A, Easter 6 - John 14:12-21 "The Spirit of Truth"

John 14:12–14, 15-21 (ESV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.  Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” 

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.  Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

For the best part of two thousand years, the church has struggled to understand what the love is,  into which God calls us.  And, to know the Holy Spirit and his function in our lives, in the wake of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. 

Love has been misunderstood, and the Holy Spirit has been buried, time and time again, as one looks back through the history of the Christian Church.  This should not surprise us, as the forces of evil confront us and seek to suppress what love truly is and what the Holy Spirit seeks to do for us.

It also might surprise you that Luther’s battle in the Reformation centred on the misunderstanding of love which stood at the heart of the mistaken function of justification and righteousness before God.

Because righteousness and justification were being wrongly centred on what the individual did before God, the Holy Spirit was then the forgotten third member of the Trinity.  But more on that in a moment.

Firstly, love; how does one love God?  How can you love God?  The gospel reading begins with Jesus saying, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Then ends, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.  And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”  (John 14:15, 21 ESV)

This call to love, seems like a riddle.  The Israelites and Jews could not keep the commandments which are summed up in loving God, with all one’s heart, with all one’s soul, and with all one’s mind, and loving one’s neighbour as oneself.  (Matt 22:37-39, Deut 6:5, Lev 19:18b)

In fact, this is the reason for Jesus coming!  He came to love God and love humanity because under the Law the Jews couldn’t.  He found the Jews and the rest of humanity debased, and rebased us, by doing what we could not do, he perfectly pleased God by keeping the Law, and made atonement for humanity by dying for our sin.  He did not sin, yet he suffered to save us from our sin.

Despite this, the church struggled to stand under this love, to understand this love, and many throughout history and still today think the order of salvation is that Jesus died and now we must obey with self-focused good works.  They forget, “we are his (God’s) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)

The love to which God is calling us is a love that always comes down in creative, and re-creative power.  It finds the unlovable, and those incapable of love, and loves them.  This love is a receptive love, and it has to find us because, like the Jews, we cannot love God or our neighbour as ourselves!

So now we return to the third member of the Trinity.  God sends the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, because he knows without him, Jesus’ death and resurrection, would have just faded into history, and been forgotten, and so would our opportunity to ever love God.

Yet having sent the Holy Spirit, the church struggles to receive and submit to the Holy Spirit, even though he is the only reason, generation after generation remember Jesus in the first place! 

Instead of recognising we are recipients of God’s love, generation after generation, have sought to climb up to God, through the “greater good” and love him.  This type of ego-centred love crept into the early church through Greek thinking.  From that, the grace of God is turned about so it becomes a man-made method of salvation.  Jesus came and did the right thing, and now through his example, we too must do the right thing, and climb up to God.  However, this only returns a person to a law that one cannot perfect.

Jesus names the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of truth”.  The Greek biblical word for truth is “that which is not hidden”.  The Holy Spirit is he who reveals, he is God who unhides and opens our eyes and ears to the reality of God the Father and God the Son.  He also puts in plain sight who and what we are before God, as sinner, and as saint.

One may have claimed ignorance before Jesus ascended and sent the Holy Spirit.  In Acts seventeen Paul proclaims to the Greek thinkers of Athens, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,  because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30–31 ESV)

In other words, Jesus’ resurrection, ascension, and the sending of the Holy Spirit, gives one the opportunity to be returned to Jesus’ righteousness and victory over death, from self-designated good works.  These are the works one does to earn their righteousness before God.  Or works that fail when seeking to climb up to God and love with a love that desecrates his holiness. 

This does not please God because it’s not in accord with his plan of salvation, and once seeking entry into God’s presence through partial goodness, Jesus’ death and resurrection is treated with contempt.

Added to this, once goodness is elevated to holiness, then love becomes presumptuous, conceited, and full of vain glory.  The Holy Spirit is no longer allowed to uncover the truth.  There is no longer need for God’s love in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, and the Spirit’s call to repentance.

But what pleases God is when we turn from our own efforts and trust in him:  in the resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit, who gives faith and gathers us in faith. 

