Fourteen. I've been so blessed by the song
services this morning, the hymns, the special. The Lord says to speak to yourselves
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and These songs are a part
of the worship of God. Sometimes we think that it's
not part of worship, but it is a very important part of these
worship services, the singing of praise to our God. John 14. Now, tonight, Daniel
Parks is going to be preaching for us. I think he's leaving
in two weeks. And this will be the last Sunday
he will be here and he'll be preaching for us tonight. I want
to read beginning in verse 15 and read down to verse 20. John, chapter 14, beginning in
verse 15. If you love me. Keep my commandments. And I will pray the father. And
he should give you another comforter. that he may abide with you forever,
even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but you know him. For he
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you
comfortless. I will come to you, yet a little
while, and the world seeth me no more, but you see me. Because
I live, you shall live also. At that day, you shall know that
I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." Several years ago, I wrote an
article entitled, Does the Bible Teach the Doctrine of Election? And I put it in the Lexington
Herald-Leader. And one fellow wrote me back in reference to
that article, and he said, if they were handing out awards
for questions nobody was asking, you'd win. I've entitled this message, Questions
That Not Everybody Is Asking. Now, these are questions men
ought to be asking. But these are questions that
nobody is asking. Not everybody asks questions
like these. How can God love me? How can the living God embrace
me? How can God accept me? Most people take these things
for granted. It's a given. Of course God loves me. We ought
to be asking this question. How could God love me? How can God see me to be righteous
when I cannot see myself that way? How can He actually see
me to be righteous? How could God choose me? How
could He select me and pass by somebody else? How could God have known me,
not simply that he foresaw that I would be born, but actually
know me and have a relationship with me before I had any existence.
You know, he said to Jeremiah, before I formed thee in the belly,
I knew thee. How? How can God keep loving me? Now,
I realize that most people do not ask these questions. They
think the answer is so obvious that the questions do not even
need to be raised. But everybody who has some understanding
of who God is. And who they are. Ask these questions. When they hear scriptures like.
Roman 913 Jacob have a loved But Esau hath a hated, that's
God speaking. They're not so much amazed by
the Esau have a hated part. Now the religious world is, but
someone who knows themselves. They're not so much amazed by
this thing of God hating Esau. What they're amazed by is God
loving Jacob. How can that be? Now, the doctrine that's taught
in our text will answer all of those questions. Let's read it
together in verse 20 of John, chapter 14. At that day. You shall know. This is a reference
to every believer. At that day, when you're taught
by the Holy Spirit, the great comforter, the spirit of truth,
when you're brought To understand the gospel on that day when you
understand my resurrection, you know, there's a lot of stuff
they didn't understand at this point. They wouldn't understand
things clearly until after the resurrection of Christ. They
were true disciples, but they were cloudy about a lot of issues.
And he says on that day. You shall know. That I am in
my father. And you in me. And I in Now, this verse speaks of his
union with the Father. At that day, you shall know that
I am in my Father. Look at verse 8 of this same
chapter. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and
we'll be satisfied. Jesus saith unto him, have I
been so long time with you? And yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. And how
sayest thou, show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak
of you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth
in me. He doeth the works. Believe me
that I am in the Father and the Father. in me. You see, when
you see Jesus Christ, you see the Father. You see the living
God. You see the Creator of the universe. You know that Jesus Christ is
God. You know, even the thief on the
cross knew that. I love that when his buddy is railing on
the Lord and making fun of Him, speaking horrendously about Him.
He said, don't you fear God? You want to hear about that? At one hanging on the cross is
nobody less than God. Don't you fear God? Seeing you're
in the same condemnation, you'll know that. You'll know that Jesus
Christ is God. This is where we begin. Jesus
Christ is one with his Father, equal with God. You'll know that
I'm in my Father, and here's something else you'll know. You
will know that you are in me, and I am in you. Now, every doctrine of salvation
can only be grasped in light of union with the Lord Jesus
Christ. I'm in Him, and He is in me. How can God love me? Because
I'm in Him. And He's in me. How can God accept
me? Because I'm in Him. And He's
in me. How can God see me as righteous? Because I'm in Him. I am righteous. And He is in me. Every doctrine of Scripture.
How can God choose me? He chose me in His Son. Every
doctrine of Scripture can only be understood in light of union
with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how He can love me. That's
how He can accept me. That's how He can receive me.
