The Responding Life

by

John Juneman

The Responding Life

Copyright © John Juneman

LifeMessage International, 2009

LifeMessage International, Inc.

P. O. Box 806

Lebanon, TN 37088-0806

www.lifemessageinternational.org

lifemessageinternational@gmail.com

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Responding Life

The True Vine

Life in the Vineyard

Clean Living

Staying Power

Interface

Fruit Production

Indisposable

Fruit Dreams

Definition of a Disciple

Parameters of Community

Choices

Driven

The Approach of Holiness

The Association of Holiness

The Appointment of Holiness

Solidarity

Missionary

Remember the Word

The Myth of Neutrality

Enlightenment

Making a Case

Introduction

A Journey of Saturation

I was halfway through my seminary education when I began the journey of bible saturation in my own life.  It had been over three years since I had learned the concept of “saturation in the Word” as an intern one summer during college.  Years later I was asked why it took me so long to get started after I had learned the concept as an intern.  The only answer I know to give is that I had to personally come to grips with what the cost would be for me.  While I am sure the cost is different for everyone, and while I am sure it might sound foolish to some, the cost for me was in the area of grades and academic prestige.  I felt that I had blown so much time and opportunity in school as a pre-Christian that I wanted to make the most of my education and something of a newfound academic “excellence.”  Besides this, there was a friendly (or not so friendly at times) competition at the seminary between the graduates of the various colleges, and those of us from my particular college felt we had something of a reputation to uphold!   I knew that good grades in all my classes and a high grade point average demanded all the time and energy I could give.  If I was to excel, it would take everything I had, and I did not believe I had time to give to something else.  After all, everyone assumes that seminary students are already into the Word as it is a part of our program of study as we do research and write papers regarding the scriptures.  Yet, there was a nagging and growing awareness in me that I needed something more, and the Holy Spirit kept bringing me back to what I had learned as an intern.

When I took the “leap” of beginning saturation in the Word it truly felt like jumping off of a cliff.  It was, in many ways, antithetical to the approach I was learning in school.  While I was doing study with all the tools I had, including Greek, the main element of saturation was the waiting and dependence.  I could not merely “dig out” what I wanted to on my own.  It was not merely a matter of using my “tool box” and expertise.  There was something to this Word of God beyond just history, background and original language.  It was more than just a written document to study and decipher.  The growing realization of saturation is that I am dealing with a Person who is revealing Himself through this Word.  I was utterly dependent upon Jesus Himself to speak to me about this, explain it to me, and to reveal the depth of what my human ability could not see.  This is a radical lesson for a seminary student!

This is probably why it took so long for a breakthrough.  The biggest lesson was in learning to wait and be dependent not upon my intelligence or skills, but upon Him!  How long would I be willing to wait upon God for Him to take the depth of truth and reveal it to me from His Word?  The Gospel of John had seemed like the place to begin.  Not knowing what else to do, I took the first eighteen verses, the Prologue, and began to live with it.  I studied it as best I knew from the perspective of background, history and original language.  I got to know it like the back of my hand.  I looked at it and prayed over it in the mornings before going to classes and was thinking about it during the day.  The days and weeks went by.  I had used all of my tools and expertise, but I knew there was something more than what I was seeing.  The same Holy Spirit who had been telling me that there was something more needed in my life kept telling me to wait.  One day, after a few months, something happened.  How do you describe the wonder and joy of something happening to you for the first time?  It was a breakthrough, like the lights going on for the first time.  I have since described it as an “Aha!” moment, because I think I must have said something like that out loud.  All I know is that I saw something beyond me.  I knew in my heart that there was truth and concepts coming from the passage that were deeper than anything I could think or realize.  It was something solid, life changing and convicting.  It was the kind of thing that takes your breath away and makes you sit back in your chair in amazement.  I began to take the truth and concepts that He revealed and ask Him what difference He wanted to make in my life through this.  I was hooked.  If God could do this for me once, could He do it again?  What I found was that it became His regular way with me.  I studied the next passage in John chapter 1, and He did the same thing all over again, except with two differences.  First, what happened in the second passage built upon what He had already shown me in the first passage.  Secondly, it did not take quite as long for the truth to come the second time around.  In fact, I found that the waiting time began to shrink.  Something was happening to me as I was learning about waiting and depending upon Him.  This process became the greatest joy of my life.  The fun of it began to be taking the new truths that God was bringing to my life through His Word and applying it to my life.  I remember vividly walking down the halls of the seminary, conscious of these new truths, and praying that God would apply them to how I acted and lived at school.  Something, indeed, was happening to me.  I was not only learning to wait, but I was growing.  I’ll never forget saturating in John 1:43-51 while at the same time taking a summer class on spiritual formation.  Jesus was talking to me from the passage about Him being the beginning and end and everything in between!  The class met all day for two straight weeks with all the students and the two professors seated in a circle of chairs.  The professors took one chair and placed it in the very center of the circle in the middle of the room and called it the “Christ chair.”  They said that, at any time at all during the class, any student could get up from his or her chair and go to sit in the Christ chair.  We would all know immediately that we should gather around that student and pray for the spiritual need in his or her life.  Two weeks went by without a single move from any student.  What seminary student wants to admit a spiritual need to fellow students?  On the very last day of the class, I could not take the pressure anymore.  I knew I had a spiritual need in my life.  I knew that I needed Jesus to be the beginning and the end and everything in between in my life, just like He had been revealing from John 1:43-51.  With all the courage I could muster, I stood up from my chair and went to the Christ chair.  It felt like a large burden came off of my shoulders, and that I was being real with God.  Everyone in the class gathered around to pray for me, and we finished the class.  After class, the professor spoke to me.  I thanked him for the class, and he said, “You’ve really grown, haven’t you?”  Indeed I was growing.

I firmly believe that it will be the same for anyone who is open to Jesus, who will saturate in His Word and will respond to Him.  Oh, I pray this to be so for anyone reading this.  Will you saturate in the Word in your own life?  I plead with you to give Him an opportunity to speak to you.

A Radical Discovery

As I continued to walk and grow through saturation in the Word in the following years, God continued to reveal new and amazing truth to my life.  I was traveling and preaching in full-time evangelism when I came unsuspectingly to John chapter 5 in 1994.  There had already been a concept brewing throughout the first four chapters, suggesting that Christianity is not about doing the right things, but about what Jesus does in you.  How else could you explain Nicodemus and the woman at the well?  But beginning in chapter 5, John explodes this message to a whole new level.  A key verse is John 5:19.  “Most assuredly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”  I discovered that the word that is translated “do” or “does” in the verse is actually the same word being used four times in the verse --- an unmistakable emphasis upon some idea!  It is the Greek word, poieo.  This was the first in-depth study I had in this word.  It has the connotation of the work of an artist.  It is not just work that an artist does, but it is the expression of the very inside heart of the artist.  It was amazing to find that this is the same word that is used in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God CREATED the heavens and the earth.”  This paints a picture of God as an artist, who is not just into activity, but also into the expression of who He is.  Now, in John 5:19, we are being told that Jesus and the Father are into this style of living.  Jesus Himself is not just doing activities, but is responding to what is happening inside of Him: the moving of the Father in His life.  If Jesus is to come and live in us and bring about His same style of living in us, what does this say about how we are to live?  This brings us to two clear and connected truths about Christianity.  First, Christianity is not merely about the activities done, but about what is happening inside as Jesus comes to indwell a person and affect his or her life.  It is more a “being” than a “doing.”  Secondly, Christianity is not a life of doing the right things, but of responding to this indwelling Jesus in the same way He responds to the Father in His own life.

This was, and still is, a radical truth for me regarding Christianity.  No longer did I have to try to do the right things, which has been the pattern of my life.  If you tell me the right thing to do and how to do it, I will follow instructions to the precise degree in order to get it right.  But this concept raised Christianity into an entirely new world for me.  The single need of being a Christian is to allow Jesus to live in me and for me to respond to His every move.  I do not need to figure things out.  I do not need to know what is ahead.  He is in charge, and He is in me.  I will always be where I need to be and involved in the activities needed if I will be open to Him and respond.  He will not let me miss it!  What a freeing truth this became to me.  Just rest and respond to what Jesus is doing in my life.  It does not mean a ceasing of all activity, but more of an allowing Jesus to direct and carry the weight of the activity.  In some cases, it can mean a quitting of activities that are unnecessary because they are being pushed by me (or others) and not by Him.  What a relief!

Onward

The responding life has become the key theme in the unfolding of the message of the Gospel of John.  It is the heart and soul of what it means to live as a Christian, because it is the heart, soul and style of who Jesus is and how He lives.  The message is escalated again as you come to chapters 13 through 17.  Jesus has gathered the disciples together in an upper room, and is huddling them close to Himself in the hours before His arrest.  He wants to pour into them the heart of the kingdom.  It is a time for a concise and focused summary of the entire business of the kingdom and what it means for them to operate as His disciples.  What will He share with them?  After talking about the style of the cross in chapter 13, Jesus comes into chapter 14 and carefully explains that they will be indwelt by Him though His Spirit in the same way that Jesus has been indwelt by the Father.  This is the very fundamental of the kingdom.  In chapter 15 He then elaborates on the living out of this reality.  The Responding Life is the mode of kingdom living that Jesus details in this chapter.  Responding to His indwelling presence is not a one-time event.  It is the lifestyle to which He is calling them.  It is the style of the kingdom, of their life and ministry in this world, and of eternity.  If the disciples are to live as Christians, and if they are to allow Jesus to do through them what He desires to do, they must understand the responding life!  It is crucial for them in their hour!

Is it not just as crucial for us in our hour?  Oh, that you and I could be brought into the same understanding and experience the same reality in our lives.  Truly God shows no partiality and is no respecter of persons.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever!  Who He is and what He did in the people of the New Testament is what He desires to do in us today.  Surely there never has been a greater hour of need for this truth.  But being and responding to Jesus is not always a popular message.  “Doing” Christianity is as popular in this era as it has been at times throughout the history of the church.  From the unenlightened human perspective it is easier to follow a set a rules, “do” the right things, and “arrive” than it is to have intimate relationship with Jesus and allow Him to shape my life.  There will be opposition to this message, just as Jesus warns the disciples about at the end of John 15.  I’ll never forget the man who angrily objected to the preaching when I was in the pastorate.  “Seek Jesus and respond; seek Jesus and respond.  That’s all he ever preaches!”

Indeed, it is all that I have found in this saturation in the Word.  What other message do we have but that which is in His Word?  Everything else --- all “doing” Christianity --- leaves us empty, frustrated and fruitless.  In Him, and in living in response to Him, is life.  There is a movement of seeking after Him in these days.  People are tired of “doing” religion.  They are seeking for the real thing.  I have a desire in my own life to be done with all I can do and all that depends upon me.  I want to know Him more, and let my life be a complete response to Him.  What would it be like to see what He could do through a group of people --- a movement --- who would respond to Him?  What would He do through a group of people like that in such a time as this?

I pray these pages are an encouragement to you in living the responding life.  They are the record of sermons preached from John 15 at Crystal Lawns Church of the Nazarene in Joliet, Illinois, from January through June of 2006.  It is purely an attempt to share what God revealed through saturation in this chapter of God’s living Word.  I pray that this will be a help to anyone who is seeking after Jesus Christ in his or her own life.  My prayer is that you would know Him more intimately and would hunger for your own personal involvement in His Word.  You are not alone in this journey.  May He change our lives by His indwelling presence and the power of His Word, until we are truly the demonstration of His life in our day.

John Juneman

Watertown, TN

January 2009

The Responding Life

John 15 Overview

Context

John chapter 15 is a powerful chapter of God’s Word.  It occupies the central place in what is called the “Farewell Discourse” of Jesus in John’s Gospel.  This entire section of chapters 13-17 is centered around chapter 15 as the “bulls eye” (Gerald Borchert, The New American Commentary).  This is a critical time of Jesus with the disciples.  He is preparing them for what is ahead, and is spending the final few hours before His arrest with them alone.  These chapters encompass what takes place in only a few hours, but the content of it is so significant that it is spread out over 5 chapters.

Chapter 13 has demonstrated the style of the cross and the great dividing that it brings.  Judas, responding to the Satanic moving in his life, has now departed to carry out the betrayal.  Jesus now turns to the remaining disciples and is ready to take them to a deeper level of preparation.

He begins to tell them of His departure and the changes to come in chapter 14.  They, naturally, are distressed.  But He begins to reassure them that everything is going to be alright and that this is a part of the plan.  What is this plan?  It is the concept of habitation.  He talks to them about His own relationship with the Father and how His life is the prototype of what they are to be.  As He is actually indwelt by the presence of the Father, so they will be indwelt by the Person of Jesus.  As the Father is intimately involved in the life of Jesus, so Jesus will be intimately involved in every detail of their existence.  As the Father is the source for all that takes place out of the life of Jesus, so Jesus will source everything that is to take place out of their lives.

The key to this all will be the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, who will come to indwell them: the counselor or comforter.  He will be the presence of Jesus in them and will reproduce the life of Jesus through them.

As He has talked to them and pointed toward this in chapter 14, He now describes the reality of living it in daily existence.  It can be summarized in one overarching concept: it is the life of responding to Him.  As His life has been one constant response to the Father in Him, so He is inviting them to the responding life, consisting of a complete, sustained, exclusive response to Him.  This study is an overview of this concept and what it involves as it is presented in chapter 15.  Three main aspects of the responding life are presented.

The Source of Responding

The chapter begins with a Jewish mashal, or parable in verses 1-8.  It is the parable of the vine and the branches.  Jesus is the Vine and the disciples are the branches, with the Father being the vinedresser (vv. 1,5).  While it has specific details and applications, which we will explore, there is one overwhelming message of the illustration.  It is about source.  The vine is the source for everything that happens in its branches.  They have no life or sustenance or existence apart from the vine, because the vine is the complete source of the branch.  This simple idea is an illustration of the disciples’ life in Jesus.  He is their complete source.  Everything that is to happen in their lives is to come from Him.  They are to have no life or substance or existence apart from Him (v. 5).  He is to be their everything, just as the vine is everything to the branches.

This means that there is to be one single focus and purpose for the disciples at all times.  They are not called to “multi-task.”  They are called to have one single function and purpose for their entire existence.  It is simply “abiding” or “remaining.”  Note the frequency of the word “abide (vv. 4,5,6,7).”  It is not a call to do something, to perform, or to be able. It is simply a call to be something --- a branch on the vine.  It is about complete dependence and connection to the source.  What does a vine actually do but stay connected and be the recipient and demonstration of the vine?  This is the root of the concept of responding.  Christianity is not about doing the right things, to perform or be able.  It is a call to one focus: Him.  Staying connected to Him and depending upon Him to be the source.  How does life take place then?  It is the same way that “life” happens on the vine.  The vine is sourcing, and the branches are being acted upon.  All fruit and life of the Christian are the result of this responding.

Imagine this one single focus in life: being acted upon by God and allowing Him to source everything.  Never having to create anything or make anything happen ourselves, but allowing Him to produce it all.  We are somewhat different than branches in that we have a will: the capability to decide.  So responding is the constant attitude and decision to be acted upon and sourced.  Consider the freedom of this.  No pressure or weight.  Just responding.

This is Christianity.  The section is extremely strong on the fact that this is exclusive.  In other words, there is no other way to be a Christian than this.  There are not any Christians who are not responding and having a constant attitude of being acted upon by God.   The Christian life is not something that can be produced by man, but only by God.  If anyone does not respond and live in this responding state, he or she is cut off (vv. 2, 6).  This is exclusive, and there is no other way.  It is to be the only priority and focus for the disciple at all times --- to live in a constant attitude and decision to be acted upon and sourced.  Do I have that?

The Style of Responding

This life of responding, living in a constant attitude and decision to be acted upon and sourced, results in the Christian life.  Christianity is not a set of behaviors.  It is not something that a person can do.  It is something that must be done in and through him or her by God alone.

The second section, verses 9-17, answers the next logical question:  What does this fruit look like?  What is its “style?”  We have often thought of fruit as ministry results.  How many did we have?  How big did it grow?  How much came in?  While the book of Acts certainly does not downplay numbers, the New Testament description of fruit is often in a different realm.  Paul talks about the fruits of the spirit.  The fruit is not so much about measurable results as it is about style and character.  This is certainly the message of the context of chapters 14-15.  Jesus has been telling the disciples that they are going to be the reproductions of Him and His style.  He is the prototype, and they are going to be the continuations of what He is (14:12).  It makes sense that if the branches are connected to and sourced by the vine, they are going to look like the vine and bear the fruit that is determined by that vine.

