In this chapter we will see an overview of the ten signs in John 14 through 17. This Gospel is a record of signs. Every chapter in this book contains certain signs. These signs may be simple, but they are very rich in their implications. For example, a street sign may have a simple appearance, but what it indicates may nevertheless be very important.
When John wrote his Gospel, he followed the principle of writing down certain signs. In 20:30 and 31 John says, “Many other signs also Jesus did before His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in His name.” The very last verse of the Gospel of John says, “There are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world itself could contain the books written” (21:25). This verse, together with 20:30-31, affirms that this Gospel is the record of a selection of things that serve a particular purpose.
It is impossible to exhaust in writing the things done by the Lord Jesus. Knowing this, John selected certain of the Lord’s doings and arranged them in a record that is significant not only historically but also doctrinally. For instance, John placed the record of foot-washing in chapter 13, not in chapter 11.
We have pointed out that the sequence of events in the Gospel of John is for the formation of a doctrinal frame. Chapter 1 is a prologue to the entire Gospel, and in chapter 2 we have the principle of life and the goal of life. Then in chapters 3 through 11 we have nine cases. The issue, the outcome, of these nine cases is the miniature of the church life seen in Bethany. In Bethany there was the feasting on the peace offering.
The church life portrayed by the feasting in Bethany was marvelous, but it was too limited. It was excellent in quality, but it was much too small in quantity. Therefore, it was necessary for the Lord Jesus to die in order for this kind of church life to be multiplied. For this reason, the Lord was not willing to receive the exaltation of the crowd but instead told His disciples that He was a grain of wheat to fall into the ground and die in order to produce many grains (12:24). As the unique grain, the Lord is the source of the church life. But it was necessary for this grain to be multiplied into many grains. Because the Lord fell into the ground and died, many have been drawn to Him. This was the reason He said, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (v. 32). John 12 reveals that the Lord Jesus was ready to die in order to bring His people into God.
In chapter 13 we have the record of foot-washing. In 13:10 the Lord Jesus said to Peter, “He who is bathed has no need except to wash his feet, but is wholly clean.” God’s redeemed, saved, and regenerated people have all been “bathed,” or cleansed. Nevertheless, they are still on earth and by contact with the earth are defiled again and again. Hence, there is the need of the laver. If there were no laver, the earthly contact would annul the wonderful result of Christ being all the offerings. Therefore, there is the need of washing to preserve, to maintain, the result of Christ being the offerings to us.
We may use cooking and serving food as an illustration. A sister may prepare an excellent meal for her family. However, if she is careless, something may come in to defile the food that has been prepared. Knowing this, the sister will do what is necessary to preserve the food she has prepared. The washing in the laver preserves what has been accomplished by Christ being the offerings. Earthly contact may not be sinful, but it defiles the result of Christ’s wonderful work. Because of the need to preserve this result, there is the need of the laver. According to the arrangement in the Old Testament, the laver stood between the altar and the tabernacle.
If we study the Gospel of John with a spiritual view, we will realize that chapters 1 through 12 show us all the offerings. We may say that these chapters reveal different aspects of the all-inclusive Christ and that these aspects are related to the offerings. Therefore, in these chapters the offerings are fulfilled. John 1:29 says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” and 3:14 says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Both of these verses point to Christ as the offerings.
In chapters 14 through 17 of John’s Gospel we have the tabernacle. Chapter 13 is a turning point, a link between chapters 1 through 12 and chapters 14 through 17. Chapters 1 through 12 are at the altar, and chapters 14 through 17 are in the tabernacle. Between these sections we have chapter 13 as a connection and turning point. In this chapter we have the laver, which is located between the altar and the tabernacle.
Comparatively speaking, the laver is not as important as the altar or the tabernacle. The laver can be compared to a small part in a large machine. Although the machine is large and the part is small, the machine cannot function properly without it. The principle is the same with the laver in relation to the altar and the tabernacle.
