Living out the life within
April 8, 2021
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.
But instead, he first includes this long section of teaching in chapters 13-17 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. It is summed up wonderfully and amazingly in the final verse of the prayer which Jesus prays in chapter 17 – what Jesus wants for each of his followers is “that the love you, (Father), have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” (17:26).
So these chapters give us instructions from Jesus about living out his life within us, so that we can continue his mission fruitfully. The content can be outlined helpfully like this:
Fruitfulness... What? Loving one another as Jesus loves us (13:1-35).
Fruitfulness... How? Being in Jesus, just as Jesus is in the Father (14:1 - 15:17)
Fruitfulness... Where? Sent into the world, just as Jesus was sent (15:18 - 16:33)
Jesus Prays… What Jesus wants for us (17:1-26)
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