If they are to look like Him and bear His fruit, what will that look like?  Love.  Obviously, God is love (1 John 4:8).  Therefore, Jesus reiterates in verses 9-17 that love will be the constant style and fruit of those who are responding to Him.  Consider the use of the word “love” in these verses (9,10,12,13,17).

Love will be the constant style, fruit and outflow of one who is responding to Jesus --- being acted upon.  This is not some strained, trying kind of love.  It is the very love of Jesus Himself, because it is His fruit and is being produced by Him. How can one love in this way, considering the many examples of where it will apply in difficult situations?  It certainly cannot be produced by us.  We have tried and failed at that.  It will only come from Him.  What is more, it will not come with effort, but will be effortless.  Consider the branch on the vine bearing the fruit.  It is not straining, nor trying. It is just being.

Wouldn’t it be something to just naturally be the reproduction of the life of Jesus in our day?  Could He do that in me in such a dynamic way that I would be that without even trying?  Imagine being that in my world.  Imagine being that in every setting at all times because it is not produced by me.  I know how to turn on and turn off my moods and behavior.  A branch does not turn itself on or off.  It just is.  Imagine the consistency of His presence and style in my life at all times.

The Sacrifice of Responding

What would be the result and consequence of having His presence in our lives and living in this style?  Would it not have an effect on the world around us?  It would be inevitable.  This is the point of the final section, verses 18-27.  It is the concept of being a witness as the Holy Spirit within us testifies to Jesus and makes His character and style alive in us (v.27).

What kind of effect does this have on the world?  As His presence and style becomes alive in us as we respond to Him, it will bring to light everything that is not of Him.  There is an exposing that will take place.  This was true with the life of Jesus Himself (vv. 22-24).  The principle here is that it will be the same for the disciples.  Because they are the very reproductions of the life of Jesus --- extensions of Him --- the same dynamic is going to take place.  There will be an exposing of everything around them that is not of Him.

This explains the reaction which Jesus is telling them to expect.  It will be the same as He received because they are actually reacting to His substance (vv.18-21).

What a reaction to expect!  I thought that if I respond to Jesus and allow Him to act upon me and resource me, then everyone will love me and everything will be great.  I have to confess that this has been a common misconception of mine.  I take violent reaction as a negative or indication that I am doing something wrong.  Granted, I can have a tendency to offend people just by my own arrogant attitude (this is a part of my past).  Yet, I am finding that response to Jesus always brings negative reaction.  It has caused me at times to back away from responding to Jesus.  I can respond to Jesus, but I also have to manage my affairs and play politics enough to keep everything smooth.

But this is a basic principle of the New Testament and the responding life of Christianity.  All response to Jesus brings suffering and the hatred of everything that is not of Him.  This is the very principle of the cross itself.  To really live in response --- being in a constant attitude and being willing to be acted upon and sourced ---- brings me to suffering and death.  It is the sacrifice of the responding life.

Which brings me back to the singular focus of the responding life.  I am not here to mange, fix, build, run or supply my life.  I am here to be acted upon and sourced by Him.  To constantly respond to Him in everything at every moment.  Period.

The Simplicity of Responding

With all of this perspective of the responding life, it may become overwhelming.  I do not know where to start or what to do.  I may have been doing all my life without even knowing it.  But all of the pressure is the old pattern.  I feel that something depends on me at this moment.  But this is not an invitation to do something.  It is an invitation to live in a moment-by-moment attitude and decision to be acted upon and sourced.

It all comes down to this moment.  Will I live in that this moment?  It is like taking steps.  I am only at the moment in which I am right now.  I only have a choice of how I will respond in this moment.  I don’t have a choice for the moment past or for the one to come.  I have this moment.  Wouldn’t it be something to respond to Him in this moment?  In fact, what would happen if I responded to Him in the next moment as well?  He is acting upon me and within me, and I am saying YES.  Wouldn’t it be something to begin to live that way?  It all begins right now.  Who would respond in this moment?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What is something to which I have given my singular and exclusive focus in life?

2.       Where is the situation in my life where I know the style and fruit of Jesus needs to be seen more in me?

3.       What trouble in my life has caused or now causes me to be fearful of responding?  What “doing” can I release in this moment and instead turn to Him in complete response, allowing Him to act upon and in me?

The True Vine

John 15:1

“I AM”

Jesus is painting a picture of the responding life for the disciples in John chapter 15.  He has shown them in chapter 14 that He is the prototype of what they are to be: a human indwelt and completely resourced by the presence of God.  Chapter 15 is now the expanded description of this life for them.  Verses 1-8 present the first section, emphasizing that He is the source.  It is the illustration of the vine and the branches.  While there are many applications to be explored, the overarching emphasis is the concept of source.

He begins this illustration with a loud and clear trumpet call: Jesus Himself is the source.  “I am the true vine.”  It might be easy to read over this as a casual introduction, but it is not.  It is stated as clearly and boldly as possible.  In the Greek language, the pronoun is included in the verb itself, determined by the verb’s ending.  When the pronoun is used also in front of the verb, it is for strong emphasis on that pronoun.  This is the case here, where Jesus is strongly emphasizing the “I.”  It is a complete emphasis upon Him.

In addition to this emphasis, the “I am” phrase invokes even more in the mind of the Jew who would be reading this gospel.  We believe that John is writing to a primarily Jewish audience, trying one more time to convince them that Jesus is the way.  To help in this, John highlights Jesus using the “I am” phrase seven times.

·         I am the bread of life (6:35)

·         I am the light of the world (8:12)

·         I am the door of the sheep (10:7)

·         I am the good shepherd (10:11)

·         I am the resurrection and the life (11:25)

·         I am the way, the truth, and the life (14:6)

·         I am the true vine

The “I am” invokes the conversation that God has with Moses in Exodus chapter 3.  Moses was struggling with how he would go to the most powerful ruler on earth and demand the release of God’s people.  What was Moses’ authority and who was sending Him?  God’s answer: “I AM WHO I AM (Exodus 3:13-14).”  It is the name of the One who is over all and has all authority: the one and only God.

This was the language that Jesus used throughout the gospel of John and is using it again here.  He is the One who is over all.  He is the Son of God, sent with the Father, with all authority and is the beginning and end of all things.  While this was a constant offense to the religious leaders of that day (John 8:58-59), it is the heart of Christianity.  The message of John is that He is everything, and that there is nothing apart from Him.  He is so much the source of all things, that He can be described by all the “I am” statements.  He is the answer to every need.  He is the solution to every problem.  He is life itself.  He is to be the consuming passion for my life, because He is my only need

This is why Christianity is a one-focus lifestyle: it is a consuming obsession with the Person of Jesus.  We are not into morals; we are into Him.  We are not into activities, even religious ones; we are into Him.  We are not into a certain kind of music; we are into Him.  We are not into following rules; we are into Him.  We can only talk about one thing and think one thing and eat, drink and sleep one thing: Him.  He lives in us and wants to be the sole desire of our lives.  It is not that we have quit our jobs and gone to live in monasteries.  It is that His presence is in us and we want to constantly seek Him and respond to Him in every single moment of existence, because He is our only need.  He is our only answer.  Christianity is nothing else besides this.  Is this what we are after?  Do we have this at the level that we want to?

This is what He is saying: “I am.”  It is the fundamental of Christianity and the key to understanding the responding life.  It urges me to seek Him and to respond.

True vine or another branch?

This message of His entirety is further communicated in the idea of the true vine.  To understand its implications it is important to first see the concept of vine in its Old Testament background.  Israel – God’s people – was referred to from time to time as a vine.

Psalm 80:8-9

Isaiah 5:7; 27:2-3, 6

Jeremiah 2:21

Hosea 10:1

While it becomes increasingly evident that Israel rebelled and did not live in the design God had for them, God’s purpose for them was clear.  Israel was to be in a special relationship with God in which He completely provided for and sourced them.  He would be everything to them, and all they needed to do was to stay connected to God and respond to Him as He led them and instructed them.

Jesus now tells His disciples that He is the true vine.  This is the message of the New Testament.  All of the Old Testament, and the arrangement (or covenant) which God made with His people, was preparation for and pointing forward to what was to take place in Jesus.  As God was to source them and provide for them and make them right through this Old Covenant, He would now do all of that in a brand new way through Jesus.  And all this would take place through Jesus in such a way as could not have happened through the previous covenant.  He now comes to live in us and do within us what we could not do ourselves.  He is the fulfillment of what the old vine was pointing to.  He is the true vine.

This is really reflected in the word “true.”  It has to do with what is true, instead of false.  But this word has an even greater emphasis upon what is real.  It especially emphasizes that which is real because it is from God as opposed to what is human and of this world.  Only what is from God is really “true,” while everything of this world and of man is merely a shadow or copy of the “true.”  That is why Jesus is the “true vine,” and is the “way, the truth, and the life” --- because God came to earth, became a man and we have seen in Him what is really true, THE REAL THING.

The book of Hebrews discusses this reality.  He uses the word “true” at times to contrast this old covenant with the new covenant and what is happening in Jesus.  For example, see Hebrews 8:1-2, 13; 9:24, 10:1.  This writer is pointing out that the old covenant is now obsolete and “past.”  It was good, ordained by God, and served its purpose for its time.  But Jesus is now fulfilling it all through Himself --- the REAL THING, and what is true.  The answer is now in Him, not in returning to the old covenant and trying to live by it.  This is an important message to the people to whom this letter was written.  They are, most likely, Jews who had become Christians.  Now, however, under persecution and pressure, they were returning to the old way instead of continuing with Jesus.

This is something of what John is dealing with in his gospel.  He is writing to fellow Jews (John is a Jew) who were hanging on to the old way instead of receiving Jesus as their vine.  This is personified in the gospel by Pharisees.  They were determined to cling to the old way and preserve it at all costs instead of receiving Jesus as their Vine, their Source and Savior.  They were violently opposed to Him because He threatened their old ways.

I wonder if I have anything like that in my life?  Am I clinging to something that was supposed to point me to Jesus instead of clinging to Jesus Himself?  What do I cling to when the pressure is on?  What do I really get upset about when it is threatened?  Anyone or anything could become that to me.  In essence, it would be like looking to a branch to be my source instead of the true vine.  The old covenant was good, but it was only intended to point us to Jesus, not to be clung to instead of Him.  God has worked people and things in my life to point me to Him, and those are good.  They have been branches.  But His intent was not that I would cling to them, but only to Him.

In fact, anything that becomes a source to me instead of Jesus becomes Satanic.  This was true for the Pharisees (John 8:44).  It was true for Judas (John 13:2).  It can be true for me.

Resourced for the mission

That is strong, isn’t it?  Does it mean that I need to break ties with anyone and everything and move into the monastery?  Obviously not.  God did not call us to cease being human.  That is one part of Christianity I am learning to love: Jesus knows I am a human being, and does not want to eliminate that, but fulfill it.  He is fully human, and wants me to be also.  I don’t have to move to a monastery to be Christian!

It’s just that nothing can source me and be for me what only Jesus can be.  I love my wife and have a close relationship with her.  She can point me to Jesus and reveal Jesus to me, but she cannot replace the intimate relationship I need to have in Him to be sourced by Him.  I have a spiritual dad whom I love and respect.  He points me to Jesus and reveals Him to me all the time.  But I can’t ride his coattails.  I have to know Jesus myself.  I certainly enjoy the experiences of worship and services.  But I have to know Him in intimacy outside of the mountaintop experiences.  Sometimes we spend our lives trying to live and re-create experiences of the past.  Could this be the essence of worship wars?

Isn’t it true that we need a fresh moving and resourcing of Jesus in our day, right now?  The experiences of the past are great and were of God.  What He did back there and in the lives of others we respect and for them we give thanks.  But we desperately need His moving in us and resourcing of us today!  Why?  Because we will never be what we are to be without it, and we will need it for the mission to which He has called us for this hour!  Think of the opportunity!

This is exactly where the disciples were as He shared with them in this upper room scene, just hours before His arrest.  He is pouring into them the heart of the mission.  He is calling them to a great mission --- something to which to give their lives.  But they will not be able to depend on the past or what they had before, through experiences or parents or tradition.  They will have to be indwelt by Him and be sourced like they have never known.  The mission of the future is too big to be resourced by anything but Him!  The experiences of the past are not adequate for the future mission.

Isn’t this frightening?  Will there not be intense pressure and conflict?  That is what He is preparing them for, and why He is pressing this.  As with the Hebrews, the tendency under pressure is to run back to the familiar.  But there is one way they would make it and shake their world: be sourced by Him.  This is back to the primacy of His Person.  It is urgent to go after one thing!  To live in seeking and responding to Him is the only way.  A casual approach will not do.  This is too important.

Who wants to see a fresh moving and resourcing of God for this generation?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What is the trumpet call of Christianity?  What has been my response to this?

2.       What have I tended to think I needed to do or be in addition to simply responding to Him?  How does this match up with the message of the New Testament?

3.       Name someone or something that has really been a “branch” which has pointed me to Jesus.

4.       What is Jesus saying to me about having a fresh moving and sourcing of Him in my own life?

Life in the Vineyard

John 15:1-2

Perspective

As Jesus begins to unfold the illustration of the vineyard in verses 1-8, He is painting a picture of what the life of Christianity looks like.  This is a picture of the responding life, and an invitation to it.

We have already seen in the first part of verse 1 that He has presented Himself as the true vine; the real source for our lives with no adequate substitute.  He now begins to fill out the picture by describing also the gardener, or “vinedresser,” and the branches.  One significant part of this description is the perspective that it brings.  Perspective is so important.  It determines how you view something and think about it.  For example, life looks completely different from the perspectives of a child and a parent.  It changes the entire way you think.

Consider the perspective Jesus brings here.  The Father is the vinedresser or gardener.  There were various settings for grapevines in the ancient world as there are today.  There were large vineyards where large crops of grapes were raised.  However, it was common for there to be a grapevine on a terrace or patio area as well.  In spite of the settings, there was always one thing common in regard to grapevines: they require great care and oversight.  There is not only a great deal of preparation for their growth but also the maintenance for their growth and production.  This is the role of the “vinedresser” or gardener.  He or she is the complete owner and manager of the vineyard.  There is no part of the vineyard in which he is not involved.  There is no part of the vineyard that is outside of His control.  He is involved in absolutely every detail of the life of the vineyard and every single branch.  This is emphasized in the use of the word “every” two times in verse 2.  He is involved in every detail and is over all.

Contrast the enormity of God’s presence and role in comparison to the picture of the branch.  The literal translation of the word is “twig.”  What are we called to be?  “Twigs.”  The emphasis is on the smallness and dependency of the twig on the vine and the oversight of the vinedresser.  This is not how I tend to think of myself.  I like to think of how big I am.  I want to be more important.  I like to think I am indispensable.  I think the other twigs need me to fix them.  This is the carnal mind, which thinks I have the right to my own space and my own life.  The vinedresser may manage the vineyard and take care of the bigger business, but He can let me run my own life.  But that is not the picture here.  The picture is of my smallness and dependency, and that the Father is constantly butting into every area of my life and wanting to be involved in managing every single detail.

This is certainly the picture of Jesus we receive from the Scripture.  He is not ever living His own life or having His own area.  The Father is involved in and managing every single area of His life.  This concept has been building throughout the gospel, and becomes especially clear in chapter 14.  Consider verses 10 and 11.  Jesus has no separate life from the Father, but has the intimate involvement of the Father in every area of His life.

He now turns to the disciples in chapter 15 and describes the same for them.  They are to be so connected to Jesus that God will have intimate involvement in every single area of their lives --- nothing at all separate from Him or outside of Him.  Do we want this?  Can you imagine having God involved in every single area of life?  The greatest truth of Christianity is that God is no longer “out there,” but has come to live right in our bodies with us.  Wouldn’t it be great to have Him handling and managing every single detail?  What a relief it would be to just be a twig that stays connected to Him and let Him handle everything!

Priority

If He is going to be involved in every single detail of my life like that, what is He going to do?  The passage is clear that the vinedresser has one single priority in everything He does.  It is the reproduction of fruit.  You hear it so clearly especially in verse 2, and it is reiterated down in verse 8.  This is the priority of any vinedresser for his or her garden.

In the context of chapter 15, and the New Testament, it is obvious that the fruit is the fruit of the Spirit --- which is the reproduction of the personality and style of Jesus.  Again, chapter 14 (which was the clear set-up for chapter 15) was so clear on this.  Jesus was really emphasizing to the disciples that He was the prototype.  He was the example of what it looks like for the life and style of God to live in human flesh.  He was the demonstration of what they were going to be in the power of the Spirit.  Now, in chapter 15, He is elaborating on how this is going to take place in them and what it is going to look like.  This reproduction of the life of Jesus is the fruit of the Kingdom.

