Upper Room Blessings (John 14) Part 2
Upper Room Blessings - John 14
There are 6 blessings that Christ spoke of to His disciples while in the Upper Room prior to His arrest and crucifixion. They can be found in John 14. The first 3 blessings were laid out in part 1. The final 3 are laid out below in this post.
(vs. 16, 17) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Christ’s fourth blessing to His disciples is the divine paraclete or the Holy Spirit. Christ knew that the disciples and the believers to follow would need His presence to continue in their Christian walk. And so, God provided us with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will act as our helper, comforter, and spirit of truth. In being so, the Holy Spirit will both strengthen and console us. The Holy Spirit will abide in us forever from the moment that we are saved.
(vs. 23) Jesus answered and said to him “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Christ’s fifth blessing to His disciples is His divine presence. When we come to Christ through love and obedience (keeping HIs word), we will realize the presence of God. In the Old Testament, God dwelled in the Tabernacle. This is something that the disciples would have been familiar with. Christ explains that for the disciples and for the believers that came after, obedience to God’s word would lead to our hearts being the new tabernacle for God. Christ explains this promise with the caveat that we must show our love towards God by following His commands and ordinances for us. Love is shown through action. This is the only action that we as believers can exhibit before God the Father since He first loved us.
(vs. 27) Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
The sixth and final blessing Christ leaves for His disciples is divine peace. Generally in this time period, people would use peace be with you or shalom as a way of saying goodbye. It was an empty word said in passing. Christ is emphasizing that this is not the peace that He is referring to in His promise. It is the kind of peace that leaves you feeling untroubled and unfearful even in the midst of trials, sufferings, or conflict. The life of a believer is never smooth sailing. We may deal with persecutions, trials, and temptations. But, Christ promises that His peace will be with us so that we will not be afraid and our hearts untroubled.
