The Gospel of John 16, Part 5

 Verses 23 - 28

The Gethsemane Discourse, Part 37

Chapter 16 Outline:

• Vs. 1-6, The Importance of Preparedness. Persecution Foretold. Pt. 33
• Vs. 7-15, Further Instructions Regarding the Holy Spirit. The Promise of the Holy Spirit, and His Office. Pt. 34
• Vs. 16-18, Christ’s Death, Resurrection and Ascension Reemphasized. Pt. 35
• Vs. 19-22, The Happiness of God as a Result of Jesus’ Resurrection. Pt. 36

• Vs. 23-28, Summary on the Power Available to Us Through Prayer. Encouragement to Prayer. Pt. 37
• Vs. 29-33, Final Words of Encouragement. Christ’s Discoveries of Himself. Pt. 38

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John 16:23, “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you."

The Greek reads:
“καὶ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐμὲ οὐκ ἐρωτήσετε οὐδέν.  ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἄν τι αἰτήσητε τὸν Πατέρα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου δώσει ὑμῖν. 

Transliterated it reads:
“KAI EN EKEINE TE HEMERA EME OUK EROTESETE OUDEN. AMEN AMEN LEGO HUMIN, AN TI AITESETE TON PATERA EN TO ONOMATI MOU DOSEI HUMIN. 

“In that day”  -   KAI EN EKEINE TE HEMERA, which is literally, “and in that the day.” The “day” Jesus is speaking of is after His resurrection when all these things would be made clear to them. This includes the Church Age, with the giving of the Holy Spirit, who would “lead them into all the truth,” when the death, resurrection, ascension, and session of our Lord is witnessed, fully documented and understood.

“You will not question Me about anything” (NAS 1995) or “you will ask Me no question” (NAS 1971). The Greek is “EME OUK EROTESETE OUDEN.” Or literally, “ME not you will ask nothing.”

EME is the Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o') in the Accusative, First Person, Singular, “I or Me.” Jesus is referring to Himself.

OUK is the Greek Negative Particle, “not.”

EROTESETE is the Verb EROTAO - ἐρωτάω (er-o-tah'-o) in the Future, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Plural. It means, “to ask, request, or question.” This word is used for questioning in John 16:19, that is, face to face inquiry.

The Future Tense indicates time subsequent to the time of speaking, after His ascension and session and Pentecost.

The Second Person Plural Active Voice: The disciples are the ones who will not be asking Jesus these innate questions. “You will not question.”

The Indicative Mood is for the reality that “in that day” they will not want to or need to interrogate Him about His resurrection and session, because they will understand it completely.

Jesus also uses this word to begin another discourse on prayer. When He gets into prayer, He is going to use a different verb for “ask,” AITEO - αἰτέω (ahee-teh'-o), which simply means, “to ask in prayer.”

OUDEN is the Cardinal, Pronominal, Adjective of OUDEIS - οὐδείς (oo-dice') in the Accusative, Neuter, Singular that means, “no one or nothing.” Nothing would give us a double negative in English, which is not good English, even though it is good Greek. Likewise, we have to add “about” for good English. So, we will say “about anything.”

So, we have, “You will not question Me about anything.”

They would not need to ask the questions they were now asking. The questions that perplexed them were: “What is this ‘little while’? How can we know the way? Where are You going? How is it that You will manifest Yourself to us and not to the world?”

“Truly, truly” or “Verily, verily” is AMEN, AMEN and indicates a point of doctrine.

“I say to you” is LEGO HUMIN. LEGO is a Verb in the Present, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular that means, “I say or address.” And HUMIN is the Pronoun SU – σύ (soo) in the Dative of Advantage, Second Person, Plural that means, “to you all.” In other words, this discourse is for their benefit; to their advantage.

“If you ask the Father for anything” is AN TI AITESETE TON PATERA.

AN is the Verbal Particle indicating contingency that establishes a Third Class “if” statement. “If and maybe you will and maybe you will not.” This is the PROTASIS.

TI is the Indefinite, Pronominal, Adjective TIS – τις (tis) in the Accusative, Neuter, Singular that comes to mean, “any or anything.”

AITESETE is the Verb AITEO - αἰτέω (ahee-teh'-o) in the Aorist, Active, Subjunctive, Second, Person, Plural that means, “to ask, request, require, or demand.” As noted above, this is the asking or requesting of God the Father in prayer.

The Aorist Tense looks at the entirety of the action, especially the point of time when you pray.

The Second Person, Plural, Active Voice:  The disciples are the ones who will be requesting of the Father.

The Subjunctive Mood is for contingency and goes with AN above to establish the 3^rd Class “if” statement.

AITEO is used for intercessory prayer and for praying for your own needs; EROTAO – ερωτάω (e-er-o-tah'-o) is typically used for face to face inquiry but can also be used for a petition in prayer, when you have a problem. Technically, EROTAO is not a prayer word; it means, “to interrogate someone.” This is what happened to Paul when he was taken into prison and interrogated by the Roman. But AITEO means, “to make petition of someone who is absent.”

Notice how AITEO (regarding prayer) and EROTAO (asking face to face) are used in John 14:13-14, 16.

John 14:13, “Whatever you ask (AITEO) in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴“If you ask (AITEO) anything in My name, I will do it…. ¹⁶“I will ask (EROTAO) the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.” (Remember that “Me” in Verse 14 is not in the original Greek. We do not pray to Jesus; we only pray to the Father.)

In John 16:26 both AITEO and EROTAO occur in this sense.

In addition, our Lord gives us this contrast in verbs to show the change in Dispensation. A change in Dispensation means a dramatic change in prayer. Jesus Christ is now at the right hand of the Father and from now on it is AITEO of the Father.

“The Father” is TON PATERA in the Direct Object Accusative, Masculine, Singular. The Father is the One we pray to. Therefore, we have the first principle of prayer.

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PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER

Principle #1: All Prayers are Addressed to God the Father.

“In My name” is EN TO ONOMATI in the Dative Case plus MOU - ἐγώ (eg-o') which is the Genitive of Possession Pronoun EGO, “I or Me.” So literally, it is, “in the name of Me.”  

Jesus Christ is the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, so obviously we approach the Throne of Grace in the name of Jesus Christ.

The term, “in My name” is used in this chapter three times, Verses 23, 24, 26. 

In Chapter 14, Jesus used it three times, Verses 13, 14, 26, and Chapter 15 has the phrase once, Verse 16.

It is obvious by this repetition that great advantage accrues to the one who prays “in Jesus’ name.” However, the phrase was never meant to be an incantation to produce magical effects. It only tells us that advantages are promised when we operate according to the Protocol Plan of God for the Church Age.

In every instance, the use of “His name” is intended to glorify the Father. Therefore, we have the second principle of prayer.

Principle #2: All Prayers are Offered “in the Name of Jesus Christ.”

Next, we have the “then” statement or APODOSIS, “He will give it to you,” which in the Greek is simply, “DOSEI HUMIN.”

DOSEI is the Verb DIDOMI – δίδωμι (did'-o-mee) in the Future, Active, Indicative, Third Person, Singular that means, “give or grant.”

The Future Tense indicates time subsequent to the prayer request. After we pray our prayers will be answered.

The Third Person, Singular, Active Voice refers back to God the Father, the One the request was made to.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality that the Father will answer your prayers.

“He will give it” is not referring to Jesus but God the Father. God the Father answers all prayers.

Principle # 3: God the Father Will Answer Your Prayers.

“To you” is HUMIN, the Pronoun SU, in the Dative, Second Person, Plural that means, “to you all.”

Principle #4: God Gives Equal Privilege and Equal Opportunity. He hears and answers all prayers that follow His Protocol Plan for Prayers during the Church Age.

1 John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will (including following His protocol for our prayers), He hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”

Our Translation of John 16:23, “And in that day, (post resurrection and Church Age), you will not question Me about anything. Truly, Truly, I say to you all, if you all, (maybe you will and maybe you will not), ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you all.”

Principles:

• Before one can use the name of Jesus effectively, he must have an intimate relationship with Him.

• By virtue of the relationship, that person will know the desires of his Lord and the will of the Father by the Spirit and His Word.

• The relationship with Jesus and the knowledge of the Father’s will are followed by a commission and anointing to function as Jesus would if He were on earth Himself.

• The disciple can then make his request to God the Father in the name of Jesus with confidence that God will accomplish that which he asks.

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These principles are then reconfirmed in John 16:24, “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.”

Greek:

ἕως ἄρτι οὐκ ᾐτήσατε οὐδὲν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου· αἰτεῖτε, καὶ λήμψεσθε, ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ὑμῶν ᾖ πεπληρωμένη.”