It is clear from this and from the rest of the New Testament that this is the single priority of God for me: to make me a reproduction of the life of Jesus in my day.  He is not out to make good people, or people who follow rules and know how to do religious activities.  He is out to reproduce the actual life of Jesus in the lives of regular people like us.  This is what the disciples and the early church became, as well as others throughout the centuries.  It is what Christianity is, and it is nothing less.

Everything He does in my life is for this purpose and this purpose only --- to bring about the fruit of the life of Christ in me.  The New Testament is chock full of passages that describe this as the priority of God.  My favorite may be Hebrews 12:5-11.  This is what He means by the “pruning” in John 15:2.

How serious is God about this single priority of reproducing the life of Jesus in us?  Verse 2 tells us that He not only prunes and refines more those who are becoming reproductions, but that He “takes away” every branch that does not bear fruit.  In the ancient day, the branches that did not bear fruit were cut off or severely pruned back in order to not take away energy from the main purpose: to reproduce the fruit.  Note that this is the priority for “every” branch (v.2) and none is exempt.

This seems harsh to us.  God is going to “take away” or remove the branches that do not bear fruit?  God has no use for anyone not becoming the reproduction of the style of Jesus?  But the passage presents it as a choice.  It is one of two options that depend upon our response to Him.  It is fascinating that the two words “takes away” and “prune” are very close in the original Greek.  In fact, “prune” is actually the same word as “take away” with a prefix attached to it.  The word prune actually has to do with a purifying, or impurities being “taken out.”  So, it is a choice between allowing Him to take the impurities out of me or me being taken out!

This may sound harsh, but it is the priority of the vinedresser to reproduce the fruit of His vineyard, and He will not be deterred from it.  Who am I, a twig, to tell Him how to run His vineyard?

Production

This certainly feels like pressure.  If I don’t produce, I’m out?

But the pressure is certainly not on me.  This is the beauty of the concept.  The emphasis in the grammar is on the action of the vinedresser.  In verse 2, the only main verbs are in connection with the vinedresser.  All other verbs are dependent verbs.  The twig is being acted upon by the gardener, who is the one doing the work.  The twig is attached to the vine.  The entire picture painted by the illustration is one which puts no pressure on the branch to perform.  The branch is always staying connected and is simply being acted upon.

This is the great freedom of Christianity.  It is not about acting, but about being acted upon.  It is not about handling, but about being handled.  It is not about sourcing my own life, but about being sourced.  It is not about me producing, but Him producing through me.

Jesus is clear about this back in chapter 14, especially in verses 10-11.  It was not Him producing, but the Father was producing through Him.  Jesus was not the source for His own living, but the Father was the very source that produced everything through Him.  The strong emphasis of the prototype concept in chapter 14 is that it is not going to be the disciples who reproduce this style – fruit – in themselves, but it is going to be produced in them by the Holy Spirit.  Now, that same strong emphasis is being continued in chapter 15.  There is no pressure on the branch to produce.  The source for the production comes not from the branch, but from the vine, and the branch is being acted upon by the vinedresser.

If the branch is to be sourced and acted upon, then when is the job of the branch?  Simply to respond and allow it to happen.  To stay connected and respond.  This is the great freedom and simplicity of Christianity.  There is no pressure to be or do anything.  There is no legalism and requirement.  There is only resting and responding to Him.  Saying YES to Him in every moment and being open for Him to move in my life.

I cannot miss.  As I respond, He is going to reproduce His style and fruit in my life.  It is something the Holy Spirit will do naturally without my effort.  There is no fear of being “taken away” with responding, because I am always open.  The only way I could ever be “taken away” is if I refuse to respond and allow Him to do His work in me.  So, as I respond, there is great rest, freedom and joy.  He does things through my life that I can hardly believe and I live in a sense of anticipation of what He is going to do next.  I only ever do one thing: just live in constant response to Him.

This a picture of what life in the vineyard – or Kingdom – looks like.   It is true now and forever.  Who would want to be a part of it?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What is one of the great pressures in my life?

2.       What has been a great pressure of Christianity for me?

3.       How has that made me feel and react?

4.       What if the only thing I had to do was to respond to Him moment by moment?

Clean Living

John 15:3

Emphasis on the Word

It would be difficult to overemphasize the importance of God’s spoken Word in John’s Gospel.  Throughout this book, there is an overwhelming emphasis on what He says, and that the words of Jesus are the words of God.  Jesus’ miracles of healing in John are done through speaking words (see 4:46-54; 5:1-9; 11:43-44).  Salvation takes place through the hearing of His word (5:24).  His word is so authoritative that it will stand forever as the determination of our eternal destiny, dependent upon our response to it (12:47-50).  The issue with those who oppose Him is always about their refusal to hear His word (8:43-44, 47).

The issue is not about accepting His words simply because they are correct information or sound teaching, but because His words are an extension of Him.  If I accept His words, I am accepting Him, and if I accept Him, I accept His word (and, by so doing, accept the Father as well).  This is true for most all of us in our living situations.  If I really trust someone and believe someone, I accept his or her words (family member, friend, employer/employee).  This is true at an even different level with Jesus.  There is a special connection between Him and His word.  This is why John begins his book by calling Jesus “The Word.”  If I want to know Him, I know Him in and through His word.  He is revealed to me out of His word.  He may reveal Himself in a variety of ways in this world (nature, etc.).  But His word is the primary way in which He reveals Himself and speaks to us.

The reason for embracing the “Word” is to embrace the Person of Jesus.  God is not after people with correct doctrine who know all the “spiritual” answers.  God created us to know Jesus and be filled with Him; to actually have Him living in us through His Holy Spirit.  That is Christianity.  It is being filled with and resourced by this Person, whom we know through His “Word.”  So, God is not interested in a Word that is external to us --- something we just learn and of which we have a mental knowledge.  God is desperate that the Word --- Jesus Himself --- would become internal to us, and that His Word would become a living Word that is doing something in us.

That gives us great urgency about His Word.  We are people of the Word.  We are constantly into the Word.  We don’t want to operate at all outside of the Word.  We center our attention and focus in the Word.  We hunger for the Word.  We come to it desperate for Him to speak to us.  We have withdrawal when we do not get it.  We are into seeking and hungering and being into the Word.  The Word is becoming alive to us.  Again, it is not a book that we worship.  It is not words on a page that we are into.  We are into it because we are into Him and He is revealing Himself through it!

Work of the Word

This significance of the Word makes sense of what Jesus says to the disciples in John 15:3.  He has been painting a picture for them of being a Christian.  They are to be the branches, He is the vine, and the Father is the gardener.  He has talked about being pruned so that they can bear more fruit.  He now says in verse 3: “You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you.”

Note the word that is translated “clean.”  It is the Greek word katharos.  It is an adjective that means for something to be “clean, unsoiled, or spotless.”  It has the idea of lifting or taking away impurities, and leads to the meaning of something be cleansed.  It is the word group from which we get our English words, “catharsis” and “catheter,” which have to do with purging something or removing toxins.  One significant thing about this word is its closeness to the word for “prune” in verse 2.  The word translated “prune” in verse 2 is the Greek word kathairo, while the word for “clean” in verse 3 is katharos.  This means that Jesus is talking about the same thing in verses 2 and 3 (imagine that!).  It is a further defining of what this pruning of the branch is all about.

The pruning of a branch is a simple concept.  The gardener is interested in the health and fruitfulness of the branch.  He is going to cut away and narrow the direction of the branch in the way will cause that branch to bear the best fruit.  This is what happens to the Christian.  God is now intimately involved in this person’s life.  He is interested in this Christian being fruitful --- which is the life of Jesus growing in him or her.  God is going to cut away things that are useless or a hindrance to that happening.  He is pruning or purifying or cleaning the individual.  It all means the same thing, doesn’t it?  God is removing everything else so that the life of Jesus, the Vine, can flow freely in the life of this Christian.

How does He do this process of cleansing and pruning?  He says in verse 3, “because of the word I have spoken to you.”  This is a causal phrase or a phrase of means.  In other words, it is His Word that brings about or causes the cleansing.  In fact, we are finding that the Word is really the only thing that brings about any change in life.  We can deal with the surface or the symptoms, but only He can bring about real transformation by going to the depth of the human heart through His Word.  Support groups, counseling, and self-help books are fine.  But we are finding there is one thing alone that really makes things right --- His Word.  What if it was the first question of every counseling session?  Where have you been in His Word and how has He been speaking to you?  Everything He wants to do in my life and every need He wants to meet will be through His Word.  It is true in the Gospel of John and true for me.

What would happen if I found the solution to every problem and need in my life in Him through the Word?  We are not talking about going to His Word like an encyclopedia to look up a remedy.  We are talking about desperately going after Him in the Word as my response to every situation.  My family?  The Word.  My job?  The Word.  My finances?  The Word.  My hurts and fears?  The Word.  What if my greatest need was not for God to fix the problem, but for Him to work in me?  This branch is in need of pruning!  How is He going to do that?  Through the Word.  Scripture is clear that this is how He does it (John 17:17; Eph. 5:25-26).  This is the solution to every single situation.

This is certainly not a friendly message to my culture --- not even my church culture.  What if I do not take this approach to life?  What if I handle my questions and issues another way?  The answer from verse 3 is that I will not be clean.  There is no question that I may be able to produce “clean living” on the outside for a while.  But there will be something desperately wrong going on inside, because there has not been any real cleansing.  The toxins are still there.  Consider Judas.  He had “clean living” on the external.  In fact, none of the rest of the disciples suspected him.  But something was desperately wrong inside.  This is why Jesus spoke of Judas in this way in John 13:10-11 --- Judas was not clean.  This is the only other place in John where katharos is used.  Judas had produced his own clean living on the outside, but the toxins were taking over from the inside.  He was ready to blow.  There are many examples of this in our time.  We look at some tragic act of immorality and wonder how it could happen to someone who had been living so cleanly.  In fact, the toxins had finally taken over on the inside and he or she blew up.

Open to the Word

How do I avoid that?  What do I need to do in order to not allow that to happen in my life?

Consider to whom Jesus is speaking.  It is His remaining eleven disciples (after Judas blew).  Look at how He speaks to them in verse 3.  First, He emphasized the “You.”  He is not talking to anyone else at this moment.  He is talking to them.  Secondly, he emphasizes the present in what He is saying to them.  He does this by using the present tense verb “are” and also the adverb “already.”  The word “already” may have several connotations to it.  One thing it may emphasize at times is what has happened before.  However, it also may emphasize the present.  One good example of this is in John 4:35.  While it may be an emphasis on what has led up to this point, it is also an emphasis on the present.  In John 15:3, Jesus is emphasizing to the disciples where they are right now based on what has been happening and how it has led them to this moment.

What has been happening?  He has been speaking to them.  “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”  What special thing did they do to avoid the pitfall of Judas?  How were they so superior to Judas to outsmart Satan in a way that he could not?  There was nothing special about them.  They were just the ones who remained with Jesus and allowed Him to keep speaking to them.  They were just open to Him and kept open to Him.  They may not have understood much and were overwhelmed, but they were open --- and continued in a state of openness.

This may be the most profound truth of Christianity.  It is not about what I do, or how well I can handle things, but just about being open to Him.  What if the only key to being a Christian was to be open to Him moment by moment in every situation and allow Him to work in my life?  How this would help me in my life!  I have always felt a pressure to have to be something, and always had the fear of failure at every stage of life.  But if this is just about being open to Him and responding, I know I can make it.

If I could just always be open and never close down, in spite of what is going on.  I can find all kinds of reasons to turn off and not seek.  I have an opinion or get offended or am afraid of something and can shut down.  But will I be open and allow the Word to do something in me?  Will I just take every situation and moment of my life and come to Him as the one solution and allow Him to speak to me through His Word?  Oh, to be clean and bear His fruit.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       In my previous understanding, what was my main reason for being in the Word?  What does the Word itself say is the real motivation?

2.       What “catharsis” approach (besides the Word) have I utilized in my life?  What were the results?

3.       What would it change in my life this week to allow God’s Word to be what speaks to and changes me?

4.       I renounce my tendency to shut down or not allow God to speak to me this week because of ____________________.

Staying Power

John 15:4-5

Staying

Jesus is utilizing the illustration of a vine and branches to paint a picture for the disciples of the life of Christianity to which He is calling them.  As He moves into verses 4 and 5, he is describing the role or function of the branches.  “What are we to do as Christians?”  “How can I be a Christian?”  These verses describe the answers to those questions.  Jesus strongly utilizes one word to describe the role and function of the Christian.  It is the Greek verb meno, and it is used four times in these two verses.  In fact it is used extensively by John as he writes this Gospel and recalls what Jesus shared with the disciples.  The word is used 11 times in this chapter alone, and 40 times altogether in the Gospel of John.  He also uses it 27 times in his epistles, which are shorter letters that he wrote and are included near the end of the New Testament.  We’ll need to take a deeper look at this word in another study, for now, let us look at its basic meaning.

The word is translated “abide” in the New King James Version of the Bible, and is translated “remain” in the New International Version.  The word “abide” especially is not a common word that we use in our everyday conversation.  “I abided at home today.”   “Remain” is a little more common, and does a little more to reflect what the word meant back in the day when Greek was the main language.  It has a lot to with staying with someone or something or in a place, and has definite connotations of commitment and focus.

The concept of commitment and staying with something are not the trend of our culture.  It is less and less common, for the tendency of the self-centered sinful nature is not to stay committed.  I got into band for a while in Junior High, but it was not what I wanted, so I quit.  Increasing numbers are “quitting” on their marriages, at various stages, because it is no longer what they want.  People chase after careers by leaving jobs to go for the bigger and the better.  Professional athletes rarely begin and finish their careers with the same team.  Even the church is not immune from this.  Pastors leave churches to accept “calls” to bigger ones.  Lay people leave churches where things are not just the way they want them and go find somewhere else to attend.  I even heard there was such a thing as “secret shoppers” who are hired to check out churches.

But consider what He is calling me to “stay” in.  He is saying, “Abide in me, and I in you.”  His emphasis is not primarily about committing to someone or something else, but committing to and staying “in Him.”  The model of this, of course, is to embrace Him as He is embracing me.  This is why we have talked about the concept of responding.  Jesus wants to be in me; will I let Him in?  Jesus wants to move in my life; will I allow Him?  Jesus wants to change me and make me right; will I say “Yes”?  Jesus is loving me; will I love Him back?  Jesus is always for me and committed to me; will I commit to Him?  This is not about commitment to a church or an organization or a religion.  It is commitment to a Person --- a real Person who is alive and moving and touching me.  Christianity is relationship with a real Person!

This is so freeing to me.  It is not a forced and strained commitment to my circumstances.  I fight and try harder to commit to my circumstances and it never works.  I try harder to be committed to my wife, to my job, to my location, or even to band.  It never works.  I only get more tired and frustrated.  But when I stop focusing on the circumstance and stay in Him, focus on Him, get to know Him, allow Him to move in my life, something happens.  He is able to do something in me to change me.  He can so change me that I don’t even want to leave my circumstance anymore.  It hasn’t changed, but I have.  And it didn’t happen because I committed to the circumstance.  It happened because I got into Him.

Something is happening!

This is an amazing truth, and it also really helps me to see and know that I am not just waiting around for things to happen, but that things are happening right now!  When I focus on my circumstances and try to be more committed to “staying” with them, I get easily discouraged.  Nothing seems to happen.  If they do change, it is only for a brief time and then they often go back to what they were.  It seems like things never get better, and I ride the up-and-down roller coaster of hoping things will improve, looking for any little signs of change.

With Jesus, this is not waiting for something to happen, because He is able to make something happen in my life right now!  He may not fix everything in me all at once, and I am going to grow even more, but being a Christian is certainly about having a real, dynamic and living experience with God day after day.

There is certainly the idea of waiting in the New Testament.  It talks much about looking forward and waiting for things to come.  However, this is mostly true about the 2nd Coming of Jesus and the end times.  We are certainly looking forward to all that will unfold as Jesus demonstrates His lordship over the whole world.  But this word, meno, is not used in those contexts.  This word, especially in John, is normally used in connection with the presence and nature of God.  It normally has to do with staying in God or God staying in us and making us like Him!

This is exactly what Jesus was talking about in John 14.  He is comforting the disciples about what is going to take place.  They have anxiety because of the changes that are coming, and He is going to be leaving them.  But it is all OK, and is a part of the plan.  He begins clarifying to them what has really been happening in Himself.  He has not been acting on His own or out of His own ability.  What they have actually been experiencing was a man filled with God and allowing God to act through Him.  There is no question that Jesus is God, but He is telling them that the Father has been living in Him.  He summarizes in verses 10-11.  The word that is translated “dwells” in verse 10 is the Greek word meno, the same word we are looking at in 15:4-5.  The Father has actually been “staying” in Jesus, and Jesus has been having a relationship of complete commitment and focus with the Father.  The circumstances in which Jesus was placed did not matter.  The Father lived in Him and empowered Him in the middle of it all so that Jesus did not to “leave” in order to seek after something elsewhere.  He found everything He needed moment by moment by this “abiding” in the Father and the Father in Him.

