If you love Me, John 14:15-21

 

 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. John 14:15

If you love me…

That line has, and still is, used by boys to get girls in the back seat, or hayloft, or…wherever.

Listen very closely to what follows any sentence that starts with the words, “If you love me…”

If the words are from a heart of love, what follows will be selfless.

If the words are from a heart of lust, what follows will be selfish.

If you love me, you’ll do this for, to, with, me—that is lust, not love.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary states: We must please our neighbor, for the good of his soul; not by serving his wicked will, and humoring him in a sinful way; if we thus seek to please men, we are not the servants of Christ.

It is NO service to the cause of Christ to say, “Yeah but I love him, so I don’t mind doing it for him.”

That is NOT love.

That is walking in fear and service to man, not God. And that is detrimental to their soul. It feeds their lustful, selfish, flesh, rather than helping them grow up and be accountable to God.

The parent (or grandparent) who gives in to the whines of a child is not loving them but enabling them to become lazy, irresponsible, babies in big bodies; exchanging baby bottles for booze bottles and pacifiers for marijuana.  

That child abhors consequences, so they march for pro-hamas-terrorists, and vote for communists disguised as American politicians.   

That parent is not loving their child, but shirking their God given responsibility to train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6.

So, what did Jesus mean when He said:  If you love Me, keep My commandments.

When interpreting Scripture, the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible, and context is king.

Here the context is, they are still sitting in the upper room, at the table, the triclinium.

Jesus has displayed the humble, selfless, serving heart of Love by washing their feet.

He showed the forgiving, enduring side of Love by extending an open door, an olive branch, to Judas, all the way to the end—until Judas rejected Him one too many times and crossed the threshold to the point of no return; where satan entered him.

Even that, was an act of love, the liberty of love. He allowed Judas the freedom to choose, to decide to go outside, into the night, even if, to his own demise.

Then, Jesus gave the remaining eleven disciples the command that would distinguish them as His disciples.

John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”.

The telling trait of a disciple of Christ, is the love of Christ.

Not a sinner’s prayer. Not Church attendance. Not memorizing Scripture. Not baptism. Not—not cussing, smoking, drinking, chewing. Not a bunch of nots. Not a lot of dos.

His Love. That’s how they’ll know.

If you love Me, keep My commandments. John 14:15.

And His commandment is summed up in this: Love.

If you love Me, love, like I do.

Before the conversation is over, He will say:  

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

Love is God’s theme from cover to cover.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

In other words, love Him, at all times, in every place, in every way, in all you say, in all you do, in all you think, in all your home, in all you own, not just you but your whole family too.

Jesus succinctly sums it up like this:  

Matthew 22:37-40
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.  ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

It's no wonder that His theme is Love, because, God is Love. 1 John 4:16.

When Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commands…” He’s not saying it for selfish gain, ulterior motive, or personal satisfaction, but for our Good.

His plans are above and beyond all you could ever ask or think. They begin with this one step. If you love Me, keep My commands.

His command is Love.

The thirteen verses of 1 Corinthians 13, detail what love looks like. But even if we could walk out all of those things; if they weren’t done as an overflow of love for Christ, they’d simply be nice deeds with no substance; wood, hay, stubble.

He does not command obedience to prove love. He’s saying that loving Him will result in doing His will.   

Notice He says, “My” commands.

This is important and must be Spiritually discerned.

He makes it Personal. “My” commands.

The Love command is not something to obey, (1 Cor. 13). It’s Someone to Love.

He wants a personal, intimate relationship with you at all times, in every place, in every way, in all you say, in all you do, in all you think, in all your home, in all you own, not just you but your whole family too.

You see, there are things He wants to tell you that you can’t find in the Bible. Specific things that have no chapter and verse in Scripture. Things like, where to live, what job to take, what Church to attend, who to befriend; how to handle that situation or have that hard conversation.  

He cares about the personal stuff. He knows exactly what to do, and wants to share it with you.  

Awesome. But how does that work? I can’t send Him a text or call Him on the phone.

Jesus knew you’d ask—that’s what He addresses next.

¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

Another, means they already have a Helper (Jesus), but He will send another, Helper (Holy Spirit).

Helper, defined as: Advocate, Intercessor, Consoler, Comforter. Also found in, John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7.

Helper

Παράκλητον

Paraklēton or, paráklētos

In, 1 John 2:1, Jesus is referred to as, paráklētos (advocate). We have an advocate with the Father.  

So, we have an Advocate, Helper, here and in Heaven. That’s why He says it’s to your advantage if I go to the Father. John 16:7.  

That’s great, but it gets even better…

¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

He’s talking about what He’d been longing for since the fall in the Garden, when His Presence departed from man because of sin.

However, after His death, burial and resurrection, He paid the penalty for our sin, so we could be reunited again, clothed once again, with Him from the inside out.

Now, His Holy Spirit can abide inside us, not just beside us.

The Spirit of Truth (John 15:26; 16:13) is His Holy Spirit. The third Person of the Trinity.

Notice this reveals they (the Spirit of Truth and Jesus) are One.

He says, you know Him, for He dwells with you. That’s Jesus dwelling with them in the flesh. Then, He continues, and will be in you. Jesus is with them, and will be in them (Holy Spirit).  

He and the Holy Spirit are One—as well as His Father. The Trinity—three in one. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  

When Jesus said, and will be in you. He’s talking about the day of Pentecost. Ten days after He ascended to the Father, the “Helper” came and filled the disciples...and He’s been helping ever since. Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-8, 11b.

Inviting and having the Holy Spirit in us is awesome and vitally important. We especially need the Spirit of Truth to navigate the deception flooding the earth these days.

2 Thessalonians 2:7-12. Tells us of a time in our not-so-distant future, when the Holy Spirit, (who abides in His Church; Ekklésia—people) will be removed, and the lawless one (antichrist) will be revealed. 

Those left behind will be the ones who refuse the love of the truth, and willingly believe the lie.

Jesus knows the disciples are freaking out a bit at the thought of Him leaving them. So, again He Comforts them by saying:

¹⁸ I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

The Greek word orphanous means “fatherless children.”

Orphans were left with no one to care or provide for them, so God places them under His own divine protection.

A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation. God sets the lonely in families… Psalm 68:5-6a

 

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, thank You for showing us who You are, in Your Word, Your world, and in the DNA of our soul. We intentionally trust You, and purposefully obey You, so prayerfully we will grow more and more in love with You, at all times, in every place, in every way, in all we say, in all we do, in all we think, in all our home, in all we own, not just us but our whole family too.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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