Read the Passage: John 15

Listen to the Redeemed Mind Podcast: John 15

Abide in Christ (15:1–11)

In the previous chapter, for the first time in John’s Gospel, Jesus taught about the coming Holy Spirit, including the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Next, in John 15–16 Christ speaks about what life in the Holy Spirit actually entails. In John 15:1–11 Jesus uses the well-known picture of a grapevine in order to teach about the necessity of abiding in Christ. In context, Jesus may have had Judas’ betrayal in mind; however, the truths in this passage relate to all who claim to be followers of Christ. In the Old Testament, God’s people are frequently depicted by the image of a vine (cf. Isa. 5:1–7; Ezek. 15:1–8; Hos. 10:1–2), and Christ often uses vine-type imagery (cf. Matt. 20:1–16; Luke 20:9–16). Here in the passage, Jesus identifies Himself as the true vine, the Father as the vinedresser, and the people as the branches. The exhortation is to abide in Christ in order to produce fruit.

Jesus’ teaching in this passage is simple: in order to bear much fruit, believers must remain in Christ, for “without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). While every fruitful branch will be pruned (cf. John 15:2), those branches that bear no fruit will be cast into the fire to be burned (cf. John 15:6). Yet, authentic Christians need not fear, for Jesus taught, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). In mentioning “much fruit” (John 15:5, 8) two times in this passage, Christ teaches that such production will both glorify God (cf. John 15:8) and bring joy to believers (cf. John 15:11). Lest God’s people believe that abiding in Christ is a burdensome task, in John 15:9–10 Jesus cites His own love for believers and refers to abiding in Him with the synonymous phase “abide in love” three times.

Love One Another (15:12–17)

A second aspect of life in the Holy Spirit that Jesus addresses is believers’ duty to love one another. Just as we cannot abide in Christ apart from the enablement of the Holy Spirit, so Christians need the indwelling of the Spirit in order to truly love one another. At John 15:4 Jesus had commanded His followers to abide in Him, and at John 15:12–13, Christ instructs His followers to love one another with a self-sacrificial type of love. Next, in John 15:14–15 Jesus reveals the motivation for obedience to His command—that is, incredibly, Christ’s followers are no longer servants of sin, but friends of God. Being friends of God, believers now enjoy both access to and intimacy with God. Yet, lest they become prideful, at John 15:16 Jesus taught, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.” Indeed, salvation is of the Lord.

Brave the World (15:18–25)

Another aspect of abiding in Christ and living in the Holy Spirit is enduring rejection from the world. While God created man in His own image (cf. Gen. 1:26–28) in order to enjoy and to steward the world, the creation currently labors under the curse of Gen. 3:14–19. Furthermore, the world is populated by fallen human beings who reject and hate God. Therefore, when Christians live lives characterized by Christ-likeness, they are persecuted by those who reject Jesus. Such mistreatment stems from the fact that believers remind unbelievers that God exists, which then prompts them to remember that they are accountable for their sins. To evade their own guilt, unbelievers’ reaction is often to persecute God’s people in order to silence the conviction they experience in believers’ presence. This is the truth about which Jesus reminds His disciples in John 15:18–21.

As He continued to teach His people about braving the world, at John 15:22–24 Jesus taught, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. . . . If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.” With this claim, which Christ had given earlier (cf. John 9:41), Jesus was not saying that His teachings made people guilty of their own sin. Rather, it was His ministry that reminded people of their own sin. Later, at 1 John 1:8, John would write, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Regrettably, such self-deception is what many people prefer, as it is more desirable than admitting their sinful condition and their need of salvation in Christ. This conviction from Jesus’ teachings and His people’s presence is what provokes persecution.

Application Questions:

1. Is there a difference between being baptized by the Spirit, being filled with the Spirit, and being indwelt by the Spirit?
2. Is the use of word pictures, object lessons, analogies, and illustrations helpful in communicating the truths of the Bible?
3. What does Jesus mean in teaching that “your joy may be full” (John 15:11)? Why is obedience oftentimes difficult?
4. What does it mean to be a friend of God (cf. Jas. 2:23)? Do you find it easy or difficult to love others?
5. Why does God allow His people to be persecuted? Is it possible for true believers to not suffer?