1 John 5: Water + Blood + Spirit = Baptism

If you look about halfway down the 1 John 5 in the NIV, you’ll notice that the last section is titled “Concluding Remarks.” This section title could be an accurate title for the whole chapter because it seems like John is simply repeating and summarizing what he’s taught so far into a nice conclusion. Yet John does have morsels of new information in this chapter. I’m not going to spend on reviewing the old information because I’m saving that for a grand conclusion on the epistle of 1 John. Instead, I’m going to pick out one of the morsels of new information and expound on that. I’m really excited about the morsel I picked because it centers around my Mennonite beliefs. The verses I have chosen are 1 John 5:6-8.

1 John 5:6–8-

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

The Mennonites believe heavily the Jesus to show the way how to live and bring about God’s Kingdom in our behavior. To them, Christ’s life on earth is a demonstration on how Christians should live their lives. I also firmly believe in this, believing that Jesus never asked His disciples to talk or act differently than He did. Jesus walked the walk as much as Jesus talked the talk. This doctrine provides a wonderful answer to the question, “Why did Jesus get baptized?” Most Christian denominations recognize baptism as a public sign that shows confession and repentance of sins, dying to the old, sinful self, believing in the Lord Jesus, and rising up to new life in him. If baptism has a lot to do with rejecting sins and the sinful nature, then why did Jesus, who perfectly sinless, have to get baptized? The Mennonite doctrine gives us a simple answer. Jesus was setting up an example. Jesus wanted his followers to live exactly as he did. So if Jesus wanted his followers to get baptized, he needed to get baptized as well. Jesus did get baptized, and therefore Christians need to be baptized, too.

When most people think of baptism, they think of water. The thought of baptism might even spark a debate among Christians on which method is the right method to baptize someone (sprinkling, anointing, dunking, etc.). The Mennonite Confession of Faith chooses not to debate those methods of baptism, but it does look at 3 different types of baptism. It is a baptism of water, a baptism of blood and a baptism of Spirit, as written in 1 John 5:6-8. Jesus got baptized in all 3 ways, and so Christians need to also be baptized in these 3 different ways.

Let’s start with Jesus because Jesus is our example. Jesus received all 3 baptisms. The first and obvious baptism is the baptism of water. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by his second cousin John the Baptist at the age of 30. This baptism signified the start of Christ’s ministry. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit rested on him in the form of a dove. This is the baptism of the Spirit, the Spirit testifying about Christ’s baptism. If this is not enough proof, throughout Christ’s ministry, Jesus preached on how the Holy Spirit testifies about him. Even after Christ’s earthly life, the Holy Spirit continued to testify about Jesus in the same way. So without a doubt, Jesus had baptism of the Spirit. The third baptism was the baptism of blood. This event is also an obvious one. Christ’s baptism of blood was his crucifixion on the cross. 1 John 5:6-8 says that these 3 baptisms serve as a testimony that Jesus was the Christ. The book of Deuteronomy states that a testimony needs 2 or 3 witnesses to verify the testimony as truth. John declares that the baptism of water, Spirit and blood testify that Jesus is the Christ. Considering the context, John has once again shot down the heretical false teachers that deny Jesus is human, God or the Christ, for John has provided 3 witnesses that say differently.

Now just as Jesus was baptized 3 ways, the Christian life calls Christians to also be baptized in those 3 different ways. First of all, there’s water baptism. Just like the Lord’s Supper, the Mennonites see baptism as a symbolic. I’ve noticed that the more symbolic something comes, the less emphasis is put on it. I also see baptism as a symbolic sign, so I therefore also see that baptism is not required for salvation. Once again, I will always point you to the criminal on the cross who recognized he was a sinner and that Jesus was the holy God. He did not get baptized, yet Jesus said he would be in paradise. Water baptism is not required for salvation, but it is highly recommended for those who can to do so. Why? First of all, Jesus did it, and if we are able to, we need to follow His example and do exactly what He did. Second, the symbolism behind it displays who we are as Christians and what it means to be Christian. Just as we “bury” ourselves in the water when we perform baptism by dunking, so we die to our old lives of sin. Just as we anoint ourselves with water to when we performing baptism by pouring, so we set ourselves apart for serving the Lord (in Old Testament times, anointing was a symbolic sign to show that the person was consecrated and dedicated to the Lord for His service). Just as water cleans things (dishes, laundry, etc.), so baptism represents that we have been cleansed of our sin. Third, baptism displays the person’s faith publicly, to the church and to the world. Baptism becomes an action that defends the belief. In a way, it is proof to the belief. If the baptism is done in a really public place, like an outdoor place, it can even be an evangelistic witness to the world. Fourth and finally, baptism can be identification in the church. When a person is baptized, the person shows that he or she is one and the same as all the other people in the church. The similarity is that they’ve all been baptized. It’s a spiritual take on the saying, “Blood is thicker than water.” If blood is what connects the physical family, then water baptism is what connects the spiritual family.

