JOHN 15
15 “I am the real vine, and my Father is the
gardener. 2 He removes every branch in me that isn’t producing
fruit, and he cleans every one that is bearing fruit so that it bears even more
fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the Word which I have
spoken to you. 4 Remain in me and I will remain in you. Just as
the branch is not able to produce fruit out of itself if it doesn’t remain in
the vine; likewise, neither can you if you don’t remain in me. 5 I
am the vine, you are the branches. The
one who remains in me – and I in him – this one bears a lot of fruit. Separated from me you can do nothing at all. 6
If anyone doesn’t remain in me he is thrown outside like a branch and he withers. Then they gather them all and throw them into the fire and so he burns. 7 But should you remain in me and my
teachings remain in you, request whatever you desire and it will happen for
you. 8 Through this my Father is glorified, because you bear a lot
of fruit and show yourselves to be my disciples. 9 I have loved you
just like the Father has loved me – you
need to remain in my love. 10 If you follow my commands you will
remain in my love, just like I have followed the commands of my Father and
remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that my joy
may be in you, and that your joy may be filled up.
12 This is my command: Love each other just like I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you to do. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave doesn’t understand what his master is doing. No, I have called you friends because all that I have heard from my Father I have explained to you. 16 You didn’t choose me but I chose you and appointed you so that you should go out and bear fruit – and your fruit will last – so that if any of you humbly ask the Father in my name he will give it to you. 17 I’m commanding you these things so that you love each other.
18 When the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you were from the world, the world would love you as its own. However, since you are not from the world – instead I have chosen you out of the world – this means the world can’t stand you. 20 You remember the word I spoke to you, “A slave is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me then they will persecute you; if they held to my word they will hold to yours too. 21 But they will do all these things to you because of my name, since they don’t know the one who sent me. 22 If I hadn’t come and talked to them, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have no disguise for their sin. 23 The one who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I hadn’t done the works among you which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have seen them and so they have hated both myself and my Father. 25 Yet this happened to fulfil the word that stands written in their law, that “they hated me for no reason.”
26 When the Agent comes, whom I will send you from beside the Father – the Spirit of truth who goes out from beside the Father – he will testify about me, 27 but you also must testify because you have been with me from the beginning.”
12 This is my command: Love each other just like I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you to do. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave doesn’t understand what his master is doing. No, I have called you friends because all that I have heard from my Father I have explained to you. 16 You didn’t choose me but I chose you and appointed you so that you should go out and bear fruit – and your fruit will last – so that if any of you humbly ask the Father in my name he will give it to you. 17 I’m commanding you these things so that you love each other.
18 When the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you were from the world, the world would love you as its own. However, since you are not from the world – instead I have chosen you out of the world – this means the world can’t stand you. 20 You remember the word I spoke to you, “A slave is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me then they will persecute you; if they held to my word they will hold to yours too. 21 But they will do all these things to you because of my name, since they don’t know the one who sent me. 22 If I hadn’t come and talked to them, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have no disguise for their sin. 23 The one who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I hadn’t done the works among you which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have seen them and so they have hated both myself and my Father. 25 Yet this happened to fulfil the word that stands written in their law, that “they hated me for no reason.”
26 When the Agent comes, whom I will send you from beside the Father – the Spirit of truth who goes out from beside the Father – he will testify about me, 27 but you also must testify because you have been with me from the beginning.”
6) so he burns. The Greek implies that during this process there is continual burning.
7) request whatever you desire and it will happen for you. Because the one who is in Christ and allowing his teachings to dwell in him (by dwelling on them - i.e. studying and/or meditating on them himself, absorbing Christ by doing so) will increasingly see things from God's perspective and have more if his priorities and so will be asking in accordance with God's will.
10) If you follow my commands you will remain in my love. Not that our justification is based on works, but staying within the will of Jesus means expending the time and effort to understand it (reading the Bible and humbly asking God's spirit to enlighten you, being willing to accept it no matter how it challenges your existing beliefs) and then living under the guidance of the insights you are given. This is like the 'prodigal son', in a sense, in that he was still a son of his father but chose not to remain in his love.
