Living out the Life within

John tells us that his primary aim in writing the gospel was that his readers “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). This theme of life through faith in Jesus is central in chapters 1-12 (e.g. 3:15-16; 5:24; 6:47-48; 10:10; 11:25). So from the end of chapter 12, John might well have gone directly to the account of Jesus’s death and resurrection which is the basis of the life he gives.

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But instead, he first includes this long section of teaching about how the life of Jesus can be lived out by his followers, through the Holy Spirit within us, in order that we may be fruitful in our knowledge of him. The basis of that is his relationship with the Father, which provides the model for our own Christian living. And not only the model, but also the enabling – by being in Jesus, through the Spirit, in the Father’s love. The final words of his prayer for us sum it up: “...that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” (17:26).

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So these chapters give us instructions from Jesus about living out his life within us, so that we can continue his mission fruitfully. What a prospect! And what a prayer to make our own.