Jesus is letting the disciples know that the same thing is going to happen to them.  Just as He has been indwelt, so they will be also --- by Him.  This will happen by the Holy Spirit who “dwells with you and will be in you (v.17).”  The word “dwells” there is also the Greek word meno.  What He is saying is that everything that happened in Him is going to happen in them.  They will be able to live the same kind of life that He lives because His presence will be in them in the same way that the Father is in Him.  His life is just the “example,” model, or prototype of what theirs is going to be.  They are to just remain in Him and He in them --- a relationship of commitment and focus --- just staying with Him in the middle of everything and allowing Him to do this.  Imagine having that happen in the midst of anything, anywhere, anytime.

This is what happens when someone accepts Jesus Christ into his or her life. When I accept Jesus and say YES to Him, the Holy Spirit comes to live in me and begins His works in me.  This is the normal life of a Christian.  It is not about waiting for something to happen, but about something happening now!  It is living moment by moment in His presence --- staying in commitment and focus with Him, responding and saying YES to Him all the time.  As that happens, He is changing me and making me like Himself in the midst of anything and everything.  I am changing!  There is certainly more change ahead and much more to come, but there is something happening now!

His Power

We must know by now that this kind of change and power in our lives is not something we can do.  We have all made resolutions and failed.  We have all tried our hardest to be committed and to be different, and ended up the same.  We have all tried to make our circumstances better, and just got on the roller coaster.  The real thing like this is beyond us.

Jesus emphasizes that to the disciples.  He tells them once in each verse.  In verse four, He says, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself.”  The word “cannot” is a translation of two words in the Greek.  One is the word for negative, or “not.”  The other is the word for “power” or “able.”  It is the Greek word dunamai, from which we get the English dynamite.  So, together they say “no power,” or “you don’t have power,” or “you are not able.”  There is no power in us to bear fruit or do anything apart from Him.

He restates this even more strongly in verse five.  He says, “for without Me, you can do nothing.”  It is not possible to see in the English, but he is using a double negative.  I was always taught that we can’t do that in English, but it is normal in Greek and is used for emphasis.  He again uses the two words for “you don’t have power” just like in verse 4.  But, for additional emphasis, he adds the word “nothing” at the end.  The word “nothing” means “not one single thing.”  So, the emphasis in the Greek is “you are not able to do nothing,” or “you can’t do one single thing.”

Get the emphasis?  This is about what only He can do --- not at all what we can do.  This is totally about His power, His ability, what He can do as He lives in me and I just remain in Him.

Who needs that kind of power in his or her life today? Who aches to have the Almighty God really at work in his life?  Who longs to see something happen that can only be explained by the fact that God did it?  We need that kind of moving in our day and in us.

Would it be worth staying in Him, committed and focused, through anything to see that happen?  It may not be a change of the circumstances.  No more roller coaster.  But it would involve seeing God move in my life.  Would it be worth it to stay and see His power?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What is a circumstance in which I have been tempted to “leave”?

2.       What have I done to try to make it better out of my own ability and effort?

3.       What have been the results?

4.       What would it mean today to simply “stay” in Jesus in the midst of it and allow Him to work in me?

Interface

John 15:4-5

Abiding Presence

Jesus is painting a picture for His disciples of what it is to be a Christian.  In fact, this is what the entire New Testament does.  It does not tell us what to do in order to be one; it describes what one is and invites us to that by receiving Him into our lives.  As He paints this picture, using the illustration of the vine and the branches, He is using a key word in verses 4 and 5.  It is the word “abide” or “remain.”  These translations may not convey the weight of what the original Greek word communicates.  It is the Greek word, meno, and it communicates the idea of staying with a commit-ment in a focused relationship.

The word is used a lot in John’s writings.  It is used 40 times in the Gospel of John, and 11 times in chapter 15 alone.  He uses it another 27 times in the letters of 1, 2, and 3 John at the end of the New Testament.  If you take all those times it is used, and you compile them, there are some important common ideas that come up of what it means and, therefore, what is a Christian.

One strong idea this word communicates in John’s writings is the idea of God’s presence.  This is what Jesus is pointing to when He uses the word here in verses 4 and 5 of chapter 15.  It is the idea of “Abide in Me and I in you,” and it is used throughout verses 4 and 5, as well as the entire section.  This is the same kind of emphasis that is being given in other places, such as 1 John 4:15.

There are two strong emphases in this for what it means to be a Christian.  One is that being a Christian is a real relationship with a real Person.  He is saying to abide in HIM and HE in us.  Remember that the word meno has to do with a committed, focused relationship.  He is not inviting us to a commitment and focus to an idea or to a set of beliefs.  He is not asking us to be committed to a memory or a figment of our imagination.  Christianity is not something we make up, or the power of positive thinking.  There is a concreteness to the illustration.  A branch does not have to conjure up the presence of the vine.  The vine is concrete and real to the branch day in and day out.  Jesus is not something we hope for or someone we may see someday.  He is saying that He wants to be a concrete reality of our existence day in and day out.  He is a real person with whom we can have real relationship, just as real as the relationships we may experience with other people.

Secondly, He strongly indicates that this relationship will be one of extreme closeness.  In fact, it is close because He is not just going to be with them, He is going to be “in” them.  The abiding language always goes with the preposition “in.”  His presence is not just going to be around them or close by, it is going to be in them. This is the central fact of Christianity.  God wants to come and live actually in us, not in some imaginary way.  A Christian is a person who has invited God to come and live in his or her body with them.  My body becomes the actual dwelling place of Jesus.  Again this is the concreteness of the illustration.  A vine and branch are physically connected and flowing into one another.  Jesus gets very bold with this abiding language in John 6:56.  Eating His flesh and drinking His blood is strong language to indicate the indwelling.  What we eat actually goes into us and we become it.  This is what we represent when we take communion.  Jesus is in us!

I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t need an imaginary God or someone I have to try hard with whom to connect.  I don’t need a God who is “out there” somewhere.  In the midst of my struggles and my needs and my daily existence, I need a real Person who is really in me --- right here at all times.  He needs to be in my hand and in my mind and in my eyes.

Abiding Spirit

If Jesus is actually to live in me in this way, it makes sense to ask how that is possible since the Scripture clearly says that He is at the right hand of the Father even at this moment.  He is with the Father, and is awaiting the time when He will come again at the end of time.  How is it possible, then, for Him to be “in” us?

It is important in this to understand that God is made up of three individual Persons who function together as one.  God is not one person functioning three ways, but three persons functioning as one because of a common focus and purpose.  This is the ideal for marriage, for example.  We call those three persons, Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit.  They function so closely and are so connected, that if you are dealing with one you are actually dealing with all three.

Consider the role of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit and Jesus are extremely close.  In fact, the Holy Spirit is actually the Spirit of Jesus.  When you get around the Holy Spirit, or when He gets around you, Jesus is there because it is His Spirit that is present.  Look at what the Apostle Paul does in Romans 8:9-11.  He uses “Spirit of God,” “Spirit of Christ,” “Christ,” and “Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead,” all interchangeably.  He could have just said God, but Paul is naming all three persons of the Trinity and saying that they are so close it is like they interchangeable.  So, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus, and when the Holy Spirit is in us, then it is like having Jesus in us.

This is what John explains in the meno (abide) concept in his writings.  Remember that we are talking about what it means to be a Christian.  It is a real relationship with the real Person of Jesus, and it is actually having Him living in my real body with me.  John is explaining that this is possible because it is His Spirit that is coming to live in me.  Jesus told the disciples that this would be what would happen (John 14:16-18).  Having the Holy Spirit would be like having Him.  John reiterates this in his later letters (1 John 3:24; 4:13).

So, what happens when a person becomes a Christian?  The Spirit of Jesus has been speaking to his or her heart.  This individual finally responds to this initiative of God and says YES to Jesus and receives Him into his or her life.  At that moment, the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside the body of that individual and affects his or her life.  He has already been forgiven and set free from the past, but now the power of God begins to be at work on a constant basis and relationship begins to develop and grow as this Person is now in this individual at all times.  Never alone again.  Never again on his own to change his life.  Never without power over temptation.  The Person is in them at all times, and is moving.

Abiding Fruit

What is the result of this real Presence of God within a person?  It is back to the illustration in John 15:4-5.  Any branch that abides in the vine and the vine in the branch will bear much fruit.  Fruit is always the product or result of the abiding.  What kind of fruit are we talking about?  If it is the Spirit of Jesus that is abiding in an individual, then the obvious fruit is going to be a reproduction of what Jesus is like --- it is His style and character.  In the meno concept, there always seems to be one word that is attached to this style: love.  Following the illustration of the vine and the branches, see what Jesus says in 15:9-10.  This same idea is emphasized in 1 John 4:7-8, 12, 16.  This is who and what He is, so it is natural that it is going to show up wherever He is.

While we will talk more about this in the next study, the astounding thing about being a Christian is that a person does not need to change himself or try to be better, or even to imitate Jesus.  Since the Spirit of Jesus is actually in the physical body and life of this individual, and since He is active and at work in him, there is going to be a demonstration of Jesus through the life of that person without effort and strain on the part of the individual.  This is the beauty of the illustration.  A branch naturally bears the fruit of the vine.  It is automatic, because of the physical reality of the situation.  The life sustenance of the vine is really flowing into and creating and sourcing the branch.  The branch really is not anything of itself.  It is totally dependent and is really just the “front” for the vine.  The illustration points this out so clearly in verses 4 and 5.  Branches cannot bear fruit apart from the vine, and vines do not bear fruit except through branches.

I may be left asking, “What is my part in all this?”  “How does this all really work?”  If He is really in me, and if He is the one really producing the “fruit,” then what do I do?  Is it Him doing it or me?  Is He to be involved in every activity, or just some?  Does He drive my car, or is that me?  Is it Him brushing my teeth, or is that me?  Does He type the letter or me?  Is it Him speaking or me?

I probably have no business entering into the following kind of illustration.  I am not really the technical person in our family, and sometimes have a limited understanding.  The illustration may not even work or adequately convey the truth.  But I have been thinking of the concept of interfacing.  From my limited understanding, an interface is something of a merging of two systems into one.  They retain their identity as distinct systems, but they have become so merged and “interfaced” that they function as one.  It is something of what we described with the Trinity.  Three distinct Persons are interfacing and acting as one, with one purpose, desire, and goal.  They are three individuals who are not self-driven.

Could I have that with Jesus?  Could I be so filled with Him that our systems begin to merge?  Even better than that, could I become so filled with Him that He fills my every system and His system becomes my system, as a vine and a branch?  Could I yield to His moving in my system on a moment by moment basis?  I am still me, but I am less and less the me I used to be; I am becoming a new me --- the one I was created to be.  Wouldn’t it be something to have such a closeness with Him that He is actually involved in every activity of my life?  I am just saying YES to His every prompting, and want to talk with Him and be aware of Him in every activity of my life.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I crave and need that kind of God in my life.  I need a God who is in me where I live.  And I desperately want to be what I need to be, and hunger for Him to be in me so that He can make that happen.  Jesus, I invite your involvement and prompting in the middle of the activity of this moment.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Discuss briefly how the presence of the Holy Spirit is the presence of Christ in me.

2.       What is an obstacle for me in realizing the “Christ in me” concept of Christianity?

3.       What would be a good reminder for me on a daily basis to let me know again that Jesus is in me and that I can rely on Him?  Name a few regular activities which could be my memory-prompters.

4.       Have prayer for each member of the group regarding those particular areas and needs.

Fruit Production

John 15:4-5

Certainty of the Fruit

As we continue looking at Jesus’ illustration of Christianity in the vine and the branches, one key element is the concept of fruit production.  As we look at the concept of fruit production and what He is saying about Christianity, there are a few things that are clear.

One thing that is clear is that fruit bearing is a fact of the vineyard.  It is assumed that branches bear fruit, because that is part of the natural function of the vineyard.  There is no intention to argue the point of it, because it is just the way it is.  In fact, it is so natural and expected that you do not bother with branches that do not bear fruit --- for they only drain the energy and focus of the vineyard from what really matters.  What is it that matters to the vinedresser?  Obviously it is the reproduction of fruit.  No one would argue with the vinedresser that he is off-focus or misdirected.  We do not question this priority at all, since it is the natural function of a vineyard.  It would only be strange to us if this was not the purpose of the vinedresser ---- that would be off-focus or out of tune.

Remember that this is an illustration of what it is to be a Christian.  Jesus is the vine, we are the branches.  We have the same kind of relationship with Jesus that the branch has with the vine.  We are to have one single focus of our lives --- to abide in Him and He in us.  It is a lasting and committed relationship of complete focus in which He is actually living in us.  What is the result of this to be?  Fruit.  The priority of the Father is the reproduction of the life of Jesus in us.  What is happening in Him is to happen in us.

Just as fruit is a natural certainty in the vineyard, something evident is a natural certainty in the life of a Christian.  It is not something we can miss.  There is no way that I can be in Him and He in me and it not make a difference in my life.  Life cannot just continue as it has been before He entered into me.  Something is going to change.  There is going to be something evident in my life.  There is something about the Christian.  There is a real dynamic life about him or her ---- something that is not there for the person not inhabited by Christ.  There is something unquestionably supernatural going on in his or her life.  This is the priority of God for us --- to make us different, and to continue to make us alive and different.  This is something that has come to light in the book of Corinthians.  Christianity is not something that just happens in my spiritual life.  It has to show up in my body and my physical life --- because my physical is tied to and will manifest my spiritual.

This is not strange or off-focus.  It is only strange and off-focus if we do not have this.  Consider how strange we have become.  We think it unique or special when God is really on the move in a person’s life and there is a fire for God evident.  This was the norm in the book of Acts, and it was unique when that was not happening!  In fact, if you did not have that happening, you dropped dead.

Quantity of the Fruit

It is interesting that not only is fruit production a fact, but Jesus also emphasizes the quantity of the fruit.  Note that He says in verse 5, “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit.”  This idea seems so significant that He repeats the emphasis in verse 8.  “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”  It is an emphasis again on the fact of the fruit (this is the way it will be for disciples), but it is also and emphasis on the volume of the fruit.

As we look at what is meant by fruit, one perspective is to see that fruit has to do with the reproduction of Jesus’ style in us.  It is what He has been emphasizing to them all throughout this time with them in the hours leading up to His arrest (washing feet, etc.).  In fact, immediately after these first eight verses and illustration of the vine and the branches, He comes into a section emphasizing love as the style of the disciples because this is His style.  Verse 12 says “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

Thus, bearing fruit certainly has to do with having His style and character be reproduced in our lives.  We are like Him not because we imitate Him, but because He (the vine) is literally flowing His life through us (the branches).  This is the emphasis of the New Testament.  Every person who is full of the Spirit and walking in the Spirit is going to have evident of the fruits of the Spirit.  It is not forced, but natural.  It is not imitation or behavior that we try; it is Him at work in us.

While this is certainly a crucial concept of fruit production --- that we will bear evidence of His style in our lives ---- there seems to be a further emphasis on quantity.  It is difficult to speak about.  But the word which is translated “much” is the Greek word polus, from which we get the English prefix “poly.”  While this word sometimes deals with degree and size, it often has to do with number.  It is talking about the quantity of fruit.  This is true for the vineyard.  While the vinedresser takes great care to insure the quality of the fruit, he is also concerned that there is a quantity to the fruit.  He is looking for a harvest.

This may seem like a conflict.  Which is really important to God?  It is interest in quality of Christians or quantity of Christians?  The answer is both.  In fact, does not the quality of Christians directly affect the quantity of Christians?  If someone is really living in the style of Jesus, being a reproduction of His life, having Him spill out of him or her in the style of Jesus, is this not bound to affect someone?  Is it not true that someone is going to get drawn to Him sometime or another if this keeps up?  How can it not begin to affect the people around?  Wouldn’t it be something if my life affected one or two or three people significantly over the course of my lifetime and disciples were reproduced through me?  Wouldn’t it be something I left behind something of eternal significance after I am gone --- the life of Jesus in a few people that could them do the same in others who could do the same in others?

This was certainly true in the book of Acts and in the early church.  Here was a group of people that were so full of Him and living in His power that a world was shaken.  The fruit of His style in them led to the fruit of others being won to Him.  If you look up this word polus in the book of Acts, you see it used numerous times.  Acts 2:43-47; 4:4; 5:12-14; 6:7; 8:7; 9:43; 11:21; 13:43; 17:12; 18:8; 19:18.

