to do,' but no more.—But the Father has reserved 'in his own power' (Ac. 1.7) the 'greater work' of progressively subduing all the enemies of the Son, even to the last enemy, death, 1 Co. 15. 28. C. Reflections.— What a safe and suitable object of faith is our Redeemer! All his Father's perfections shine in him as his only begotten Son and mediatorial Servant. There is no saving knowledge of, faith in, or fellowship with God, but through him. Infinite was his condescension in becoming his Father's servant, and cheerfully yielding up himself to obedience and sufferings. And great is the glory to which he is advanced as his reward. It is a sure confirmation to our faith that all his predictions are exactly accomplished. And strong is the consolation to our souls that he is our new and living way to God and glory; and that he has risen from the dead, and in our nature ascended to heaven, to secure our interest there, and provide delightful mansions for us. In death, and at the resurrection, he will therefore receive us to, and keep us for ever with, himself. His life secures ours, spiritual and eternal; and his and his Father's presence, and his Spirit's indwelling influence, shall refresh and comfort our hearts; his peace allays our troubles and our fears; his answers to our prayers supply our wants; and his instructions and influences graciously conduct us to the heavenly mansions, where we shall sit with him on his throne, and see him as he is. Astonishing is it that he should thus manifest himself unto us and not unto the world! And if we desire further discoveries of his glory, and experience of his goodness, let us love him, keep his commandments, and faithfuliy follow him whithersoever he goeth.