If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17, ESV)
The FedEx Cup is a series of tournaments at the end of the PGA Tour season. The playoff system started in 2007, with players earning points throughout the regular season.
The first event includes the top 70-point leaders. The top 50-point leaders move on to play the second event. 30 golfers, based on points, advance to play the Tour Championship at East Lake CC.
Each player must earn their spot to keep advancing; nothing is received. There is no misunderstanding that one missed putt or errant shot can determine a player’s fate.
In our journey with Jesus, there seem to be many things he said that cause misunderstanding. For example, take his statements about love, obedience, and the Helper (the Spirit of truth) that he would give. Do we earn or receive the Helper?
First, we need to consider what Jesus meant when he said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” If love is defined as a feeling of affection, then no relationship with obedience is needed.
However, biblical love is not about how we feel; it is about understanding that loving God and obeying him cannot be separated.
Then Jesus talks about a Helper he will give. Does this mean that if we love and obey Jesus, then we earn the right to have the Spirit of truth given to us? This is not at all what Jesus was communicating.
We must see the scope of the story unfolding in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John. Jesus tells his followers that he will go prepare a place for them, they know the way, they know the Father because they know him.
Love fosters obedience, and obedience fosters love. And after he leaves—through his death, resurrection, and ascension back to the Father—he will send the Spirit of truth.
Skye Jethani equates a belief in earning the Spirit of truth as a misunderstanding of grace. He quotes Dallas Willard, “Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action.”
Throughout scripture, we learn we have a responsibility to “exert effort in our life with God,” according to Jethani. (Jesus’ Work & Ours, With God Daily, Aug 7, 2025).”
There is a stark difference between trying to earn versus receiving the Spirit’s indwelling. Trying to earn it takes Jesus out of the picture. Receiving the Spirit requires receiving a wrapped gift with effort.
Jethani sums it up, “…the Spirit will only be received by those who love Christ and his words. That should make us obedient.”
Prayer: Lord, help me to receive the gift of the Spirit of truth in my heart today. Thank you for helping me to love and obey.