I'm in Him, and He in me. I love what He says in verse
19. He says, Because I live, you shall live also. Why will I live? Because He lives. And every believer is united
to him. Now, let's. Back back to verse
16. Of our text, he says, and I will
pray the father. Notice this word begins with
an and and I will pray the father and he shall give you another
comforter that he may abide with you forever. Now, the word and
tells us that the thought begins in verse 15. He says, if you
love me, keep my commandments and I will pray the Father and
he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. None of the blessings of salvation
will be ours apart from keeping his commandments. You can just
write that down. I'm not saved because I keep
his commandments. I'm saved because Christ died
for my sins. I'm saved because God saved me. But there is no salvation apart
from keeping His commandments. Not just admiring them, but keeping
them. I myself must believe the gospel. I myself must bow the
knee to the Lord Jesus Christ. And if I do not, I will not be
saved. I don't have any right to even
suspect that God has any love for me if I do not keep His commandments. He's the author of eternal salvation
to them that obey him. Now, I repeat, I'm not saying
because I keep his commandments, but there is no salvation apart
from keeping his commandments. Now, let's go on reading. If
you love me, keep my commandments and I will pray the Father and
he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever,
and notice he says another comforter. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
comforter of his people. I have such comfort from knowing
that Jesus Christ is my righteousness before God. I have such comfort
from knowing that I am in him. That word is the paraclete. of
his people. That's what the word is, the
paraclete. In 1 John 2, 1, the same word is translated an advocate. We have an advocate, a paraclete
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And the word means
one who stands beside and gives aid. One who helps. I need help. I need aid. I love it when Jeremiah says,
turn me and I'll be turned. I need the Lord to turn me. I
need help. I need aid. One who is present. One who guides. One who teaches.
One who strengthens. Now what was Christ to his disciples
when they walked together on the earth? You think of that
Peter and James and John. Lord Jesus Christ was everything
to them. He was their guide. He was their strength. He was
the one who helped them. Who taught them. Who aided them.
He was everything to them. And he's now leaving them. But
he says, I'm going to send another comforter, I will pray the father,
I'm leaving you, and I'm sure they were scared to death at
the thought of that. And he shall give you another comforter, another
paraclete that he may abide with you forever. Even the spirit
of truth, God, the Holy Spirit, the other comforter. whom the
world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth
him. But you know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall
be in you. Now, the Comforter is the third
person of the Blessed Trinity, God, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit
of Truth, the Spirit of God, the Comforter. Now, God is one
God. There are not two gods, there
are not three gods. Hear, O Israel, the LORD thy God is one God. God is one God revealed in three
distinct separate persons. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. Do I understand that? No, I don't. I don't even come close to being
able to grasp or understand this, but I do believe this. With all
my heart, I believe that God is God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit, all equal, all God. One's not more God than the other.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But
do you know the Son subordinates Himself to the Father, doesn't
He? And the Spirit subordinates Himself to the Son. Thus He is
the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says in verse 18, I will not
leave you comfortless. I will come to you. You see,
when the Spirit of God comes to me, Jesus Christ Himself comes
to me. And all I experience of the Lord
Jesus Christ is by the Spirit of God. God the Father, God the
Son, God the Holy Spirit, all three persons of the Godhead
have their, I don't know what word is really, their part in
salvation. God the Father elects and chooses
who will be saved. That's clear from the scripture.
God the Son redeems those people. He puts away their sins. He lived
as a representative for those people. He kept the law for those
people. He redeemed those people on the cross. He now intercedes
for those people. The Son is the author of redemption.
And God, the Holy Spirit, is the author of regeneration. I'm
born of the Spirit. I'm given the Holy Spirit. That's
what the new birth is. Christ in you, the hope of glory. God, the Holy Spirit, birthed
in you into the kingdom of heaven. I have a nature. given to me
by the Holy Spirit, it's called being born again, that I did
not have. I have a spiritual nature now.
Every believer has it now. The Holy Spirit is mysterious,
isn't he? But let me tell you this, you know him if you know
the Lord Jesus Christ, because if you know Christ, you know
the Spirit of God. If you know God is your Father, you know
the Spirit of God. If you know the Spirit of God, you know God
is your Father and Christ is your Savior. I mean, you can't
separate any aspect of the salvation of
the Trinity. One's not more important than
the other. I can't be saved without God electing me. I can't be saved
without the Son redeeming me. I can't be saved without the
Holy Spirit giving me a new nature and giving me eyes to see the
Lord Jesus Christ and to believe on Him. He is that other comforter. He has the same comfort, but
He is the other comforter. And I love the way our Lord calls
Him the Spirit of Truth. What a name for the blessed spirit
of God. He's the spirit of truth. He's
not the spirit of error. Listen to this scripture, I'm
going to quote it to you. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13 says,
But we're bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation. through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the, what? Truth. Belief of the truth is
the sanctifying work of the Spirit. He is the Spirit of truth. And all of God's people bowed
at God's truth. Every single one of them. I've
said this so many times, I'm going to say it again. How much
you got to believe to be saved? Everything God says. If there's
anything God says and you say, I don't believe that, you're
not a believer. What do believers do? They believe. They have the teacher, the spirit
of truth. Now let's look at verse 17. Even
the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive. Now who's he talking about when
he talks about the world not being able to receive the spirit of truth?
