John 14 with Metaphysical Footnotes (ASV)

^14:1Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in me. ^14:2In my Father's house are many mansions;1 if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. ^14:3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. ^14:4And whither I go, ye know the way.2 ^14:5Thomas3 saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; how know we the way? ^14:6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life:4 no one cometh unto the Father, but by me. ^14:7If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also: from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

^14:8Philip5 saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. ^14:9Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Show us the Father? ^14:10Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works. ^14:11Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.^14:12Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also;6 and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father. ^14:13And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ^14:14If ye shall ask anything in my name, that will I do.

1. In my Father's house are many mansions. “Many mansions” means many abiding places. “Mansion” comes from the Latin manere, to remain. The meaning of Jesus was that He was making a permanent abiding place for those who believed in His teaching and accepted Him for what He really was—God manifest. The idea usually held out is that Jesus was preceding His disciples to heaven, where He would await and welcome them. But there is no such meaning in the text. The permanent abiding place to which Jesus invites His friends is “prepared” by Him: He makes the place Himself, in fact He is the place. “Where I am, there ye may be also.
2. whither I go, ye know the way. Jesus meant that those who find the inner spiritual kingdom know Him, and that they also know the way to reach Him wherever they may be.
3. Thomas. Thomas means “twins.” Spiritually considered, Thomas is understanding, whose twin is Matthew, the will. Intellectual understanding assures us of the truth of our sense impressions. It says, “Seeing is believing.”
4. I am the way, and the truth, and the life. Jesus talked from the I AM standpoint. The I AM in man is the center of attention and is the open door into the kingdom of God. When man in the silence centers his attention on his spiritual I AM, realizing that he is pure being, he finds his way to the Father's house.
5. Philip. Philip represents the power of the Word. The I AM in man is the open door into the kingdom of God. The power faculty must, by acknowledgement that the word of the I AM spoken through it is not of the mortal but of God, be raised to realization of the omnipresence of Spirit.
6. he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also. This is the greatest promise to all people who have faith in the spiritual man in this lesson.

^14:15If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments. ^14:16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,1 that he may be with you for ever, ^14:17even the Spirit of truth:2 whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you.

^14:18I will not leave you desolate: I come unto you. ^14:19Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth me no more; but ye behold me: because I live, ye shall live also.3 ^14:20In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. ^14:21He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him. ^14:22Judas (not Iscariot) saith unto him, Lord, what is come to pass that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? ^14:23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. ^14:24He that loveth me not keepeth not my words: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me.

^14:25These things have I spoken unto you, while yet abiding with you. ^14:26But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,4 he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you. ^14:27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you:5 not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. ^14:28Ye heard how I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father: for the Father is greater than I. ^14:29And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe. ^14:30I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me; ^14:31but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

1. Comforter. The Comforter, the Advocate, the Spirit of truth is omnipresent as divine wisdom and power, which are brought into active touch with our consciousness through our believing in Him. In "the world"—on the phenomenal side—we cannot know this guide and helper, but having learned the truth about the omnipresence of Spirit, with all the abundance of life, love, Truth, and intelligence through which it is made manifest, we at once begin to realize that the Mighty One dwells with us, and "shall be in you."
2. even the Spirit of truth. The universal world teacher who comes to every disciple of Jesus as a guide, director, comforter, and executive power. When we call upon Christ to be with us in our hours of trial, or to help us make some demonstration, it is “the Spirit of truth” that responds; in other words, “the Spirit of truth” is the executive of the Christ. In the early stages of our work this “Spirit of truth” seems to be external to us, but as we continue our unfoldment in the Christ consciousness we become more and more aware of spiritual Truth as an indwelling presence.
3. because I live, ye shall live also. With this expansion of the sense of our divine identity comes a perception of our unity with the Father, and the absolute identity of our sense-limited I with the universal I AM, the Christ.
4. But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name. The Father is principle. The Son is this Father principle revealed in a creative plan. The Holy Spirit is the executive power of both Father and Son. The Holy Spirit is not all of Being, nor the fullness of Christ, but an emanation or "breath" sent forth to do a divine work. Thus circumscribed, the Holy Spirit may in a sense be said to take on the characteristics of personality, but personality that for capacity transcends all man's conceptions. The Holy Spirit was before the time of Jesus. However Jesus' life and demonstration gave a new impetus to it. The Holy Spirit or Spirit of truth is man's one sure guide in his spiritual ongoing. An outpouring of the Holy Spirit always brings peace and infinite faith in the Father through the Son.
5. My peace I give unto you. The peace of Christ (based on consciousness and compassion) is not the peace of Rome (Pax Romana, peace based on power and domination) nor the peace of Judeo-Christian tradition (Justice, peace based on law).