December 14, 2010
ABIDING PRODUCES JOY!!
John 15:1-17
Lisa Schubert
Central Truth
Jesus tells us to abide in Him because He knows that is where true joy is found.
Key Verse | John 15:5, 11
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. . . . These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." (John 15:5, 11)
John 15:1-17
I Am the True Vine
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 does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I 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 be in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, 1 15:15 Or bondservants, or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface); likewise for servant later in this verse and in verse 20 for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have 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 abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Footnotes
[1] 15:15 Or bondservants, or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface); likewise for servant later in this verse and in verse 20Dive Deeper | John 15:1-17
I’m not very good with plants. I have three of them that are hanging on for dear life, hoping I remember to water them. I don’t prune them, or re-pot them, like I should, so I’m sure they are not reaching their potential. But, I am clever enough to know that if I remove the leaves from the plant, they have no chance at all. Jesus knows that is true for us as well. Apart from Him, Jesus said, we can do nothing. We need to abide, spending time talking to Him, reading, studying and meditating on His Word, and memorizing it, so it is there for us when we need it. Then, we can bear much fruit.
And, thankfully, unlike my plants, we have a vinedresser who loves us enough to prune us so that we can bear more fruit (verses 1-2). Pruning can be painful, but Hebrews 12:11-13 tells us, "All discipline (pruning) for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed." Pruning's results!
Abiding brings fruit, and then pruning brings more fruit. But the thing I have always missed about this passage in John, until now, is verse 11. Jesus tells us, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." He tells us to abide in Him, because it is for our best good!! In this case, it will bring us true, complete joy! This is not to be confused with happiness. But this is the joy that comes from living attached to the true Vine, learning from His Word, spending time in His presence, getting our nourishment and our pruning from our Maker.
Abiding produces joy!!
Discussion Questions
1. Are you finding time to be still long enough to really abide in Jesus, or are you rushing through reading the Word so you can check it off your list?
2. Do you have people in your life who are challenging you to abide in Him?
3. Is there an area of your life that the Lord is trying to prune right now? Are you resisting?
4. Have you experienced this joy Jesus is talking about?
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How do you know if a tree is producing fruit?
2. Here, Jesus talks about us producing fruit. What do you think He means?
3. Our actions show that we are trusting and obeying Jesus’ commands. For each family member, talk about what “fruit” you have seen in their lives over the last couple of days.