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.