Do we feel any conviction in that?  Wouldn’t it be absurd, in light of this, to be urgent about anything but this?  Do we have a burn in our bones for this to happen in our day?  Could we just not stand to go on in status quo religion which never sees a world won to Christ?

The Producer of the Fruit

This probably could begin to feel like pressure on us.  How am I ever going to do that?  How are we ever going to shake our world like that?

But one more thing that is extremely clear in the illustration is that we are not expected to make it happen.  We are just the branches.  We only have one focus and priority: abiding in Him and Him in us.  Producing the fruit is His function, and He will do it through us.  Note the emphasis of both verse 4 and verse 5.  Verse 4 emphasizes that “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”  Verse 5 also emphasizes that “without Me you can do nothing.”

The word “do” in verse 5 is very important.  It is the Greek word poieo.  It is a very descriptive verb that describes artistic activity.  It is the picture of an artist who is possessed by something happening within.  He or she allows what is happening within to be expressed outwardly in the form of the artwork.  Thus, artwork is not just something that he or she does, but what he or she is.  It is creative activity.

This word is used to describe the activity of God in Genesis 1:1.  It is the Greek word in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) that is used for “created.”  It describes God as the artist.  He is the one the expressed the very insides of who He is through His creation.  God is the artist, the Creator.  And He is the only One who has the ability to actually create anything.  We were not made to create or to make anything.  We were only made to be the avenues for His creative activity.  This is the function of the branch: just be the avenue for the creative power of the vine.

There is tremendous pressure in having to create or make something.  We were not made to.  We were made to relax in Him and allow Him to create.  He is able to create His style in us.  He is able to create the fruit of drawing others to Himself through us.  If we focus on the creation of the fruit ourselves, we become discouraged.  We are to just abide.

The Conflict of the Fruit

This still seems to leave me with something of a conflict.  I know that my job and sole function is to abide in Him.  But He says that there is certainty of fruit for anyone who does that, and that it will be “much.”  I seem to be caught somehow in the middle of something.  I know I am supposed to focus on Him alone and just abide in Him.  But I keep looking for the fruit as evidence that I am really doing that, which seems to get me focused on the fruit.  How do I keep from doing that?  I feel a conflict --- like I am caught in the middle.  What is the answer?

There is a key to the resolving of my conflict in what Jesus says.  Aren’t we glad that Jesus is able to bring truth and resolution to my heart?  How I need that!  The key phrase in what He says in verse 5 is “bears much fruit.”  This is translated from three Greek words.  When we search John’s Gospel, we find that the exact same phrase --- made up of the same three Greek words --- is used back in chapter 12.  It is in verses 23-25.  He is speaking of His death.  As He is speaking of His death, He uses the illustration of fruit, or “grain,” bearing from the wheat plant.  If a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it “produces much grain.”  This is the exact same phrase as in 15:5, “bears much fruit.”  This would have surely come to the mind of the disciples as He spoke it.

Could it be that the key to fruit bearing and whole process is death?  The only way that this process is going to happen in my life is if I come to death to myself.  It is a surrender of everything that I can do and all my ability and especially of my pride.  And this is not a one-time death-to-self-centeredness experience.  It is a continual surrender of the left-over patterns in my life.  It is a daily dying and coming to nothing so that I have one focus and passion: Him.

It is a terrible thing to be a fruit addict.  I have been addicted to results for my affirmation.  It has been a pattern of life.  You look to achievement or results to measure up and be approved.  There is such pressure.  It is a miserable existence being an addict.  But He is able to deliver from fruit addition just as powerfully as any other addiction.  How does this deliverance take place?  By coming to death.

The African monkey trap is an interesting phenomenon.  They find a hole in a tree that is just big enough for a monkey’s hand to fit through.  They place a piece of fruit or something appealing in the hole.  When the monkey reaches in and grabs the fruit, he is unable to remove his hand, because it is too big when it is clenched around the fruit.  He is trapped as long as he holds onto the fruit.  There is only one way for the monkey to be free.  He must let go of the fruit.  Do I have any monkey traps in my life?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What is “normal” Christianity in my experience?  How does this compare or differ from the description of the New Testament?

2.       What is something that has happened in me in the recent past that can only be the product of God?

3.       Is there anyone in whom I purposefully and extensively investing my life?

4.       Name a “monkey trap” in my life

Indisposable

John 15:6

The Objectivity of the Vineyard

Jesus has come to a single emphasis in these times with the disciples.  He does not emphasis many things, but one single idea.  It has been developing in the previous chapters, has crystallized in chapter 14, and has now come to full expression in chapter 15.  It is the concept of “abiding” or “remaining” in Him.  We have learned that the idea of “remaining” is the concept of a committed, focused relationship.  It is being consumed with Him and in intimate relationship with Him.  It is reciprocal.  “Remain in Me, and I in you.”  Be consumed in intimate relationship with Him in the same way that He is wrapped up in me.  This is where we have come to idea of responding.  He is coming to me, wanting to live in me and become the complete resource for all of my life in everything.  Will I allow Him to live in my body and be open to Him at every moment?  Will I allow Him to move in me on a continuous basis until my whole life is the movement of God?

This is the single thing to which He is calling the disciples.  If they will do this, they will bear the fruit of the kingdom, for He will be doing it through them.  Without this, they have no chance at bearing any fruit.  They are not responsible to produce the fruit themselves or try to have it.  They are responsible to live in constant abiding and response to Him in their lives.  Jesus will do through them that of which they are not capable in the same way the Father has done all through Him (14:10).

One question to this emphasis might be, “What happens to those who choose not to live in this kind of response to Him?”  It has already been hinted at in verse 2.  Every branch that does not bear fruit is “taken away.”  From the concept, we know that the branch which is taken away is the one that did not abide.  Again, the priority of the vinedresser is the bearing of fruit, and the energy and focus of the vineyard are only gong to be channeled into the reproduction of fruit.  The vinedresser will not be deterred from the priority of the vineyard.  Thus, any branch not bearing fruit is “taken away.”

This is now further elaborated in verse 6.  It is important to remember that this is an illustration of the kingdom.  As the vine and branches are functioning in the vineyard and as they relate to one another, so Jesus and His disciples (us) are to relate to one another.

It is important first to note that the desire of Jesus is that everyone would remain in Him, or that everyone would be saved.  When He says, “If anyone does not abide in Me,” the verb “abide” is in the subjunctive mood.  The subjunctive mood is unique.  It does not state something as a fact, as does the indicative mood.  The subjunctive normally states something that is a possibility.  It is not to happen for certain, but it is possible that it might occur.  Jesus is not saying that there for certain will be those that will not remain in Him.  He is talking about the possibility of it and what the consequences of that would be.  This is at the heart of the gospel message.  The desire of God is that all be saved.  His grace is reaching to every person.  John emphasizes this throughout his gospel with the “whoever” language.  WHOEVER believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.  This concept of the grace of God to and for everyone is repeated throughout the New Testament.  “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11).  “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

God has not singled out some that He likes and whom He would like save, while singling out others whom He does not want.  He has provided His grace in the life of each person, drawing him or her to Himself, desiring that each would respond to Him and be saved.  We call this prevenient grace, and the Word is telling us that this grace is already at work in the life of every person.  You cannot go anywhere or find any one in whose life the grace of God has not already been at work.  In fact, this helps us in evangelism, for we know that He has already been at work and our involvement is the continuation of what He is doing.

While we understand the universal grace of God, we also understand that Christianity is not “universalism” or “unitarianism.”  This is a cultic brand of religion which teaches that everyone is saved regardless of what he or she believes or does.  It is all-encompassing and inclusive.  Everyone is in.

This is not the gospel.  The grace of God does go to everyone and everyone is forgiven and is in!  This is the thrill of evangelism --- to let people know that they are loved and have been included regardless of what they have done.  However, Jesus is also indicating here that there is a necessary response that allows for relationship with God.  For, Christianity is not merely a transaction.  It is a relationship with a real Person.  Salvation is not a card I carry in my wallet.  Salvation is in Jesus Himself.  “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life” (1 John 5:12).

It is the significance of this response to Him which He is describing in verse 6.  As we mentioned earlier, God is not singling out anyone.  We saw in the subjunctive case that it is not His desire that anyone would “not abide.”  His desire is that all would abide.  He is open to all; it is not subjective, but objective.  Subjective would indicate that God is deciding who is in or out.  Objective means that God is for all to be in, and something or someone else is deciding who is in or out.  The objective nature of this issue is further indicated in the use of the indefinite pronoun “anyone.”  Again, it is not pinpointing anyone in particular.  It is just saying that this is what applies for everyone, and this is what will be true for “anyone” who does not abide.

Therefore, what Jesus has done is to take the whole matter of who is “in” or “out” and made it an objective issue.  The Father is not deciding.  He is not deciding Himself.  The decision is going to be made some other way.  By whom?  He speaks of the same kind of thing at the end of chapter 12.  In verses 47 and 48 we find that His word has been established, and that His word will be what judges.  It will be the response to the Word that determines who is in and who is out.  Again, it is not Jesus making the decision, but instead setting it up as an objective issue:  each one will determine his or her own course by how he or she responds.  This is what is being said here in verse 6 as well.  God has set up an objective system by which He Himself does not determine who is in or out.  It is in the hands of each individual.  What is the determining factor?  Abiding.

Thus, God has set up eternity in this way.  The sole determining factor of who is in or out of the kingdom is how he or she responds to Jesus in relationship.  It is important to note that this is not a one-time response.  The grammar of “abiding” is in the present tense, which indicates a ongoing response to Jesus.  This is relationship, because salvation is in Him.  No one is out because of a momentary lack of response, but only because of an ongoing refusal to respond and be open.  Likewise, it is the ongoing response and attitude of openness and relationship with Him in which salvation lies.  This is all about attitude and the decisions of that attitude.

Response is the sole determining factor of who is in or out, and no one is exempt from this.  Verse 6 is clear that “anyone” who does not abide is “thrown out” as a branch, withered, gathered up, thrown into the fire and burned.  Some have thought that this imagery paints the picture of hell.  While that may be so in some degree of truth, it is really just a fact of the vineyard.  What are you going to do with a branch that is just taking up space and energy, and is not producing fruit?  You throw it away.  The language is literally that of throwing out something that is trash.  There is nothing else to do with a branch that is not producing fruit and fulfilling its function.  It is not redeemable in this state.  What do you do with a person who will not respond and bear the fruit of Christ in his or her life?  He or she cannot be in the kingdom.  Because God said “NO”?  No, because response is the sole determination of who is in or out.

This places an incredible amount of importance on the idea of responding.  It is not light, optional, or casual.  Seeking Him and responding to Him is of the utmost importance in life.  It is not for the “super” Christian.  It is for any Christian.  In fact, you cannot be a Christian without a radical and passionate seeking and responding to Jesus in your life.  Without this, I am just as disposable as a branch that is not bearing fruit.  The only thing you can use such branches for is fuel.  They are good for nothing else.

Perhaps I have thought that I am not so disposable.  I may have thought that I am actually indispensable, regardless of my level of response.  Of course, this is the heart of the self-centered nature that believes that I am something in and of myself.  Perhaps some of the following were reasons I thought I might be “indisposable.”

Performance

Jesus demonstrates a striking parable in Matthew 21:18-19.  He comes upon a fig tree which has no fruit on it, and had “nothing but leaves.”  He is so upset by this that He decrees that this tree will never bear fruit again, and it immediately withered away.  This is much of the same language and concept as John chapter 15.  Again, the priority of God is the bearing of fruit.  When there is not the bearing of fruit, the tree is not being what it was designed to be.  It is not worth anything.  How often have I dismissed the absence of fruit in my own life?

One great significance of this parable is that it parallels the incident earlier in the chapter.  Jesus has come into the temple and found the circus of the marketplace in the temple itself.  It is the buying and selling system that has been set up by the Jews to make take advantage of the crowds and make money during the time of a feast.  They are like the fig tree.  They have all the “show” of religion (leaves), but not the fruit of God’s style and mission about them.  They know how to perform and do all the ministry and keep the church running, but do not have any reality of God moving among them and reaching their world.

They must have thought it did not matter.  How else could you go on week after week in this way?  They must have thought they were exempt from God’s design for the kingdom and that they were “indisposable” because of their performance. After all, they were doing all the things their tradition required and they were keeping the church running.  They were busy in church and ministry.  They must have been indisposable because of this.

How often have I thought I was indisposable to God because of what I do?  How arrogant have I been to think that I am OK because I do the things of the church?  Have I gone week after week with no reality or moving of God, no responding in my life, and justified it because I am working in the church?  They say of me, “He is a good worker.”  Does He have the reality of God in his life?  No, but he is a good worker.  He is indisposable.

Jesus has set up one sole determining factor deciding who is in and who is out.  It is a passionate seeking and responding to Him.

Personality

John the Baptist came preaching in Matthew chapter 3.  He is preaching repentance, which is not only an act but an attitude.  It is the attitude which says, “God has something new to say to me and I need to think a new thought.”  Do I have that?  John is bringing this message right to the Jewish leaders, and pointedly says to them in verse 9, “And do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our Father.’”  They apparently thought that their identity mattered --- who they knew or to whom they were related or their race.  It was personality that mattered to them.  They were living in complete rebellion and self-centeredness, even though it was in a religious costume.  How deceiving is self-centeredness dressed up like religion!  They had no life of God flowing through them.  They had no attitude of humility, brokenness and repentance.  They had no desire to really seek and respond.  But they must have thought it was OK.  They went week after week living in this deadness of religion, but they must have thought they were exempt from the design of God’ kingdom.  They thought they were indisposable because of their personality.  After all, they have been there for years, everyone knows them and thinks they are just great people.

We call this country club church.  It is a group of nice people that comes to church as their meeting place each week. They really have nothing different going on inside of them than anyone else.  They just happen to have a few different habits and meet here.  We all know each other and like each other and the main goal is to just keep meeting together and have a nice time.  Where did we learn that?  We learned it throughout our lives in the church.  We think that if we “keep people in church” we are doing well.  We praise our people for just showing up.  We never expect anything or call anyone to a higher level.  We learn that just being here is what matters.  We end up being a nice bunch of people who have nothing really different going on inside.

How often have I thought I am indisposable to God because of just who I am?  Everyone knows me, likes me, and thinks I am a good guy.  I have become part of the accepted crowd.  I learned all the right things to say and do.  I know how to be one of us.  I must be OK.

Jesus has set up one sole determining factor deciding who is in and who is out.  It is a passionate seeking and responding to Him.

Power

There is one more thing I might have used to exempt myself from the design of God--- a reason I thought I might be indisposable.  There is an interesting dynamic in verse 6.  It has to do with active and passive verbs.  An active verb is when the subject is doing the acting.  A passive verb is when the subject is having something done to it.  When Jesus says, “If anyone does not abide in me,” the verb “abide” is in the active voice.  This is what I do.  It is my decision whether or not to respond to Jesus at any given moment.  No one can make that decision for me, and no one can make me do it.  It is my choice, my will, my decision.  It is an active verb.

However, after this, the verbs turn to passive.  “He is cast out and withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned.”  After the initial active verb in which something is my choice, everything after this indicates that I am being acted upon.  Of course, this is at the heart of Christianity.  We are always being acted upon.  But the importance here is that if I choose not to respond (my choice), I have no choice in what happens to me after that.  To choose not to respond is to choose to be out and I have no say in it.  I have no power to change the course of the divine design.  It is objective.  Anyone who does not respond does not have a choice in being “cast out.”  My choice is in the responding.  I cannot change the plan.

Have you ever observed a child throwing a tantrum, pouting, or rebelling?  The goal is that he or she would be able to change the mind and direction of the parent.  The child may have learned that if you throw a tantrum or misbehave in just the right way at just the right time, it works.  Ever observed an adult acting in such a way?  We have seen plenty of it in the church.  I threaten and use my power to get my way.

Have I ever had that kind of attitude with God?  Have I ever pouted or thrown a tantrum with Him?  I am an adult, and it may not have looked like when I was a child.  But maybe the attitude was not right inside.  I was saying to God that I am not happy about something and I am going to be mad until it gets fixed, or at least until it gets better.  I somehow think that I have power to influence Him.  I am trying to carve Him into a God to fit my image.  I am making Him into an idol.  Maybe I thought I was exempt from the design of God’s kingdom.  Maybe I thought that I am indisposable because He knows He will lose out somehow if I am not happy --- because of my power.  But the truth is that I really don’t have any power.  I can rant and rave and be mad, but if I am not living in intimacy and response with Him, I am not in.  Would I give up the right to ever be mad and pout again, against God or anyone else?  Because when I am being mad at someone else or exerting my power, am I not really doing it to God?  Would I give up the right to do anything else at any time except just go after Him and respond to Him with great passion?

