Category: John 15

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An occupational hazard

John

I remember one time working for a church here in Japan, and the pastor’s daughter was working at a Christian pre‑school.

One day, she complained that one of her students stabbed her hand with a pair of scissors. (Fortunately, it was a blunt one, but still.)

Later on, she told me, “We need an English teacher at our school. Don’t you want to come?”

Needless to say, I declined. Getting stabbed in the hand is one occupational hazard I could do without. 🙂

As Christians, however, we do face an “occupational hazard” that we cannot avoid.

If we are going to testify for Christ, there will be people that will get angry with us. There will even be people that will hate us for it. Jesus said,

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.

As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

Remember the words I spoke to you: “No servant is greater than his master.”

If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. (John 15:18–21)

Jesus was perfect love. He lived a perfect life. And still people hated him. Can we expect to escape the same fate as Jesus?

This is not to say that all will hate us. Some will love us for telling them the truth about Jesus. But to expect no conflict at all is unrealistic unless you compromise the message.

And unfortunately, far too many Christians do. Why? Because they don’t want to be hated. They don’t want the conflict.

I’m not saying that we should go out of our way to generate conflict and hatred. We’re going to generate enough as it is just by representing Jesus.

But neither should we be afraid of conflict by telling people the truth. Not just part of the truth, but the “whole counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27)

Jesus never shrank back from it. Why should we?

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John John 15

The command of love

John

I wonder if we really understand the implications of Jesus’ command that we love one another.

One of the clear implications is that love is not merely a feeling but a choice. No one can command a feeling, not even God himself.

If I were to tell you, for example, “Get angry at me,” you’d have a tough time doing so unless I hit you a few times, because anger is a feeling. It comes out based on the circumstances around us.

Neither could you tell a person who is depressed, “Be happy!” and have them respond in a truly happy manner within seconds. Happiness too is a feeling that is based on our circumstances.

Yet Jesus commands us to love. If love were merely a soupy feeling, Jesus could not command us to love. Our love would be based instead on the kind of relationship we had with the people around us.

If our relationship were good, we’d love them. If it were bad, we wouldn’t.

So what is love? It is to place high value on people, and to treat them that way. Jesus tells us the ultimate expression of that kind of love when he said,

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

In other words, ultimate love is when we value the lives of others even more than our own lives.

It is, in fact, the kind of love Jesus showed us. He valued us so highly, that he left his rightful place in heaven to come to this earth and die in our place. He loved us so much that he took the punishment for our sins that we deserved.

And so Jesus tells us that just as he valued us, we are to value others. We are to value others so highly, that we are willing to sacrifice our lives for theirs.

“But that’s impossible,” you say. “You don’t know the kinds of people I have to deal with every day! I’m supposed to sacrifice myself for their sake? To value them more highly than myself?”

Yes. And that takes a total change of heart. The kind of change that only comes when you’re connected to the Vine.

As you receive love from God, and as you understand just how highly God values you despite your weaknesses and despite your failures, it then gives you the ability to value those around you despite their weaknesses and failures.

Until you truly understand this, however, it’ll be tough to show the kind of love that God does.

Are there people that you struggle to love? I know some people I struggle to love.

But love is not a mere feeling. It is a choice. A choice that we can only make when we truly understand God’s love for us.

So let us draw near to God and root ourselves in his love.

And as his love flows in us, we will bear the fruit of love that God desires of us, and that this world is desperately searching for.

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John John 15

Asking that we might bear fruit

John

In this passage, Jesus makes a very powerful promise.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7)

A lot of people take these kinds of words to mean that if we ask God to make us rich, he will.

But look carefully at what he says. “If you remain in me. And if my words remain in you.”

We talked yesterday about what it meant to remain in Jesus. It meant to live a life of trust in him. Trusting that he knows what is best and is looking out for our best. And because of that, we do the things he asks.

But if a person is truly putting his total trust in God, how in love with money will that person be?

Instead of seeking temporary things like money or possessions, what will such a person pursue? A relationship with God. And a life that makes an impact on the world around them for the kingdom of God.

A life, in short, that bears fruit for God. And that’s why Jesus says in the very next verse,

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:8)

The whole context of asking what we wish is of bearing fruit. Jesus again says later,

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. (John 15:16a)

And immediately after that, he says again,

Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. (John 15:16b)

What is the one way that God wants us to bear fruit more than any other? He tells us in verse 17.

This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:17)

If we do this, if we love one another, and show the people around us who God really is, we will make an impact in this world. We will bear fruit. Fruit, as Jesus said, that will last.

And with a heart that is transformed, with a heart that looks not to temporary things but eternal, God will be more than happy to give us whatever we ask in his name that we might bear even more fruit for him.

So the question is, “Are you remaining in him?”

Is your heart focused on him and pleasing him? Is your heart focused on serving him and touching the world around you with his love? Or is it still focused on temporary things?

Where is your heart today?

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John John 15

The need to abide

John

Yesterday I talked about the Father’s work in our lives. That our righteousness, our fruit, does not come from our own efforts but through his work in us.

He cleans us through his Word (verse 3), he lifts us up out of our sin and failures, and he prunes us so that we can bear fruit.