Transliteration:

“HEOS ARTI OUK ETESATE OUDEN EN TO ONOMATI MOU; AITEITE KAI LEMPSESTHE, HINA HE CHARA HUMON HE PEPLEROMENE.”

HEOS is a Preposition in the Genitive case.

ARTI is used here as a Pronominal, Adjective, in the Genitive, Feminine, Singular. Combined they mean, “until now, up to this moment, or so far.”

Up until now the disciples had not approached the Father through the Son, but the policy must now change to conform to the glorification of Christ, the change in dispensation, and the intensification of the Angelic Conflict.

“You have asked for nothing in My name.”  

OUK ETESATE OUDEN EN TO ONOMATI MOU. 

This is a similar construction to that in Verse 23.

“Asked,” ETESATE is the Verb AITEO -  αἰτέω (ahee-teh'-o) once again, but in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Plural.

Then we have, “ask and you will receive,” is AITEITE KAI LEMPSESTHE.

AITEITE is the Verb AITEO this time in the Present, Active, Imperative, Second Person, Plural.

The Present Tense with the Imperative Mood is a command to “keep on asking, keep on praying about a situation,” “You all keep on asking.”

KAI is the Conjunction, “and.”

LEMPSETHE is the Verb LAMBANO – λαμβάνω (lam-ban'-o) “receive,” in the Future, Middle Deponent, Indicative, Second Person, Plural.

The Future Tense:  The action of receiving answers to their prayers is subsequent to the time of praying, “you will receive.”

The Middle Deponent is like an Active Voice but is also reflexive. The disciples themselves will have their prayers answered, as a result of offering prayers to God the Father in the first place.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of God answering their prayers. We will say, “you all will (in the future) receive for yourselves (the answer to your prayer).”

Then we have, “so that your joy may be made full.”

“HINA HE CHARA HUMON HE PEPLEROMENE.”

“That” is the Subordinating Conjunction HINA which establishes the purpose clause, “in order that.”

“Your joy” is HE the Article “the,” plus CHARA, “joy” in the Nominative, Feminine, Singular, plus HUMON the Pronoun SU, “you” in the Genitive of Possession, Second Person, Plural that means, “of you all.” So, we can say, “the joy of you all” or “your joy.”  

This is much more personal. You are a believer priest in the Church. “The joy” is your possession. Joy is inner happiness.

“May be made full” is HE PEPLEROMENE.

HE is the Verb EIMI - εἰμί (i-mee'), “is, to be, are, etc.” in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, Third Person, Singular. In the Subjunctive Mood, it comes to mean, “may be,” regarding our joy.

“Made full” is the Verb PLEROO, “fulfill, make come true, bring about,” in the Perfect, Passive, Participle, Nominative, Feminine, Singular.

The Intensive Perfect Tense is for completed past action, where the results continue in the present time. It emphasizes the results or present state produced by the past action. Their joy is the result of God answering their prayers.

Principle #5: Our Joy is the Result of God Answering Our Prayers.

See John 15:11 for same verb, and 1 John 1:4 for same form as here, emphasizing the abiding permanence of the joy.

John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

1 John 1:4, “These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.”

Our translation of John 16:24, “Until now you all have asked nothing in My name; you all keep on asking and you all will (in the future) receive for yourselves (the answer to your prayer), in order that your joy may be made full.”

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Principles of Joy

Inner Happiness, (+H)

Inner happiness fills up all the deficiencies of life; Phil 4:11-12; Heb 13:5-6.

Phil 4:11-12, “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹²I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” 

This contentment is the result of knowing that the Father hears and answers your prayers, which should include your prayers for your logistical needs each and every day.

Heb 13:5-6, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ ⁶so that we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?’”

Regardless of our situation or circumstances, the Father will come to our aid; therefore, we are not to be inordinately ambitious regarding the world’s wealth.

The word also means to fully possess. Inner happiness fully possesses the believer during the various functions of his priesthood. Just as the Lord, as the Shekinah Glory, filled the tabernacle when He was at peace with Israel, 2 Chron 7:1, so does His joy fill your souls when you are at peace with God via confidence in your prayer life.

When we speak of the “Shekinah Glory of God,” we are referring to God’s dwelling in the tabernacle or the temple. The Hebrew word transliterated “Shekinah” means, “dwelling of God,” from the Hebrew word SHAKAN – שָׁכַן (shaw-kan'), which means, “to dwell,” Ex 29:45-46.

Col 1:27, “To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

It also means to fully influence. Inner happiness fully influences the soul, including the mentality of the soul, where a Relaxed Mental Attitude co-exists with joy and inner happiness.

Rom 8:38, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Rom 14:14, “I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.”

Rom 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Phil 1:25, “Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith.”

Then, it also means to fill up with a certain quality. Inner happiness is the direct result of being filled with the Spirit, Gal 5:22-23.

Gal 5:22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

And this is directly related to the capacity for love, Rom 5:5.

Rom 5:5, “And hope (confident expectation in all things) does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

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Principles on the Power & Effectiveness of Prayer

Prayer is a Great Source of Power:

John 14:13, “Whatever you ask in My Name, that I will do …”

John 14:14, “If you ask anything in My Name I will do it.”

John 15:07, “… ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you.”

John 15:16, “… that whatever you ask of the Father in My Name, He may give it to you.”

John 16:23, “… if you shall ask the Father for anything He will give it to you in My Name.”

John 16:24, “… ask and you will receive ...”

1 John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”

Our Lord has given us these principles and promises regarding our prayer life, so that we would have complete and utter confidence in God the Father when we approach the throne of Grace, Heb 4:16.

Heb 4:16, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

This confidence comes to us as a result of “abiding in Christ” according to John 15:6, which means learning His Word and growing in your personal relationship with the Father and the Son.

This “asking” is a ministry of intercession from deep within the hidden recesses of your spiritual life, in other words, the “heart” of your soul where you store and retain Bible Doctrine.

• Intercessory prayer must come from the heart of your soul to avoid the trap or danger of being based on your pride or arrogance, or even your approbation lust that is looking to promote or puff yourself up because of the thing that you have done, “pray!”

• In true intercession, it is that hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified.

• Therefore, is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of your life? Or are you allowing your spiritual life to waste away.

• If the central point or the most powerful influence of your life is the Lord Jesus Christ, then every aspect of your life will bear fruit for Him, especially your prayer life.

“If you abide in Me …” that is if you continue to act and think and work from that central focus of your life, Jesus Christ, “ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you,” John 15:7.

The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God’s foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God.

• So, are you abiding? Are you taking the time to abide?

• What is the greatest source of power in your life? Is it your work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it your striving to work for God? It should be none of these! What ought to exert the greatest power in your life is the Person and Word of the Lord Jesus Christ.

• It is not on what you spend the greatest amount of your time on that molds you the most, but whatever exerts the most power over you. You must make a determination to limit and concentrate your desires and interests on the Cross of Christ and what that means for yourself and mankind.

As you exert that great source of power called “the prayers of the abiding believer,” you will have tremendous happiness, as a result of seeing God work in your life and the lives of others because of your personal prayers and intercession for them. John 16:24b, “… that your joy may be made full.”

Knowledge is power in prayer:

Notice in John 13:17 it says, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”  This statement comes on the heels of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, (pun intended).  In Verse 15, He says, “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”  What Jesus did was a demonstration of service and sacrifice that He performed on their behalf, just as your prayers are for others.

Later in John 15:13-14, He tells them, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are My friends if you do what I command you.” This is the back drop of the Upper Room and Gethsemane Discourses, where throughout our Lord gives them new instructions on what the prayer life should be for the Church Age believer.  Therefore, we are blessed when we walk in the light of these new commandments on prayer.

In the statement of John 13:17, “If you know these things” is a call and challenge for all of us to be determined to “know” more than others, that is, know more Bible Doctrine than others so that you can be a prayer warrior for our Lord.

But if you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock of Satan’s Cosmic System, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea, so that you have no choice but to, in desperation, seek out the knowledge of God and learn to pray as a result of despair rather than out of love and obedience.

Instead, put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His knowledge, purpose, and will, and let your eyes be opened in Divine viewpoint. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, yet always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself, begin to have spiritual discernment through Divine viewpoint. Likewise, when you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more.

Yet, there are many times when you should have done something, yet you did not. Examine where you have become sluggish in this life by not responding to the still small voice of God in your soul. Examine where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it.