Second of all, there’s the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This baptism is a required baptism because it is the “proof of purchase” that the person has been saved. All Christians receive the Holy Spirit when they are saved. If someone does not have the Holy Spirit, they are not saved. The Holy Spirit is needed in the person’s life, for the Holy Spirit is the one who makes the person a new creation. The Holy Spirit baptism literally does what the water baptism symbolically does. The Holy Spirit kills the sin within us. The Holy Spirit washes us clean of sin. The Holy Spirit sets us apart and makes a new creation for the service of God. The Holy Spirit unites a Christian with the rest of the body of Christ. What is the relation between water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism? Do a read through of the book of Acts, or at least a quick skim. You’ll find out that people received the Holy Spirit before, during and after water baptism. It is never too late for either water baptism or Holy Spirit baptism.

Last of all, there’s the baptism of blood. The baptism of blood has a rich history with the Mennonites. Back when the Anabaptist movement (which would birth the Mennonite denomination) began, the Anabaptist beliefs weren’t accepted by other church denominations. These churches would persecute, even martyr, Anabaptists who didn’t agree with their faith statements. Yeah, that’s right, Anabaptists were being tortured, even killed for baptizing adults, calling the Lord’s Supper symbolic, and putting God and His Law over the government and its laws. After all, heresy and treason were one and the same during medieval times. Thus, the Anabaptists, and later on, the Mennonites, held strongly to the baptism of blood. Just as Jesus was persecuted and martyred for his teachings, so Christians must also be willing to accept persecution and martyrdom for holding on to the true teachings of Jesus. Just as Jesus was baptized by blood in his crucifixion, Christians must also be willing to give up their lives in the same way.

When the rest of the Christian world finally figured out that the Mennonites had it right the whole time (notice how most evangelical Christians, who are the majority of Christianity today, practice adult baptism and hold communion to be symbolic), the persecution of Mennonites decreased greatly, and Mennonites no longer were killed or tortured for their faith. So what was to become of the baptism of blood? Was it only to be conditional? Was it to be voluntarily or optional? The Mennonites turned to verses like Romans 12:1. In Romans 12:1, Paul calls Christians to become “living sacrifices.” The paradoxical term simply means to yield your personal wants and needs in life and to give them up for the sake of God and His kingdom. The Gospel accounts further continue this idea, when Jesus tells the disciples to “take up their cross” (see Matthew 10:38 and Mark 8:34). Once again, the term simply means to give you all to God. Just like you are dead to your sins and alive in righteousness because of Jesus, you are now dead your personal needs and wants and you’re now alive to glorifying God and advancing His kingdom. The baptism of blood means that you reject the ways of the world and accept the ways of God, even if it comes to your own personal life. This also still retains its original meaning, for if rejecting the world and accepting Jesus means persecution and death, the Christian must willingly face it. A Christian who has been baptized by blood has willingly taken on the life of the suffering servant, just like Jesus lived out. This also unites fellow Christians.

Baptism is not as simple as being one-fold. Baptism is three-fold. Baptism consists of a baptism of water, a baptism of the Holy Spirit and a baptism of blood. These 3 baptisms serve as witness. Jesus received all 3 baptisms. They witnessed that Jesus was the Christ. Anyone who also receives the same 3 baptisms has witnesses that declare that the person is a Christian. Whether you’re a Mennonite or not, I encourage everyone to receive these 3 baptisms. Be baptized with the Holy Spirit by accepting Jesus and being saved from your sins. Be baptized with water, and make your faith public to the church and to the world. Be baptized by blood, and adopt a life where you’re willing to do anything for God and His kingdom, even if it means suffering.

