What does John 14:23 mean?

One of the disciples has asked Jesus what it means that He will "manifest" to them, and not to the world (John 14:22). Prior to this, Jesus had mentioned how the world would no longer see Him (John 14:19–21). In that statement, Jesus tied together the ideas of love and obedience. His essential statement was that those who love Christ obey Christ (John 14:15).

Here, Jesus repeats that idea, specifically as an answer to the question asked in the prior verse. Believers love Christ, and have the Holy Spirit, therefore they follow His commands (John 14:16–18). This is what allows them to "see" God, and to know Christ (John 14:19–21). Deeper love for Christ opens us to deeper understanding of Him and His will (John 14:28).

This verse deepens the idea of the Holy Spirit "living inside" someone. It also reiterates the idea of the Trinity: that God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are equally God and identical in nature. This follows earlier statements where Jesus claimed to be "the" truth (John 14:6), and referred to the Holy Spirit as the "Spirit of truth" (John 14:17). He also claimed that to see Him was to see God (John 14:9) and that He and the Father were united (John 14:11). In this statement, Jesus explicitly says "we will come…make our home" within a believer. This also echoes the idea of God as three persons in a single being.

Jesus includes a word translated as "home," which is the same word used in John 14:2, referring to "dwelling places" or "rooms."