The first article explained that the term Comforter refers to the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal high priest. Jesus used this term, recorded only in his final address, pointing to his future work in the forgiveness of sins.
Prayer in the name of Christ
In this same address, he uses another phrase exclusively here: “Whatever you ask in my name I will do it.” Jesus said this or similar words three times roughly corresponding to the instances when he spoke of the Comforter. We also have explanatory material in John’s first letter and one reference in Mark to help us understand the Lord’s intent in this seemingly universal teaching about prayer requests.
Here is what Jesus said: (all quotes RSV)
“Whatever you ask in my name I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it” (Jn. 14:13-14);
“That whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you” (15:16);
“Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name” (16:23).
From James’ admonition, we know we cannot just ask but must ask in faith, not selfishness (James 1:5-6; 4:3). But why the carte blanche emphasis? What could the Lord Jesus mean? As with the teaching concerning the Comforter, if we just attend to the context and John’s own usage of Jesus’ language, we can learn a vital lesson from the Master. This vital lesson concerns the forgiveness of our sins.
The old passeth away
If Jesus is indeed our high priest, then we have the assurance of forgiveness (I John 1:9; 2:1). The end of Jesus’ ministry also marked the end of the legal system given through Moses. The era of grace was about to commence. Jesus faced crucifixion the next day; so did the law (Col. 2:14). Unlike Jesus, the law would not rise again from the dead. It would have no resurrection because it never had life (II Cor. 3:6). Instead, the covenant of grace (the new covenant) would be ratified. The resurrected Jesus would stand and serve forever as the way to eternal life.
Our access to God depends on our faith and God’s forgiveness. The law did not provide the needed forgiveness (Heb. 9:9). People need forgiveness of conscience. Repentant prayer in the name of Jesus can achieve this. We can now stand before the Father fully forgiven of our iniquities. This comes from faith, not from ritual or works.
The assurance of forgiveness
So Jesus speaks in the context of the impending death of the legal system, and the access to God through forgiveness, on this night of teaching his disciples. He was in effect saying: “As high priest, I can assure you that whatever sins you ask to be forgiven will be forgiven. The law could not do this for you in the past, and in the future it will not even exist.”
Paul spoke similar words to the Jews of Antioch when he said: “Let it be known to you therefore, brethren, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him every one that believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39).
When Jesus said, “Whatever you ask,” he was neither speaking of unlimited and unrestricted blessings of God, nor saying that God will answer in the affirmative every prayer of good faith. He is telling us that in him we have complete forgiveness of our sins if we make request of the Father.
Confidence confirmed in I John
Confirmation for this comes from John himself in two passages in I John where he repeats this exhortation of the Lord: “This is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him” (I John 5:14-15).
The context of this passage is the forgiveness of sins (vs. 16,17). Obviously, it is always the Father’s will that we find forgiveness in him (II Pet. 3:9).
Another text, I John 3:19, also alludes to the confidence we have as believers in Christ. Leaving for now the explanation of more of John’s particular language, we note confidence, assurance, and forgiveness all occur together. These represent another contrast to the law, which only brought fear of judgment (Rom. 8:15). John continues this line of thought shortly when he again speaks of our confidence at the judgment based on God’s love (I John 4:17-18). Conversely, he describes the fear of those who would attempt to stand before the Father on their own merits, seeking superiority by works or esoteric knowledge.
Forgiveness is granted
The remaining Bible reference to the blanket assurance of answered prayer occurs in Mark 11:24-25. The context also is forgiveness of sins. Jesus said: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will. And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Neither God’s will nor our faith limit these carte blanche declarations as much as the context in which Jesus gave them. “Whatever we ask” applies to the forgiveness of our sins, which is one thing we can pray for knowing that God always will agree with this request of the believer. We don’t need to put God to the test, we only need to understand Bible language and context.
Fear is past
Do you fear the judgment? If so, then somewhere in your heart you think either: 1) I have committed such great sins that God won’t forgive me, or 2) I’m not sure whether I’m worthy enough for the kingdom.
Both thoughts represent forms of legalism and self-justification. Jesus and John teach us that God can and will forgive any sin of which we repent. And of course we are not worthy of the kingdom. That’s a given. We can do nothing to earn God’s favor. We depend entirely upon His mercy. We have access to the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, not through our own merit.
We have confidence because we know the vastness of His love. Our confidence is in the all-cleansing power of His forgiveness, not in our righteousness. If this is true, He will answer all our requests for forgiveness.
These articles have been presented not so much to offer an interpretation, but to help us realize what a blessed resource we have in the Comforter. The true test of whether we understand the new Covenant is not an academic issue, it is how we go about seeking God’s grace.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One