John 16: The Trinity Revealed Again

In John 16, we will continue our talk about the Trinity. John 14-16 has been all about trinity. John 14 was the Trinity we are most familiar with. It’s the one between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, marked with a capital T. John 15 was a different trinity. This trinity was between God, Jesus and Christians, marked with a lowercase t. John 16 will get us back to talking about the Trinity with a capital T again. Yet John 16 will not be a full discussion on the Trinity. John 16 will focus on the person of the trinity we talked about the least so far: the Holy Spirit. But before we get into that, you’ll remember that John 15 I cut off at verse 17, explaining that verses 18 to 27 would fit better in chapter 16 than in chapter 15. So I’ll briefly go over the remaining verses in chapter 15 to set the scene, but then we’ll dive right into chapter 16.

John 15:18-25 is pretty much Jesus not trying to sugar-coat the dire situation the disciples would be facing. He reminds them of what he said just a few minutes earlier, as recorded in John 13:16: “No servant is greater than his master.” In its original context, it was simply Jesus calling the disciples to live a humbled life, for it was the only way to be truly great in the kingdom of God. Now Jesus says it again to state the obvious fact that if people hated the master, they will hate his servants as well. Jesus pretty much says to the disciples that every thing they see the Jews and the Romans do to Jesus, it will happen to them. Just as Jesus was persecuted, so the disciples will be persecuted. Just as Jesus was martyred, so the disciples will be martyred. Jesus tells the disciples not to take it personally because it’s really their hatred of the Father that results in the hatred towards them. But Jesus does add a flip side to all this negative talk. Anyone who listens to and receives the teachings of Jesus will also listen to the disciples’ teachings about the Father and the Son.

The last 2 verses of John 15 are the perfect transition to our talk about the Holy Spirit in John 16. In verse 26, the Holy Spirit is called the “Counselor.” Verse 26 tells us the Counselor is from the Father and is sent out by the Son. Putting together verses 26 and 27, we understand a job the Holy Spirit has. The Holy Spirit aids Christians in testifying about Jesus. Jesus specifically commands the disciples to testify because they have been with Jesus since the beginning. As we remember from John 1, some of the disciples were even there to witness the baptism of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was given to the disciples to help them remember everything about Jesus they witnessed, and the power to proclaim Jesus boldly in the face of persecution, for they are going to need it.

The first 4 verses of John 16 go back off the topic of the Holy Spirit and go back on the topic of the world hating the disciples. Once again, Jesus reminds of them of the persecution they will face. One of the persecutions they will face is being “put out of the synagogue.” This is not simply to be taken literally. This is excommunication, or shunning. Jews would treat anyone “put out of the synagogue” as if they were Gentiles. It was one of the greatest shames in the Jewish culture. The disciples would have to face this. Jesus goes on to say that not only will the disciples face execution, but even more so that the enemies of the disciples will think they are executing the disciples to please God. Once again, Jesus states the reason for giving them the bad news is to be realistic to them. He didn’t give the bad news right away because he knew the disciples weren’t ready for it yet, and He didn’t want them leaving merely because of it. But after hearing all this bad news, no wonder why the disciples will scatter during the Christ’s trials and crucifixion in John 18 and 19. No wonder the disciples will keep the doors locked after the resurrection in John 20. After hearing all this bad news, they seriously believe all the Jewish leaders will come after them next. And this bad news is starting to get to them. Jesus notices it in verse 6. If the disciples’ faces were sad in chapters 13 and 14, they are downright depressed in chapters 15 and 16.

Jesus tries to comfort the disciples by telling them that it is good for Jesus to leave them. If Jesus does not leave them, the Counselor will not come. Have you ever thought about if it was a good trade off to lose Jesus in order to gain the Holy Spirit? I think it was. The first and obvious reason that comes to mind is our access to God. If we had Jesus instead of the Holy Spirit right now, to see God, we’d probably have to get on a plane to Israel, get though the crowds in Jerusalem (you think it’s crowded in Jerusalem now, imagine how it crowded it could be with Jesus there), stand in a very long line to meet with Jesus, and then only get a few seconds or a couple of minutes, and then we’d have to move on and allow the next person his few seconds or couple of minutes. The relationship wouldn’t be that close. With the Holy Spirit, God comes to us and meets with us. Therefore, the relationship is closer and personal. Also, think about all the things the Holy Spirit equips and enables us to do. The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit aids in understand the Bible, the Word of God. The Holy Spirit guides us in prayer. The Holy Spirit encourages and strengthens us to evangelize. With Jesus still on earth, there’s no Holy Spirit, and we get none of them. It truly is for our own good that Jesus isn’t here.

