On Line Bible Study - For the Week October 22-28, 2012
John 14:15-24
Lesson 559
Two things - Love, and Spirit.
If you love me, says Jesus, keep my commands. It is really simple, isn't it? Later in John's Gospel Jesus will ask Peter the question three times: Do you love me? In the passage we are considering, love is the bookend at either end of the section - and it is also the heart of the matter.
Do I love God? Do I love with the same intensity as I am loved? The quality of my love can be easily and immediately measured. When my spouse asks me to do something, the question is not only how long does it take me to respond to her request; the attitude with which I comply is every bit as important.
"Love" for Jesus has to do with our actions. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. Obedience is a side of love many would rather ignore.
Is there a connection between love and our capacity to recognize the presence of the "Spirit of truth"? How visible is this "Spirit"? This is a power - a presence - that is both with us and in us. That the Spirit is "in" us is affirming and comforting, but it is not a possession. It is not something we control. That same Spirit is "with" us - outside of us - means it can guide, inspire, correct us.
I will not leave you orphans... The sense of the passage is that the Spirit is 'Christ with us' until his return.
Many times in John's Gospel we are encouraged to 'believe', to 'have faith' in Jesus, or told about those who did. (See, for example, John 1:12, 30; 2:11, 22; 3:12, 16 etc.) In this passage, we are told to love him. Can we 'believe' in him and not love him? Can we 'love' him and not obey his teachings?
Lesson 559
Two things - Love, and Spirit.
If you love me, says Jesus, keep my commands. It is really simple, isn't it? Later in John's Gospel Jesus will ask Peter the question three times: Do you love me? In the passage we are considering, love is the bookend at either end of the section - and it is also the heart of the matter.
Do I love God? Do I love with the same intensity as I am loved? The quality of my love can be easily and immediately measured. When my spouse asks me to do something, the question is not only how long does it take me to respond to her request; the attitude with which I comply is every bit as important.
"Love" for Jesus has to do with our actions. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. Obedience is a side of love many would rather ignore.
Is there a connection between love and our capacity to recognize the presence of the "Spirit of truth"? How visible is this "Spirit"? This is a power - a presence - that is both with us and in us. That the Spirit is "in" us is affirming and comforting, but it is not a possession. It is not something we control. That same Spirit is "with" us - outside of us - means it can guide, inspire, correct us.
I will not leave you orphans... The sense of the passage is that the Spirit is 'Christ with us' until his return.
Many times in John's Gospel we are encouraged to 'believe', to 'have faith' in Jesus, or told about those who did. (See, for example, John 1:12, 30; 2:11, 22; 3:12, 16 etc.) In this passage, we are told to love him. Can we 'believe' in him and not love him? Can we 'love' him and not obey his teachings?
posted by Mark D at 2:42 PM
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