If bearing fruit does not come from our own efforts then, does that mean we don’t need to do anything?

Not at all. There’s one thing that’s utterly essential for us to do. We need to abide (the NIV says “remain”) in him.

What does that mean? It means to walk in close relationship with him. To keep him at the center of your life. To spend time with him. To listen to him. And then to do what he says.

Jesus said,

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. (John 15:9–10)

We said in an earlier blog that more than merely saying, “Do what I say!” Jesus is saying, “Trust me. I love you. I want what’s best for you.”

It’s hard to have a relationship with someone that you won’t trust. And when we say to God, “I can’t trust you,” it puts a distance between us and God.

But as we trust him, and obey him, it becomes a cycle that draws us ever closer to him.

We trust him, so we do what he says. We see the blessing that comes from obedience, and we see that he really wants what’s best for us.

This causes us to love and trust him more, and so we obey more, we get blessed more, and we end up loving and trusting him even more.

And it’s that kind of relationship with God that leads to fruitfulness in our lives.

But what happens if we live in continual distrust of God? Then we will never bear fruit for God.

Jesus said this,

Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. (John 15:4–6)

How about you? Are you walking in a relationship with God where you love and trust him completely?

Only by doing so can you bear fruit. Apart from that kind of relationship, we can do nothing that will please God.

And if you walk in continual distrust of God, you will end up like Judas, withered, thrown into the fire and burned.

But if you walk in relationship with God, you will bear fruit, and you will find joy. As Jesus said,

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:11)

A relationship with God starts by trusting Jesus in the most important thing of all: your salvation. John tells us in one of his letters,

And this is [God’s] command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ… (1 John 3:23)

If you haven’t already, won’t you make that decision today?

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John John 15

Lifted up and pruned

John

One of the biggest differences between Christianity and every other religion is that our righteousness does not depend on our own efforts. Rather, it comes from God’s work in us, changing us from the inside out.

God first introduces that concept in the Old Testament, where he said through Jeremiah,

“The time is coming…when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…”

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD.

“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:31, 33)

And again, in Ezekiel, where God said,

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:26–27)

Now in this passage in John, Jesus shows us further the work of God, as he says,

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1–2)

Here we see the work of the Father, first cutting off branches that bear no fruit while pruning others so that they will be more fruitful.

What does it mean that God cuts off branches that bear no fruit?

I don’t believe from other scriptures that it means that we can lose our salvation. There are two other possibilities.

One is that he’s talking about people like Judas who came to learn of Jesus. But after years of learning from him, he bore no fruit. He never came to true faith. And so he was cut off.

Many people today go to church, they learn many things from the Bible but never come to true faith. And so eventually, they’re cut off.

There is another possibility, however. The words “cut off” can be translated “lifted up.”

It’s possible that Jesus is saying that the Father lifts those branches that are not bearing fruit up into the sunlight to better nourish the plants so that they can start to bear fruit.

In the same way, God lifts us from out of our sin and failures and works in our hearts to bring about change so that we can start to bear fruit.

And as we start to bear fruit, he prunes us, cutting out the things from our lives that would hinder our fruitfulness.

I think God’s work in Peter’s life illustrates all this.

At a time when Peter was depressed and discouraged for having failed Jesus so badly, Jesus lifted him up and encouraged him.

He didn’t wait for Peter to change himself. He went to Peter and started to work in his heart, pulling him out of his depression, and then challenging him to move on. (John 21)

And though Peter started to bear fruit, Jesus didn’t stop there. Rather, he pruned away Peter’s prejudices and caused him to become more fruitful as he started to reach out to the Gentiles he had once despised. (Acts 10–11)

But it was a continual process, and when Peter fell again, Jesus lifted him up and pruned him further. (Galatians 2:11–14)

How about you? Are you discouraged about where you are as a Christian?

Remember that God doesn’t condemn you. Nor does he give up on you. Rather, he will continue working in you until you become all he desires you to be.

So don’t shy away from him. Draw near. Remain in him. And you will bear fruit.

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John John 15

Chosen to be fruitful

John

This is one of the most famous passages in the Gospels in which Jesus shows us a beautiful illustration of our relationship with God.

Here he calls himself the vine. In the Old Testament, Israel was referred to as a vine. They were to bear fruit for God so that the nations would see them and be drawn to God.

But through their disobedience they bore only bad fruit, and as a result, God brought judgment upon them. (Isaiah 5:1–7, Jeremiah 2:21)

So now Jesus doesn’t just call himself the vine, but the “true” vine. A vine whose fruit would not only draw people to God, but save them.

And Jesus tells us we are the branches to the vine. He tells us in verse 16,

I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. (John 15:16)

What does it mean to bear fruit? I think the first thing it means is the fruit of a changed life.

Paul, after talking about the kind of sinful life we once lived, tells us,

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self‑control. (Galatians 5:22–23)

In other words, if we are Christians, it should be evidenced in our lives. Our lives should be different from what they once were.

And as our lives change, we’ll see fruit in that we’ll start to make an impact on the people around us. People will see God himself in us, be drawn to him, and be saved.

That’s what God originally intended for Israel, and that’s what God intends for us now. Peter puts it this way,

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

You were chosen to be fruitful. Are you?