Unfortunately, as a result you now have no spiritual insight or discernment and in times of crisis, you will be spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. Therefore, it is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more, and your prayer life will be ineffective as a result.

The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Rom 12:1-2.

Rom 12:1, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ²And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning what is His will for you than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. 1 Sam 15:22, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice …”

Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been. John 7:17, “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching …”

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Principles of Prayer in Luke 11:1-13,

Compared with Matthew 6:9-13.

The Lord provides general principles regarding our prayer life in Mat 6:5-8.

Mat 6:5-8, “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ⁶But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. ⁷And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

He then gives us the template for our prayers in Verses 9-13 which was also given in Luke 11:2-13. We will focus here on Luke 11 with some comparison with Mat 6.

In Luke 11:2, “Pray” is the Verb PROSEUCHOMIA – προσεύχομαι (pros-yoo'-khom-ahee) in the Present, Middle Deponent, Subjunctive.

Where in Mat 6 it is the Present, Middle Deponent, Imperative.

PROS - προσ (pros) means, “to, towards, face to face, advantageous for.”

EUCHOMAI – εύχομαι (yoo'-khom-ahee) means, “to pray.”

So, PROSUECHOMAI means, “to pray face to face.”

“Say” is where the Imperative Mood for a command comes into play in Luke’s Gospel. Therefore, this is the template prayer for the believer.

We are not commanded to repeat this prayer over and over again as the “Our Father.” 

See Mat 6:7 above. Likewise, note that Luke does not have the full version that Matthew has. If we were supposed to repeat this prayer, then Luke would have recorded it through the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit word for word. But he did not. Therefore, we are commanded to understand the principles of each line within this template and then apply it personally and individually each time we pray as is applicable.

In Luke 11:2, we have, “Father, hallowed be Your name.”

“Father,” the first principle of prayer is to direct your prayers to God the Father. We are never instructed to direct our prayers to Jesus Christ, (note that in John 14:14, “Me” is not in the original Greek text and the KJV has the correct translation.), the Holy Spirit or any angel, saint, person, or animal (cow, birds, fish, etc.). All prayer is offered to God the Father.

“Hallowed be Your name.” Hallowed is the Greek word HAGIAZO - ἁγιάζω (hag-ee-ad'-zo), from the root HAGIOS - ἅγιος (hag'-ee-os), which means, “holy.” 

So, HAGIAZO means, “to make holy, consecrate, sanctify.” In this portion of the prayer, Jesus is telling us that the name of God the Father is a Holy and Sanctified name. It is a name that is set apart from all others. It is a name that is pure and blameless, a name that venerates righteousness, justice, and all of His Divine Essences.

HAGIAZO is a Verb in the Aorist Tense, Passive Voice and Imperative Mood, Third Person, Singular.

The Imperative Mood indicates a command, entreaty, or an exhortation. Here, it expresses the appeal of one person’s will to another person and intention rather than probability or possibility. So, when we say, "Hallowed be your name" we are lauding the Father.

The Passive Voice tells us that the Father receives the action of the verb. When we open our prayers lauding Him, He receives our praise and glory.

The Aorist Tense tells us of a past action that continues to have results into the present. In other words, God has always been Holy and remains that way today.

All combined, when we pray, we are expressing vehemently the holiness of the Father, and He receives glorification.

Then we have, “Your kingdom come,” the same as in Mat 6 in English and Greek.

This is our confident expectation, also known as hope, of God’s kingdom [BASILEIA - βασιλεία (bas-il-i'-ah)] coming to earth. It is our expression of confident expectation of our own eternal life and security. God’s Kingdom begins in the Millennium and continues with the new heavens and earth, Rev 11:15; 20-22; Titus 2:13.

Titus 2:13, “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”

It also is recognition of exactly whose kingdom it is. It is God’s and not ours. So, through this portion of prayer, we are to have humility before God, recognizing whose plan and will we are under; compare with Mat 6:10 “Your will be done.”

Then in Luke 11:3, “Give us each day our daily bread.” In Mat 6:11, ‘Give us this day our daily bread.”

• Mat 6:11, ôὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον·
• Luke 11:3, τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δίδου ἡμῖν τὸ καθ’ ἡμέραν·

• “Each day,” (HO KATA HEMERA - the according to today).
• “This day,” (SEMERON - this day).

• “Give,” - DIDOU – DIDOMI – Present, Active, Imperative.
• “Give,” - DOS – DIDOMI – Aorist, Active, Imperative.

“Daily Bread” is EPIUSIOS that can mean, “for the coming day or for subsistence.”

Verse 3 changes the prayers focus from worship to petition. Petition is an important part of our prayers. Here the petition is for our daily needs. God promises us logistical grace blessings for our daily needs and sustenance.

2 Cor 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything (logistical grace support and blessing), you may have an abundance for every good deed.”

Nevertheless, Jesus tells us to pray for our logistical needs. What does this tell us? Don't take God's grace for granted. God desires that we ask Him for our every need, signified in “daily bread” which is both our physical and spiritual needs as Jesus and His word are the Bread of Life, John 6:26-58; 1 Cor 10:16-17. When we ask God for our daily needs, He is glorified. This also teaches us day by day living reliant upon God, rather than storehouse living like the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21; 1 Tim 6:7-9, 17.

The double meaning for bread is also seen in 2 Cor 9:10, “Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”

In Verse 4, “And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

“And forgive us our sins”,

“Debts” is the noun OPHEILEMA - ὀφείλημα (of-i'-lay-mah) that means, “is owed, a debt, wrong, sin, or guilt.”

“Sins” is HAMARTIA - ἁμαρτία (ham-ar-tee'-ah) that means, “a sin or failure.”

All believers continue to sin post salvation, either mentally, verbally, or overtly. For these sins, God the Father in grace has directed us to name those sins to Him in order to receive cleansing for our daily walk; fellowship with God and other believers, 1 John 1:5-8. We call this the “Rebound” technique, the confession of your sins, 1 John 1:9. Every time you recognized that you have sinned, offer up a prayer naming your sins to God the Father according to 1 John 1:9. As a result, your soul is cleansed and you have the filling of the Holy Spirit, cf. Eph 5:18. In addition, it is recognition of your reliance on the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross for the payment of all your sins, even though we have been washed clean at salvation. Compare 1 Cor 6:11 with John 13:5-10.

“For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”

• Mat 6:12, “As we also have forgiven our debtors.”
• Luke 11:4, “For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”

• Mat 6:12, “ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν·”
• Luke 11:4, “καὶ γὰρ αὐτοὶ ἀφίομεν παντὶ ὀφείλοντι ἡμῖν·”

• In Mat 6, the Noun OPHEILEMA is used for, “that which is owed, a debt, wrong, sin, or guilt.”

• In Luke 11, the Verb OPHEILO - ὀφείλω (of-i'-lo) is used for, “owe; ought, must, be bound or obliged; sin against, wrong.”

In Matthew and Luke, “forgiven” or “forgive” is the Verb APHIEMI - ἀφίημι (af-ee'-ay-mee) that means, “to send away, leave alone, permit, or forgive.”

• In Mat 6, it is in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, First Person, Plural.
• In Luke 11, it is in the Present, Active, Indicative, First Person, Plural.

Our forgiving others is not a cause of God’s forgiving us, but it is a condition without which He will not forgive us. That is because, as long as we have a heart of unforgiveness, we are operating in sin and under our Sin Nature. Therefore, we are to forgive those who have a debt toward us, who have sinned against us. To forgive your debtor you need a humble heart. Each of us, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, are charged to forgive our brother, John 20:23; Mark 11:25; 18:21-22; Luke 17:3; Col 3:13.

Mat 18:21-22, “Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

Now we come to, “And do not lead us into temptation.”

• Mat 6:13, ‘And do not lead us into temptation.’
• Luke 11:5, ‘And lead us not into temptation.’

The Greek is identical in both passages, “καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν,” so I don’t know why the translators of the NASB translated them differently.

“Temptation” in Luke 11:4 and Mat 6:13 is the Greek word PEIRASMOS -  πειρασμός (pi-ras-mos') that means, “a period or process of testing, trial, test, temptation, enticement, an experiment.” The root word PEIRAZO – πειράζω (pi-rad'-zo) used in James 1:13 means, “to make proof of, to attempt, test, or tempt.” Its root word PEIRA - πεῖρα (pi'-rah) means, “a trial or an experiment.”

