John 14:10–14 (WEL) “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you I don’t speak from myself, but the Father, who is in me, does the works. 11 “Believe me, I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me on account of the works. 12 “Very truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and greater than these will he do because I go to my Father. 13 “Whatever you will ask in my name, I will do so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 “If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.
V10 “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you I don’t speak from myself, but the Father, who is in me, does the works.
Jesus is teaching the oneness of God. The Trinity is one God of three persons: God the Father and God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each person is separate, and yet there is one God. The oneness of God is His essence: 1) God is a spirit (the stuff that God is, and it is different from angel spirit stuff), 2) the character traits of God, namely His incommunicable traits as eternity, self-existence, life, omniscience, etc., and His communicable traits, shared by humans, as love, anger, compassion, reason, etc.
Thus, Jesus’s words are the words of God, the one God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
There is a hierarchy in the Trinity; it is what the Trinity chose. First there is the Father, then the Son, and finally the Holy Spirit. They are equal; they are not separate.
As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, but Jesus as God the Son is one with the Father.
Jesus is also the perfect Son. Compare Hebrews 1:3 and Matthew 3:17.
Comments:
(Illustrated Bible Survey) “However, key differences set Jesus’s priesthood apart from Aaron’s: (1) though Jesus was ‘tempted in every way as we are’ (Hebrews 4:15), He did not sin; (2) as a sinless priest, Jesus did not have to offer sacrifices for Himself as Aaron did; (3) Jesus was not of the Levitical priesthood descended from the Levites but is God’s Son, and ‘a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’ (Hebrews 6:20); and (4) Jesus was perfect and became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation. Therefore, believers have an anchor for their souls which is secured in heaven (Hebrews 6:19).”
V11 “Believe me, I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me on account of the works.”
The above discussion of the Trinity would be extremely difficult for a first-century Jew. The Trinity is taught in the Old Testament with Isaiah 48:16 being the clearest. Compare Psalm 110:1 where they speak to one another and Isaiah 63:7–10.
Comments:
(Holman Commentary) “The term for God in Genesis (Elohim) is analyzed as a plural noun. It can be translated “gods” as it is in a number of instances (e.g., Genesis 35:2, 4; Exodus 18:11; Exodus 20:3). The plural is usually described as a plural of majesty to denote totality and majesty but not multiplicity in keeping with the monotheistic view of God for the Israelites (Deuteronomy 6:4). However, the word can also be taken as a term that signifies a plurality (i.e., a Trinity) within a unity of one God. This view is possible from Genesis 1:2, 26 and Isaiah 6:8. Other scriptural evidences for the Trinity found in the Old Testament include Psalms 2:7; 45:7; 110:1; Isaiah 48:16.”
When Jesus speaks of the works, this refers to the works that God the Father has done in the Old Testament. Jesus does the same. There is creating, healing, and other miracles.
V12 “Very truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and greater than these will he do because I go to my Father.
Believes in Jesus for saving faith. All Christians are able to do what the Father does PROVIDED God wants it done. If He wants it done, then He works through us to accomplish His will. Compare Elijah praying for rain (1 Kings 18:41–46) and then running faster than the horses (1 Kings 18:46).
V13 “Whatever you will ask in my name, I will do so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
What a promise. John, the Apostle, knew what Jesus meant, but some believed a name-it, claim-it understanding. John clarifies this in 1 John 5:14.
All answered prayers are for His glory. Do you thank God and honor Him for your answered prayers?
V14 “If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.”
As above, it is so if the prayer is in accordance with God’s will.
Jesus, being God, can do anything. Consider all the miracles that Jesus did: 1) healed all types of illness, 2) controls the weather, 3) casts out demons, 4) raises the dead, and 5) performs unusual and impossible feats, such as walking on the water.
Why is not all sickness healed? Sometimes we do not know because it is not revealed to us. Other times we understand later.
We learn:
- Jesus is God, the Son of God, and the second member of the Trinity.
- Some points teaching about prayer.
Questions:
- Do you believe in the Trinity?
- Do you have a prayer list and pray every day?