Gateway Baptist Church
The True Vine Part 2
  • All That Thrills My Soul
  • Lord I Lift Your Name On High
  • There Is Sunshine In My Soul Today
  • Saved Saved
  • In His Time

  • John 15:9-17

    Last week, we examined the first eight verses of Chapter 15. We learned to abide in Christ’s presence, Word, and the Father. This week, we will further our understanding by studying verses nine through seventeen and observing that to abide in Him is to abide in His love and love one another. Some people have taken His love out of proportion and context and used it to verify their sinful nature. Some do not truly understand His love. I intend to clarify both misunderstandings and hopefully help you fully appreciate His love and love each other in this manner.

    His Love:

    When I was a kid, my mom would often tell me how important it was to be connected to her love. She’d say, 'As long as you remember to call me at least once a week, you’ll always feel my love.' It's a simple reminder that love is like a lifeline; it doesn’t have to be overwhelming, just consistent. Similarly, abiding in Jesus’ love means staying connected through prayer and His Word, ensuring His warmth and grace envelop us daily.
    Men can never be mindful of Christ’s love for them, which breaks the closeness of fellowship with Him. I think of my love for my children, and it would hinder our relationship if my daughters did not fully grasp my love. This love does not measure the love Christ has for us. As close as it is, it is still miles apart from His love for us. In verse nine, “I love you as the Father has loved Me.” The word used here is “ήγάπησέν” (egapsen), an aorist indicative verb which gives it a completeness of perfection from before time.
    Imagine a vine growing strong and unyielding, its branches intertwined, drawing nourishment from the roots below. Jesus calls us to abide in His love like the branches in that vine, revealing that our strength and sustenance come from Him. Just as the branches cannot thrive if separated from the vine, we cannot flourish without remaining in His love. Our connection to Him is essential for producing the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.
    Again, the aorist ēgapēsa(‘I have loved’) is used. Jesus depicts his love for his own as a completed thing, so the cross stands imminently in view. Of course, the Father loves the disciples (John 16:27), but there is a peculiar sense in which Jesus is the mediator of that love, a love whose only adequate analogy is the love of the Father for the Son. As His we are commanded to “Abide in His love.” Why?
    John 16:27 ESV
    for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
    Because in His love, you will find peace, joy, comfort, protection, and a fullness of life. But to abide means to keep His commandments, just as He has kept His Father’s commandments. The two greatest commandments fulfill all the commandments.           
    Jesus taught obedience by being obedient to the Father even to death. When we truly love our parents, we stay obedient to them. I think of the Psalmist in Psalm 119:105-117; he knew what the Words of the Lord meant.
    Psalm 119:105–117 ESV
    Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules. I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word! Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your rules. I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts. Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end. I hate the double-minded, but I love your law. You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word. Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!
    Abiding in His love is where our joy comes from, and it is full. This does not mean we will not have trials or tribulations; it just means we understand that they are only temporary, and therefore, our joy comes in the morning.

    Love One Another:

    What does it mean to love one another? It means considering others as more important than yourself. Does that imply we should neglect ourselves or our families? Absolutely not. Philippians 2:2-3; Paul truly understood what it meant to love others. He was willing to be crucified for the Gospel so that people could know about Christ and have eternal life. He thought of others more than he thought of himself. Philippians 1:27.
    Philippians 2:2–3 ESV
    complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
    Philippians 1:27 ESV
    Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
    Jesus said this is how they would know we were His disciples, John 13:34-35. To be called His friend is to abide in His love. To love one another as commanded is to abide in His love. To love the Father is to abide in His love. I see the stickers that say, Love won. It is correct but not in the context they meant it. Love won because He, the Father, loved us enough to send us His Son so we may be reconciled to Him. It does not mean we can stay in our perpetual sin or not to love one another as we are commanded.
    John 13:34–35 ESV
    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
    Remember we did not choose Him, He chose us. He also appointed us to go and bear much fruit. The fruit is the disciples we are making in His Name. We should be disciples makers if we genuinely love one another and love Him.
  • The Nail-Scarred Hand (Lubbock)
Gateway Baptist Church
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