The "because" of John 14:12 points to His position of power and all authority at the right hand of the Father - faith in His name is unquestioning dependence upon who He is, what He has done, and His exalted position as the living, ascended, glorified Lord of all. He is demonstrated as Lord of all in all His answers to all we ask in His name.

The scope of such highly motivated prayer is unlimited.

John 14:13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, ..."

Divine action in answer to this properly motivated prayer is through the Son, "I will do it." Then the object of such prayer is achieved -

John 14:13 "... that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

The willingness of Jesus to be asked and to answer is emphasised -

John 14:14 "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it"

Effectiveness in prayer flows out of obedience to Him (John 14:15 ).

John 14:16 "... that he may abide with you for ever; "

There is nothing intermittent about the Spirit's coming. His presence is permanent and perpetual.

John 14:17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, ..."

Implying His personality and Godhead. He is the revealer and convincer of truth, the enlightener and illuminator and imparter and maintainer of truth in the church.

John 14:17 "... because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; ..."

Unrenewed man cannot compare spiritual things with spiritual, nor spiritually discern (1 Corinthians 2:13-14 ), because not having Christ he cannot have the Spirit of truth.

John 14:18 "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."

In the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, Jesus meets all our needs.

The world was to see Him no more after His death. His own did in His resurrection appearances (John 14:19 ). His resurrection life is the foundation and the guarantee of our life as believers.

John 14:19 "... Because I live, you will live also."

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit brings consciousness of the presence of Jesus with us and we experience continuous communion with Him, which reveals as nothing else can, the union of the Son and the Father and His being in us (John 14:20 ). Because Jesus Christ is in the Father He is able to be with and in us by the Holy Spirit. It is the loving, the obedient, who know and experience this intimacy (John 14:21 ). Further explanation of the fullness that comes through loving Him and keeping His Word in answer to the question by Judas (not Iscariot) (John 14:22 ). Love to Jesus proved by obedience will be responded to by the love and presence of the Father (John 14:23 ). Those who reject His Word are being disobedient to the Word of the Father (John 14:24 ).

The double function of the Holy Spirit is teaching new truth and bringing old truth to remembrance (John 14:26 ). A parting legacy of His peace is made actual in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (John 14:27 ). the world cannot experience nor give a trouble-free heart (John 14:27 ). It is a gift only He can give. The prediction of His departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit was given to build faith (John 14:28-29 ). We can be assured that by His Spirit He will fortify us and build up our faith to face trials, ahead, unknown to us, but not outside His knowledge. Just as His love for the Father was made known by His obedience to the Father's commandment - so our love for Him and true fellowship of the Holy Spirit will be seen in our obedience (John 14:30-31 ).

John 15:1 "I am the true vine, ..."

He lives in His people by the Holy Spirit, and by their life in the Holy Spirit they are nourished in Him. This parable anticipated the fruit and power of the Spirit in those supernaturally grafted into Christ the true, that is the veritable, or ideal vine. (Galatians 5:22-23; Acts 1:8 ). Christ's incorporation of the people of His love with Himself is expressed in the epistles, by the head and the members of the body, (1 Corinthians 12:11-27; Ephesians 4:15-16; 5:30; Romans 12:4-5 ), made a reality through life in the Spirit.

John 15:1 "... and My Father is the vinedresser. "

The Father grafts the plants into the vine and supports and guards the vine, bringing forth abundant fruit.

	He removes every non fruit bearing branch (John 15:2 ).
	He prunes every branch to provide more fruit (John 15:2 ).

Applied to local expressions of the body of Christ, fruitless churches will not survive, and fruitful churches will by trial and opposition, become more fruitful. The Word is cleansing and searching in its power, so that its reception prepares for fruitfulness.

John 15:3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you."

"Clean" - that is, pruned. The Word is the normal way of pruning.

A perpetual fellowship with Christ is the law of life and fruitfulness. (Galatians 2:20 ).

John 15:4 "Abide in me, and I in you. ..."

Dependence on Christ is an absolute for the believer. He has no other source of fruitfulness or power.

John 15:5 "... without Me you can do nothing."

Not to be in vital union with Christ is to reject Christ and become rejected. Not to abide in Him is to be in disuse - withered and burned (John 15:6 ). Living in communion with Christ, His Word dwells richly in you. When His Word forms our desires they become requests He can and will answer (John 15:7 ).

In the abundant fruit the glory of the Father's grace and power is seen (John 15:8 ), and there is joy in it being shown that we have learned Christ.

Love without obedience is not Jesus love (John 15:9-10 ). Christlike love and obedient self-sacrifice issues in reception of Christ's joy.

John 15:11 "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

His life manifested in us bringing true fellowship with Him, resulting in His joy being shared, which continues and bursts into fullness of His real joy (1 John 1:1-4 ).

John 15:12,13 "... as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. "

This involves loving one another deeply, tenderly, patiently, enduringly, selflessly.

John 15:14,15 "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. ¹⁵ ... all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you."

Note the words "chose", "appointed", "fruit", "remain", in John 15:16. These words back up our asking and sure receiving, and issues in loving all His fruitful ones (John 15:17 ).

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QUESTIONS FOR GROUP INTERACTION

1. Can you explain the meaning of asking in His name and how this is related to asking anything? (John 14:13-15 ).
2. Is the double function of the Holy Spirit experienced by you? (John 14:26 ).
3. How is your faith built up by Christ's teaching about His departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit? (John 14:28,29 ).
4. Can you in practical terms describe your life in Christ through the Holy Spirit? (John 15:1 ).
5. What is involved in the care of God for the Church? Does God remove local Churches when there is no Christ-fruit? (John 15:2 ).
6. What is the normal way used to prune us? (John 15:3 ).
7. What does it mean to love as Jesus loved? (John 15:12,13 ).