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John Chapter
Fifteen
John 15
The beginning of this chapter, and that which relates to
the vine, belongs to the earthly portion-to that which Jesus was on earth-to
His relationship with His disciples as on the earth, and does not go beyond
that position.
"I am the true vine." Jehovah had planted a vine brought out
of Egypt (Psalm 80:8). This is Israel after the flesh; but it was not the true
Vine. The true Vine was His Son, whom He brought up out of Egypt-Jesus. [1] He presents Himself thus to His disciples.
Here it is not that which He will be after His departure; He was this upon
earth, and distinctively upon earth. We do not speak of planting vines in
heaven, nor of pruning branches there.
The disciples would have considered Him as the most
excellent branch of the Vine; but thus He would have been only a member of
Israel, whereas He was Himself the vessel, the source of blessing, according to
the promises of God. The true Vine, therefore, is not Israel; quite the
contrary, it is Christ in contrast with Israel, but Christ planted on earth,
taking Israel's place, as the true Vine. The Father cultivates this plant,
evidently on the earth. There is no need of a husbandman in heaven. Those who
are attached to Christ, as the remnant of Israel, the disciples, need this
culture. It is on the earth that fruit-bearing is looked for. The Lord
therefore says to them, "Ye are clean already, through the word which I
have spoken unto you"; "Ye are the branches." Judas, perhaps it
may be said, was taken away, so the disciples who walked no more with Him. The
others should be proved and cleansed, that they might bear more fruit.
I do not doubt that this relationship, in principle and
in a general analogy, still subsists. Those who make a profession, who attach
themselves to Christ in order to follow Him, will, if there is life, be
cleansed; if not, that which they have will be taken away. Observe therefore
here, that the Lord speaks only of His word-that of the true prophet-and of
judgment, whether in discipline or in cutting off. Consequently He speaks not
of the power of God, but of the responsibility of man-a responsibility which
man will certainly not be able to meet without grace; but which has
nevertheless that character of personal responsibility here.
Jesus was the source of all their strength. They were to
abide in Him; thus-for this is the order-He would abide in them. We have seen
this in chapter 14. He does not speak here of the sovereign exercise of love in
salvation, but of the government of children by their Father; so that blessing
depends on walk (v. 21, 23). Here the husbandman seeks for fruit; but the
instruction given presents entire dependence on the Vine as the means of producing
it. And He shews the disciples that, walking on earth, they should be pruned by
the Father, and a man (for in verse 6 He carefully changes the expression, for
He knew the disciples and had pronounced them already clean)-a man, any one who
bore no fruit, would be cut off. For the subject here is not that relationship
with Christ in heaven by the Holy Ghost, which cannot be broken, but of that
link which even then was formed here below, which might be vital and eternal,
or which might not. Fruit should be the proof.
In the former vine this was not necessary; they were Jews by birth,
they were circumcised, they kept the ordinances, and abode in the vine as good
branches, without bearing any fruit at all. They were only cut off from Israel
for wilful violation of the law. Here it is not a relationship with Jehovah
founded on the circumstance of being born of a certain family. That which is
looked for is the glorifying the Father by fruit-bearing. It is this which will
shew that they are the disciples of Him who has borne so much.
Christ, then, was the true Vine; the Father, the
Husbandman; the eleven were the branches. They were to abide in Him, which is
realised by not thinking to produce any fruit except as in Him, looking to Him
first. Christ precedes fruit. It is dependence, practical habitual nearness of
heart to Him, and trust in Him, being attached to Him through dependence on
Him. In this way Christ in them would be a constant source of strength and of
fruit. He would be in them. Out of Him they could do nothing. If, by abiding in
Him, they had the strength of His presence, they should bear much fruit.
Moreover, "if a man" (He does not say "they"; He knew them
as true branches and clean) did not abide in Him, he should be cast forth to be
burnt. Again, if they abode in Him (that is, if there was the constant
dependence that draws from the source), and if the words of Christ abode in
them, directing their hearts and thoughts, they should command the resources of
divine power; they should ask what they would, and it should be done. But,
further, the Father had loved the Son divinely while He dwelt on earth. Jesus
did the same with regard to them. They were to abide in His love. In the former
verses it was in Him, here it is in His love. [2] By keeping His Father's commandments, He had
abode in His love; by keeping the commandments of Jesus, they should abide in
His. Dependence (which implies confidence, and reference to Him on whom we
depend for strength, as unable to do anything without Him, and so clinging
close to Him) and obedience, are the two great principles of practical life
here below. Thus Jesus walked as man: He knew by experience the true path for
His disciples. The commandments of His Father were the expression of what the
Father was; by keeping them in the spirit of obedience, Jesus had ever walked
in the communion of His love; had maintained communion with Himself. The
commandments of Jesus when on earth were the expression of what He was,
divinely perfect in the path of man. By walking in them, His disciples should
be in the communion of His love. The Lord spoke these things to His disciples,
in order that His joy [3] should abide in them, and that their joy
should be full.