Jesus goes on to tell the disciples about more of those roles the Holy Spirit has. One role the Holy Spirit has is to convict the world of sin. Notice the word is “convict” and not “condemn.” To condemn the world of sin would mean to say they world is beyond all hope of being saved from their sin. The Holy Spirit does not do that. The Holy Spirit simply convicts. To convict means “to present” or “to expose.” The Holy Spirit simply exposes that the world is in sinner. The task may seem simply, but in today’s society, we know it’s far from it. It seems like with every passing generation, more people adapt the theory that human beings are generally good creatures. They are born good, with a clean slate. Throughout their life, they make both good and bad choices on their own. By the end of their life, most people make more good choices than bad choices, making them good people. This is far from Biblical truth. The Bible tells us we were conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5), and born in sin (Genesis 8:21). We have a sinful nature, meaning our hearts are slaves to sin, always pulled to doing the wrong (Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 6:16,17). On top of that, we do sinful things. We have 3 strikes against ourselves: we are conceived/born in sin, we have a sinful nature, and we do sinful things. 3 strikes and we’re out. We are declared guilty from the start. And yet the world lies to us and tells us we’re good. As any AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) member will tell you, “admitting your problem is the first step.” The first step in the cure of sin is admitting you have a problem: you are a sinner. The Holy Spirit has a lot of work to do get a person to even recognize they are sinful.

On that same note, John 16:13 gives us another role of the Holy Spirit. This role is to guide human beings into all truth. That is why Jesus uses the title “The Spirit of Truth” for the Holy Spirit this time. “All truth” literally does mean “all truth.” Everything that is true the Holy Spirit will speak to the disciples. The Holy Spirit will speak and remind the disciples of God’s commandments and Christ’s teachings. But probably the most important truth the Holy Spirit gives goes back to the previous job. The most important truth is that the world has fallen into sin. But going back to all truth part, verses 13-15 once again show the active role of Trinity. When the Holy Spirit comes, he’s not going to teach on His own accord or His own will. He will not teach anything contradictory to what God has commanded or what Jesus has taught. He will only speak what He hears. What does the Holy Spirit hear? What Jesus spoke. And what did Jesus speak? Only what His Father taught Him to speak. It all goes around in this Trinity cycle.

On top of being saddened because Jesus is leaving, the disciples are also confused. Sometimes Jesus has been repeating himself in tongue twisters. Just look below, and I’ll show you what I mean. I’ll even bold it to draw it out.

John 16:16–19-
16 “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” 17 Some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.” 19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’?

I think in verses 19 to 22, Jesus is presenting the idea that the disciples might be confused because they are sad. Once again, Jesus does sugar-coat the reality. The truth is the disciples will get sadder, while the world becomes happier. This is referring to the crucifixion of Jesus, where the world will rejoice while the disciples mourn at Christ’s death. But Jesus turns it around by comparing it to a woman in labor. A pregnant woman giving birth goes through much pain to give birth. But after the baby pops out and she is holding the baby, she is no longer complaining about the pain, but rather she is glad that she brought the life into the world. After the pain of the crucifixion, the disciples will witness the resurrection, and their grief will turn into joy. In a way, I see this as a prophecy of Jesus, for that is exactly what will happen. The witnesses of the crucifixion will be brought to tears, but they will gladly rejoice when they see the resurrected Jesus Christ standing before them.

John 16:23-28 I see as happening post-resurrection and post-ascension, so I see it as a third role of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says the disciples will have the power to request anything in the name of Jesus, and they will get it. Now let’s make sure we get our head in the right place here. This doesn’t mean Christians can ask for worldly possessions, likes houses, cars or money and it will land right in front of them. This is where the “in the name of Jesus” comes into play. “In the name of Jesus” means that anything that is of God’s Will or Desire, that will further the kingdom and reign of God. Well, how will the disciples know God’s Will? That’s where the Holy Spirit comes in. The Holy Spirit will reveal the will of God to the disciples because the Holy Spirit is God. Then, because of the Holy Spirit, the disciples will know what to pray for, and they will receive it from God.