James 1:13, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God;” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”

So, we note that temptation is a trial or period of enticement where we are in a proving ground. The test is, “Will we be overcome by the thought or situation?” or “Will we overcome the thought or situation?” God does not and cannot tempt us but will allow us to be tested. This phrase is hard for some to understand. They say, “If we are petitioning God to not lead us into temptation, then He is the One who leads us into temptation, and therefore leads us to sin or be immersed in sin.” That is blasphemous and totally counter to the Word and integrity of God. God is perfect. He can have nothing to do with sin whatsoever. God desires His highest and best for us; therefore, He would never lead us to sin or to perform evil.

James 1:13-15, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God;” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

Jesus prayed in this way in the Garden. Mark 14:36, “And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me (i.e. lead us not into temptation); yet not what I will, but what You will”.” Therefore, this is a prayer for God to give you the strength and fortitude necessary, through His Word and Spirit, to not give in to temptations and to remain inside His Power System.

Temptations do not come from God, they come from Satan, your Old Sin Nature (OSN), or other people. Sin does not come from Satan or your OSN, it comes from our volition. That is why it says in Mat 6:13, “but deliver us from evil.” When temptations come, we must resist them through thinking Bible doctrine by the filling of God the Holy Spirit.

2 Cor, 10:5, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

Col 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ."

1 Cor 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”  w/ Rom 8:35-39

In Summary - Our Lord’s Template for Prayer in Luke 11:2-4 Includes:
2a, “Father”	Direct your prayers to God the Father.
2b, “Hallowed be Your name”	Express the Holiness of the Father and glorify Him.
2c, “Your kingdom come”	Humility before God with confident expectation of eternity.
3, “Give us each day our daily bread”	Petition for our daily sustenance both physical and spiritual needs.
4a, “And forgive us our sins”	Petition God for the forgiveness of sins committed post salvation, recognizing the debt incurred due to sin.
4b, “For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us”	A change of mind when confessing your sins. Forgiving others requires a Christ-like attitude.
4c, “And lead us not into temptation”	God does not and cannot tempt us but will allow us to be tested. This is a petition to remain in God’s Power System and be delivered from Satan’s Cosmic System.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Principles of Prayer

1. Directed toward the Father.
2. Open with Glorification.
3. Recognize God's Kingdom and Divine viewpoint.
4. Have Humility.
5. Have Confident Expectation.
6. Petitions:

• Logistical grace blessings, both physical and spiritual daily sustenance.
• Repentance and forgiveness of sins, recognizing the debt incurred paid by Christ.
• Remaining inside God’s power system.

In Luke 11:5-8, our Lord gives an object lesson of our prayers being answered, followed by the principle of what God does for us in Verses 9-10. That is then followed by another object lesson for prayers being answered in Verses 11-13.

• Luke 11:9, “Ask and it will be given to you…”
• Luke 11:10, “Everyone who asks receives …”

The word “ask” is AITEO - αἰτέω (ahee-teh'-o) that actually means, “to ask, request, or to beg.” It is used for our petition prayers offered to the Father, as we have noted in John 16:23-26.

There is nothing more difficult than asking. We all have yearnings and desires for certain things and even suffer as a result of their going unfulfilled, but we will not ask until we are at the limit of desperation. Until you come to the point of asking, you will not “receive” from God based on your prayer. You may receive things from His sovereignty and mercy, but when you ask, you will receive from His grace and love.

To be able to receive means that you have to come into your relationship with God as His child. When you do, then you will comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding that these things come from God your Father.

Never ask out of your own lust. Ask out of your needs and desires, understanding the will of God.

In James 4:3-6, we are told why our prayers are not answered.

James 4:3, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask with wrong motives,” that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. Wrong motivation results in prayers being unanswered. The more you desire to fulfill yourself, the less God will answer your prayers. 

Then what happens is you try to fulfill your own desires to the exclusion of God. The more you fulfill yourself, the less you will seek God, and the downward spiral continues.

Luke 11:9 tells us, “… seek, and you will find …”

This means, “get to work,” that is, narrow your focus and interests to this one thing and keep on praying for or about that issue or thing. Don’t be complacent and indifferent, so satisfied with your own experience that you really do not want anything more of God. Seek God with your whole heart, do not just give Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience. “… seek, [focus], and you will find …”

Luke 11:9 then tells us to, “… knock, and it will be opened to you.”

According to James 4:8a that is, “drawing near to God.” You draw near by knocking (praying) repeatedly on the door.

Consistency in your prayers is what God desires, as noted in Luke 11:5-8. Just as the friend kept knocking on the door of his friend, keep coming to your Father in prayer for the issue at hand. As you draw near to Him, He will come to you.

If the door remains closed, and your heartbeat begins to race as you knock because you are becoming anxious about the issue or situation, then as James 4:8b says, “cleanse your hands,” which is a reminder to confess your sins before you enter into prayer, especially the sin of worry or anxiety, as you think your prayers are going unanswered.

If the door is still closed, we should knock a bit louder by what James 4:8c tells us, “… purify your hearts …,” which means get the Word of God into your soul or apply the Word of God that is already in your soul.

This indicates that the cause of unanswered prayers might be because your heart is filled with cosmic viewpoint. James calls this the “double minded.”

As you are knocking and seeking God and drawing near to Him, and He to you, having confessed your sins and being in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, God will reveal to you the mentality of your soul. He will reveal your true motivations, in this case, that you are full of cosmic viewpoint and that your prayers are cosmically inspired.

As we have been noting, God desires us to have Divine viewpoint, where our prayers are aligned with His thinking and His will. As we take in the Word of God on a consistent basis and remain filled with the Spirit, the natural outcome is that your heart will be filled with Divine viewpoint and your prayers will be aligned to His will and not your own.

Then in James 4:9a, it is becoming even more personal now, you are desperate and serious now, you are filled with the Spirit and the Word, you are aligned to the will of God and He then tells us to, “Be miserable. What? Be MISERABLE? Really, God wants me to be miserable!

Miserable is the Greek word TALAIPOREO - ταλαιπωρέω (tal-ahee-po-reh'-o) that means, “to suffer hardship or distress.” This is the only time this word is used in the New Testament (HAPAXLEGOMENA). It means, in context, to work hard at your prayers rather than just lightly or superficially offering them up to the Father.

Then it says to “mourn and weep,” which is PENTHEO – πενθέω (pen-theh'-o) and KLAIO - κλαίω (klah'-yo) that means “to lament or cry out to the Lord for the situation or issue.”

Have you ever lamented to the Father; expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? This is not having self-pity, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are.

Then in James 4:9b, “let your laughter be turned into mourning” which is the outward expression of your soul, and in James 4:9c, “your joy to gloom” is the inward expression of your soul.

Keeping this in context; God does not want you to literally be miserable, always mourning and walking around with a cloud over your head. Remember the 10^th of the 11 Problem Solving Devices is +H (Sharing the Happiness of God).

The context here is in relation to your worldly, cosmically saturated, sin nature controlled heart of your soul. If you are filled with cosmic sin and that is your joy and pleasure in life, God would have you change so that your happiness is truly from Him. He wants you to have recognition of your worldly sinfulness. That is why in James 4:10 it says, “He will exalt you.” “Exalt” is HUPSOO - ὑψόω (hoop-so'-o) that means, “to lift or raise up, to exalt, or uplift.”

And finally, in James 4:10, if you still have no answer to your prayer, “humble yourselves …” It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door. Humility is usually the last thing man will try in life. But when you do humble yourself before the Father in prayer, “He will exalt you!”

This correlates with Luke 11:10 that tells us “… to him who knocks it will be opened.” In other words, your prayers will be answered and you will have exaltation seeing your prayers answered.

Therefore your:

• Asking (Luke 11:9a) is drawing near to God (James 4:8a), that is accomplished by crying out to the Father (James 4:9a), which results in receiving answers to your prayers (Luke 11:10a).

• Seeking (Luke 11:9b) relates to cleansing, rebound (James 4:8b), that is accomplished by recognition of our worldly sinfulness (James 4:9b), which results in finding answers to your prayers (Luke 11:10b)

• Knocking (Luke 11:9c) is purifying your heart with the Word of God (James 4:8c), that is accomplished by changing cosmic viewpoint for Divine viewpoint (James 4:9c), which results in opening up answers to your prayers (Luke 11:10c).

• All of this is accomplished by having Humility in Your Soul (James 4:10) and being obedient to the Protocol Plan of God for your life. Your reverent prayers offered in the way of Jesus’ and these principles will be answered.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luke 11:9-10 compared to Mat 7:7-8

The Logical Progression of
How Our Prayers

Are Answered by God:

Ask, Seek, Knock - Receive, Find, Open.