We see that it is not the salvation of a sinner that is
the subject treated of here, but the path of a disciple, in order that he may
fully enjoy the love of Christ, and that his heart may be unclouded in the
place where joy is found.
Neither is the question entered on here, whether a real
believer can be separated from God, because the Lord makes obedience the means
of abiding in His love. Assuredly He could not lose the favour of His Father,
or cease to be the object of His love. That was out of the question; and yet He
says, "I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."
But this was the divine path in which He enjoyed it. It is the walk and the
strength of a disciple that is spoken of, and not the means of salvation.
At verse 12 another part of the subject begins. He wills
(this is His commandment) that they should love one another, as He had loved
them. Before, He had spoken of the Father's love for Him, which flowed from
heaven into His heart here below. [4] He had loved them in this same way; but He
had also been a companion, a servant, in this love. Thus the disciples were to
love one another with a love that rose above all the weaknesses of others, and
which was at the same time brotherly, and caused the one who felt it to be the
servant of his brother. It went so far as to lay down life itself for one's
friends. Now, to Jesus, he who obeyed Him was His friend. Observe,He does not
say that He would be their friend. He was our friend when He gave His life for
sinners: we are His friends when we enjoy His confidence, as He here expresses
it-"I have told you all things that I have heard of my Father." Men
speak of their affairs, according to the necessity of doing so which may arise,
to those who are concerned in them. I impart all my own thoughts to one who is
my friend. "Shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I will do?" and
Abraham was called the "friend of God." Now it was not things
concerning Abraham himself that God then told Abraham (He had done so as God),
but things concerning the world-Sodom. God does the same with respect to the
assembly, practically with respect to the obedient disciple: such a one should
be the depositary of His thoughts. Moreover, He had chosen them for this. It
was not they who had chosen Him by the exercise of their own will. He had
chosen them and ordained them to go and bring forth fruit, and fruit that
should remain; so that, being thus chosen of Christ for the work, they should
receive from the Father, who could not fail them in this case, whatsoever they
should ask. Here the Lord comes to the source and certainty of grace, in order
that the practical responsibility, under which He puts them, should not cloud
the divine grace which acted towards them and placed them there.
They were therefore to love one another. [5] That the world should hate them was but the
natural consequence of its hatred to Christ; it sealed their association with
Him. The world loves that which is of the world: this is quite natural. The
disciples were not of it; and, besides, the Jesus whom it had rejected had
chosen them and separated them from the world: therefore it would hate them
because so chosen in grace. There was, besides, the moral reason, namely, that
they were not of it; but this demonstrated their relationship to Christ, and
His sovereign rights, by which He had taken them to Himself out of a rebellious
world. They should have the same portion as their Master: it should be for His
name's sake, because the world-and He speaks especially of the Jews, among whom
He had laboured-knew not the Father who had sent Him in love. To make their
boast of Jehovah, as their God, suited them very well. They would have received
the Messiah on that footing. To know the Father, revealed in His true character
by the Son, was quite a different thing. Nevertheless the Son had revealed Him,
and, both by His words and His works, had manifested the Father and His
perfections.
If Christ had not come and spoken unto them, God would
not have had to reproach them with sin. They might still drag on, even if in an
unpurged state, without any proof (though there was plenty of sin and
transgression as men and as a people under the law) that they would not have
God-would not even by mercy return. The fruit of a fallen nature was there, no
doubt, but not the proof that that nature preferred sin to God, when God was
there in mercy, not imputing it. Grace was dealing with them, not imputing sin
to them. Mercy had been treating them as fallen, not as wilful creatures. God
was not taking the ground of law, which imputes, or of judgment, but of grace
in the revelation of the Father by the Son. The words and works of the Son
revealing the Father in grace, rejected, left them without hope (compare chap.