15) I have called you friends. Friends are closer than slaves, obviously, and God is more willing to confide in them and reveal his plan to them. This is exemplified in many ways in both the OT and the NT with those who were called God's friends. I'm especially thinking of Abraham (Isa 41:8 - whom God chose to reveal ahead of time his plans for Sodom & Gomorrah (Gen 18:17)), Moses (who spoke with God face to face as a friend (Ex 33:11), and was the agent by which many prophecies were given in the Torah), Daniel (highly esteemed by God (Dan 9:23), and the one to whom the most profound apocalyptic visions in the OT were given) and John the Apostle (self-designated as 'the one Jesus loved' - a term which I'm sure reflects his own incredulity at the relationship but I believe the Holy Spirit was using it more deeply than John anticipated, that is, to reveal his more intimate friendship as one of Jesus closest 3 along with Peter and James - and also the agent of great apocalyptic writings (Revelation)).
18-19) Christians, if the world loves you and you fit right in, then you need to check whether you're really in line with God's will (2 Cor 13:5), of if you're hiding your light too much. We are to expect resistance and hatred from the world.
20) Quote from John 13:16.
22) they wouldn’t have had sin. In the sense that they wouldn't have been aware of their guilt. Since they are now aware, they 'shoot the messenger' rather than change their ways.
25) Quote from Ps. 35:19 and 69:4.
26) Agent. My go at translating the word 'paracletos'. 'Agent' carries the nuances of a legal representative or mediator (similar to ‘Advocate’), as well as one who is the means through which a task is completed, both key elements of the Holy Spirit’s role.
7) request whatever you desire and it will happen for you. Because the one who is in Christ and allowing his teachings to dwell in him (by dwelling on them - i.e. studying and/or meditating on them himself, absorbing Christ by doing so) will increasingly see things from God's perspective and have more if his priorities and so will be asking in accordance with God's will.
10) If you follow my commands you will remain in my love. Not that our justification is based on works, but staying within the will of Jesus means expending the time and effort to understand it (reading the Bible and humbly asking God's spirit to enlighten you, being willing to accept it no matter how it challenges your existing beliefs) and then living under the guidance of the insights you are given. This is like the 'prodigal son', in a sense, in that he was still a son of his father but chose not to remain in his love.
15) I have called you friends. Friends are closer than slaves, obviously, and God is more willing to confide in them and reveal his plan to them. This is exemplified in many ways in both the OT and the NT with those who were called God's friends. I'm especially thinking of Abraham (Isa 41:8 - whom God chose to reveal ahead of time his plans for Sodom & Gomorrah (Gen 18:17)), Moses (who spoke with God face to face as a friend (Ex 33:11), and was the agent by which many prophecies were given in the Torah), Daniel (highly esteemed by God (Dan 9:23), and the one to whom the most profound apocalyptic visions in the OT were given) and John the Apostle (self-designated as 'the one Jesus loved' - a term which I'm sure reflects his own incredulity at the relationship but I believe the Holy Spirit was using it more deeply than John anticipated, that is, to reveal his more intimate friendship as one of Jesus closest 3 along with Peter and James - and also the agent of great apocalyptic writings (Revelation)).
18-19) Christians, if the world loves you and you fit right in, then you need to check whether you're really in line with God's will (2 Cor 13:5), of if you're hiding your light too much. We are to expect resistance and hatred from the world.
20) Quote from John 13:16.
22) they wouldn’t have had sin. In the sense that they wouldn't have been aware of their guilt. Since they are now aware, they 'shoot the messenger' rather than change their ways.
25) Quote from Ps. 35:19 and 69:4.
26) Agent. My go at translating the word 'paracletos'. 'Agent' carries the nuances of a legal representative or mediator (similar to ‘Advocate’), as well as one who is the means through which a task is completed, both key elements of the Holy Spirit’s role.