Somewhere between verse 19 and verse 28, the disciples finally get what Jesus is saying. They can understand his figurative language and other figures of speech. They understand so well, they don’t even have to ask questions. Now they know that Jesus knows all truth, and this is enough proof for them that Jesus has come from God. When the disciples finally recognize what Jesus is saying, Jesus recognizes that a true faith has entered the disciples. But he also notes that the disciples don’t have that full, true faith because in a little while, they will all scatter and desert Jesus. But Jesus isn’t going to take it that hard. Jesus knows the Father is with him, so even if no human is behind Him, He knows the Father is with him. In the closing verse of this chapter, Jesus once again reminds the disciples of all the troubles they will face being disciples of Jesus. But He also tells them to not get stuck on the idea. Jesus will overcome all those troubles, and so will the disciples.

In closing with this chapter, there wasn’t too much revealing of Jesus as the Son of God. The biggest sign was that the disciples recognized Jesus as one from God from His teachings, and that is fairly close to recognizing Jesus is God. It also is implicitly stated by seeing Jesus as a person of the Triune God. But I tend to think this chapter was a little bit more about the Holy Spirit. If anything, this chapter shows us the Holy Spirit is God, too. So it doesn’t matter if you say that “Jesus lives in me” or “The Holy Spirit lives in me” for they are both God living in you.

John 14: The Trinity Revealed Fully

So far, if you’d ask me what the number 1 proof that Jesus was God that can be seen throughout the Gospel of John as a whole, I would have to say it’s the relationship seen between God the Father, Yahweh, and God the Son, Jesus. Throughout the whole book, Jesus has been calling God His Father and Jesus has been explaining how The Father and The Son interact and work with each other. We know God is one (Deut. 6:4), but from John 1-13 alone, the reader sees God the Father and God the Son. From John 1-13 alone (as if the book of John 1-13 alone was our New Testament), Christians would believe in a duality. Yet Christians know from elsewhere in the Bible that there is a trinity. John knows that, too, so in John 14 will introduce the third person of the trinity: God the Holy Spirit. But before we get into the Holy Spirit, let’s take a quick glance at John 14:1-4 and John 14:6.

But before we start anything in John 14, let’s remind ourselves of the setting of the story. It is a Thursday night. Jews would call this night Passover, but Christians would call this night Maundy Thursday. This is the Last Supper, the Lord’s Supper. Where we last left our heroes, Jesus had dismissed Judas Iscariot to go do whatever he was planning, which we know (and the disciples didn’t know) is to betray Jesus. Remember how I mentioned that maybe Jesus dismissed Judas Iscariot so early because Jesus didn’t want Judas Iscariot around to see, hear or be a part of what was happening next? You’ll see why I say that in this chapter because Jesus will really get in-depth, get specific, get private, get personal and also say it the clearest fashion. Perhaps Jesus withheld it from Judas Iscariot because Judas would have no part in it, or maybe Jesus didn’t want Judas blabbing this to the Pharisees and chief priests. After Judas Iscariot left in John 13, Jesus wraps up the chapter by telling the disciples that He is going somewhere where they can’t go, followed by Jesus prophesying that they all will abandon him, even have one disown him.

So now imagine how tense the atmosphere is by the time the reader gets to John 14. Jesus is in a down mood because He knows He is hours away from the most painful time in His human life. The disciples are in a downer mood, too, because, first of all, they see their Lord depressed and second, they’ve just been told they cannot follow Jesus to wherever He’s going. Remember that most of the disciples totally left their lives behind to follow Jesus. They couldn’t just begin where they left off. Those who tried would have to at least start from the bottom and work their way back up. Maybe when some of the disciples heard Jesus say that could no longer follow him, they felt like their entire life had gone to waste. I think Jesus noticed how down and depressed the disciples were after all this bad news, for it puts John 14:1-4 in context.