16:9). Their real condition would otherwise not have been thoroughly tested,
God would have had still a means to use; He loved Israel too much to condemn
them while there was one left untried.
If the Lord had not done among them the works which no
other man had done, they might have remained as they were, refused to believe
in Him, and not have been guilty before God. They would have been still the
object of Jehovah's longsuffering; but in fact they had seen and hated both the
Son and the Father. The Father had been fully manifested in the Son-in Jesus;
and if, when God was fully manifested, and in grace, they rejected Him, what
could be done except to leave them in sin, afar from God? If He had been
manifested only in part, they would have had an excuse; they might have said,
"Ah! if He had shewn grace, if we had known Him as He is, we would not
have rejected Him." They could not now say this. They had seen the Father
and the Son in Jesus. Alas! they had seen and hated. [6] But this was only the fulfilment of that
which was foretold of them in their law. As to the testimony borne to God by
the people, and of a Messiah received by them, all was over. They had hated Him
without a cause.
The Lord now turns to the subject of the Holy Ghost who
should come to maintain His glory, which the people had cast down to the
ground. The Jews had not known the Father manifested in the Son; the Holy Ghost
should now come from the Father to bear witness of the Son. The Son should send
Him from the Father. In chapter 14 the Father sends Him in Jesus' name for the
personal relationship of the disciples with Jesus. Here Jesus, gone on high,
sends Him the witness of His exalted glory, His heavenly place. This was the
new testimony, and was to be rendered unto Jesus, the Son of God, ascended up
to heaven. The disciples also should bear witness of Him, because they had been
with Him from the beginning. They were to testify with the help of the Holy
Ghost, as eyewitnesses of His life on earth, of the manifestation of the Father
in Him. The Holy Ghost, sent by Him, was the witness to His glory with the
Father, whence He Himself had come.
Thus in Christ, the true Vine, we have the disciples, the
branches, clean already, Christ being still present on the earth. After His
departure they were to maintain this practical relationship. They should be in
relationship with Him, as He, here below, had been with the Father. And they
were to be with one another as He had been with them. Their position was outside
the world. Now the Jews had hated both the Son and the Father; the Holy Ghost
should bear witness to the Son as with the Father, and in the Father; and the
disciples should testify also of that which He had been on earth.
The Holy Ghost, and, in a certain sense, the disciples
take the place of Jesus, as well as of the old vine, on the earth.
The presence and the testimony of the Holy Ghost on earth
are now developed.
It is well to notice the connection of the subjects in
the passages we are considering. In chapter 14 we have the Person of the Son
revealing the Father, and the Holy Ghost giving the knowledge of the Son's
being in the Father and the disciples in Jesus on high. This was the personal
condition both of Christ and the disciples, and is all linked together; only
first the Father, the Son being down here, and then the Holy Ghost sent by the
Father. In chapters 15, 16 you get the distinct dispensations-Christ the true
Vine on earth, and then the Comforter come on earth sent down by the exalted Christ.
In chapter 14 Christ prays the Father, who sends the Spirit in Christ's name.
In chapter 15 Christ exalted sends the Spirit from the Father, a witness of His
exaltation, as the disciples, led by the Spirit, were of His life of
humiliation, but as Son on earth.
Nevertheless there is development as well as connection.
In chapter 14 the Lord, although quitting the earth, speaks in connection with
that which He was upon earth. It is (not Christ Himself) the Father who sends
the Holy Ghost at His request. He goes from earth to heaven on their part as
Mediator. He would pray the Father, and the Father would give them another
Comforter, who should continue with them, not leaving them as He was doing.
Their relationship to the Father depending on Him, it would be as believing in
Him that He would be sent to them-not to the world-not upon Jews, as such. It
should be in His name. Moreover the Holy Ghost would Himself teach them, and He
would recall to their mind the commandments of Jesus-all that He had said unto
them. For chapter 14 gives the whole position that resulted from the
manifestation [7] of the Son, and that of the Father in Him,
and from His departure (that is to say, its results with regard to the
disciples).