Jesus has set up one sole determining factor deciding who is in and who is out.  It is a passionate seeking and responding to Him.

Would I make the conscious decision in this moment that I will do nothing except earnestly respond to Him with all of me?  There is no time to be casual about it.  I will be casual about other things, but not about this.  It is the sole determining factor of being in with Him, and I am not going to miss.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       How have I leaned on my performance as making me indisposable in the kingdom?  What kind of performance have I pulled off?

2.       How have I leaned on my personality as making me indisposable in the kingdom?  Have I been a country club Christian in any way?

3.       How have I leaned on my power as making me indisposable in the kingdom?  Any pouting, tantrums or being mad; trying to carve God or anyone else?

4.       Where does seeking and responding need to intensify in my life?

Fruit Dreams

John 15:7

Intimacy of the Dream

Everything about the illustration of the vine and the branches is to remind the disciples of one single focus of Christianity.  Just as the branch has one single design and purpose, so we were designed for one function and purpose.  Everything outside of that purpose leads to fruitlessness and spiritual death.  The one single purpose for which we were all created was relationship with Him.  In the terms of this passage, Jesus has been calling it abiding.  We have discovered that abiding is the idea of a committed, focused relationship.  Verses 4 and 5 have given the picture and emphasis of abiding.  Verse 6 gave the consequences for not abiding.  Verse 7, now, in contrast to verse 6, is giving further consequences for those who do abide, increasing the emphasis upon the idea.

Jesus sets up the statement of verse 7 very similar to the structure of verse 6.  It is something of a parallel, but in contrast.  “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you.”  It is, as was verse 6, a conditional statement.  Both uses of the word “abide” in this phrase are in the subjunctive mood.  The subjunctive mood does not express something that is a fact, but only a possibility.  Jesus is going to explain what will happen for those who choose to respond.  Again, no one can force me into this, nor can anyone keep me from it.  The abiding to which Jesus is inviting me is a choice that I alone make for myself.  Each one chooses to respond or not.

The subjunctive mood also gives a strong indication of the will of the one speaking.  While it states something that is a possibility, it is stating something that the speaker really desires to see happen.  If there is one thing Jesus is longing for, it is that these disciples would abide and allow Him to abide in them.  God is not casual about this abiding business.  He made us, and has a stake in us.  He is not passively sitting in the sky, oblivious to what is happening in my life. He is intricately involved in my life to draw me to Himself.  He is not content for me to just exist.  God burns in His heart with a love for me, and desperately wants to abide in me and I in Him.

He is not interested in a casual relationship with me.  God is not counting numbers and just needs more bodies to make His total look better.  It is intimacy He is after.  Note the phrase.  It is again the idea of abiding in Him.  He desires all of me --- my total involvement in the relationship with Him.  What marriage in our world thrives with a partial involvement?  In like manner, show us a thriving and growing Christian who is only partially involved with God.  Note that involvement in the church does not necessarily equal involvement with God.  This is about intimate, close, indwelt, resourced relationship with Him, in which I have nothing apart from Him.

That last part of the phrase expresses this.  Jesus says that His desire is that “My words abide in you.”  There are a few different Greek words that may be translated “word.”  This particular one, rama (long “a” sound on first “a”), emphasizes actual words spoken by a living person.  This is not an emphasis on concept or ideas, but on the actual words of a conversation.  What is Jesus after?  He desires that conversation with Him would abide in us.  This is the idea of practicing His presence.  He is not an idea or a thought.  He is a real Person who wants to indwell me.  Imagine being so intimate and close with Jesus that I walk through my day in constant conversation with Him as He lives in me.

It is intimacy He desires; not some casual relationship.  We cannot fear intimacy with Him.  It is time not to be ashamed of it.  We were designed for this kind of relationship.  And this kind of relationship is what it means to be a Christian; for without it, I am not in (see verse 6).

Involvement in the Dream

This kind of intimacy with Jesus is what opens up the wonder of living.  Not only is there the wonder of living in His presence every moment, but it also opens up the opportunity to participate in the plans and dreams of God.  I must confess that I have sold God short.  I come to Him to solve my problems and make my life better.  I seek intimacy with Him so that He can fix things.  While God certainly is interested in my problems and cares about me, He also has so much more in mind.  He has a dream and a great plan which He wants to accomplish.  And He is inviting me to be a part of it!

Jesus says that if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, “You ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”  The word “desire” is a fascinating word in Greek.  It has a wide variety of uses, but they all have to do with a strong feeling.  There is nothing casual about it.  It has to do with inclination, compulsion, or even impulse.  One interesting use of the word in the ancient Greek world is the description of the relationship between a man and woman.  In God’s design, there is a strong desire that He has placed in man for his wife, and in a woman for her husband (see Proverbs 5:15-20).  That is not dirty, shameful, or evil (even if we don’t talk about it much in church). It is the design and purpose of God.  What is that natural result and unfolding of that purpose in the human race?  The conception and birthing of children.  So, it is interesting that the word used in the last phrase of the verse, it shall be done for you,” is the same word that is used throughout the Scripture for something or someone being born or created.  Consider its use in John 1:3,10,14.

Consider the picture Jesus is painting in chapter 15, verse 7.  Imagine being so intimate with God that I began to have desire for only Him.  This is not some sick, pagan kind of religion.  It is the pure and sincere love for Him for which I was created.  What if I began to be so close to Him that we began to desire the same things?  That has happened to my wife and me at times (though she still will not accept White Castle hamburgers).   And what if I became so intimate and merged with God in body and spirit that out of that union God could birth something?  What if God has dreams and plans, but does not want to accomplish them apart from me?  His desire is that there would be intimacy with Him, and that out of our relationship He would birth in me the dreams and plans He has for my world.  I become the “seed bed” in which God wants to plant and grow His very own dreams and plans.  That certainly puts a whole new perspective on my life and purpose.  I was made to participate in the dreams of God!

But there is one more aspect of this participation.  The verb “desire” is also in the subjunctive mood.  Remember that the subjunctive mood does not dictate anything, but opens up the possibility of something.  Add to this that a particle translated “whatever” is added on to the front of this.  The phrase then says, “what you desire.”  A better translation might be “whatever you may desire.”  The emphasis is on the fact that God is not dictating what I desire, but is leaving it open.

I confess that I have always thought of God’s plan as a very detailed blueprint kind of document that He has in heaven.  My job is to listen carefully to Him what the next step is and do it to precision.  What if it is not like that?  What if there is a creative process to the plan of God, and it is unfolding?  It has a direction, character and nature from which it will not vary.  But it is a creative process.  We know that God is an artist.  Genesis 1:1 tells us this.  How many artists do you know that like to go by a blueprint?  The thrill is in the unfolding of the creative process.

What if God is like this, and is asking me to participate in it?  He has a direction, character, and nature from which He will not vary.  He has come to indwell me and we are becoming so intimate that our desires are becoming one, and out of that He desires to birth His plans and dreams.  But wouldn’t it be something if I get to participate in the creative process?  What if the fun of Christianity is that God is not hanging over my shoulder with a blueprint, but is living inside of me, giving me desires, and allowing me choices in the process?  What if there is partnership in this plan?  Creative give and take?  I am not a robot carrying out orders, but a creative partner with the one who lives in me and with Whom I am becoming one.  His desires are becoming mine. For, it is the intimacy with Him that allows all of this to take place. Without such intimacy, there is no unfolding of the plan in me.

Inevitability of the Dream

What would be the possible outcome of such a process?  He is plain in the last phrase of the verse regarding the outcome.  “It shall be done for you.”  The verb “done” is not in the subjunctive, but in the future indicative.  This is a complete, inarguable statement of fact.  There can be no doubt that this is the result of the process.  Remember that the meaning of this word actually has to do with something or someone being born or created.  The history of the world has proved out that if you get men and women together, the inevitable outcome is that at least some procreation is going to happen.  It is inevitable.

When a person becomes intimate in relationship with Jesus, and begins to share in the desires of God and in the creative process, the dreams and plans of God will take place. This is a great comfort and encouragement.  God is so big that He is able and is going to pull off His plan.  He cannot be thwarted.  It may not go as I think or as seems logical, but that is the beauty of the unfolding creative process.  God can take anything and cause His plan to work.  He cannot lose, and so neither can we!

How can this be certain?  Some of this certainty is contained in the word, “you will ask.”  It is actually one word in Greek.  It is in the imperative mood.  We have already seen the subjunctive mood (possibility) and the indicative mood (fact).  The imperative mood is a statement of command.  Jesus is not asking them to do this, He is urging them to do it.  It is also in the middle voice, which indicates their total involvement in it.

The word means to ask for something, to crave it, or even demand it.  Sometimes the word even has the sense of “expecting” something (Luke 12:48; 1 Peter 3:15).  Jesus seems to be saying that if this process takes place, you can expect something to result from it.  You can ask with boldness and confidence because it is going to happen.  If a person has intimacy with Jesus, and begins to unite with Him in desire, allowing the creative plans of God to unfold through his life, he can expect something to happen.

How can one be so sure?  Consider the source.  This is not sourced in the person, but in God. The branch is not producing the fruit; the vine is.  If it were up to the branch to produce, we would wonder.  But if a branch is completely involved with and connected to a vine, we are not surprised when the fruit shows up.  In fact, we would be surprised if it did not happen.  It is because of our confidence in the vine that we have expectancy.

Imagine living in such confidence.  I can live in intimacy with Jesus, and allow His desires to become mine.  As He and I share in this closeness and desire, the plans of God begin to be birthed in and through my life.  And that plan is going to be accomplished for sure, because it is not me producing it, but Him.

Interdependence of the Dream

But there is one more aspect to this process which God wants to accomplish.  It is found in the word “you.”  Everything in the verse is second person plural instead of second person singular.  Second person plural indicates that Jesus is speaking to the group, not to an individual.

Certainly there are some aspects of this which Jesus is going to accomplish in the individual.  Each one of us individually chooses to respond to Jesus.  He comes to indwell me individually, and I have an intimate relationship with Him individually.  There is a wonder of being indwelt by Him and living in His presence.

But this entire creative process He describes in verse 7 is spoken to the group.  It is as if this process takes place only through the group --- not through the individual.  In fact, much of what follows verse 7 has to do with how the disciples are meant to relate to one another.  It is the emphasis on love (verses 9-17).  This seems to be in line with what happened in the book of Acts.  God certainly moved powerfully through the lives of individuals.  But the norm of the book of Acts is how He birthed His dreams and plans through a group of people.

This is a frustration to me.  I don’t want to have to wait on you.  I don’t want to miss out on the plans and dreams of God if no one else will be a part of it.  I sometimes wish I could just experience it for myself.

But isn’t God doing me a favor by not letting me experience His fullness all by myself?  After all, God Himself is three Persons who have become so intertwined in intimacy that they function as one.  The three share the same desires and dreams, and the plans are being fulfilled through the union.  God is desperately trying to pull me into that.  He wants me to know Him and to have His nature, and I cannot know that in its fullness without having it happen with you.  He is orchestrating everything in my life so that I can be a part of the dreams and plans of God with you.

How can a group of people, or even just two, experience this?  It certainly does not come about just by having potlucks or church activities together!  It only comes from intimacy with Jesus.  It is the basis of everything.  Wouldn’t it be true that if I really have intimacy with Him and have Him working in me that I am going to somehow become connected to other “branches” as well who are in this vine?

This happens all the time with common interests.  We bump into each other and “light up” over common interests.  How much more so will it be with people who are intimately involved with Jesus and desiring Him?  Will we not light up and recognize each other when there is an intimate involvement with Him in our individual lives?  Will we not begin to link together for the creative dreams of God to begin to take place through us?  Who would want to be a part of this?

Imagine a group of people all together in intimacy with Jesus, having the same desire as Jesus, and being open for God to birth His dreams through them.  What would be the result of such a group in single focus in Him?  The results would be certain.  God would certainly fulfill His plans and dreams through such a group.  It cannot fail, for the vine is the only sure source.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Recall a time when I was most close to Jesus; most aware of His presence and seeking this intimacy with Him.  Where am I right now?

2.       What activity was I involved in this week during which I had communication with Jesus?  What would be good situation this week in which to “practice His presence”?

3.       Are there others with the same desire and hunger for Him around me with whom He is linking me?

4.       How can we link together and open ourselves to the birthing of His dreams through such a group?

Definition of a Disciple

John 15:8

Expansion

The concept of discipleship was not unique or new in the ancient world.  When the gospel writer speaks of Jesus’ disciples, it would have been a commonplace occurrence in this time of history.  No reader in this era would have been surprised or thought anything revolutionary of someone having “disciples.”  The philosophers of ancient Greece had developed the concept.  It was something of a new means to them, at the time, of passing down the teachings of a particular person.  They were interested in the concepts and teachings, and wanted those teachings to survive.  They formed a “school,” made up of people who surrounded a particular teacher.  These disciples would have unique relationship with this teacher.  They would devote their lives to being with him.  Their primary task was to absorb all he had to offer.  It was a long term commitment.  In the process, these “disciples” would come to completely identify with this teacher and school, and they would be marked by it.  The end goal was being so mastered by the teachings that they would carry on the concepts after the teacher was long gone.

Is this a picture of Christianity?  Jesus is a teacher.  Our goal is to be with Him, to learn all we can from Him, to be mastered by His teachings so that we can carry them on to our children and to others?

While there may be an element of this in Christianity, Jesus has taken the “disciple” concept and expanded it to a new horizon.  John 15:8 is one of the three places (in John) that Jesus actually speaks the term.  When He does, as in this case, He is actually defining the term for us from His view.  As He leads up to using the term at the end of the verse, it is important to see that He begins the verse with the words which are translated, “By this.”  This tells us immediately that what He is going to say about discipleship is not in a vacuum.  Verse 8 is not self-contained.  What is the “by this” upon which the remainder of this verse rests?  We can presume that it is everything that has preceded this verse.

Remember that He has been emphasizing to them the abiding concept.  They are to have one focus and do one thing as disciples of His: abide in Him as He abides in them.  It is a focused, concentrated, commitment.  It is about being actually indwelt by His living presence and living in complete response every moment to His indwelling presence.  As He came to verse 7, He indicated that this kind of intimacy with Him leads to the sharing of desires.  My desire becomes for God, and we begin to share desires.  As we experience this closeness and intimacy, the intertwining of our beings and merging of our desires allows for the birthing of God’s dreams and plans in me.  I get to participate in the actual and unfolding plan of God as He lives in me and is working in me to create it.  How exciting.

Now as Jesus begins verse 8, in which He is giving His definition of a disciple, He begins with “By this.”  The “this” is what He has just described in verse 7 and previous.  In the view of Jesus, this intimacy with Him and being the seedbed of His desires, dreams and plans is what it means to be a disciple.

This is an expansion of the Greek idea.  Being a disciple of Jesus is not mere adherence to some teachings or ideas.  It is not graduation from some school.  Discipleship with Jesus is actual intimacy with this Person, being actually indwelt by Him.  It is not knowing about Him, but knowing Him more intimately than I know anyone.  It is having new desires rise in me.  It is burning inside to be a part of the dreams and plans of God to reach His world.

Do I have this?  Am I a “disciple” of the church, some teachings, or an organization?  Or, am I a disciple of Jesus Himself?

Example

With this foundation, Jesus says that when this is taking place in a person’s life, “My Father is glorified.”  We have some surface understanding of the word “glorify” from our culture.  It is what we do with celebrities.  We glorify them --- give them praise, honor, our attention and affection, etc.  We know that Jesus is also concerned with all glory going to the Father.  It is the constant focus of Jesus.  We know that we also are to be concerned with giving to Jesus all praise, honor, attention, affection, etc.  In fact, we see in the book of Revelation that this is what is taking place in heaven and will take place there forever.

But there is more to the term.  The verb “glorify” is derived from the noun “glory.”  This word has much to do with one’s reputation, or someone’s opinion of a person.  Therefore, the verb “glorify” has something to do with the reputation of someone being established, advanced or demonstrated in some way.

This is what Jesus is saying about discipleship.  God is so interested in the process of indwelling us, filling us with Himself and birthing His plans through us because He wants to demonstrate who He is.  While God can and does demonstrate Himself through many means, including nature, His plan is that we would be the demonstration of His presence.  We are to be the visible signs in this world pointing to the nature of God --- in every situation.  Note that this is not an imitation of a teacher.  This is actually being indwelt by the Person and allowing Him to reveal His own style in our lives!

This means that all disciples are going to look somewhat the same at some point.  We will all obviously have our unique physical traits.  However, there comes to be a uniformity of style and behavior to the people who are indwelt by Jesus.  What does this look like?