The offerings are on the altar, and in the tabernacle are many riches: the table of the bread of the Presence, the lampstand, the incense altar, and the Ark. Although the laver contains only water, it should not be neglected. If we neglect the laver, we will not be able to enter into the tabernacle, for what was accomplished at the altar would be annulled because of defilement. If we are defiled through earthly contact, we will not be allowed to enter into the dwelling place of the clean and holy God. Whoever comes into the tabernacle must be clean in every way — physically, psychologically, spiritually, and morally. Those who enter the tabernacle must be clean in spirit, soul, and body. Only when we are thoroughly clean are we qualified to enter the Holy Place, the sanctuary. If we see this, we will realize that foot-washing is crucial.
Among certain Christians today, even the altar has been polluted because there is no laver. According to what we have pointed out concerning the laver in previous chapters, the laver is altogether lacking. Because there is no laver and the altar has been polluted, there is absolutely nothing of the tabernacle. This is today’s situation. We thank the Lord that in His recovery we have the Holy Place, at least to some extent. We enjoy the church life portrayed by the miniature in Bethany. This means that in the church life we are feasting with the Lord, with the incarnated God.
Let us now go on to have an overview of the ten signs in John 14 through 17. The first sign in these chapters is the sign of the Father’s house. Many Christians think that the Father’s house in John 14 refers to a heavenly mansion. This concept, however, is far off.
When we come to chapter 14, we will consider the revelation concerning God’s dwelling place from the beginning in Genesis to the consummation in Revelation. We will cover a number of items, the first of which will be Jacob’s dream at Bethel (Gen. 28). Bethel means “the house of God.” In previous messages on Bethel we pointed out that Bethel is the gate of heaven, and that at Bethel heaven is brought down to earth, and earth is joined to heaven. In Genesis 28:17 Jacob declared, “This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Furthermore, we are told in verse 12 that the ladder Jacob saw in his dream was “set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven.” The vital point, however, is that Jehovah stood above the ladder (v. 13). This indicates that the ladder actually reached not to heaven but to God. This ladder brings God to earth and joins earth to God.
In Genesis Jacob saw Bethel, but in Exodus Jacob’s descendants built the tabernacle. We need to realize that the tabernacle actually was Bethel, the house of God, God’s dwelling place on earth. Moreover, the tabernacle was the gate of heaven. When the tabernacle was erected, the glory of God descended upon it, filled it, and overshadowed it.
Eventually, the tabernacle in Exodus became the temple. Here we see the progress from Bethel to the tabernacle and from the tabernacle to the temple. We may say that the Old Testament is a history of the tabernacle and the temple.
In the Old Testament God’s people enjoyed the house of God. According to Psalm 132, it was the place of God’s rest, the place that satisfied His desire. It was also a place of rich provision for God’s people.
If you know the Old Testament, you will realize that the enjoyment of God’s redeemed people was the temple. They longed, yearned, to dwell in the temple. The psalmist says that to dwell one day in the temple is better than dwelling a thousand days elsewhere (84:10). How God’s people appreciated His house! According to Psalm 27:4, it was there they could behold the beauty of Jehovah. Psalm 36:8 says that they were saturated with the fatness of God’s house. There in His house they drank of the river of God’s pleasures. The Hebrew word translated “pleasures” is the plural of the word for Eden. This means that God’s people drank the river of Eden, the river of Paradise. God’s people also longed to be planted in the house of God. They knew that they would grow in the house of God as a flourishing olive tree full of sap and that even in old age they would continue to bring forth fruit (52:8; 92:13-14). All these verses in the Psalms indicate the enjoyment of the Old Testament saints in the house of God.
Apart from God’s dwelling place, the temple, the Old Testament saints did not have any enjoyment. The record in the Old Testament does not speak of entertainment or amusement enjoyed by God’s people. Rather, the Bible tells us only of the feasts at Mount Zion around the house of God. This was their real enjoyment. Their holy days, their holidays, were the feasts, and their weekend was the Sabbath, a day on which they enjoyed resting with God. Their enjoyment was altogether related to the house of God. This is a brief description of the Father’s house in the Old Testament.
