Introduction: Jesus was the Great Teacher. Sometimes they called Him "Rabbi." In the context of John, the last supper is over, and Jesus has not yet been betrayed by Judas. He has time for one final lecture to His disciples. This covers John 14:7--16:6. (In John 17 He prays. In John 18 He is arrested.) What does Jesus teach His disciples in His final lecture?

I. He Explained the Trinity.

A. Simply stated: There is only one God. This one God exists in three separate Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each is truly God. Each is truly a separate Person. Yet there is only one God.

B. Jesus taught that He was one with the Father, yet He was at the same time a separate Person from the Father.

C. Jesus also taught that He and the Father would send the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17, 26 and see 16:7-14).

II. He Explained the Nature of Loving God.

A. "Love" to the average person is a word about "Romance" and "Romantic Feelings." This has been drummed into us daily from the pop songs on the radio and movies. For example...(Read some lyrics)

B. You love your spouse, your child, your country, your mother, apple pie and ice cream, and the word love means something different in every case! As a general explanation, perhaps the words "devotion" or "committment" or "loyalty" come close. Please note that how you feel is not intrinsic to love. Whether or not you feel affectionate toward your spouse, your child, your country or your mother, you must still love them! Pleasurable feelings that accompany love are nice, but the feelings are not the essence of love. Devotion is the essence of love.

C. Note also that love is a quality that may be demanded, whether or not we want to give it. Your spouse, child, parent, nation, etc., has the right to demand love, and you have the obligation to give love, regardless of how you feel about it.

D. What about loving God? Certainly not the same as loving my wife or my child or chocolate! Jesus explains that love for God is "devotion that shows itself in obedience." Over and over again He says that those who claim to love God must show that love by keeping God's commands (John 14:15, 21, 23-24, 31). People who love God, obey Him. People who don't obey God should never claim that they love God. To do so is to confuse the meaning of love.

Conclusion: In Jesus' final lecture to His disciples He taught them 1) The nature and truth of the Triune God; and 2) That to love God means to have the sort of devotion that shows itself in obedience to God's Word.