Well, look across the page, a couple of pages to John chapter 17. Our Lord says in his great high
priestly prayer for his people, I pray for them. I pray not for
the world. And he says, I don't know how
many different ways you ought to take that. I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou has given me. For they are
thine. He's praying for the elect. The
world is everybody who's not elect. That's simple enough,
isn't it? That's who he's referring to.
That world that hates God. That world that Christ refused
to pray for. The lust of all that's of the
world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the
pride of life. That's what he's talking about.
He said the world, those who do not believe, those who reject
the gospel, it doesn't say they may not receive, it says they
cannot receive. They lack the ability to receive. They lack the ability because
of their depravity. 1 Corinthians 2.14 says, The
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for
their foolishness unto him. They say, well, this is the craziest,
most stupid stuff I've ever heard in my life. You expect me to
believe that? I expect you to have that response if you're
an unbeliever because you can't receive the things of the Spirit
of God. I realize that. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, for their foolishness unto them,
neither indeed can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned." I have to have the Holy Spirit to understand any
truth. You don't figure this thing out.
It's not something you, well, I'm going to apply myself until
I get this thing figured out. It can't be done. You have to
have the Spirit of God to teach you. Verse 17, Even the Spirit
of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him
not, neither knows him. But you know him, every believer, for
he dwelleth with you, and he shall be in you. Turn over to
John chapter 16 for just a moment. Verse 5, But now I go my way
to him that sent me. And none of you asked me, where
are you going? But because I said these things in the sorrow that
filled your heart and you can, can you imagine how stressed
out they were to know that the Lord was believing them? They
weren't going to have him anymore. Verse eight or verse seven. Nevertheless,
I tell you the truth. It's expedient for you. It's
necessary for you that I go away for if I go not away, the comforter,
the Holy Spirit will not come unto you. But if I depart, I
will send him unto you. Every believer has this blessed
Comforted the world can't receive him, but every believer does.
Verse 18. Of our text on Chapter 14. I
will not leave you comfortless. The marginal reading in my Bible
says I won't leave you orphans. I will come. To you. I'm going to go away. But I'm
not leaving you. When he comes to you, I'll come
to you, verse 19, yet a little while, and the world seeth me
no more. And he's talking about his death.
And I got to thinking about this. I can remember the first significant
death to me. It was when my grandfather died
in 1972. It was the first of my grandparents to die. It's
the first time someone close to me had died. August of 1972.
I remember when he died. And you know what? I've not seen
him since then. He's gone. Matter of fact, I
rarely think about him. At the time, I thought about
him. I remember when he first died, I thought about him a lot. I thought about
him being up, looking down on me and all the stupid things
people think when people die. Well, you know, they're up there
looking down on us. No, they're not. No, they're
not. But, you know, I seldom even
give him a thought. Now he's gone. And that's the
way people look at the Lord Jesus Christ. When he died, he's gone.
He's gone. He might have thought a lot about
him for a few months, a few weeks, maybe even a few years, but gradually
they'll quit thinking about him. Yet a little while and the world
sees me no more. He's a dead man gone. But you
see me. And because I live. You shall
live also. You see me. And this is true
of every believer. I had never seen the Lord Jesus
Christ physically. He never appeared in my room
or any of that kind of stuff, the way people talk. No, that
hadn't happened. But I see the Lord Jesus Christ. I see that he's God. I see that
He is the message of this book. I see that. I understand this
book. I understand that it's all regarding
Him and concerning Him and for His glory. I see that He is my
acceptance before the Father. I see that. I understand that.
We see Jesus. Turn back to John chapter 6. This will demonstrate this. John chapter 6. Verse 38, for I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent
me. And this is the Father's will which is sent me, that of
all which He hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which, what, seeth the Son, Now, I see
what I see. I see that everybody he died
for must be saved. I see that because of who he
is. I see the Son. I'm looking to him. Right now,
I see the Son as my acceptance before God. I see the Son. Now, everybody that sees the
Son and believes on him has everlasting life. Now, back to our text in
John 14. Yet a little while, and the world
seeth me no more. But you see me, and because I
live, you shall live also." I'm going to die, but I'm not
going to stay dead. And because I live, you shall
live also. Let me show you a passage of
Scripture in John chapter 11. Here's what this means. Verse 24. In verse 23, Jesus saith unto
her, Thy brother shall rise again. Remember, Lazarus had died. And
he says, Your brother will rise again. Martha said unto him,
I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection of the last
day. I'm already familiar with the doctrine of the resurrection.
