Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 14:12 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
These words are stunning, important, and encouraging. Do you remember that I mentioned when we looked at the first few verses of this chapter, that the place Jesus had in mind to prepare for us was not a mansion in heaven when we die? This verse verifies that assertion. Notice that Jesus told them that because He was going to the Father (to prepare a dwelling place for them) they would do the greater works in this world than He has done. That’s why I suggest that Jesus was explaining to them how they were going to love one another even as He had loved them rather than encouraging them that they were going to have a home in heaven when they died. Don’t get me wrong. He did prepare a place for us in heaven when we die, but His going to the Father was primarily about salvation in this world, now, not salvation after we die. He who believes in Jesus as the way, truth, and the life of God has a new purpose in life—to do the works of Jesus like Jesus did the works of the Father. This is pivot point number two! Pivot point number one: Jesus and the Father are one. Pivot point number two: Believers and Jesus are one. Now when we testify about ourselves that Jesus is alive and living in us, we not only have our testimony about ourselves, but we also have the works of Jesus to testify that He lives in us and we in Him. Jesus was calling His disciples to a new purpose in life. They were to no longer live to make a name for themselves (by the way they had just been arguing about who was the greatest only minutes before) or to discover their best life or for self-actualization or even to live for Him. This is a call to a radical, this-changes-everything new purpose: to live to love with and in Jesus as He lives in them. A call to do the works of Christ for the glory of God.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 14:11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.
We should pivot and seek after Jesus because of two witnesses. First, the witness of Jesus’ own testimony. Second, the witness of the works He did while on the earth. If the self-testimony of Christ are denied, the source and authority of the works He did cannot be denied. Again, Jesus identified the pivot point, the seismic faith-building reality: Jesus is in God and God is in Him. They are one in essence. True faith abides or lives in this great and awesome reality. John said it this way in his first letter: 1 John 4:2-3 “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.” This is so foundational that John also described this union of God and man as he testified to those who are true believers. This truth is what this verse opens up for us. John wrote in 1 John 4:15-16 “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” Let’s connect a couple of dots. Where is the place that Jesus went to prepare for us to live? That place is in Himself, who is in God! It’s the place He said in verse 3 that made it possible for Him to come to us so we could be where He is. He is our abiding place, our dwelling place so that we can love as He loves.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.
Here is a fundamental truth to Christianity. We believe that Jesus, the Son is in the Father, God and that the Father, God is in Jesus the Son. Jesus’ point to His disciples was that they have been walking with God in the flesh for 3 years. When Jesus spoke, they heard His Father in heaven at work. The very words Jesus spoke to them had been given to Him by the Father, who abides in the Son. Can you imagine what was happening in the minds and hearts of the disciples when they heard these words? Yes, they thought Jesus had God with Him and that He spoke to them the words of God, but this was more—way more. Jesus didn’t just have God with Him. Jesus was one with God and God was one with Him. The words originated from the Father in the Son and the Son lived in His Father’s words. That mutual abiding relationship revealed the true God. That’s what Jesus meant when He said He was the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one could come to the Father except by and through Him. Let’s be encouraged and amazed at this: The union of God and man, revealed in Jesus Christ, makes it possible for us to know, love, and experience God in this world. When we listen to and watch Jesus revealed in the gospels, we are listening to and watching God!

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Here they are again being told that they don’t know Jesus or what He came for. Philip, like Thomas, and the rest of the disciples had not come to know Jesus, but in this verse, everything changes. We all hit the pivot point together just as John planned through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Jesus and the Father are one. To see Jesus is the way to see the truth and the life of the Father in real time, in flesh and blood. The entire time the disciples had been with Jesus, they didn’t really know who they were watching. They were watching God, the Father, at work. They were watching His character revealed. They were experiencing the love of the Father, God. This is amazing! They didn’t recognize or understand what Jesus was doing. This should sober us. It is possible to see, but not see; and to hear, but not understand. Ok, let’s pivot right here and go back and read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but this time, when you read about what Jesus said and did, ponder this reality. You are reading about God, the Father. The life in Jesus is the life of the Father. Keep this pattern in mind when it comes to living to love with Jesus because it is another seismic shift of perspective. The life in those who believe in Jesus is the life of Jesus, Himself. That’s why I phrase the Christian life in this way: We are loving and glorifying God by living to love with Jesus. He is our Life. His Life is our Light, and that light is the love of God.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 14:8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."
Have you ever been slow to understand something someone is trying to teach you? I have. Like Philip, we hear, but we don’t understand. We read our Bibles, sit through sermon after sermon, listen to podcast after podcast, and experience the love of God through parents, siblings, pastors, and friends, yet, we want more because what we have seen and experienced wasn’t understood. Philip requested what he thought they lacked. "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." There is probably some “Philip” in each of us that feels like Jesus hasn’t given us enough to live by or to live for? Like Philip, we just don’t understand what God has been doing and revealing to us everyday of our lives. Have you been following Jesus, but still feel something is missing? Get ready, Philip. You are about to come to your pivot point where everything changes!

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com