God is pleased and glorified when we daily drown our human spirit, with its knowledge of good and evil, and trust in Jesus Christ, having been given a knowledge of him by the Spirit of Truth, as he wills us, and returns us, time and time again, to hear God’s Word.

Finally, I draw your attention to the verses just prior to the Gospel reading for today.  Jesus proclaims  something quite peculiar.

He says, in John fourteen verses twelve to fourteen, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.  Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”  (John 14:12–14 ESV)

So, the believer does the works of Jesus because he goes to the Father and the Holy Spirit comes to uncover Christ within.  We pray as Jesus prayed for others, we help others as Jesus helped others, we bear our cross as Jesus bore his cross.  And we do so only because the Holy Spirit comes from God the Father, and God the Son to bring us to the Father and the Son.

But this is not all!  Jesus says, “whoever believes, does greater works than him because he is going to the Father”.  What are these greater works?  In Greek, these are mega works.  How can we do greater works than Jesus?  It seems incorrect, but Jesus said it, so it’s not!  What are these mega works?

One might ask themselves what Jesus did, which we could not do?  The answer is to be perfect and holy in a God pleasing way.  But in addition to this he suffered and died to atone for our sin, even though he did not sin.

Jesus doing no sin is the hint!  The greater work that Jesus could not do, because he was without sin is to confess sin and ask for forgiveness.  We certainly need the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, to confess and ask for forgiveness!  This is because it costs our human spirit its pride, to allow the Holy Spirit to uncover the truth of our sin, which reveals us as debased and unholy before God.

Confession and seeking forgiveness are so counter cultural to human nature.  Every child since Adam hides sin rather than confesses it.  Since the beginning, the devil has been making us guilty because of our sin, telling us our sin is too great for God to forgive.  Or he tells us our sin is not really that bad and to ignore what God says in his Word about sin.

Yet, the beauty of the resurrection is that despite the debased nature of every human being, we now have access to God, without fear of desecrating his holiness, or being annihilated by his holiness.  The Holy Spirit may allow us to feel guilt, but only so we rush to the cross in confession asking for forgiveness.

This work is a mega work of God the Holy Spirit in us, as it demonstrates faith in God, when we are led to turn from ourselves, to do the works God has prepared in advance for us to do. 

In addition to this, it also justifies God sending his Son to the cross, it justifies Jesus’ suffering and death for our sin, it justifies the work of the Holy Spirit, leading Jesus in servanthood as the Son of Man.  It also glorifies the Holy Spirit in raising Jesus from death and raising us daily, so we can die to self and live in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and in the peace of God our Father.

Having been forgiven, we love God in sincere appreciation for what he did and continues to do.  So much so, the Holy Spirit makes us bold enough in our death of self, to risk ridicule and loss of name in proclaiming to others our sin and why God has forgiven us.   Amen.

A, Mid Week Lent 3- Sermon Series "The Litany of Jesus' Treasures - Work"

By the toils of Jesus, Lord teach us how to work; allowing the Holy Spirit to inspire work within us.  Amen.

If you’re going to do the job, you may as well do it right the first time.

But how was God to do the work of saving humanity?  He tested humanity and showed that anointing the Israelites as his chosen people was not good enough.  He placed kings over Israel and they too failed.  His most faithful king, King David, also turned away from God, trusting the strength of his own fighting men.  Even David, was not good enough!  God had to find the right way for humanity to fulfill all righteousness; one that was effective, functional, and perfect.

God needed the work to be more than just pragmatic, that is, done because a certain deed works, or  for the love of the deed.  No!  He needed the work done to convey his deep love for humanity.  This love needed not just be practical but personal, relational, and demonstrate to the recipient their worth to God the Father, and his willingness to make the recipient holy.  Only through becoming holy can a person come to God without fear of God’s almighty holiness causing death.

It seems God the Father was in a bit of a quagmire over how to sort out humanity’s sin and at the same time, give us access into his holy presence, for a relationship that brings life rather than death.

In Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father found the effective, functional, and perfect answer to bring the work of righteousness to completion.