Since Jesus sees the mood in the room as down and depressed, Jesus tries to cheer the disciples up. First, he tells them that their hearts should not be troubled. The NIV translates the Greek verb tarassesthō as “troubled,” but it also has been translated as “stirred,” “agitated,” or even “indignant” (Interesting note: this is the same verb is used to describe Jesus in John 11 every time it said Jesus was “deeply moved”). It is possible some of these disciples were irked to hear Jesus was abandoning them after they provided years of dedicated allegiance to him. Jesus tells the disciples this feeling is rather unnecessary. Second, Jesus command the disciples to trust in him. He does that by renewing their faith in God and trusting in God, then, through reminding them that Jesus is God, the disciples should trust Jesus, just like they trust God. Jesus is telling the disciples, “Trust me.” Third, Jesus starts talking about something he’s never talked about before: heaven. Jesus describes His Father’s Son like a mansion, a mansion with many rooms. His disciples all have a room prepared for them, and from this, Christians believe that all Christian believers have a room for them. Jesus then describes himself preparing a place for His disciples there. Once the place is prepared, Jesus will come back for his disciples and take them there. It seems like Jesus is telling the disciples about the surprise he has for them in heaven. He’s reminding them of their reward for being faithful to His ministry. This is perfect timing for the setting. The disciples are not to be troubled because Jesus is leaving for their good, so there’s nothing to worry about and no waste at all. Jesus closes the paragraph by saying “You all know the way.” Thomas says to Jesus, “Um, no we don’t,” and then proceeds to ask, “What is the way?” Jesus answers with an “I AM” statement. Let’s take a look at it.

John 14:6-
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The 6th “I AM” statement provides 3 ways to describe Jesus: way, truth, life. I’ve seen some people scratch out the last two and focus on “I am the way” only. I know they are doing this for evangelistic reasons, but I think they are missing out on a big part. The reason that Jesus is the way is because He is the truth and the life. So let’s look at all 3, for all 3 are important. First of all, Jesus is the way. The only way to get to God the Father and the only way to get to heaven is through Jesus. Jesus is the only way to God because God is God and Jesus came from God, as we read in chapters 1 and 3. Also, Jesus is the only one who has seen the Father, as stated in John 1. So to even see God the Father, we must see Jesus. Acts 4:12 and 1 Timothy 2:5 are other places in the Bible that would back up the only way to God is Jesus. The way to God is not only Jesus, but also the way of Jesus. The way to God through Jesus is following Jesus, and this means following Jesus in all aspects. Just as Jesus lived humbly, Christians must also live humbly. Just as Jesus suffered for the faith, so Christians must suffer for the faith. Just as Jesus served people, so the Christian life is to be one of service.

Second, Jesus is the truth. He is God, who founded the world at the beginning. He has decided what is wrong and what is right, what is true and what is false. All truth belongs to God, and thus all truth belongs to Jesus. God the Father spoke the truths to Jesus for the people, and Jesus spoke those truths to the people. People from all over came to Jesus to hear Him speak because they knew Jesus had the truth. Ultimately, Jesus had the true way to life. People from all nations, all races, all cultures and all societies explored different religions, cults and philosophies to find a way to eternal life. All those other ways were lies or falsehoods. Jesus had the truth, the true way to eternal life.

Third, Jesus is the life. John has been building up on this throughout the whole book. It started when John proclaimed in John 1 that Jesus, the True Light, gives life. It escalated throughout the teachings of Jesus, from his “I AM” statements to Christ’s teachings about raising up on the last day. It climaxed in John 11, where Jesus resurrects Lazarus from the dead with his last miracle. The effects were numerous people coming to faith, and those people then shared the gospel with other people. We know Jesus is the life because, as stated in John 1, Jesus was the God who created the world in Genesis 1. Jesus the giver of life, and Jesus is the source of eternal life. The [eternal] life is the end of the way, and both are found in Jesus.

To reunite all 3 parts of the “I AM” statement found in John 14:6, let’s remember the purpose of these “I AM” statements is to prove the purpose of the whole book of John: that Jesus is God the Son. How does the “I AM” statement in John 14:6 show Jesus is God the Son? The only way to God the Father is through God the Son. Jesus has the same truth as God the Father does, the truths of the world. The provider of eternal life must be the giver of life. If Jesus provides eternal life, He must the source of life. The only one who gives life is the creator God from Genesis 1. In John 14:6, Jesus reveals threefold to be God Himself.

Let’s jump ahead to John 14:15, the meat of the chapter. From John 14:15 to the end, Jesus will talk about the Holy Spirit. In John 14:15, I see Jesus defining what salvation is and what it means (or what you have to do) to be saved. As seen in verse 15, being a born-again, saved Christian isn’t just confessing sins or just adopting the beliefs from orthodox Christianity as your own. Being a born-again, saved Christian means loving Jesus and following Jesus. How should people love Jesus? By following the way of Jesus and obey His teachings. How am I sure that Jesus is defining what it means to be saved? Look at verse 16. Christians know that the “proof of purchase” (if you will) of being saved is that you receive the Holy Spirit. So link verse 15 to verse 16. If we love Jesus, follow Jesus and obey Jesus, then we are saved, and then we receive the Holy Spirit.