Now, in chapter 15 He had exhausted the subject of
commandments in connection with the life manifested in Himself here below; and
at the close of this chapter He considers Himself as ascended, and He adds,
"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father." He comes, indeed, from the Father; for our relationship is, and
ought to be, immediate to Him. It is there that Christ has placed us. But in
this verse it is not the Father who sends Him at the request of Jesus, and in
His name. Christ has taken His place in glory as Son of man, and according to
the glorious fruits of His work, and He sends Him. Consequently He bears
witness to that which Christ is in heaven. No doubt He makes us perceive what
Jesus was here below, where in infinite grace He manifested the Father, and
perceive it much better than they did, who were with Him during His sojourn on
earth. But this is in chapter 14. Nevertheless the Holy Ghost is sent by Christ
from heaven, and He reveals to us the Son, whom now we know as having perfectly
and divinely (albeit as man and amid sinful men) manifested the Father. We
know, I repeat, the Son, as with the Father, and in the Father. From thence it
is He has sent us the Holy Ghost.
[1]
Compare, for this substitution of Christ for Israel, Isaiah 49. He began Israel
over again in blessing, as He did man.
[2]
There are the three exhortations: Abide in me; If ye abide in Me and My words
abide in you ye shall ask what ye will; Abide in My love.
[3] Some
have thought that this means the joy of Christ in the faithful walk of a
disciple: I do not think so. It is the joy He had down here, just as He left us
His own peace, and will give us His own glory.
[4] He
does not say "loveth me," but "hath loved me"; that is, He
does not speak merely of the eternal love of the Father for the Son, but of the
Father's love displayed towards Him in His humanity here on earth.
[5] By
choosing them and setting them apart to enjoy together this relationship with
Him outside the world, He had put them in a position of which mutual love was
the natural consequence; and, in fact, the sense of this position and love go
together.
[6]
Remark, that His word and His works are here again referred to.
[7]
Observe here the practical development, with respect to life, of this most
deeply interesting subject, in 1 John 1 and 2. The eternal life which was with
the Father had been manifested (for in Him, in the Son, was life, He was also
the Word of life, and God was light. Compare John 1). They were to keep His
commandments (chap. 2:3-5). It was an old commandment which they had had from
the beginning-that is, from Jesus on earth, from Him whom their hands had
handled. But now this commandment was true in Him and in them: that is to say,
this life of love (of which these commandments were the expression) as well as
that of righteousness reproduced itself in them, by virtue of their union with
Him, through the Holy Ghost, according to John 14:20. They also abode in Jesus
(1 John 2:6). In John 1 we find the Son who is in the bosom of the Father, who
declares Him. He reveals Him as He has thus known Him-as that which the Father
was to Himself. And He has brought this love (of which He was the object) down
into the bosom of humanity, and placed it in the heart of His disciples (see
chapter 17:26); and this is known now in perfection by God dwelling in us, and
His love being perfect in us, while we dwell in brotherly love (1 John 4:12;
compare John 1:18). The manifestation of our having been thus loved will
consist in our appearing in the same glory as Christ (chap. 17:22, 23). Christ
manifests this love by coming from the Father. His commandments teach it us;
the life which we have in Him reproduces it. His precepts give form to this
life, and guide it through the ways of the flesh, and the temptations in the
midst of which He, without sin, lived by this life. The Holy Ghost is its
strength, as being the mighty and living link with Him, and He by whom we are
consciously in Him and He in us. (Union, as the body to the Head, is another
thing, which is never the subject of John's teaching.) Of His fulness we
receive grace upon grace. Therefore it is that we ought to walk as He walked
(not to be what He was); for we ought not to walk in the flesh, although it is
in us and was not in Him.
── John Darby《Synopsis of John》
John 15
Chapter Contents
Christ the true Vine. (1-8) His love to his disciples.
(9-17) foretold. (18-25) The Comforter promised. (26,27)
Commentary on John 15:1-8
(Read John 15:1-8)
Jesus Christ is the Vine, the true Vine. The union of the
human and Divine natures, and the fulness of the Spirit that is in him,
resemble the root of the vine made fruitful by the moisture from a rich soil.