Luke 11:9-10, “⁹… ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”

Mat 7:7-8, “⁷Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

The Greek is identical in Matthew and Luke, “⁹ … αἰτεῖτε, καὶ δοθήσεται ὑμῖν· ζητεῖτε, καὶ εὑρήσετε· κρούετε, καὶ ἀνοιγήσεται ὑμῖν· ¹⁰πᾶς γὰρ ὁ αἰτῶν λαμβάνει, καὶ ὁ ζητῶν εὑρίσκει, καὶ τῷ κρούοντι ἀνοιγήσεται.”

Verse 7 tells us of the promises from God.

Verse 8 tells us of the blessings from God.

“Ask, and it will be given to you.” — “Everyone who asks receives.”

“Ask” we have seen to be AITEO in the Present, Active, Imperative. There is no 

Subjunctive Mood here, meaning there is no case for volition here; you just get with it. This is a command in the Present Tense, and it should be translated: “You keep on praying.”

“It will be given to you” is DIDOMI - δίδωμι (did'-o-mee) is the Future, Passive, Indicative.

The Future Tense means a logical progression. It is very rarely future in time; most of the time it is used for logical progression, and that is the way it us used all the way through the rest of this chapter.  So, we ask and it is logical that if you are praying about something, that you are going to be given what you are asking for.

The Passive Voice indicates that you cannot earn it or deserve it, and no believer ever earns or deserves an answer to prayer; it is strictly a matter of grace.

The Indicative Mood is the reality of the fact that prayers are answered

“To you,” is the Dative of Advantage case of SU “you”. It will be given for your advantage. 

Even if you are asking for someone else, it is still to your advantage.

So, here we see the base line answer to your prayers; when you ask God for something, you will receive an answer to that prayer; plain and simple. Sometimes the answer is yes and sometimes it is no!

In our prayers, we have both a petition and a desire which God will answer. The Petition is what you actually ask for, and the desire is what you deep down inside are hoping for. God will answer both your petition and your desire separately, where you will receive the following combinations of answers:

Petition – Desire

• Yes      –     Yes
• Yes      –     No
• No       –     Yes
• No       –     No

But straight up, you will receive an answer to your prayers one way or another.

Then the parallel in Verse 8, “For everyone (every believer) who asks receives.”

This pattern of prayer is for the believer only. Only the believer can pray where God hears their prayer, only the believer can learn God’s Word, only the believer can use these techniques in prayer. They are designed for the believer in phase two (our spiritual walk in this life while on earth).

“Who asks” is AITEO in the Present, Active, Participle, indicating that prayer should be a habit; “Keep on asking.”

“Receives” is LAMBANO - λαμβάνω (lam-ban'-o) in the Present, Active, Indicative which is the blessing that comes from prayer, receiving answers to your prayers, (both the petition and the desire).

The Indicative Mood indicates that the preceding Participle “asks” goes with it, and it happens every time; it is a reality, and there will never be an exception; when you ask, you will receive. Of course, this means to be praying habitually and appropriately. We understand that it is possible to pray as a believer and not be heard, if we are not praying according to God’s Word, we understand that. This is simply taking up the principle of prayer, and in taking up the principle of prayer, it is taking up a prayer that will be answered.

The Indicative Mood indicates the reality of this.

“Seek, and you will find.”  — “He who seeks finds.”

“Seeking” is the second instruction we are given regarding our prayers. Seeking does not mean coming up with an answer to your prayers on your own or solving your own problems. 

It actually means Bible study, that is, searching the Word of God and digging out the doctrines found in the Bible that are applicable to your prayer.

“Seeking” is the Greek verb ZETEO - ζητέω (dzay-teh'-o) and is in the Present, Active, Imperative. It is a command to, “keep on seeking, keep on searching, keep on looking for the answer.” ZETEO in the Greek was used for seeking something of value. When you are out looking for something valuable, then your heart’s really in it.

In other words, do not go by fits and starts as some people do. Seek the Word of God habitually for answers to your prayers. When you do, you are actually searching God out for the answer. His Word is how He communicates with us. I know if He wants to, He can supernaturally manifest Himself and speak to us, but His plan for the Church Age is not to do that. Instead, He speaks to us through His Word.

John 16:13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

This means the Word of God should be your life or you have no life as a believer. The Word of God has to be learned, and so, you have to seek it in order to find answers to your prayers.

“Find” is the Verb HEURISKO - εὑρίσκω (hyoo-ris'-ko), in the Future, Active, Indicative that means, “to find out, discover.” It also means, “to get for oneself, bring on oneself, to discover something you are interested in or something you want.”

Joseph Thayer has three main applications for this word’s use in the New Testament:

• To come upon, hit upon, or to meet with.
• To find by enquiry, thought, examination, scrutiny, observation, to find out by practice and experience.
• To find out for one’s self, to acquire, get, obtain, or procure.

It means, “to come upon something after purposeful search.” When you examine the Word of God, you will hit upon answers to many of your prayers, and you will find out for yourself what to think, say, or do in the situation you are praying for.

The Future Tense again is logical progression; if you really go after God’s Word, you will get God’s Word, which many times gives you the answer to your prayer.

Notice this time that it is the Active Voice, not the Passive Voice, which means that you yourself are going to do the finding, and it means that you have to learn it. It means that your volition is involved in learning. Perception comes from volition, your own volition.

So, this is another logical progression: You keep on seeking doctrine, you may have a hard time at first, but you will find the answer to your prayers.

When you find Bible doctrine because your own mental attitude is involved, then your life is going to be different, wonderful, no matter how many difficulties you have in life. This has always been true since the beginning of time, and one of the things common to believers in every Dispensation is prayer and Bible doctrine.

Therefore, “finding” is the self-discovery of real and solid answers to your prayers, as you have searched through God’s Word by the power of the filling of the Holy Spirit. Yet, even though you have done the searching, you are really just presenting the non-meritorious act of faith to delve into God’s Word, as led by the Holy Spirit who leads you to the answers you need, John 16:13. Therefore all the glory goes to God, and we are rewarded in both time and eternity.

The parallel in Verse 8, “he that seeks,” (Present, Active, Participle = keep on seeking habitually), “finds,” (Present, Active, Indicative = fact of reality).

“Knock, and it will be opened to you.” — “To Him who knocks it will be opened.”

“Knock”-  KROUO - κρούω (kroo'-o) is actually comparable to the Faith-Rest Technique based on the preceding context of Luke 11:5-8. This too is in the Present, Active, Imperative which means, “keep on knocking,” that is, keep on using the Faith-Rest Technique, keep on trusting God regarding every prayer. When you use the Faith-Rest Technique, then everything opens up.

“It will be opened to you” is ANOIGO - ἀνοίγω (an-oy'-go), where we go back to the Future, Passive, Indicative again. ANOIGO means, “to open, or to move something from a shut or closed position.”

The Future Tense continues to indicate the logical progression (knock and it will be opened).

The Passive Voice means you don’t earn it; the Faith-Rest Technique is a non-meritorious operation.

In the parallel of Verse 8, we have the mechanics: “to him that knocks it will be opened.”

“Knocks” is in the Present, Active, Participle, (keep on knocking habitually), and “Opened” is in the Future, Passive, Indicative.

In Verse 8, God has established a pattern with “receives” and “finds,” because you have two things doing the same thing, (“asks” = Present, Active, Participle, with “receives” = Present, Active Indicative. Then “seeks” = Present, Active, Participle, goes with “finds” = Present, Active Indicative).

So, now you look at the third one, and when you do, you obviously see a parallelism, but all of a sudden, it is broken up with a fantastic emphasis.

You have “knock” = Present, Active, Participle with “opened,” that is a Future, Passive, Indicative. With the Future, Passive, Indicative, God is emphasizing this last one, so you underline it. The Future, Passive, Indicative shouts at us, and actually, it says this: “something that was previously shut will be opened.”

The Future Tense continues the logical progression.

The Passive Voice:  It is opened by God. He does the work. This is grace, and we receive answers to our prayers through His Grace Pipeline.

The Indicative Mood:  The reality of it.

The principle is this: Where there is Bible study, it brings results; it loads up your frontal lobe. But action in the Christian life (phase two) is based on knowing and using techniques. This is where the action is. If you do not know it, you cannot do it.

John 16:13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

It is fantastic when God opens doors and here is the whole door opening process — prayer, Bible study, cognizance of techniques, utilization of same.

Not only will you receive the answers to your prayers but you will discover the meaning behind it as your petitions and desires are answered. Then the whole realm of the situation will be opened up to you. You will have tremendous incite and be strengthened with a personal sense of destiny.

So, don’t stop asking, keep on seeking (studying the Word of God), and do a little knocking (faith resting), and the doors will open.

