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Verse 14

Ye are my friends, if ye do the things which I command you. No longer do I call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known unto you.

The utmost desire on the part of God that people should obey him and receive his blessing is seen in the teaching here. God manifested itself in the person of his Son; and, having every right to command, he nevertheless stooped to plead with men and to solicit them as friends to do his will.

No longer ... servants ... is not an excuse for Christians to abandon the concept of themselves as bondslaves of Christ (Romans 1:1); but the teaching is that the Lord treats his followers far better than any servant deserves to be treated.

My Father ... Christ often used the first person possessive in speaking of the Father, a use not allowed to disciples who were instructed to pray, "Our Father" (Matthew 6:9). A clear implication of Jesus' Godhead is in this distinction.

All things that I heard from my Father ... Jesus' revelation was complete; and, in its completeness, it was delivered to the apostles, who were enabled to remember it completely by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). This means that subsequent revelations of God's will are not. If Jesus did not teach it, his followers should not be duped into believing it, no matter what it is. In the light of this, where do such works as Science and Health, The Book of Mormon, and the encyclicals of popes appear?

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