Last Sunday, we heard Jesus at Jacob’s Well with the Samaritan Woman.  Here, Jesus proves to be the perfect mediator between a Holy God and a sinful woman.  Without fear the woman speaks to Jesus, and without condemning the woman, Jesus condemns her sin and gives her his Word of life, God the Father’s Word of life!

To the woman, Jesus teaches and says, “[T]he hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  (John 4:23–24 ESV)

Then to his disciples, Jesus teaches and says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.  …Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.  I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. …Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.”  (John 4:34,35b,38 ESV)

See how Jesus works!  He mediates the two together.  Sinner and teachers, so the sinner leaves to become the teacher, and the teachers learn that they are sinners. 

But the work Jesus does just does not end there!  We know if the work was finished here, it would be left undone, and the sinners would not have the power to teach, and the teachers would lose the power to learn about their sin.  God needed to do the complete job.  If he was going to do the job he needed to do it right.  If there was to be righteousness on earth, Jesus needed to finish, complete, or fulfil all righteousness.

The mediation work of Jesus was completed on the cross, when Jesus cried out, “it is finished”!  He hung his head, and he died!  The work was done!

God now calls you to hang your heads, and know that, “it is finished!”  His work is done and so too is yours.  However, like the disciples Jesus taught, you are called to enter into the labour of others, to continue the work of others!

Therefore, the teacher-sinner paradox continues.  Jesus’ work is finished in you, but now through you he seeks to finish it in others.

It now seems we are in the same quagmire as God.  We have been finished, but death is not finished for all others.  In fact, certain elements of death still remain with us in this life, and will not be finished until the death of eternal death in our earthly death.  How do we demonstrate the death of eternal death to others, while we live on this side of death? Or, how do we teach others about life in the realm of death?

What does God’s Word say?  We go back to the work and Word of Jesus!  See how he functioned while he lived under the sentence of death, and listen to what he taught, knowing his death and resurrection justifies what he said and taught.

True worshippers of God the Father, workers of God, worship in spirit and in truth. 

Jesus said, “‘it is finished’, bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:30 ESV)  You and I are called to give up our spirits and know it is finished.  This involves allowing the Holy Spirit to give us life, having died to sin, so he can inspire us to live in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 

We the sinners, learn from our sinfulness to become the teachers, continually being taught by the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ righteous work, what the toil of God is.  So, what is the toil of God, given to us?  It is the work of holiness.

Paul gives us the reality of Jesus’ finishing work, saying, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.  For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”  (1 Corinthians 3:16–17 ESV)

The paradox of God’s holy work is strange to the world, and therefore, takes time to sort itself out in us.  This is because we still struggle with the works of darkness and death!  But God the Holy Spirit is constantly bringing us to the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  In fact, this is the work and purpose of the Holy Spirit in us, as individuals, and within the worshipping community of those needing to gather around Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit works to call, gather, and enlighten us with faith in Jesus Christ’s work.

Jesus left humanity’s visual presence, but he has not gone!  He is hidden but now we see him with faith, given through the Holy Spirit’s work. 

God the Father perfectly finishes the job by sending Jesus Christ, to work salvation on the cross.  He continues this work, by also sending the Holy Spirit, to finish this salvation in us, by constantly leading us to Jesus Christ, out of our sins.  You are both a student and a teacher of the Holy Spirit!

In this finishing school of the Holy Spirit, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12 ESV)

What is it you learn and teach?  What are these strange works, we both learn from, and teach?  What are the good works, the greater works we do now, since we are under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who makes us alive in Jesus Christ, so we can reflect this life, to the masses who are dead and dying around us?

These are the works of confession!  Confessing our sin, learning from what God teaches us about his forgiveness of sin, and teaching others about how they can be forgiven, by sharing what God has forgiven, and how God has forgiven in Jesus Christ.

In this finishing school of the Holy Spirit, “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)

Let us allow the Holy Spirit to foster in us, “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.”  (Ephesians 1:19–20 ESV)

Amen.

Next week: we hear about the love of Jesus, so we might allow the Holy Spirit to inspire us to love.