If you follow this word “glorify” throughout John, it seems to be a “code” word.  Much of the time it is used, it is referring to Jesus’ death (John 12:23-28).  Jesus speaks of the Father being glorified in Jesus.  The indication is that the cross was not only for our redemption and forgiveness, but it was so that we might physically see the style and heart of God.  This is the purpose for the disciples --- that God would be glorified in them.  The plan of God is that disciples would be the physical manifestations in this world of the style and heart of God in the same way as Jesus.  And that style and heart is the cross!

One example of this is in John 13.  Jesus has washed all the disciples’ feet.  He says to them that they will do the same for one another.  He then speaks to them about loving one another, and says in verse 35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  This is the same direction He is taking in chapter 15.

Do I have that?  Am I becoming that?  It is not following some requirements or trying to imitate some example.  It is actually being filled by Him and having His style happen in me in every situation.

Expectation

There is one more aspect to this discipleship defined by Jesus.  It is difficult to grasp, because it is embedded deep in the grammar and concept of the verse.  It is the idea that discipleship is not a static thing.  It is something that is a “becoming.”  One indication of that is the use of the word “be” at the end of the verse.  It is actually the word “become” or “to be born or created.”  Discipleship is not something I can do.  It is not a set of behaviors I can imitate and check off.  It is not a set of teachings to which I adhere.  It is something that has to be really going on inside a person.  It is something that is coming into existence, growing and expanding inside a person.

This seems to be the idea Paul is getting at in 2 Corinthians 4 and 5.  Consider 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.  There is an “outward man” that is perishing or dying away.  This body and external life of mine is temporary.  But something is growing on the inside --- I am becoming something --- that will go on in a new body after this life.

What am I becoming?  Is there something about me that is growing?

One other important aspect of the verse--- to which Jesus keeps going back --- is that this growth will be evident in my physical.  This is the fruit bearing idea.  It is a key to see something at the end of verse 8.  While it is not showing up in my translation, the actual grammar indicates that the bearing of fruit and being disciples are the same thing.  The Greek actually reads, “in order that you may continue to bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

This indicates two strong things.  First, it reinforces what Paul taught in his letters, such as Corinthians.  Christianity is not just a spiritual thing, but it a spiritual and physical existence.  In other words, what I am becoming inside is going to show up in my physical life somehow.  I cannot be one thing inside and another thing outside --- at least not for long, without experiencing severe consequences.  It will destroy me and others around me.  If I am really indwelt by Him and responding to His moving in my life, it is going to show up in me.  My physical life will show it.  It will show up on my face.  It will show up in my attitudes and the atmosphere of my life.  And this will cause there to be “much fruit.”  How can we help but win our world to Jesus if His style and presence is coming out of us?  How can we help but at least win a few?

Secondly, remember that bearing much fruit and being a disciple are equal.  This all has the undercurrent of growth.  It is like He is emphasizing that discipleship equals growth.  I cannot be a disciple of Jesus without growing.  If I am a disciple, I will be growing.  This completely renounces any arrival approach to Christianity.  It puts me in a position of constant humility and openness.  I have no superiority to anyone.  What does He have for me today?  What does He want to say to me right now?  I am seeking, open, ready and responding.  I am actually becoming something.  I am not the same as I was 5 years ago, or a year ago, or a month ago.  What am I becoming?  Am I a disciple?  Do I want to be one?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What else have I been a disciple of in my lifetime?  How does being a disciple of the living Jesus differ?

2.       How has the uniformity of His style been taking place in me and other fellow disciples?  What opportunity did I have this week for His style to be seen?

3.       How have I grown in the last 5 years? 1 year? 1  month?

Parameters of Community

John 15:9-17

As we begin the section of John 15:9-17, the most important recognition with which we can begin is to realize that it follows directly from verse 1-8.  While this may seem like a simplistic statement, it is extremely important to see these two sections as directly linked together.  John even makes sure that we see the connection by inserting verse 16 into the second section, tying it back to the main idea of abiding and bearing fruit.  Therefore, we realize that we are not beginning a new message when we come to verse 9, but instead are continuing on with the same message.

Verses 9-17 have an obvious overarching emphasis that one cannot miss.  It is the concept of love.  Love is the glaring message that is trumpeted from these verses.  However, that is no surprise to us.  For the concept of love, and loving one another, is at the heart of the Gospel message, and is repeated over and over again throughout the Scripture.  Have you ever noticed that some things in the Scripture are referred to or described in a limited fashion?  For instance, the creation account is described in Genesis 1.  It is not really discussed much throughout the rest of Scripture.  The end times are discussed some in Paul’s letters, and then in the book of Revelation.  They are limited.  But love is everywhere in the Scriptures.  The concept, if not the specific word, is on every page. This is the big one.

That explains why it is used in such an imperative way in these verses.  It is necessary, required, demanded, and is not optional.  In fact, Jesus gives some indication of this in verses 9-12, where He actually uses the word “command.”  This is the urgent, single focus that He is giving in this section.  In fact, just as abiding was the single focus of verses 1-8, so now love is the single focus of verses 9-17.  Could this be because they are actually the same thing?  As you come down to the final verse, He thunders again this one single emphasis, “These things I command you, that you love one another.”

Source of the Emphasis

Again, as mentioned earlier, context is so important in grasping the meaning of verses 9-17.  This is true all the time in Bible study.  One must understand where the author is coming from and going in order to understand what he means.  The importance of context here is to see verses 9-17 flowing directly from verses 1-8.  As we do this, two broad conclusions come to light from the second section.

The first has to do with source.  Since everything in verses 9-17 flows out of verses 1-8, this means that the concept of love has to flow out of verses 1-8.  This is a crucial message for Christianity.

We all know that we ought to love people.  Some of us know enough of Scripture to know that it is “commanded” of us in places like this passage.  This places a great pressure on us in our lives to perform and pull off loving all those people around us.  While this may be easy with some people, it is nearly impossible with others.  But, we know we ought to.  So, we travel the road of life with stress over needing to do better and guilt for not doing better at loving people.  It is a terrible bind.

But that is not what is happening in verses 9-17.  The love to which Jesus is calling these disciples is based out of verses 1-8.  Remember that the simple and single emphasis of verses 1-8 had to do with sourcing.  It is the illustration of a vine and a branch.  The branch does not have to produce anything itself.  The vine is the producer and the complete source for everything for the branch.  The single, simple role of the branch is to “abide” in the vine, and the vine will abide in the branch.  Fruit will thus be produced.

This is the total picture of Christianity.  It is not full of effort, stress and guilt.  There is a rest and a peace in allowing Jesus to come and live in me to do that of which I am not capable.  I simply abide in Him --- with complete focus, attention and responsiveness.  He lives in me and works in me to produce the fruit.

This is the source of love described in verses 9-17.  Jesus is not asking His disciples to produce something (love for one another) out of their own ability.  He is asking them to allow His love to be turned loose in their lives.  It makes sense that they will be filled with His love if He actually indwells them.  This is a key element of Christianity!  We know from the Scripture that God is love, so anyone who has Him has this nature and this love (1 John 4:7-8).  Love is the fruit or the product of God.

In the old days, Christians used to talk about receiving God’s nature and having “perfect love.”  A lot of people got alarmed when they talked about Christians being “perfect.”  “No one is perfect!”  That is absolutely correct.  We all have faults, errors in judgment, and make mistakes often in many areas.  But what the old-timers knew was that God could actually come and live inside us and cause His nature to be what takes over inside of us.  We could actually begin to think and feel and love like God, because He is in us.  While we might have a lot of faults outside still, we could have a perfect heart.  The perfect heart is the one that lives in constant focus, attention and responsiveness to Jesus.  It sounds just like the abiding described in verses 1-8.  In the meantime, He works in us to begin to refine all those outside things that are not just like Him.  Wouldn’t it be exciting to allow Him to do just that and continue to grow all the time to become like Him?

How do I have that?  How do I do that?  The message of the context is that I (as a branch) have one single and simple job:  abide in Him.  If I will just allow Him to be the constant focus of my life and will live in constant response to Him, He will do this for me!

Sharing of the Emphasis

This leads to the second broad conclusion that surfaces from verses 9-17.  Where this kind of perfect love is taking place in people’s lives --- a complete hunger for Jesus and responsiveness to Him, leading to His nature being reproduced in them --- a coming together happens with those who have this in common.

Again, we go back to context.  Everything leading up to these verses points toward a oneness that is to happen among the disciples.  Jesus has been talking to them as a group.  He really steps up this emphasis as they come to these final hours together before His arrest.  Recall that chapters 13-17 are one conversation, all taking place within a few hours.  Chapter 13 reveals Jesus’ demonstration of washing their feet, and then telling them that they will do the same for one another.  He caps this whole discussion with 13:34-35.  He continues in chapter 14 and into chapter 15 by describing what will allow this to take place in them.  He has been using the grammar of second person plural.  In other words, the promises He is giving to them are not given to them as individuals, but them as a group.  Consider 14:14, and now 15:7.  Therefore, the abiding picture of the vine and branches in verses 1-8 paints a communal image.  It is not a vine with a single branch, but the vine producing a vineyard full of branches, all operating in this same thing.

This leads right into verses 9-17. What has been suggested and pointed to is now stated openly and directly.  This is all about loving one another.  Love for one another will be the fruit and product of abiding in the vine.  It shouts the idea of community. Again, it is not a single branch being attached to the vine, but a vineyard full of branches, all operating together for the purpose of the vineyard.  Verses 13-15 use the intimate language of “friends.”

The concept of “community” is certainly not strange in our day.  There is a growing emphasis on our need for this thing called community.  We need to hang around with people and have relationships.  Major businesses like Barnes & Noble or Starbucks have certainly recognized this need and capitalized on it by creating atmospheres where people can come and have “community.”

We certainly recognize this in the church.  We like to get together for “fellowship” – another word for community.  One important question would be, “What are the parameters for the community of which I am part?”  In other words, what is the basis for the community I have?  More plainly, what makes you “in” with our community?  Age, race, gender, music preference, background, temperament, economic status, personality, appearance?

Perhaps I am connected with a group of people, even in church, with whom I have commonalities in one or more of these areas.  We have made that one (or more) commonality the basis of our group.  It is our parameter.  No one is in our group unless that person fits this profile.

One thing we continue to discover is that you may have a group based on one or more of these parameters, but you do not have real community.  It may be the illusion of community or fellowship, but it is not the real thing.  It is not what Jesus is describing here or what is described anywhere else in Scripture.  It does not match the picture of community painted in Acts.

How do we know it is not the real thing?  Because when it is not the real thing, it has no impact on the world around it.  Real community --- that of which Jesus is speaking to the disciples --- always makes a difference in the world around.  Witness the book of Acts.  There is a power to the Gospel through such community which cannot be held back.

How do you know when you have the real thing?  What does it look like?  It looks like a bunch of individuals who are all after the same thing.  And what they are after is Him.  It is the abiding life.  They are intent and determined to live in focus on Him only, and are in response mode all the time.  They are being indwelt by Him, growing and taking on His style and His fruit.  And as they do that, there is an impact happening on the world around them.  Others are being won!

This focus and passion is their only parameter.  In other words, everyone is in who has this.  So, it looks varied. It will include a variety of ages, races, music preferences, backgrounds, temperaments, economic statuses, personalities, and appearances.  And while they may be different in so many ways, they have this common feeling for Jesus and for each other.  It is like the Apostle Paul describes how he feels for the Philippians in his letter to them in chapter 1 verses 3-8.  “I have you in my heart.”

There is only one thing that can bring about that kind of community.  It is the abiding described in verses 1-8.  Only Jesus.  Nothing else will bring about community.  This gives us one single and simple priority at all times.  It is living in constant focus and response to Him, being indwelt and sourced.  As we do, there will be a coming together of those who have this same thing.  And the world around us will be affected.

What will be the parameters of community for us?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Describe a situation (without names) in which I had to strain to love someone.  What would it mean to me if Jesus could just love that person through me?

2.       What kinds of “parameters” might I have the tendency to have for my own community?

3.       What kind of community do I really want to be a part of?

Choices

John 15:9-12

Nature of Love

We know from an overview of this section (verses 9-17), that the key to everything Jesus is saying is the abiding described in verses 1-8.  The love to which Jesus is calling them is not a new message.  It is a continuation of what He has already been saying.  And this love is merely the fruit – the style – of the vine which will be demonstrated through the branches.

Jesus states that strongly right from the beginning of this section as He begins talking about love in verses 9-12.  One of the key statements that sets this tone is the command to “abide in My love” in verse 9.  The idea is repeated in verse 10, along with the example being given of Jesus abiding in the Father’s love.  This statement strongly parallels the command given by Jesus in verse 4, “Abide in Me.”  In fact, it is the same identical grammar.  The strength of this parallel causes us to believe that Jesus is not talking about two different things here, but is actually speaking of the same thing.

Could it be that Jesus is saying that if you really want to abide in His love, you abide in Him, because He and love are the same thing?  Love is not a thing in and of itself.  It is the very nature of God.  It is who He is.  If you ever see real love, you will find yourself looking right into the face and heart of God.  And if you ever get to look right into the face and heart of God, you will be looking at real love.  Love and God cannot be separated.  For He is love.  It is not something He has, but what He is.  It is not something He created to have an independent existence.  He is the source of it.  This is a strong principle of Scripture, such as in 1 John (chapter 4, verses 7 and 8 particularly).  It is in our songs.  One verse of And Can It Be? describes Jesus becoming man.  It says that he “emptied Himself of all but love.”  The reason He could not empty Himself of that is because it is who He is, and He could not be God if He gave up who He is.

This concept of love as His nature is extremely important, because it explains the life and existence of Jesus.  Love is not just something Jesus does.  It is not something He forces Himself to do.  It is what He is.  Therefore, it keeps showing up in His life all the time.  It shows up in the unguarded moments.  It shows up in good and bad situations.  Granted, He went through difficult times.  But what was going on inside Him was what dictated what He did.  He was not just doing the “right thing” or what was expected of Him.  He acts in response to what is happening inside of Him, and can’t help Himself.  He could have sinned and done wrong, but it would have been a fight to do it --- totally against what was happening within Him.  He is driven by what is happening inside of Him.

This is a picture of Christianity.  It is not a set of things to do.  It is not doing the “right thing.”  It is not acting in the way which is expected of me.  It is having Him come to live in me and having something happen in me that causes me to be something different.  It is a responding and “can’t help myself” kind of life.  It is having His nature come to be within me and take over in me so that I end up doing what is supposed to be done, but not because I made myself do it.  I end up being what I am supposed to be in all kinds of circumstances --- even when the pinch is on.

Flow of Love

The key to this kind of life is having His nature.  When we speak of His nature in this passage, we are talking about source.  The only way to have His nature is to have Him --- because He is the source.  Verses 1-8 gave us a clear picture of what it means to be a Christian.  It is not about doing the right things, or even being able to do anything myself.  It is about being connected to the Vine and receiving everything I need from Him.  He is to be the source for everything.  The very essence of Christianity is about source.  It is not a religion of doing --- of a set of behaviors which I am to follow.  Oh, if we could grasp this.  It is about having His nature in us because we have Him in us --- that which can only come from Him.  He is the source!

Just as verses 1-8 illustrate the source concept, so there is a strong picture of the source flow in verses 9-12.  It comes to light when we observe the “as,” I also,” just as,” “as” language.  Jesus is painting a picture of the flow of source, much like the flow of water from one source into another.  Note first that Jesus is loved by the Father (v.9) and that Jesus abides in the Father’s love (v.10).  He explains that “as” (v.9) the Father has loved Him, He “is also” loving the disciples.  He asks them to keep His commandments and abide in His love “just as” He has kept His Father’s commandments and abides in His love.  This is an important picture of source for Jesus.  He is not speaking of His own ability to love the disciples.  He is also dependent upon source --- the source of the Father.  This is what He has been speaking about in chapter 14.  He is sourced by the Father living in Him.  In this way, again, Jesus is the PROTOTYPE for Christianity.  He is a complete human, filled with God and being sourced by God --- demonstrated by the love which flows out of Him.  It all comes from the Father through Him.  What is happening through Jesus is going to be exactly (“as,” “I also”) the same as what is happening in the Father, because it is coming from the Father!

Now He is inviting the disciples to this flow.  He commands them in verse 12 to “love one another AS I have loved you.”  Note again the reference to flow.  What happens through them is to be exactly the same as what is happening in Jesus because it is coming from Jesus --- who is in them.  This parallels exactly what is happening in Jesus --- we are just like Him --- He is our prototype!  We are sourced just like He is sourced.