Believers are branches of this Vine. The root is unseen, and our life is hid
with Christ; the root bears the tree, diffuses sap to it, and in Christ are all
supports and supplies. The branches of the vine are many, yet, meeting in the
root, are all but one vine; thus all true Christians, though in place and
opinion distant from each other, meet in Christ. Believers, like the branches
of the vine, are weak, and unable to stand but as they are borne up. The Father
is the Husbandman. Never was any husbandman so wise, so watchful, about his
vineyard, as God is about his church, which therefore must prosper. We must be
fruitful. From a vine we look for grapes, and from a Christian we look for a
Christian temper, disposition, and life. We must honour God, and do good; this
is bearing fruit. The unfruitful are taken away. And even fruitful branches
need pruning; for the best have notions, passions, and humours, that require to
be taken away, which Christ has promised to forward the sanctification of
believers, they will be thankful, for them. The word of Christ is spoken to all
believers; and there is a cleansing virtue in that word, as it works grace, and
works out corruption. And the more fruit we bring forth, the more we abound in
what is good, the more our Lord is glorified. In order to fruitfulness, we must
abide in Christ, must have union with him by faith. It is the great concern of
all Christ's disciples, constantly to keep up dependence upon Christ, and
communion with him. True Christians find by experience, that any interruption
in the exercise of their faith, causes holy affections to decline, their
corruptions to revive, and their comforts to droop. Those who abide not in
Christ, though they may flourish for awhile in outward profession, yet come to
nothing. The fire is the fittest place for withered branches; they are good for
nothing else. Let us seek to live more simply on the fulness of Christ, and to
grow more fruitful in every good word and work, so may our joy in Him and in
his salvation be full.
Commentary on John 15:9-17
(Read John 15:9-17)
Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred
of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved
his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in
their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite
is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a
continual feast. They are to show their love to him by keeping his
commandments. If the same power that first shed abroad the love of Christ's in
our hearts, did not keep us in that love, we should not long abide in it.
Christ's love to us should direct us to love each other. He speaks as about to
give many things in charge, yet names this only; it includes many duties.
Commentary on John 15:18-25
(Read John 15:18-25)
How little do many persons think, that in opposing the
doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves
ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship! The name
into which Christ's disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and
die by. It is a comfort to the greatest sufferers, if they suffer for Christ's
name's sake. The world's ignorance is the true cause of its hatred to the
disciples of Jesus. The clearer and fuller the discoveries of the grace and
truth of Christ, the greater is our sin if we do not love him and believe in
him.
Commentary on John 15:26,27.
(Read John 15:26,27.)
The blessed Spirit will maintain the cause of Christ in
the world, notwithstanding the opposition it meets with. Believers taught and
encouraged by his influences, would bear testimony to Christ and his salvation.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on John》
John 15
Verse 2
[2]
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that
beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Every one that beareth fruit, he purifieth — by obeying the truth, 1 Peter 1:22; and by inward or outward
sufferings, Hebrews 12:10,11. So purity and fruitfulness
help each other.
That it may bear more fruit — For this is one of the noblest rewards God can bestow on former acts of
obedience, to make us yet more holy, and fit for farther and more eminent
service.
Verse 3
[3] Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Ye are clean —
All of you, to whom I now speak, are purged from the guilt and power of sin; by
the word - Which, applied by the Spirit, is the grand instrument of purifying
the soul.
Verse 4
[4]
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it
abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Abide in me — Ye
who are now pure by living faith, producing all holiness; by which alone ye can
be in me.
Verse 5
[5] I am
the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
I am the vine, ye are the branches — Our Lord in this whole passage speaks of no branches but such as are, or
at least were once, united to him by living faith.
Verse 6
[6] If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered;
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If any one abide not in me — By living faith; not by Church communion only. He may thus abide in
Christ, and be withered all the time, and cast into the fire at last.
He is cast out — Of
the vineyard, the invisible Church. Therefore he was in it once.
Verse 7
[7] If
ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you.
If ye abide in me, ye shall ask — Prayers themselves are a fruit of faith, and they produce more fruit.
Verse 8
[8]
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my
disciples.
So shall ye be my disciples — Worthy of the name. To be a disciple of Christ is both the foundation
and height of Christianity.
Verse 9
[9] As
the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Abide ye in my love —
Keep your place in my affection. See that ye do not forfeit that invaluable
blessing. How needless a caution, if it were impossible for them not to abide
therein?
Verse 10
[10] If
ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my
Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in
my love — On these terms, and no other, ye shall
remain the objects of my special affection.
Verse 11
[11]
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that
your joy might be full.
That my joy might remain in you — The same joy which I feel in loving the Father, and keeping his
commandments.
Verse 12
[12] This
is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Your joy will be full, if ye so love one
another.
Verse 13
[13]
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends.
Greater love — To
his friends. He here speaks of them only.