I know that on the last day, the dead will be raised up. I
got that down pat. I already know that. I know that.
You're not telling me anything I don't know. Jesus said unto
her, I am the resurrection. The resurrection is not an event
that is going to take place on the last day. I am the resurrection. When I am raised, everybody I
represent is raised. And I am the life. It's my life
that's your life before God. He said, because I live. And
he says this to every believer. Because I live. He has life before
God. He is life. Because I live, you
shall live also. As long as Christ lives, I live
because I'm united to Him. This is my hope. Because I live,
you shall live also. Now here's the text. Back to
John 14. At that day, when God the Holy
Spirit gives you life, the spirit of truth, at that day, you shall
know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Now, this is what someone comes
to understand. and know and believe and rejoice
in when God teaches them. When God the Comforter, the Holy
Spirit comes on that day, you will know these three things.
That I'm in my Father. And you'll know that you're in
me. And you'll know that I am in
you. Now these are things that a believer
knows. And that doesn't just mean a
cognitive knowledge. That means something they love,
something they rejoice in. As a matter of fact, the word
no carries with it the idea of union. Adam knew his wife Eve. They became one. You'll know
this. This is not just talking about
information. I've got the right information. This means this
is something you're going to rejoice in when God teaches you.
And here's the first thing. You're going to know that I am
in my Father. We know that Jesus Christ is
no mere historical figure, a great religious leader. He is in the
Father. If he's in the Father, that means
when you see him, you see God. When that thief, I've already
mentioned that, I love thinking that thief, that thief, he's
the fellow who he would say has the minimal amount of knowledge,
right? The thief on the cross. He knew that Jesus Christ was
God. You never believed on him. If
you don't know that He is in the Father and the Father is
in Him, we know Jesus Christ is in the God the Father as God
the Son, and the words of Christ are the words of the Father.
And this tells me that all other religions are false. All other religious leaders are
phonies and nothing more. Jesus Christ is the truth. And anything that's contrary
to Him is a lie. We know that. We know that. What about other religions? What
about them? They're lies. They're phonies. But what about these great religious
figures? They're phonies and nothing more. Jesus Christ is
God. We know Him as such. You'll know that I am in my Father,
and you'll also know that you're in me and that I'm in you. Now, how is it that we know this?
I know that the most ignorant young believer knows this, and
this is seen in John chapter 14, verse 6, where the Lord said,
I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man comes to the father, but
by me. Now we know that we come to the
father. It's only by him. And here's something that we
understand. It's not that I'm saved because I'm pleading Him.
I'm only completing His name. No, I understand this. When He
comes to the Father, I come to the Father because I'm in Him.
That's what in Christ means. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus. Do you hear that? Of Him are
you in Christ Jesus. Who of God has made unto us wisdom. I'm the very wisdom of God in
Christ. I have His wisdom. Righteousness. I'm the very righteousness of
God in Him. Sanctification. Holiness. I'm
as holy as Jesus Christ is. His holiness is my holiness.
That's my holiness before God. Redemption, full deliverance
of him or you in Christ Jesus. Now, I understand. I know that
the only way I can come to the Father is as I am in him. And this is what we confess in
baptism. This is how basic this belief is. When I'm baptized,
you know what I confess? I confess that the only way that
I can be saved is through Christ living for me, keeping the law
for me, dying for me, paying for my sins. I confess that when
He kept the law, I kept the law. That's my righteousness before
God. That's what we say in the Bible. When He died, I died. My sins were paid for. When He
was raised from the dead, I was raised from the dead. The only
hope I have, and what a hope it is, this is a glorious hope. This is a wonderful, this is
a saving hope. But the only hope that I have,
I confess this, the only hope I have is that I'm in Him. That's
my only hope of acceptance before God. But I tell you what, that's
a wonderful hope. He has made us accepted in the
Beloved. Isn't that a wonderful place
to be? It doesn't have anything to do with my works. He's made me accepted.
I'm accepted by God. He looks at me, He's pleased
with me. He sees me as lovely. How lovely is Jesus Christ? That's
how lovely I am. Because I'm united to Him. That's
my hope. And this... I know. I know I'm
in Him. Now, how do you know you're in
Him? Well, here's the one evidence that you know you're in Him.