In these three logical progressions of Verse 7, the first one was Future-Passive, the second one was Future-Active, and the third is Future-Passive. The two Passive Voices indicate the grace of God and orientation to the grace of God, and the one Active Voice indicates your positive volition / mental attitude in learning God’s Word.

In Verse 8a, we have the three habitual factors, “asks,” “seeks,” and “knocks,” where they are all Present, Active, Participles that indicate habitual activities in phase two (your Christian walk), and the Active Voice means that your volition is involved in these activities.

Then comes the blessing column of Verse 8b; each one of these, “receives, finds, and opened” is where we get the emphasis; our prayers will be answered, we will discover its meaning and our eyes will be wide open to the will and plan of God.

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In John 16:25, we have a pause in the prayer discussion where our Lord instructs them of the type of future teachings they will receive.

John 16:25, “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.”

Greek: 

“Ταῦτα ἐν παροιμίαις λελάληκα ὑμῖν· ἔρχεται ὥρα ὅτε οὐκέτι ἐν παροιμίαις λαλήσω ὑμῖν, ἀλλὰ παρρησίᾳ περὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀπαγγελῶ ὑμῖν.”

Transliteration: 

“TAUTA EN PAROIMIAIS LELALEKA HUMIN; ERCHETAI HORA HOTE OUKETI EN PAROIMIAIS LELESO HUMIN, ALLA PARRESIA PERI TOU PATROS APAGGELO HUMIN.”

Jesus describes how He has been communicating to them during the Upper and Gethsemane Discourses, “in figurative language” or literally, “by means of proverbs.”

“In figurative language” is EN PAROIMIA.

EN is a Preposition in the Dative Case. While EN means, “in,” when it is followed by the Local Dative or Locative it means, “by means of.”

PAROIMIA is a Noun in the Dative, Feminine, Plural that means, “a byword, a parable, an allegory, figure of speech, or proverb.” It is a compound from PARA – παρά (par-ah'), “alongside,” and OIMIA - οἴμαι (oy'-om-ahee), “to suppose or think.” So, it is to think alongside or word by word in order to teach Bible Doctrine.

Jesus has been using proverbs or analogies to communicate. For example, Jesus said in this same discourse, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” That describes one facet of the Doctrine of the Mysteries of the Church Age. The reason He has communicated to them through analogies (called here “proverbs”) is because this is the easiest way to communicate something that can be understood the first time.

“An hour is coming” is ERCHETAI HORA.

ERCHETAI is the Verb ERCHOMAI - ἔρχομαι (er'-khom-ahee) in the Present, Passive Deponent, Indicative, Third Person, Singular that means, “to come or go.”

HORA is a Noun in the Nominative, Feminine, Singular and means, “a time or period, an hour.” It represents a short period of time. So, it refers to that very short time when Jesus will teach after His resurrection, and then the very early Church teaching. Jesus will also teach in a very special way, the apostle Paul.

“When I will no longer (OUKETI) speak (Future of LALEO) to you in figurative language (PAROIMIA).” He will no longer use analogies; they will not be necessary.

“But will tell you plainly of the Father.”

“Will tell” is the Verb APAGGELLO in the Future, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular that means, “to report, announce, carry back word, or to present information from an ultimate source.” The verb refers to the New Testament Canon as it is formed, completed, and stands forever.

“Plainly” is PARRESIA that means, “openness, frankness; that is openly, plainly, freely.” 

It means without any misunderstanding. In other words, the Word of God is so designed in a language that there can be only one interpretation.

“Of the Father” should be “concerning the Father,” with the preposition PERI. It has the concept of the Father’s Plan designed from eternity past. Eleven of these disciples will go into the Church Age, and they must be oriented to the Father’s Plan, because they are going to be apostles to the Church.

“In proverbs” is in contrast to “plainly.” The thought is that Jesus could not say things He wished, because at this time, they had little capacity to understand.

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Then in Verse 26, He goes back to the instructions on prayer.

John 16:26, “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf.”

Greek:

“ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου αἰτήσεσθε, καὶ οὐ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐρωτήσω τὸν Πατέρα περὶ ὑμῶν·”

Transliteration:

“EN EKEINE TE HEMERA EN TO ONOMATI MOU AITESESTHE, KAI OU LEGO HUMIN HOTI EGO EROTESO TON PATERA PERI HUMIN.”

Jesus began to unfold to the disciples their full state of communion with the Father and Himself. He stated the relationship in the strongest terms.

“In that day” - EN EKEINE TE HEMERA. He used the word “day” to indicate a long period, not “hour” of the last verse. By the use of “day,” the implication is that all believers are included. Therefore, it is a reference to the Church Age, and specifically to that day in which they lived, the apostolic period.

“You will ask” is the Future, Middle, Indicative, Second Person, Plural of the verb AITEO; our word for “prayer,” which means, “to make a petition to someone who is absent.” It describes prayer in the Church Age. In the Church Age, the Father is in heaven, the Son is seated at His right hand, and all prayer is addressed to someone who is, as it were, absent from the earth. As we have noted in Verse 23, there are two Greek words which are used for prayer. One is AITEO which is to offer prayer to someone absent, and the second is EROTAO which means to interrogate but also to ask prayer of someone who is present.

The Future Tense means in the Church Age at a future time.

The Middle Voice: Believers will be benefited by prayer as they themselves ask God for things.

The Indicative Mood is the reality of prayer in the Church Age.

“In My name” - EN ONOMA MOU is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. The prayer approach for the Church Age changes radically. Never again is there going to be a prayer approach as there was in the Old Testament, because for the first time in history, every believer is a priest and every believer-priest has the privilege of prayer.

Jesus used the term “in My name” three times (Divine Perfection) in four verses, Verse 23-26.

The relationship between the believer and the Son is so close that when any request is made to the Father, the Father sees Christ’s own desire and merit as prompting the request. The believer never asks in his own merits, but those of Jesus.

“And I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf.” Here we have an apparent contradiction, and there is a principle involved here:

“I do not say” is the Present, Active, Indicative of LEGO plus the negative OUK. Here this means, “I do not promise.” Jesus is not making a promise.

Jesus is removing the false impressions among the disciples that He Himself must process every prayer personally. For example, some people think that praying in the name of Jesus means that you shoot it up to Jesus Christ and He takes the ball from there and goes to the Father with it. That is not necessary.

Jesus is removing the false impression from the disciples who at this time are all mixed up. Their false impression is that Jesus must beseech the Father regarding every prayer that they utter. No! They go directly to the Father in the name of Jesus.

Every believer in the Church Age has direct contact with the throne of grace, Heb 4:16.

To pray in the name of Jesus must not be construed as Jesus must do the asking of the Father. Rather, this is a direct approach of the believer priest to the throne of grace.

It is also true that the Lord Jesus Christ as our High Priest will intercede for us, Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1. However, this verse (John 16:26) emphasizes our direct approach to the Father as believer priests, and this direct approach is through the Son. We can go directly to the Father as a priest, because we are in union with Christ.

“I will request” is Future, Active, Indicative of EROTAO which means, “to make a petition face to face.”

The fact that Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father and makes face to face petitions on our behalf does not in any way hinder a direct shot with our own petitions.

• During the Church Age, the Father is the recipient of prayer from Jesus Christ, Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25.

• He is the recipient of prayer from the Holy Spirit, Rom 8:26.

• He is also the recipient of prayers from the believer priest.

In essence, Jesus says, “I do not say that I will not pray for you, I will, but you have direct access to the Father yourselves.”

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The reason we have direct access to the Father is noted in Verse 27.

John 16:27, “For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.”

Greek:

“αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ Πατὴρ φιλεῖ ὑμᾶς, ὅτι ὑμεῖς ἐμὲ πεφιλήκατε καὶ πεπιστεύκατε ὅτι ἐγὼ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐξῆλθον.”

Transliteration:

“AUTOS GAR HO PATER PHILEI HUMAS, HOTI HUMEIS EME PEPHILEKATE KAI PEPISTEUKATE HOTI EGO PARA [TOU] THEOU EXELTHON.”

In Verse 27, we are told why we can go directly to the Father in prayer and why our prayers are answered, “For the Father Himself keeps on loving you.”

Interestingly, Jesus uses the other Greek word for love here, PHILEO – φιλέω (fil-eh'-o) [Used only 26 times in the New Testament.]. This is the first time He uses PHILEO regarding the believer in these Discourses. He used it to describe the relationship between the world and the unbeliever in John 15:19.