Verse 14
[14] Ye
are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command
you — On this condition, not otherwise. A
thunderbolt for Antinomianism! Who then dares assert that God's love does not
at all depend on man's works?
Verse 15
[15]
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord
doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my
Father I have made known unto you.
All things —
Which might be of service to you.
Verse 16
[16] Ye
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go
and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye
shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Ye — My apostles, have not
chosen me, but I have chosen you - As clearly appears from the sacred history:
and appointed you, that ye may go and bear fruit - I have chosen and appointed
you for this end, that ye may go and convert sinners: and that your fruit may
remain - That the fruit of your labours may remain to the end of the world;
yea, to eternity; that whatsoever ye shall ask - The consequence of your going
and bearing fruit will be, that all your prayers will he heard.
Verse 19
[19] If
ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of
the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth
you.
Because ye are not of the world, therefore
the world hateth you — Because your maxims, tempers, actions, are
quite opposite to theirs. For the very same reason must the world in all ages
hate those who are not of the world.
Verse 20
[20] Remember
the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If
they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my
saying, they will keep yours also.
John 13:16; Matthew 10:24; Luke 6:40.
Verse 21
[21] But
all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know
not him that sent me.
All these things will they do to you, because
they know not him that sent me — And in all ages and
nations they who know not God will, for this cause, hate and persecute those
that do.
Verse 22
[22] If I
had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no
cloke for their sin.
They had not had sin — Not in this respect.
Verse 23
[23] He
that hateth me hateth my Father also.
He that hateth me — As
every unbeliever doth, For as the love of God is inseparable from faith, so is
the hatred of God from unbelief.
Verse 25
[25] But
this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their
law, They hated me without a cause.
Verse 26
[26] But
when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the
Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
When the Comforter is come, whom I will send
from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall
testify of me — The Spirit's coming, and being sent by our
Lord from the Father, to testify of him, are personal characters, and plainly
distinguish him from the Father and the Son; and his title as the Spirit of
truth, together with his proceeding from the Father, can agree to none but a
Divine person. And that he proceeds from the Son, as well as from the Father,
may be fairly argued from his being called the Spirit of Christ, 1 Peter 1:11; and from his being here said to be
sent by Christ from the Father, as well as sent by the Father in his name.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on John》
John 15:1~8
The usual practice
in viticulture, the care of vines, is for the branches to be pruned back each
year in order to cleanse them. A vine produces certain shoots called “sucker
shoots,” which start to grow where a branch joins the stem. If allowed to
continue to grow, they would dissipate the life of the vine through so many
braches that the vine would produce little or no fruit and would produce mainly
leaves instead. Every vinedresser knows it is important to prune away these
little sucker shoots to ensure plentiful fruit. Since the shoots grow right
where the branch joins the stem, creating a tight cluster where dirt, leaves,
and other debris collect, the pruning is basically a cleansing process.
The Father’s work
in our lives is to find a branch that is beginning to bear fruit, beginning to
produce the likeness of Christ, and then to cut it back. He trims off the
troublesome shoots, so that we may bear more fruit.
John 15:4
Abiding
One year the
peaches were especially abundant. The fruit was big and juicy, and it was one
of the best crops in memory. While harvesting the crop, a picker noticed a limb
that had fallen from a tree. Its fruit was rotten and shriveled. Because the
limb was detached from the tree, it was no longer producing the good fruit that
it should. The same is true of the Christian who ceases to abide in Christ—he
ceases to produce good fruit.
