Day 83 – Friday, April 25, 2025

One Year Journey Through the New Testament

John 15

Welcome to our journey through the New Testament!

The Relationship of Believers to Christ

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

⁵ “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

⁹ “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

¹¹ “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 

(John 15:1–11, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Jesus begins to describe His relationship to His disciples by using the analogy of a grapevine.
• Jesus says He is the true vine, and His father the caretaker of that vine. He prunes the vine of the unproductive, and even prunes the productive branches by removing parts that are hindering production. He encourages the disciples to abide in Him, or they will not produce.
• Jesus is the vine, the disciples are the branches. The branch cannot produce without the vine. Those disciples that abide in Jesus will find great faith and production.
• Jesus declares His love for the disciples, and tells them to abide in His love by keeping His commandments. His joy will be present in that love relationship.

The Relationship of Believers to Each Other

¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, that you love one another. 

(John 15:12–17, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Jesus also encourages His disciples to love one another in the same way He loved them. Jesus was about to lay down His life for His friends. They should follow His example.
• They should also obey His commandments as His servants.

The Relationship of Believers to the World

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ He who hates Me hates My Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵ But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ 

(John 15:18–25, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• In this passage, Jesus warns them that if they follow Him, they will be hated by the world. They persecuted Jesus, so they will persecute them.
• Jesus spoke the truth, and the world hated Him, therefore they are responsible for their responses.
• They hated Jesus without a cause. He was their Savior Messiah, and they did not receive Him.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

²⁶ “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. ²⁷ And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning. 

(John 15:26–27, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• The final passage of this chapter is the encouragement of Christ to His disciples for what would happen after He leaves the earth.
• He tells them of a coming Helper, the Holy Spirit, who will be sent from the Father.
• The Spirit will testify of Christ and the disciples will bear witness of Him as well.
• We must invite the Holy Spirit to testify through us, and we must be His witnesses.

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All Scriptures from New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Join us this afternoon at 5:00 pm for a discussion of this chapter live online. Live@5 with Dr. Greg Sloop can be found on Facebook on the Dr. Greg Sloop page or on the Kannapolis Church of God Facebook page or Youtube page. Another blog will be posted each weekday at 6:00 a.m.