Blessed Assurance

John 14:20-27 In John chapters 14-16 Jesus shares some intimate and powerful teaching with His disciples to comfort them and prepare them for the soon coming time that He will be leaving them. Many of these things they wouldn't be able to understand until after the resurrection and Pentecost. In our scripture today, we are looking at a small piece of this teaching. The following quote may shed some light on verse 14:20 “That I am in the Father' in vital union with the source of all life, ‘And that you are in me.’ vitally connected with me so as to receive that life that I live, ‘and I in you,’ filling you with all the fullness that is in myself, living out my own life in and through you, and finding in you room for the output of all that I am.” The realization of this cannot manifest itself to any great extent unless we have His commands and obey them (V21) and obey His teaching (V23). Our obedience is an indicator of our love for Him. That obedience should not be driven by, “I guess I better do it, but I really don’t want to”; but as a natural outgrowth of our love for Him. In John 15:12, Jesus comes right out and tells the disciples what His command is “My command is this: love each other as I have loved you." Jesus would soon show the full extent of His love for them by laying down His life; but up to this time He had spent massive time with them, patiently taught and explained many things to them, and met their physical and spiritual needs. He demonstrated His love by the way He reached out and healed and comforted the poor and needy as He encountered them. Jesus also explains how that when He left, the Holy Spirit would come and continue to do what Jesus had done for them from the inside, teaching, reminding and bringing to remembrance all that He had said.