Christ Our Deliverer - Section Study on John 14:1-15

Posted 1/30/15 by Donald Barnhouse
LESSON XXIV
CHRIST OUR DELIVERER - Section Study on John 14:1-15
 
Read the passage through with the pupils before beginning the lesson.
  1. It is from the Word that we must get our knowledge. 
  2. The three-fold deliverance of the Christian is presented in this chapter.

We have been talking for the last three lessons about our great Deliverer. Do you remember the three things from which He has delivered us? They are the punishment of sin, the power of sin, and the presence of sin. First, He delivered us from the punishment of sin by taking our place on the cross. Then He delivered us from the power of our old master, Satan, by the fact that when He died, God saw us dead with Christ. Satan is not interested in dead people, especially when they are dead with Christ. And the Lord Jesus is coming again, some day, maybe very soon, to deliver us from the very presence of sin. When He comes, we will have no more old nature in us, to be a traitor and deliver us over to our old master, Satan.

We have just read fifteen verses of Scripture that teach us something about all these things. There are some questions we need to ask ourselves. First of all, Who spoke the words of this fourteenth chapter of John? The Lord Jesus. And He could never make a mistake, could He? So we are sure that these are true words.
 
We are going to read verses one, two, and three, and see if you can tell which part of the deliverance they speak of. The Lord Jesus Christ says that we do not need to be troubled. We believe in God, and we can just the same way believe in Him. He is God, so we can trust Him. In His Father’s house—where is that? That is Heaven, where all who believe in the Lord Jesus will live some day. In that house there are many mansions. We do not need to be afraid there will not be room enough for us all in Heaven. Jesus is preparing a place for us and He will come again and receive us to Himself. Can any sin enter into Heaven? Will Jesus take us to Heaven with our old natures in us? Of course not! This part of our chapter is telling us about deliverance from the very presence of sin.
 
Now look at verse six. This is a verse we should all know. Jesus says He is the only way to God. We cannot go to Him through our prayers or our going to church or our good works. We can only go to God through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we do come to Him through Christ, what deliverance do we receive? It is the first part of our deliverance—from the punishment of sin. He took that for us, so we can come to God through Him, and be perfectly safe forevermore.
 
One of the disciples asked a foolish question then. He said He wanted to see the Father. Can we see God today? No. No one can see Him, for He is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable. But while the Lord Jesus was on earth, people could see Him. And He was God. So they did not need to ask to see the Father. Jesus told Philip that he should have understood all this, since he had been with Him so long. Then the Lord Jesus went on to talk about His works, and made a wonderful promise. He had done great things, healing the sick and raising the dead. But He promised the disciples that He would give them power so that they could do even greater things. This was to be the power of the Holy Spirit. And it is because of that power that we are not under the dominion of sin. We are freed from its power. So we have all three kinds of deliverance in this chapter.

STUDY QUESTIONS

  • Why is it impossible for Christ to make a mistake?
  • If we are one with Christ does that mean we don't make mistakes anymore? Explain.
  • What is Christ preparing for us while we wait for His return? Why is it so great?
  • Why will Christ not take us to Heaven in our "old nature"?
  • What does it mean when Jesus says he is the only way?