John 14:15-17 15“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, in order that he might be with you forever, 17the Spirit of truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because it neither perceives nor knows him. You yourselves know him, for he abides with you and will be in you.
The discussion at the supper moved to new topics, but each new topic reflects back on what Jesus had already said. Jesus repeats the keyword love (agapaō) from 13:34 in the form of a conditional sentence. The crucial action the disciples must do is to love Jesus. Love is an abstract idea that can only be shown in actions. It is not enough to say one loves another. Love is meaningless without proof of some type. Jesus gave the expected action or proof of the disciples’ love as obedience to his commands.
The theme of love guides much of what Jesus says for the rest of his teaching at the supper. The context is significant since he set the foundation for love by his relationship with the Father. To love Jesus is to love the Father. Jesus gave many commands in his teachings, but in this last supper with his disciples, he focused on the crucial need for them to live a life of love. The verb will keep (tērēsete) is future tense, which suggests a degree of certainty in the condition. There cannot be any compromise between loving Jesus and obeying his commands. This idea will be repeated in verses 21, 23; 15:14.
The command to love in obedience is connected to the “greater works” of verse 12. The greatest work the disciples could do would be to love like Jesus. Verse 16 introduces the source God provides to do the greater works and to love. Jesus expresses this as a prayer to the Father, and we know that his prayers were always answered because he prayed in the Father’s will.
Jesus introduces a crucial idea for his troubled disciples. He would not leave them alone but would ask the Father to send them another Helper. Because Jesus always prayed in God’s will, the disciples could be assured that this prayer would be answered. The word for Helper (paraklēton) has been variously translated and interpreted. The word is formed from two words: para, meaning come alongside, and kaleō, to call. It describes someone serves as a counselor or advocate. A cognate word means to exhort or encourage. The word was used in a legal sense as a defending lawyer or witness who would represent a person in trial.
Jesus added the word another, meaning that there was a first, who would have been himself. He came from the Father to serve as a helper and counselor to guide humanity to the way of truth. Since he would soon depart, the disciples would need another advocate and encourager who would guide them to follow the way of truth that Jesus had taught them. The new helper would be with them forever, which is a significant time indicator that matches the gift of eternal life God would provide through Jesus. Jesus told Nicodemus in chapter 3 about how the Holy Spirit would bring new life from above to those who believe. The Spirit would be present forever with that eternal life.
The description of the Spirit as truth extends Jesus’ own identity as the Truth from verse 6. Jesus repeats this description in 15:26 and 16:13. The Spirit confirms and reaffirms the truth Jesus revealed. The focus of the Spirit’s help will be to point to Jesus and draw the disciples to him as the truest revelation from God the Father.
The world, representing those who do not believe and are lost in darkness (1:10), cannot receive this special Spirit because it has not accepted the light of the truth found in Jesus. If anyone in the world puts his or her faith in Jesus, that person is no longer part of the world but becomes part of God’s eternal family. Unbelievers cannot perceive (theōrei), see, marvel, or notice the Spirit because their hearts are hardened and their focus is on themselves or things of this world. Idolatry of every form stops us from sensing the direction and conviction of the Spirit of God. To know Jesus opens us to knowing the Spirit.
Jesus gave the disciples another wonderful promise at the end of verse 17 that the Spirit has been with them, speaking to them, and helping them see the truth of Jesus. The Spirit would also be with them in the future when Jesus was no longer physically with them. They had already experienced hints of the Spirit’s work and would come to know more after Jesus’ victorious resurrection and exaltation to the Father. The gift of the Holy Spirit awaits those who believe in the truth of Jesus.
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