Jesus gives 2 names to the Holy Spirit in John 14: Counselor and Spirit of [the] truth. Both names help describe the Holy Spirit. The Greek for Counselor, paraklete, means “one who comes along to help.” In the Greco-Roman world, this term usually was used for legal help and legal advice, like a lawyer. Thus, some Bible translations have chosen to translate paraklete as “advocate.” The Holy Spirit is the helper to the Christians, who works through Christians. The Holy Spirit is also called the “Spirit of [the] truth.” The Holy Spirit reveals the truth to Christians. The Holy Spirit helps the Christian understand Christian. The Holy Spirit helps the Christian discern between true and false teachers, prophets and apostles. The Spirit of Truth aligns our lives with the Word of God. How is this possible? The name is self-exclamatory. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of [the] Truth. The Holy Spirit has the Truth, just like Jesus does. In fact, on that note, John 14:16,17, in the names alone, show that Jesus is God, that the Holy Spirit is God, and that the Holy Spirit and Jesus are persons in the trinity. First, let’s look at the obvious one. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of [the] Truth. Jesus is the Truth. This Truth is only found in God. Therefore, Jesus and the Holy Spirit must be one and the same. Both of them are God. Now onto the less obvious one. In John 14:16, the Holy Spirit is called the Counselor. In Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah calls the Messiah the “Wonderful Counselor.” This Old Testament Scripture clearly is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor. The Holy Spirit is the Counselor and Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor. Therefore, Jesus and the Holy Spirit must be one and the same: God. (Note: The reason I keep putting the word [the] in brackets is because a literal translation of the phrase has the word [the] in it. Some scholars have suggested it’s pointing back to absolute truth, or divine truth).

But that’s not all Jesus tells us about the Holy Spirit. The reader can find out more about Jesus beyond the names for the Holy Spirit. Jesus says the world does not accept Him, because the world cannot sense Him, nor know Him. Christians know the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit lives within Christians. The Bible Knowledge Commentary helped to give me a good analogy for this. A person cannot know radio waves are going through their house without a radio, for their can neither see, smell, taste or feel radio waves. They can’t even hear the radio waves without a radio. No one can see television waves going through the sky, yet if someone has a television, they can see what those waves were carrying. No one can see or hear the voicemail or text messages from a cell phone being carried across the airwaves unless they have a phone, and the right phone! In the same way, the world cannot see, hear, smell or feel the Holy Spirit. The only ones who can are the Christians because they have the spiritual life prepared to recognize Him. Also, note that Jesus says the Holy Spirit will be with the Christian forever. It’s not like the Old Testament, where the Holy Spirit would only come to special believers for special missions. Now the Holy Spirit was poured out for all Christians for all time, even unto the end of the age.

One last notice Jesus makes on the Holy Spirit can be found in John 14:26. In the original and immediate context, I believe the true meaning of this passage to mean that the Holy Spirit will guide the disciples to writing the New Testament Scriptures. But I also got to believe there’s some kind of application that come out of it for the modern-day Christian. The Holy Spirit is the teacher and the reminder-er. The Holy Spirit teaches us what the Bible is saying. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit alone will give us perfect interpretations, but it helps reveal to us how to apply the Scriptures in specific situations. The Holy Spirit also helps remind the Christian of what to do and what not to do. The Holy Spirit helps the Christian remember, and even memorize the Scriptures, that Christians may take the Scriptures to heart.

I know this might seem like a cliffhanger for the subject of the Holy Spirit. It might even seem like it’s incomplete. But Jesus does go back to talking about the Holy Spirit in John 16, and I will pick up the subject again there. When we finish the subject in John 16, I will put it all together and make a grand conclusion. But before we get there, there’s a chapter in between: John 15. John 15 is interesting. It has the last “I AM” statement, and through it, it teaches of a different type of trinity of sorts.. Do I have you giving me the “raised eyebrow” look or the “head scratching” look? Good. You’ll have to wait to see it.