John 15 - The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible

15:1–2 husbandman. Farmer. The Father works actively in Christ and among His people to make them fruitful (5:17). taketh away. In judgment (v. 6). purgeth. Prunes, referring to that painful process of divine discipline of His children by which they grow in holiness (Heb. 12:5–13).

15:1–8 the true vine. The prophets depicted Israel as a vineyard or vine planted by God in order to produce the fruit of righteousness and justice that delights Him (Isa. 5:1–7; 27:2–6; cf. Ps. 80:8–16; Jer. 2:21; 6:9; Ezek. 15:1–8; 17:1–21; 19:10–11; Hos. 10:1; 14:7). In this parable Christ presents Himself as the true Israel and teaches that it is only by living union with Him that people can bear fruit that is pleasing to God (Gal. 5:19–24; Phil. 1:11).

15:3 clean through the word. Believers are saved by faith in the gospel (3:15–16), through which God washes them of spiritual defilement (13:8–10; Acts 15:9; Eph. 5:26).

15:4 Abide. Remain, here as a branch clings to the vine and continually draws life from it. This is a picture of vital and persevering faith in Christ as one’s only salvation (14:6).

15:5 in me . . . in him. A relationship of close union and communion. bringeth forth much fruit . . . can do nothing. There is no holy or fruitful life except one lived by faith in Jesus Christ. Any spiritual goodness in any man comes through Christ as the Mediator.

15:6 cast them into the fire. A symbol of eternal punishment (Matt. 3:10; 7:19; 13:42,50; 18:8–9). Unfruitful Christians are no Christians at all (Matt. 7:21; James 2:14,17).

15:7 my words abide in you. Living by faith in Christ requires the receiving of God’s truth into the heart so as to change one’s beliefs, affections, and behavior (8:31–32). ask what ye will. Answered prayer arises from knowing, loving, and praying His will revealed in Scripture (1 John 5:14).

15:8 To bear much fruit is the pathway to honoring God (Herein is my Father glorified ) and finding strong assurance of salvation (shall ye be my disciples, 2 Peter 1:5–11).

15:9 As the Father . . . so have I. Amazingly, Christ’s love for His people is an extension of the love within the eternal Trinity (17:23). continue ye. The same Greek word translated “abide” elsewhere in this chapter (see note at v. 4).

15:10–11 keep my commandments . . . even as I have. Obedience to Christ’s moral law and imitation of Christ together constitute the way to be sure of His love (1 John 2:3–6) and to receive joy that is full—even the joy of the Son in His Father’s love (my joy).

15:12–13 This is my commandment. Love is the sum of God’s law (13:34; Matt. 22:37–40), the greatest of all the graces (1 Cor. 13:13), and our highest duty to our fellow Christians (1 John 3:23). as I have loved you . . . lay down his life. Just as spiritual life flows from union with Christ by faith in His death and resurrection (vv. 3–5), so also the spiritual life is shaped and directed by the imitation of Christ in His self-sacrifice for others (1 John 3:16–18).

15:14–15 Jesus used the affectionate term friends, rather than servants, of those who are truly His. Friends are permitted to hear family secrets that servants do not.

15:16 Ye have not chosen me. Left to themselves, these disciples, or anyone, for that matter, would never have chosen Christ. I have chosen you. This does not refer to Christ’s selection of men for the office of apostle; the selection to which Christ here refers takes a person out of the kingdom of sin (v. 18) and makes him fruitful in godliness (contrast 6:70). This is God’s election of sinners to salvation and holiness (6:37; Eph. 1:4–5; 1 Thess. 2:13). Though the Father is the primary agent of eternal election, the Son has also elected because He too is God, and all the persons of the Trinity share one divine will (5:19–20; 10:30). ordained. Literally, “put,” here probably in the sense of appoint. go. Perhaps, “go into the world,” so that they can see the fruit of genuine discipleship and glorify the Father (v. 8; Matt. 5:14–16). Election motivates mission (2 Tim. 2:9–10).

15:18—16:4 Union with Christ makes a person fruitful for God, but it also places him in direct opposition to the wicked world, which hates God and Christ and so hates His people. Therefore, the disciples’ participation in the true Israel alienated them from unbelieving Israel (synagogues; 16:2), and they were now to expect its persecution.

15:18 world. The human race viewed in its united hostility to God, here referring not to all people everywhere (see note at 3:16) but to those who had seen Christ’s miracles and heard His preaching in Israel (vv. 22,24). hated me. No one is neutral to Christ or God; those who hear the gospel but are not yet converted hate and reject Him (1:10; 3:19–20; 7:7).

15:19 not of the world. Their citizenship is in heaven (8:23; Phil. 3:20). chosen you out. Christ’s election of sinners results in a change of nature and allegiance so that His disciples no longer fit in with the patterns of unbelief and sin that characterize fallen mankind.

15:20 Remember the word. See 13:16. Christ’s disciples are under Him as their Lord, and as they imitate Him (13:15) they must expect to have similar experiences of rejection.

15:21 for my name’s sake. It is a comfort to the believer to realize that he suffers because of Christ (Matt. 5:11–12; 1 Peter 4:12–19).

15:22. Christ’s ministry in Israel, like the preaching of the gospel in various nations today, removes the excuse (cloke) of men’s ignorance and provokes their antipathy (v. 24; 3:19).

15:23 hateth my Father also. To hate Jesus is to hate God. No one who rejects Christ gives true worship to God, no matter how devoted he may be to his own religion.

15:25 their law. A general reference to the Old Testament. They hated me without a cause. Quoting Ps. 69:4, a psalm often cited for its prophecies of Christ (2:17; Luke 23:36; Acts 1:20; Rom. 11:9–10; 15:3). Christ did only good to mankind, but for all His love and kindness they hated and crucified Him.

15:26–27 Comforter . . . Spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit (14:16–17), depicted here in His witness to the world. proceedeth. Literally, “is going out from.” The Spirit’s continuous procession from the Father in His work of glorifying Christ has often been taken as a revelation of His eternal personal relation to the Father as His “Spirit” (by analogy to the breath of a living being, 20:22; Job 33:4; Ps. 33:6). he shall testify of me . . . ye also shall bear witness. The Spirit’s testimony to Christ comes through the Word, exercised especially in the preaching of the risen Lord by the apostles and other faithful ministers (Acts 1:8).

Thoughts for Personal/Family Worship: Chapter 15

1. Jesus is the Vine and Christians are the branches. Without the Lord we can do nothing pleasing to the Lord. Union and communion with Christ are crucial to a fruitful spiritual life that pleases God. By rejecting Christ the unbelieving Jews cut themselves off from their only hope of becoming what God intended Israel to be. Jews and Gentiles who trust in Christ become God’s true vineyard. Are you abiding in Christ by a living faith? What fruits are you bearing that demonstrate this? How can you cultivate a deeper life of abiding in the Vine?
2. The history of Christianity illustrates clearly the principle that Christians should expect persecution. Why does the world hate Christ? Why does it hate the servants of Christ? In what way does this teach us our need for the Holy Spirit in order to be effective witnesses for Christ?