In forthcoming chapters we will also consider the Father’s house in the New Testament. The first aspect of the Father’s house in the New Testament is Christ incarnated to be the tabernacle (John 1:14). The incarnated Christ was the Father’s house, the tabernacle. Through Christ’s death and resurrection this tabernacle was enlarged and became the church, the house of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). Eventually, the church as God’s dwelling place will consummate in the New Jerusalem. Therefore, there are six matters related to the great sign of the Father’s house: Bethel, the tabernacle, the temple, Christ, the church, and the New Jerusalem.
The second sign in John 14 through 17 is the sign of the Son’s going and coming. The Son’s going signifies a great deal, and His coming signifies even more. According to chapter 14, the Son’s going was to die an all-inclusive death to solve the problem of sin, to condemn the world, to destroy Satan, to release the divine life, and to draw all men unto Himself. What a great sign! The Son’s coming is His resurrection to germinate us in order to have a new creation to produce the church, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem. The sign of the Son’s going and coming is great. However, many believers understand the Son’s going to be His going to heaven and His coming to be His second advent.
The third sign is the sign of the way, the reality, and the life (v. 6). As we will see, the way is the incarnated God with all that He is and all that He has done. Following the way, we have the reality, which also is the Triune God. Whatever the Triune God has accomplished is the reality, and this reality is the way. What is the life? The life is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. In other words, life is the Triune God. We share this life in the Son, the life brings in the reality, and the reality is the way.
The fourth sign is the great sign of the Divine Trinity, the sign of the Father, of the Son, and of the Spirit. In these chapters there are many matters related to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one God, and this entire God is Spirit. We should not say that only God the Spirit is Spirit and that the Father and the Son are not. No, the entire Triune God is Spirit. It is foolish to say that Jesus Christ and the Father are not Spirit.
The fifth sign in chapters 14 through 17 of John’s Gospel is the sign of another Paraclete. Paraclete is an anglicized form of the Greek word parakletos. These chapters reveal that the Triune God has become a Paraclete, Helper, Advocate, Counsel. We may say that He is our divine Attorney.
Another sign in these chapters is the sign of the abode. In 14:2 the Lord Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many abodes.” In 14:23 He went on to say, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.” As we will see, the abode in John 14 has nothing to do with a so-called heavenly mansion. This word abode is a great sign.
The seventh sign we will consider is that of the true vine. This true vine is the universal organism of the Triune God; it is not an organization. The Son is the vine, the Father is the husbandman, and the Spirit is the testifier. All this is revealed in chapter 15. In this chapter we have the Father as the husbandman, the Son as the vine, and the Spirit as the One who testifies concerning the Son. This vine is the organism of the Triune God.
You may be surprised to learn what the eighth sign is in these chapters. The eighth sign is the sign of the newborn child. In 16:20 the Lord Jesus said to the disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.” The Lord went on to liken the disciples’ sorrow to that of a woman giving birth to a child (v. 21). Then the Lord continued, “Therefore you also now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from you” (v. 22). Here we see that the disciples are a “woman” travailing to give birth to a “child.” This child is the firstborn Son of God.
In resurrection Jesus Christ was born as the firstborn Son of God. Before incarnation He was God’s only begotten Son, and He continued to be the only begotten Son until His resurrection. But in resurrection He was born as the first begotten Son of God. This was the newborn child in John 16, and in this child we all are included. As we will see, eventually this newborn child is a corporate man, a new man. What a great sign this is!
The ninth sign, seen in chapter 17, is the sign of the divine glorification. In 17:1 the Lord Jesus prayed, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You.” Not many Christians have a full understanding of what this means. This is a matter of divine glorification, a matter that involves us. This is proved by the fact that the very glory the Lord Jesus shares with the Father has been given to us so that in this glory we may be one: “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one” (v. 22).
The last sign in John 14 through 17 is the sign of the believers’ oneness in the Triune God. According to John 17, the believers need to be preserved in oneness in the name of the Father, by the word of God, and by the glory of God. Eventually, we all will be perfectly one in the Triune God. This oneness is the Father’s house. By this we see that these four chapters begin with the Father’s house and end with the oneness of the believers in the Triune God, and that such a oneness is actually the house of the Father. This is an overview of the signs in John 14 through 17.