This is an infallible evidence. If you know you're in Him, you
really believe your only hope of being saved is being in Him.
And you trust only Him as the only way you can come into the
presence of God. Do you believe? Do you believe? Then you're in Him. That's the evidence. Isn't that wonderful to be in
the Lord Jesus Christ? And you'll know that. This isn't
some kind of hide and seek. Well, it is hide and it is deep
and it is glorious. I realize that. But it is the
basic hope of even the youngest believer. They know the only
way they can be accepted by God and be saved and being found
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul put it this way in Philippians
chapter three, verse nine. Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found where? In him. When God comes looking
for me. You know, I'm preaching right
now, I'm preaching the gospel, wouldn't it be kind of neat if
the Lord came and he came and found me preaching the gospel?
I'd like for him to come while I'm preaching the gospel. You
know what that is? That's a bunch of vanity. I'd love for the Lord to come
and find me. He returns and he finds me witnessing
to somebody, or praying on my knees and praying, or reading
the Scripture, or maybe fasting or something like that. You know,
well, I'd like for the Lord to come and find me doing something.
No, Paul says, I simply want to be found in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Not having my own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ. The righteousness which is of God by faith. You want to be found in Christ?
Every believer understands that. Now look what he says in our
text again. Verse 20. In that day you shall know that
I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Now I know for sure I know this. I believe. And I know why I believe. It's because Christ is in me.
It's not because I decided to believe. It's not from an act
of my will. I know that the only reason I
believe is Christ liveth in me. I know that. I'm convinced. I'm persuaded. Paul said, I live
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now
live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who
loved me and gave himself for me. Christ in you, the hope of
glory. I know this. I mean, this is
something. I mean, I know it's one thing to tell you I know,
and it's another thing to know, but I know that the only reason I
believe is because Christ liveth in me. I love the Lord God. We were singing that song at
the first of this service. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
all thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea. And I was just, oh, all his works
do praise him. Just what a glorious hymn. I
love him! And I know why I love him. Because
He first loved me and Christ lives in me. That's the only
reason. I know I wouldn't if He didn't live. I know myself
enough to know that I'm nothing but evil in and of myself. If I love God, it's because He
put that love there. I know that. Christ in you. The hope of glory. How can God
love me? I've been Christ and He's in
me. And God can't help but love me. I'm lovable. I'm lovable. You know, people talk about,
I want somebody to love me unconditionally. I don't. I want somebody to love
me because they love me. Because they see me as somebody
to love. There's no such thing as unconditional
love anyway. That's a non-entity. God doesn't love people unconditionally.
He loves them as their only son. That's how He loves. And that's
how I... God loves me. How can God love
me? I know why. Because I'm just
as beautiful as Jesus Christ. That's how. How can God choose
me? Because He cannot choose me.
Behold, mine elect, in whom my soul delights, God says. Talking
about the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the first elect, and everybody
in Him that are united to Him, He can't help but choose them.
Why would God choose me? Because I'm in Christ. Because
I'm viewed in Him. How can God accept me? Because
I'm in Christ. How can God view me as righteous
when I don't feel like I'm righteous and I don't? Because I am righteous
in the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm united to Him and I am righteous. How could God have known me before
I had any existence? He said, before I formed thee
in the belly, I knew thee. Well, how old is the Lord Jesus
Christ? That's how old I am. You see,
this union with Christ never had a starting point. That blows
my mind. I can't fathom it, but it's true.
This thing of union with Christ never had a beginning. I've always
been in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is one of those things
where you don't even come close to understanding, but you just
believe. I understand how God could love
me. I want to close by looking at
Ephesians chapter 5. Verse 25, Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
church and gave himself for it, that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word that he might present it to himself. A glorious church. Not having spot, wrinkle, or
any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives
as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord
the church. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they too shall be one flesh." This is a great mystery, but
I speak. I'm telling you how to be married
and how to have a good marriage and happy marriage. That's in
there, no doubt about it. But Paul says, I speak. When
I'm talking about husbands love your wives as Christ loved the
church, I'm speaking concerning Christ and His church, the two
are one. One. One with the Lord Jesus
Christ. So look back at verse 28. So
want men to love their wives as their own bodies? He that
loveth his wife loveth who? Himself. When Jesus Christ loves
me, you know who He's loving? Himself. Himself. I don't know how to wrap this
up, except to say with Paul, Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in Him. Not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, But that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I might
know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship
of His sufferings being made conformable unto His death, if
by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead. Let's pray.