If you love me, you will obey my commandments. Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you. I will not abandon you as orphans, I will come to you. In a little while the world will not see me any longer, but you will see me; because I live, you will live too. You will know at that time that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you. The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him. (John 14:15-21, NET)
It’s so amazing that Jesus’ departure from the world would usher in an age of even greater closeness and intimacy with God. Because He rose again and defeated evil and sin, we can now have the Spirit of God that created the foundations of the earth, live inside of us if we make Him our Lord. This is beyond the grasp of our puny human minds. Jesus breaks it down for His disciples, and for all of us to try and understand. When we receive this Holy Spirit to fill us to overflowing, it’ll be clear that He is in the Father, and we are in Him, and He is in us. Though we’re not in heaven yet, we’ll be joined with Him. We don’t just have the privilege of Jesus walking the earth by our side, His Spirit will permanently live inside us!
But there is a price to pay for that amazing baptism of God’s presence. It’s our life in exchange for His. It’s death to our selves, the painful breaking of our pride, the ripping off of our old idols and loves, and the submission to serve as His property for eternity so that His life can dwell in us. Satan does all he can to convince us that such self-sacrifice is cruel and will destroy us. Of course he says that because our surrender to God spells the destruction of Satan’s power over us.
These verses are a part of Christ's instructions to the eleven disciples on the night before His death. Jesus says the great test of our love for Him is whether or not we obey His commandments. It is easy to say we have faith; it is easy to say we love God and Jesus His Son; but real faith and genuine love are shown in our actions and deeds. If you are daily obeying Jesus, that shows that He is your real Lord—your obedience proves you love Him. If you are still doing as you please, then you do not love Him.
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