Chapter 15. Branches of the Vine
Abide in the
Lord
Cast out
I. The Vine and
the Branches
II. Members
Love One Another
III. The World
Hates Believers
── Chih-Hsin Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》
Fruit-Bearing Discipleship (15:8)
INTRODUCTION
1. What does the Lord desire of His disciples...? a. Surely He desires their heart (faith) - He 11:6; Jn 8:24 b. But He also desires their hands (works) - Lk 6:46 2. Works are an important part of our discipleship... a. We are created in Christ for this very purpose - Ep 2:10 b. By them we glorify God - Mt 5:16; Jn 15:8 [Good works are an indication of "bearing fruit" as disciples of Christ.As we focus our attention on the theme of "Fruit-Bearing Discipleship",let me reiterate that...] I. BEARING FRUIT IS NECESSARY TO BEING A DISCIPLE
A. AS TAUGHT BY JESUS... 1. Glorifying God by bearing fruit is a mark of discipleship - Jn15:8
2. Disciples have been "appointed" to bear fruit - Jn 15:16 B. OTHERWISE WE ARE CUT OFF... 1. From Christ, the true vine, and His Father as the vine dresser - Jn 15:1 2. As branches that no longer bear fruit - Jn 15:2 3. Whose end is to burned - Jn 15:6; cf. He 6:7-8 [The end of unfruitful disciples is dreadful to contemplate. Like theHebrew writer (He 6:9), I wish to be more confident of better thingsregarding our discipleship. We can be, by remembering that...] II. BEARING FRUIT IS CONTINGENT ON ABIDING IN CHRIST
A. AS TAUGHT BY JESUS... 1. We must abide in Him, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself - Jn 15:4 2. Abiding in him, we bear much fruit; without Him we can do nothing - Jn 15:5 3. As confessed by Paul in Ph 4:13; 2 Co 3:5 B. HOW WE CAN ABIDE IN CHRIST... 1. First, by putting Him on in baptism - Ga 3:27 2. Then, by abiding in His love through keeping His commandments - Jn 15:9-10; cf. 14:15,21-23 [To be a disciple, we must bear fruit. To bear fruit, we must abide inChrist. To abide in Christ, we must keep His commandments. But whatkind of fruits will disciples bear...?] III. BEARING FRUIT IS MANIFESTED IN VARIOUS WAYS
A. WINNING SOULS TO CHRIST... 1. As expressed by Paul in his desire to go to Rome 2. Disciples creating more disciples is a natural indication of bearing fruit - cf. Mt 28:19-20 B. SHARING WITH THOSE IN NEED... 1. As explained by Paul in describing the contribution to poor saints - Ro 15:25-28 2. Which was evidence of God's grace at work in the givers - cf. 2 Co 8:1-2; 9:12-14 C. DEVELOPING CHRIST-LIKE CHARACTER... 1. Indicating that one is walking in the Spirit - Ga 5:16,22-23 2. Evidence that is diligent in growing the true knowledge of Jesus - 2 Pe 1:5-8 D. PRAISING GOD AND GIVING THANKS... 1. The fruit of our lips in praise and prayer are spiritual sacrifices - He 13:15 2. Which we are to offer continually - He 13:15 [As we bear fruit in these different ways, we not only glorify God andprove to be fruitful disciples, we also experience the "abundant" lifeof which Jesus speaks (Jn 10:10)...] IV. BEARING FRUIT LEADS TO THE FULFILLED LIFE
A. WINNING SOULS PRODUCES JOY... 1. As Paul found to be case with the Thessalonians - 1 Th 2:19-20 2. As John realized with his "children" - 3 Jn 4 -- One reason many Christians do not live a life of joy is thatthey never bear fruit in leading others to Christ!
B. SHARING WITH OTHERS PRODUCES HAPPINESS... 1. Those who give are "blessed" - Ac 20:35 2. The word "blessed" can be translated "happy" -- If Christians are so materialistic and selfish that they do notshare, they will never know the blessedness of giving!
C. DEVELOPING CHRIST-LIKE CHARACTER PRODUCES ASSURANCE... 1. Growing in the true knowledge of Christ ensures an "abundant entrance" into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord - 2 Pe 1:8-11 2. Developing a Christ-like love gives assurance of one's discipleship and salvation - Jn 13:34-35; 1 Jn 3:14,18-19 -- Many Christians have no assurance; and no wonder, if their character remains unchanged as evidenced by little love for thebrethren!
D. PRAISING GOD AND GIVING THANKS PRODUCES PEACE... 1. Prayer is the antidote for anxiety - Ph 4:6 2. For in response to prayer God will guard our hearts through His peace - Ph 4:7 -- Failing to bear much fruit in regards to prayer, Christianswill be filled with anxious lives, not abundant living!
CONCLUSION
1. Why is "Fruit-Bearing Discipleship" so important...? a. It is necessary to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ b. It is necessary to be a fulfilled disciple of Jesus Christ 2. If you desire to be both a faithful and fulfilled disciple of Jesus... a. Abide in Him by keeping His commands b. Produce fruit that glorifies His Father "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so youwill be My disciples." (Jn 15:8)
If you are not yet a disciple of Jesus, then let His own words lead youto become one - Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15-16
－－《Executable
Outlines》