PHILEO is a rapport love or relationship type of love. AGAPE love is an impersonal and unconditional love and is not based on whether the other party loves you back or not, but PHILEO does.

AGAPE love is based on the subject, “the one who is doing the loving,” where PHILEO love is based on object, “the one who is being loved.”

Therefore, in this verse, God the Father has love for you because you have expressed love to Him. Our love for the Father is shown to us in a two-fold answer at the end of Verse 27: 

1) “you have loved Jesus,” and 

2) “you believed that Jesus came forth from the Father.”

“You have loved Jesus.” This too is PHILEO love, which goes back to what our Lord said in the Upper Room in John 14:15, “If you love (AGAPE) Me you will keep My commandments.”

We demonstrate our AGAPE love for Jesus by keeping His Word resident within our souls. 

When we AGAPE love Jesus in this way, that love is also directed to the Father as PHILEO love in response to what He has done for us. When we AGAPE love Jesus, we PHILEO love the Father, and He in return PHILEO loves us.

“You believed that Jesus came forth from the Father.” This is our acceptance of  Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. Jesus came to fulfill the Will and Plan of the Father for the salvation of the entire world, and we believed it; the Perfect, Active, Indicative of PISTEUO.

Therefore, because of our faith for salvation and keeping the Word of God resident with our souls, God the Father is able to PHILEO love us and answer our prayers.

Let’s take a look at the Greek.

[TOU - “the”] indicate debated Greek text.

“For the Father Himself loves you.”

“Loves” PHILEI is the Verb PHILEO in the Present, Active, Indicative.

The Stative Present Tense is linear aktionsart, an ongoing state; He keeps on loving you all the time.

The Active Voice with the Third Person, Singular: It comes from God the Father. God the Father is the One who keeps on loving you.

The Indicative Mood: Whatever God does to you, He always does it; therefore, it is the reality of the fact that God loves you when you are carnal, when you are spiritual, with scar tissue, with an Edification Complex of the Soul (ECS); He loves you no matter what. That is PHILEO. This is a total love of His essence.

“Himself” is the Pronoun AUTOS in the Nominative, Masculine, Third Person, Singular. 

It is emphatic and emphasizes that the Father’s love for the believer is equal to Christ’s love for the disciples.

“Because you have loved Me.”

“Because” is the Conjunction HOTI and states the reason the Father loves the believer. Two reasons are given.

• The first reason is, “you have loved Me.”

Here “have loved” is the Verb PHILEO once again, but this time in the Perfect, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Plural. PHILEO indicates a fondness or friendship love, rapport love. It is the word for a fellowship type of love. In John 5:20, Jesus stated that the Father loves (PHILEO) the Son.

The Extensive Perfect Tense is for completed past action from which a present state emerges. The disciples have loved the person of Jesus Christ, “EME” (Me), in the past, and as a result they love Him now. Their love for Him is represented by the next phrase, “they believed in Him.” Therefore, the Father does not just have AGAPE love for them (as He has for the entire world, believers and unbelievers alike, John 3:16). No! The Father has PHILEO love for them, because they PHILEOed Jesus Christ.

The Active Voice in the Second Person, Plural is referring to all the disciples presently with Him on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of their past love for Jesus Christ that continues into the present time of His speaking.

“Me”- EGO is stressed. The love began at a time in the past and continues to the present. This is not to say that God does not love the unbeliever. Clearly, He is no respecter of persons, especially in the area of love. He AGAPEs the unbeliever and PHILEOs the believer. (Notice 1 John 4:19 says that “we love [AGAPE] Him because He first loved [AGAPE] us.”)

It is important to remember that the focus of the context is the subject of prayer. The Father will answer those who pray in Jesus’ name, (i.e., in full accord with the will of God the Son.)

• The second reason the Father loves the believer is, “and have believed that I came forth from the Father.”

“And have believed” is the Verb PISTEUO in the Perfect, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Plural. The tense is the same as above, but this time referring to their faith and trust in Him.

What did they “believe” in? That Jesus “came forth from the Father.” In other words, they believed in the Father’s Plan of salvation for the entire human race which required the incarnation of the Person of Jesus Christ.

“Came forth” is the Verb EXERCHOMAI - ἐξέρχομαι (ex-er'-khom-ahee) in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular that means, “to come out of.” It is a compound word from EX - ἐξ (ek) that means, “out of, or from,” and ERCHOMAI - ἔρχομαι (er'-khom-ahee) that means, “to come.”

The Constative Aorist Tense views the entirety of His Incarnation, First Advent, John 13:1, 3, which was God the Father’s Plan of salvation for the entire human race.

The Active Voice:  Jesus Christ is the One who came forth according to the Father’s Plan.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of Jesus Christ completing the Father’s Plan with His First Advent.

“From the Father” is what is implied here but the Greek is PARA THEOU, “from God.” 

So, it should read, “I came forth from God.” But we know from context that this is the Father’s Plan.

Principles:

• Our love for Christ is demonstrated in our belief in Christ. This starts with faith for salvation.

• The work of Jesus was so thorough and effective that believers gain a like personal relationship with the Father as Christ has.

• Because we have and do PHILEO Jesus Christ, God the Father PHILEOs us.

• As a result, we are made “believer priests” as members of the Royal Family of God at the moment of our salvation (1 Peter 2:5, 9), which gives us access in prayer to God the Father.

• Having access to the Father, we pray directly to Him. We do not pray to Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or anyone else.

• Because of this unique priesthood and access of the Church Age, Jesus does not have to intercede on our behalf when praying.

• Because Jesus loves us and is now seated at the right hand of the Father, He voluntarily acts as our intercessor, supporting our prayers that are offered to the Father.

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Then in John 16:28, we have our Lord reiterating His return to the Father. Why? Because it is an important aspect of our prayer life that He is seated at the right hand of the Father.

John 16:28, “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world (planet earth); I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”

Greek:

“ἐξῆλθον ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ ἐλήλυθα εἰς τὸν κόσμον· πάλιν ἀφίημι τὸν κόσμον καὶ πορεύομαι πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα.”

Transliteration:

“EXELTHON PARA TOU PATROS KAI ELELUTHA EIS TON KOSMON; PALIN APHIEMI TON KOSMON KAI POREUOMAI PROS TON PATERA.”

“I came forth from” is EXELTHON PARA.

EXELTHON is the Verb EXERCHOMAI in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular, that means “to go or to come out of.” Here it is, “came forth.”

The Aorist Tense is for simple past action, but also views the entirety of the action; our Lord’s First Advent. He came forth from the very substance of the Father and the abode of God to fulfill the plan of God the Father for salvation.

The Active Voice in the First Person, Singular:  Jesus Christ is the One who came to earth in humanity to form the Hypostatic Union, in which He fulfilled the Father’s Plan for salvation for the entire human race.

PARA is a Preposition in the Genitive case that means, “from or of.”

“The Father” is the Genitive, Masculine, Singular TOU (HO – the), and the Noun PATER, that means, “Father,” referencing God the Father, which was the context in Vs. 27, when Jesus said, “I came forth from God.” He came forth (incarnation) according to God the Father’s will and Plan.

“And have come,” KAI ELELUTHA.

ELELUTHA is the verb ERCHOMAI in the Perfect, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular that means, “to come or go,” Here it means, “to come” as in John 18:37.

John 18:37, “Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice”.”

The Perfect Tense is for completed past action. Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary (incarnation) and has fulfilled the Father’s Plan up to this point, with the anticipation that 

He will fulfill the rest of the Plan (crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and session).

The Active Voice: Christ executes the Father’s plan in hypostatic union.

The Indicative Mood:  The incarnation is now a permanent fact, where it was once only a blessed hope, John 11:27 with 6:14.

John 11:27, “She (Martha) said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”

“Into the world” is EIS TON KOSMON in the Accusative, Masculine, Singular.

KOSMOS - κόσμος (kos'-mos) means, “world or world order.”  Here it simply represents planet earth, but remember that this earth is Satan’s kingdom. Jesus Christ came to the devil’s kingdom in order to defeat the devil and sin.

Next, we have, “I am leaving the world again.”

“Again” is the first word in this phrase in the Greek. It is the word PALIN, and means, “again or once more.” Here, it indicates repetition of the Doctrine He has previously taught them; His ascension.

“I am leaving” is the Verb APHIEMI in the Present, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular that means, “to leave or go way from one.”

The Futuristic Present Tense describes the future event of His Ascension with the emphasis of immediacy and certainty.

“The world” is HO KOSMOS, once again in the Accusative, Masculine, Singular.

