John 15 - Amplified Study Bible

15:2 Every branch in Me. The emphasis of in Me in this passage is on deep, abiding fellowship. Jesus’ purpose was to move His disciples from servants to friends (vv. 13–15). This would involve a process of discipline in regard to His commandments. prunes. This word carries the sense of purging. Once the fruit is on the vine, the vinedresser cleanses the fruit of bugs and diseases. The spiritual counterpart is cleansing which is done through the Word (v. 3).

15:6 If anyone does not remain in Me. Not abiding in Christ has serious consequences: (1) the person is thrown out like a branch, indicating the loss of fellowship; (2) the person withers and dies, indicating a loss of vitality; (3) the person is burned, indicating a loss of reward.

15:8 by this. Notice the striking parallel between this verse and 13:35. fruit. The love of 13:35 is pictured here. The text has come full circle in showing how strategic it is for disciples to love each other, as Christ’s method of evangelizing the lost. Where there is good fruit, there are also seeds for propagation.

15:11 that your joy may be made full. This phrase is an expression peculiar to John (3:29; 16:24; 17:13; 1Jn 1:4; 2Jn 12). It describes a believer’s experience of Christ’s love: complete joy.

15:14 if you keep on doing. Jesus is our model for love (v. 13). Intimacy with Him is the motive for loving as He loves. If believers obey His command to love, they enjoy the intimacy of His friendship. Not that friendship, unlike sonship, is a once-for-all gift, but develops as the result of obeying Jesus’ command to love.

15:15 I do not call you servants. Until this point, Jesus had called His disciples servants (12:26; 13:13–16). A servant does what he is told and sees what his master does, but does not necessarily know the meaning or purpose of it. friends. A friend knows what is happening because friends develop deep fellowship by communicating with one another.

15:22–23 not have [the guilt of their] sin . . . no excuse for their sin. The world’s hatred of Jesus was a sin against God, for He revealed the Father Himself to them.

15:26–27 He will testify. As the disciples spoke, the Holy Spirit would bring inner conviction to unbelievers concerning Christ. This in turn would make the disciples witnesses for Jesus.