Before we start on the Chapter proper, we have to go back to Chapter 13 verses 36 to 38 where Simon Peter said to Him, ‘ Lord, where are you going’, because Jesus has just told them He is going to a place where they cannot follow. In fact, look at verse 33, “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for Me, and just as I told the Jews, now I also say to you, Where I am going you cannot come.” Imagine being a disciple then and listening to what Jesus had just said. Being a disciple, they had totally cast their lot with Him for approximately the last 3.5 years. What was Jesus saying? Besides this, the disciples were also more interested in listening to Jesus talk about the Kingdom but they could not comprehend when Jesus talked about the suffering He was going to go through in the near future. Something was terribly wrong and ominous but the disciples could not fully understand what was Jesus talking about. It is no wonder why the hearts of the disciples were so troubled. We move on to Chapter 14 nownow.

There are 6 assurances that can be brought out of this chapter.
1. Assurance of Heaven
2. Assurance of knowing the Father
3. Assurance of Prayer
4. Assurance of the Holy Spirit
5. Assurance of the Father’s Love
6. Assurance of God’s peace in this world
Ill combine the 6 points into 3. (Rayner‘s edition).

1) Assurance of Heaven

Verses 1 to 4

Heaven in the bible is known as :
Eternal Kingdom - 2 peter 1:11
inheritance - 1 peter 1:4
A better country / City - hebrews 11:16
Home - John 14:12

We must be reminded that earth is not our home. Therefore must not be too comfortable at this present moment. We know Christ therefore we are no longer a citizen of this world. according to the scriptures we are a 'exile', a 'sojourner', a 'stranger'. Therefore we should walk with anticipation and realise that there should only be 2 days in our calender and it should be today and the day we meet Jesus. However we do not know when that day will come. This means that our today ought to be lived in the light of that day. So, instead of saying that we are so heavenly-minded that we are of no earthly good, actually, the more heavenly-minded we are, the more we relish and cherish the opportunities of this present time. God may provide you with situations you never know what it will
look like. It could be a friend who wants to know more about Christianity after observing how you live your life or even struggles faced in life. These become opportunity times. In Revelation 21: 4-5, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne says, ‘Behold, I am making all things new’. He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true’.” Therefore, there is the assurance that our Home is where all our problems shall fade away.

2) Assurance of knowing the Father and the Assurance of prayer
Verses 5 – 14
#Verse 6 is the verse that everybody talks about so I trust the youths know it well enough. I shall focus more on other aspects of this segment.
Verse 8 shows Philip’s response to what Jesus had said. It shows his desire to know the Father. Do we have that same burning passion to know Him more each day or are we too busy and carried away with our hectic schedules and social lives?
There are 4 levels of ‘knowing’ in the Gospel. The first level of knowing is just knowing the basic facts. The second level of knowing is understanding the truth behind that fact. The third level of knowing is believing in a person. The fourth level of knowing is the one that John stresses and the one Paul had in mind when he said, “That I may know Him in the power of His resurrection.” It is also what Jesus had in mind in our verses 19 through 23 which will be covered later. This whole segment can be summarised in 1 statement- The better we know Jesus, the better we know the Father.
The assurance of prayer can also be found in this segment. Verses 12 – 14. Especially v13, 14 – “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” Prayer is basically a mode of communication to God but it is also a way to commune with God in our deepest selves, and it is an opportunity for us to really know Him. Besides this, we are able to commit to God whatever anxiety or hardships we face in our lives. Refer to Philippians 4:6-7. Worrying is never a solution during such times.

3) Assurance of the Holy Spirit/ Assurance of the Father’s love/ Assurance of God’s peace in this world

a) Assurance of the Holy Spirit
Verses 15-21
God gave us the Spirit of Truth. Refer to 1st Corinthians 6:19-20. It tells us that our body is now the temple of the Holy Spirit. In other words, our spirit is communing with His Spirit. Therefore, do not harm your body by smoking, heavy drinking, drugs, sexual immorality etc etc as it is dishonouring to God.


b) Assurance of the Father’s love
Verses 23-24
v21 is a very powerful verse. What we can take home form this verse is that if we love Jesus, we will do what He asks us to do. If we know Jesus, we will know that what He asks us to do is to the best of our interests. Notice in verse 23, notice Jesus uses the ‘We’ instead of He. The ‘We’ here refers to the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

c) Assurance of God’s peace in this world
Verses 25 – 31
Verses 26 is a promise of inscripturation. Verse 26 talks about 2 kinds of peace. The worldly kind of peace and the spiritual peace. The world bases its peace on resources and the absence of trouble. However the spiritual peace is based on relationships. Spiritual peace is also experienced through trials because of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Verse28, 29, Jesus clearly knew what was going to happen to Him and what He had to fulfil on earth. Verse 30,31 - Jesus describes 2 enemies. The devil and the world in which Jesus had overcame. Therefore we must be vigilant and believe in the truth (Bible) and that it is only in Christ alone that we can yield true peace in this world.
The End

#Covering until John 14, we realise that Jesus was actually talking about His love, His joy and His peace in which the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to give us.

Done by: Rayner