“And going” is the Conjunction KAI “and,” plus the Verb POREUOMAI in the Present, Middle Deponent, Indicative, First Person, Singular that means, “to go, depart, to go from one place to another, etc.”

The Present Tense is also a Futuristic Present indicating immediacy and certainty of His return to the Father. Sometimes an event is so real and so close, it is put in the Present Tense, which means it is a future, a near future, which is a dramatic and sure moment.

The Middle Deponent acts like an Active Voice and indicates Jesus is the One who is returning to the Father.

The Indicative Mood:  After His death, burial, and resurrection, He is going to ascend to heaven at the completion of the Father’s Plan.

“To the Father” is Accusative Preposition PROS, “to, toward, face to face,” plus the Accusative Masculine Singular TON (HO – the), and the noun PATERA for “Father.” So, we have, “face to face with the Father,” which represents His Session, being seated at the right hand of the Father in His humanity.

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Doctrine of Ascension & Session Related to Our Prayer Life

The Ascension of Jesus Christ is a doctrine of Christology pertaining to the transfer of our Lord’s true humanity from planet earth to the third heaven in a resurrection body.

After the resurrection of our Lord’s humanity, He remained on earth for forty days before His Ascension. For forty days, He demonstrated His resurrection body here on earth. This period of time showed the capabilities of the resurrection body.

The Ascension of Christ is predicated on the capabilities of the resurrection body.

• It can travel horizontally and vertically at unlimited speed, and is capable of unlimited space travel.

• Our Lord traveled horizontally during his forty days on planet earth, as well as moving through closed doors, John 20:19.

• The Ascension of Christ demonstrates the vertical travel of the resurrection body, moving with ease through the atmosphere of the earth, the galaxies of stellar universe, and the billions and billions of light years in an instant and entering into the 3rd Heaven, (2 Cor 12:2), the abode of God.

The 3rd Heaven is the abode of all three members of the Trinity, Gen 14:19; 1 Kings 8:30.

The 3rd Heaven is located billions and billions of light years away from the earth, above the 1st and 2nd Heavens.

• A light-year in astronomy is the distance traveled by light moving in a vacuum in the course of 1-year, at its velocity of 186,282 miles per second.

• A light year equals about 5.878 X 10,000,000,000,000 (10 trillion) miles, or 63,240 astronomical units.

• Therefore, the humanity of Christ in hypostatic union traveled billions and billions of light years passing through the 1st, 2^nd, and 3rd heavens by means of Divine omnipotence, in order to arrive at the right hand of God the Father, in order to receive power, rank, and authority over all creation.

Upon arrival in the third heaven, our Lord was seated at the right hand of God the Father; this is the doctrine of the Session. Then He received His 3rd Royal Patent and the Title, “King of kings, Lord of lords, the Bright morning star,” 1 Tim 6:15; Rev 17:14; 19:16; 22:16.

Because His 3rd Royal Warrant had no accompanying royal family, the Church Age was inserted for the calling out of a royal family.

The chronology of events was: 1) resurrection, 2) forty days on the earth, 3) ascension ten days before the Church Age began, and 4) seated at the right hand of the Father.

We know the number of days exactly, because the resurrection occurred on the Feast of the First Fruits. The Feast of Pentecost would occur fifty days later. On day forty, our Lord ascended, and He said the baptism of the Spirit and the beginning of the Church Age would occur very soon, (ten days later).

The Ascension of Christ was a visible event in a public place. It took place on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, where He will again return at His 2nd Advent which occurs at the end of the Tribulation period.

Luke is the only one of the New Testament writers who gives a detailed description of the event in Acts 1:9-11. Our Lord’s ascension brought to a conclusion His earthly ministry.

Acts 1:9-11, “And after He had said these things (announcement of the Church Age, Acts 1:5, 8), He was lifted up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently up in the sky as He was going, behold two men (angels) dressed in white stood beside them. And they also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand staring into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come in the same way as you have seen him go into heaven”.”

His ascension is the 4th major event in relation to the appeal trial of Satan. The five major events in relation to the appeal trial of Satan are:

• Substitutionary Spiritual Death of Jesus Christ on the Cross
• Resurrection
• Triumphal Procession
• Ascension
• The Session

The trial has three phases:

• The Formal Presentation of the Case. The Formal Presentation corresponds with Old Testament History.

• Rebuttal Phase. The Rebuttal Phase of the Prosecution (God) includes the Hypostatic Union and Church Age (a Christocentric Dispensation).

• Closing Arguments and Summary. The Closing Argument of the Prosecution takes place during the Millennial Reign.

Satan’s Rebuttal takes place during the Tribulation Period and his Closing Argument takes place when he is released from prison towards the end of the Millennium and the Gog Revolution, which results in the execution of his sentence to the Lake of Fire in Rev 20:10.

All of this reminds us of Col 3:1, “keep seeking the things above.”

Col 3:1‑3, “If therefore you have been raised in Christ (and you have in baptism of the Spirit and current positional truth), keep on seeking (desiring to possess) the things above where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of the Father. ²Set your mind on, (keep thinking objectively about), the things above (doctrine), not things on the earth. ³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

To “seek the things above” requires the utilization of Divine power inside God’s Power System, which requires cognition of Bible doctrine, which requires right priorities; doctrine must be first in your life.

With this is the power of your prayer life. Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father as your advocate, Rom 8:34; 1 John 2:1, to support and assist your prayers that are heard by God the Father.

The fact that the humanity of Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, except for the Rapture of the Church and His permanent move at the Second Advent, is indicative of the fact that He has made the most fantastic system of power available to you!

Objective thinking about the “things above” includes cognition of your Portfolio of your Invisible Assets, understanding the Predesigned Plan of God in detail, perception of the unique things related to the great power experiment of the Church Age, (especially the Eleven Problem Solving Devices), the ability to offer your prayers to the Father as a Royal Priest, 1 Peter 2:9, and the additional advocacy Christ gives you in your prayer life.

The royal family’s mental attitude is to think Bible doctrine (the righteousness of God), not good and evil. We should have a very strong, positive mental attitude no matter what our circumstances or pressures.

Your prayer life is a key factor in adjusting your thinking to the justice of God and applying faith rest because:

• You can confess your sins with the result of being cleanses from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:9.
• The Father hears your prayers, 1 John 5:14.
• The Father answers your prayers, 1 John 5:15.
• The Spirit empowers your prayers, Rom 8:26-27.
• The Son is an advocate of your prayers, Rom 8:34. He is seated at the Father’s right hand and personally speaks with Him on your behalf.

When you know by means of the Word and Spirit that these things are a reality in your life, you are encouraged and motivated to apply them and trust in them.

Therefore, Prayer works to adjust your thinking away from sin and Cosmic viewpoint and onto righteousness and Divine viewpoint, providing you with a Relaxed Mental Attitude (RMA) while faith resting in God.

If we are going to utilize Divine power (God’s Word and Spirit), we must understand the mechanics for its transfer and for its utilization. Ignorance of God’s Word is a guarantee that you will function on human power all your life. The Word and Spirit teach us how to pray and tap into the power of prayer.

Because we are in union with Christ, we are a king-priest. This means we can directly address God the Father in prayer through Jesus Christ, because He is the greatest High Priest in all of history. He is a Royal High Priest or King Priest. Therefore, we pray to God the Father in the name of Christ, and in the effectiveness of the power of the Holy Spirit which is life inside God’s Power System (GPS).

Therefore, the Ascension and Session of Jesus Christ abrogates the Levitical priesthood, replacing it with the royal priesthood, 1 Pet 2:9; Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6, and Jesus Christ as our High Priest, Heb 10:1‑10; 7:25; 8:1 who intercedes on our behalf, where we can go directly to the Father for all our needs and petitions.

John 16:28 is a concise, Biblical creed as given by Jesus Himself. The Lord came out of the Father to seek and to save some out of the world. He left the world to go to the Father as an intercessor in behalf of those whom He redeemed.

In Verse 28, Jesus reiterates the Doctrines of:

• His Incarnation, “I came forth form the Father.”
• His Hypostatic Union, “have come into the world.”
• His Cross (death), Resurrection and Ascension, “I am leaving the world.”
• His Session, “going to the Father.”

And four is the number of material, indicating the complete work of the Person of Jesus Christ.

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The Gospel of John, Part 6 continues with, Vs. 29 - 33, Final Words of Encouragement. Christ’s Discoveries of Himself, which will also teach us of our positional and experiential peace in the faith-rest life, ending with the Concluding Summary of John 16.

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Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor Jim Rickard                                 

23 Messenger St., Ste 3

Plainville, MA 02762

gracedoctrine.org
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