This puts a tremendous weight on what is happening in the life of a Christian.  It is more than being a nice person, with good manners.  It is more than being faithful to the church.  It is more than good ministry deeds.  What He is describing is people (loving one another as He has loved us) who have His actual nature flowing through them.  This describes people who are the actual reproduction of the actual love of Jesus in their scene.  By “reproduction” we are careful not to mean “imitation.”  What is happening in us is not an imitation of Jesus.  It is really Jesus Himself.  This is crucial for Christianity.  We are talking about the real actual life of a real actual Jesus living in our real actual bodies.  What comes out of us is the real thing.  No wonder the world is won when this takes place!  How could this not take place?  If you experience Him for real, you are either going to run as fast as you can or be drawn to Him.  Shame on us for ever counterfeiting Christianity and telling people it was the real thing.  God’s dream for us --- and the real offer of Christianity --- is for us to be the real thing.  This is not some hopeless dream, but what the Scripture plainly describes as the birthright for every child of God.

Choice of Love

How can I have this in my life?  The focus of the verses --- as it is in verses 1-8 --- is abiding.  In these specific verses, it is about abiding in His love.

It is amazing to grasp the love of Jesus for us.  It is what He is describing.  He loves us in the exact same way and with the exact same love which the Father has for Him.  A more in-depth study of the original word for “love” reveals just how significant this is.  There are three main Greek words which are translated “love” in English.

Eros has to do with the kind of love which emphasizes experience.  It has to do with ecstasy and fulfillment.  Romantic love certainly fits into this, but it is broader than just sensual love in the Greek world.  It is all about the height of emotion and experience that brings fulfillment.  While God created the part of human emotion that is stimulated by “peak” experiences, this is not the kind of love with which He loves us.

Phileo is the verb form of the kind of love which is often associated with “friendship.”  In its broader sense, this kind of love has to do with a natural affinity or attraction.  It regards someone as one of one’s own people.  It is like family.  You have a natural affinity toward them because you just naturally have something in common with them.  While Jesus calls the disciples His friends, that is not the kind of love that He is saying that God has for us.

Agape is the word being used to describe the kind of love Jesus has for us.  It is used throughout the New Testament, and is the word always used to describe the love of God for us.  I have always had difficulty understanding agape.  But here is a definition which helps.  “An attitude of appreciation resulting from a conscious evaluation and choice.”  It is strongly in contrast to eros especially.  While the focus of eros is on the self-fulfillment, the focus of agape is on the object of the love.  While eros has to do with compulsiveness, agape has to do with a deliberate decision from the actor.  While the focus of eros is upward, seeking something higher, the focus of agape is lower, trying to lift up one who is lower.  While eros seeks fulfillment from others, the goal of agape is to act on the other’s behalf.

This is the kind of love Jesus has for us --- the love of the Father.  He is focused on us.  He is trying to act on our behalf and lift us up.  He made a conscious choice for us.  His love for us is not accident, but is the conscious response to the move of the Father in His heart and is choosing us!  What a thing to be chosen!

Do I love Him in that way?  What kind of love do I have for Him?  Is it an eros love which is always seeking Him for the “high” of an experience?  Is He just someone familiar with whom I have some natural affinity --- like my pet?  Or would I abide in His agape?  What would it mean to love Him with the same kind of love He has for me?  Would I respond to His love for me and allow it to flow back to Him?

If the essence of this love is a conscious choice, when was the last time I chose Him?  It is like a marriage.  When was the last time I really chose her?  I know I chose her many years ago, but have I chosen her today?  Does not relationship hang on the constant choice?  Co-habitation is one thing; love is another.  Do I just live with Him, or do I love Him?  When did I last choose Him?  Wouldn’t it be something to live in constant choice of Him?

What would happen if I lived in such constant choice and response to Him?  His nature would be reproduced in me, and I would become the real reproduction of Him in this place and time.  No imitation, but the real thing.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What is something I love for the experience or “high” that comes with it?

2.       Who is someone I love because of a natural affinity --- we have something in common?

3.       Name a time in which I was chosen.  Describe the significance or what it felt like.  When was that last significant time I specifically and consciously chose Jesus?  This past week?  Last month?  Last year?  When?  What did I communicate to Him?

Driven

John 15:9-12

Demand

Jesus has moved into a new phase of teaching with His disciples in John 15:9-17.  He has been talking about the idea of abiding.  Abiding is a way of living in which He is going to come and live in them and they are going to allow Him to be the entire focus of their lives in every moment.  This is the abiding concept.  Now He is moving this discussion to a new level.  We have found that He is not talking about something new, but is only expanding or “stepping up” what He has already been saying.  It is the idea of love.  If they are going to be into this abiding style of living, then they will be into His kind of love, which in the original Greek language is agape love --- it is the kind of love in which you purposefully choose someone.

As Jesus begins to describe this love, He uses very strong language.  In fact, it is so strong that He frames it in command language.  Note the wording in both verses 10 and 12.  If we thought that the only the Old Testament was about commandments, then we missed something, because Jesus is very clearly talking about commandments here.  There are a few things to note about this:

1.       In the Greek language, things are emphasized by how they are placed in the word order.  Things are placed first to emphasize them.  In verse 10, there is emphasis put on the words, “My commandments,” because of where they are placed in the sentence.

2.       The word “command” literally has to do with an order by a king or official.  There is no way around it ---- this is the way it has to be!

3.       The verb “keep” paints a serious picture.  It literally comes from a noun which means “a prison guard.”  So the action of this verb is the action of a prison guard --- someone who watches something very closely with his entire focus and concentration.  The message here is that the disciples are to be that way about these commandments.

4.       In the message of verse 10, this keeping of the command is what leads into abiding, both for Jesus and for His disciples.

All of this puts the utmost seriousness on the idea of these commandments.  Jesus is not being light here or beating around the bush.  He is being direct and firm about the seriousness of keeping His commandments.

This certainly presents a conflict for me.  I want to follow every command of Jesus and want to live for Him.  But I am not sure I am able to do what He is commanding me to do.  It seems like so much pressure.  I don’t know that I can live up to this expectation.  What’s more, He makes it clear in verse 12 that His commandment is that I love others in the same way He has loved me.  Now I am really discouraged.  I may be able to do some things that He would ask.  Go to church on Sundays.  No problem.  Give my money.  No problem.  Even read my bible once in a while.  I’ll do it.  Volunteer my time?  OK.  But this?  Loving others as Jesus has loved me?  I could never make it.

Add this insult to injury:  Jesus says that He has spoken these things “that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (v.11).  First of all, I have never really put the ideas of joy and commandment together.  Secondly, does any of this sound very joyful at all?

Difference

What a struggle this appears to be.  Who would want it?  Perhaps Jesus has something different in mind than I do.  Could it be that there is a different perspective on this which makes more sense of it?

There is no question that Jesus is speaking about commandment in a “new” way from the way in which it had been understood.  This is clear even from His discussion with the disciples.  Earlier in the same evening, He had washed their feet, and then told them, “A NEW commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).”  John also speaks of this in one of his other letters when He is describing this command of Jesus to love.  “Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have heard from the beginning.  The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.  Again, a NEW commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because that darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining (1 John 2:7-8).”

What seems true is that what Jesus is talking about is not new in some ways, but it is new in other ways.  It is like something old is being understood or commanded in a new way.  The Old Testament certainly talks about a new thing that is going to happen sometime in the future.  It speaks of an old covenant (set of commandments) that is going to be accomplished in a new way.  Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:25-27 are key passages in describing this new thing.  The key idea in these, and of the whole Old Testament, is that the new thing will take the law and make it internal instead of external.  It paints a picture of these “statutes” or “laws” being in one’s heart, so that he ends up keeping them.  It is a whole different way.  Instead of the commands being imposed from outside, they are coming from within as God’s Spirit comes to live inside a person.

Back in our context of John 15, this is exactly what Jesus has been discussing with His disciples.  In fact, it is really the one single message of this section.  His dream and plan for them is that He would come to live within them through His Spirit, and that what has been happening in Him would happen in them.  He would source them and work in their lives what is humanly impossible.  It would all happen because of His actual, real, living presence inside of them.  Christianity would not be what they could do, but what He could do.  It would be the living of an impossible life.  It would be living like we can’t live, being what we could not possibly be, having life like we never imagined it could be, all coming from this real Person who has come to live in us and make His laws the law of our hearts.

Driven

What would “keeping His commandments” mean from this perspective?  It is certainly different than anything I have ever known.  It is not about straining to follow and live up to something.  In fact, it is almost like I need to talk about it differently and think of it differently because it is so different than anything I have ever known.

One word that comes to mind is “driven.”  It seems that to be driven is to have something inside that is pushing me to something.  I have a drive.  It will not let up.  It does not matter what my circumstances are.  I am driven.  It does not matter how I feel.  I am driven.  It does not matter what it costs.  I am driven.  Some guys are driven by sports.  I am driven to check the score or to watch the game.  Other factors do not matter at this moment.  I am driven.  Don’t bother me!  Some lady may be driven by shopping.  Nothing is going to stop her!  We have such addictive behavior in many different areas.  We are driven to something and cannot seem to stop ourselves.  It is not about an external force prompting us, but an internal force that is pushing us.  No one commands me to watch football --- I just do because I cannot help it!  No one tells me that I have to concentrate and focus on the game with all my attention --- I just do because I can’t help myself.  In fact, I have to try not to do so.

Wouldn’t it be something to be like that with Jesus?  I get so filled with Him and involved with Him that He begins to be my addiction --- my drive.  I am driven by Jesus.  Is He an outside force that is commanding me?  No, He has come to be within me and I am driven from inside.  His laws and commandments are becoming my internal drive and addiction.  I can’t help myself.  Come to church?  Can’t help myself.  Give?  Can’t help myself.  Be into His Word?  Can’t help myself.  Give my time?  Can’t help myself.  I have a drive in me to and from Him.  More importantly for our passage, I love others.  How?  Why?  Impossible?  I can’t help myself.  Something has happened to me and I am driven.

Just imagine with me a moment a way-out, hypothetical, silly example which will never happen.  I am driven by sports --- an addict.  I just can’t help myself.  I look at the paper any chance I get.  Internet.  Fantasy league.  All the channels on TV.  Watch every game.  Talk about it with my friends.  Check scores on my phone.  I am absolutely driven.  I get to heaven, and Jesus says, “This is My commandment, that you love sports.”  Do you know what my reaction would be?  I would feel like laughing with joy.  It would be absolute joy.  It’s what I love and can’t keep myself from anyway, and now He is telling me that this is what He is commanding me to do.  That would be so easy!  No effort at all!

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”  Would it be possible to be so consumed and driven by Him that His will became the addiction of my heart?  Wouldn’t it be something to be addicted to Him, and then have Him tell me that He is commanding me to be this way?  Wouldn’t I laugh for joy?  Full of joy indeed.  Does anyone want to live like that?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Aside from Jesus, what is something that has been a drive for me in my life?  Sports, shopping, etc?

2.       What’s the difference between temporary joy and the kind of which Jesus is speaking?  How can I relate this from my life?

3.       What has been my awareness level of His real presence in my over the last week?  Month?

4.       What would be a good reminder of His indwelling reality in me this week?

The Approach of Holiness

John 15:12-17

The Way it is

As we have seen, Jesus comes strongly into this section discussing love as the pattern for His disciples.  He has utilized command language.  Verses 12 and 17 serve as “book ends” for the passage.  Simply put, this is the way it is going to be.  There is no question or room for discussion on it.  The reason it has to be this way is that this is the way He is.  Love is the very nature of God.  If He is going to come and live inside the disciples, if His nature is to become their nature, then they will end up loving in the same way that He does.  This is the way it is.

In the history of our church doctrine we have used another name for this idea of perfect love --- the nature of God in a man.  We called it holiness.  We have preached and sung about it.  It can be seen in many of our songs in the hymn book and also in more contemporary songs.  It is important to understand what “holiness” really means.  It is not just a way of doing things.  It is not a list of things we “don’t do.”  It may be this kind of understanding and approach that has contributed to turning people away from the church unnecessarily.  Holiness is all about Him, because it is His nature.  If you have Him, you have holiness.  It is about allowing Him to live in me and living in such response to Him that His nature becomes mine --- in the midst of everything I do.

This concept of holiness is really what this passage is all about.  He seems to discuss three aspects of it.  We look at the first of those in this study: the approach of holiness.

Total person

The approach of holiness is laced throughout the passage, but especially comes to light in verse 13.  “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  One of the first important things to understand about holiness is that it involves the whole person.  The biblical concept is that you cannot separate a person’s spirit and body --- because we are one person.  This is the concept behind the word “life” in the verse.  It is used throughout the Scripture to describe the essence of who a person is.  It is literally a combination of the body and spirit of a person.  Without either of these, you do not have a person.  With the combination of them comes a real, living, unique person.  Genesis 2:7 helps to see this.  “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”  It is the combination of physical and spiritual that makes a person.  You cannot separate them.

The attempt to separate the physical and the spiritual has always caused a problem.  This is one of the main problems Paul was addressing with the church at Corinth.  In their Greek view, the physical and spiritual were separate and did not have anything to do with one another.  The result of this was that they could live however they wanted to in their bodies (all kinds of immorality) and still believe that they were alright spiritually.  They believed they could have relationship with God spiritually and it did not have to show up in their bodies.  Paul addresses this strongly, and against this brings the truth of Christianity.  God made us to be one person, not two.  We live one life, not two separate lives.  My physical life and spiritual life are all one, and what I am spiritually is going to show up in my body.  What I am in my body is going to affect my spiritual life.  You cannot separate them.  I am to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, Who wants to come and live in me, to show Himself through how I live in my body.This is what Jesus is saying about holiness.  It involves a person’s entire life --- spirit and body.  He did not come just to forgive my sins and make me alright spiritually.  He wants to do that so that He can live in my body and be the actual force of my life.  The Greeks believed that everyone has a life force that sustains him or her.  They used this word “life,” or psuche in Greek, to describe that.  When a person died, this “life force” left (went out through the mouth).  New Age religion says that I am to be my own “force.” I am to learn to trust in and develop the force within me.  I am the resource for my life if I can just develop it right.

Christianity is a death to that.  It is having Him come to live in me and be the “force” of my life, if you want to call it that.  He is to be the resource for everything --- what I live for and what I depend upon.  He is my life and everything for me --- in every moment and affair of life.

Get up close to someone and see how he lives day in and day out.  Watch him in the situations of life.  Watch how he talks, how he thinks, how he treats people, how he lives.  Is Jesus his “life force”?  Does this person depend on Him and allow Him to flow into everything?  What do you call a person who has that?  A Christian.

Laying down one’s life

If this is happening in the life of a disciple, Jesus is saying that the style of that person will be to “lay down one’s life for his friends.”  It will be the clear mark of one whose whole life is in Jesus.

This phrase is common in our culture.  Many people may not realize it is actually from the bible.  It has the connotation of sacrifice or giving of one’s self.  But the depth of the concept is significant.

The word “lay down” comes from a verb that commonly means to “put or place something.”  As you move down the list of its definitions, you come to some of its other uses.  One of those has to do with death itself.  Especially in John there is a sense of great risk and sacrifice.  The best picture of this is the one painted by John in chapter 10 --- the parable of the good shepherd.  Consider John 10:10-18.  It is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.  This is in contrast to the style of the “hireling,” who does not really care and operates for self.  Jesus is sharing His heart, and the He is the good shepherd --- this laying down of life is His style.  This style is the very heart of God.  It is the agape love of living for what is best for the other.  It is no regard for what is best for me.  It is a natural response to do what is best for someone else.

It is important to note that this style is not something one can just do.  It is something that has to come from Him as He is my life.  The style must flow from Him.  In 13:37, Peter strongly declares that he will live in this style and “lay down his life” for Jesus.  Jesus boldly points out that Peter is not able to do so in verse 38.  Peter cannot “lay down his life” out of his own ability.  It is not something that Peter is just able to do.  It is something that Peter must become.  How is this possible?  It is what Jesus will describe in the following chapters.  As He comes to indwell them, His style will become their style --- it will be the style of laying down their lives.  It will not be something that they “do.”  It will be what the “are.”  Self-produced sacrifice never amounts to anything.  Ministry cannot be produced.  It is something that has to come from Him and be produced by Him.

The New Testament is full of this concept.  In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul speaks of being filled with a treasure.  The treasure is Christ --- we are only the humble containers.  We cannot do anything.  We cannot produce ministry or really help anyone.  Our job is to just be containers of Him.  For what purpose?  So that He can spill His life on others through us.  Verses 7-9 tell some of the ways this is to happen.  It is through being pressed and broken.  We are not ministering or helping.  He is working as we are broken.  Our job is to be broken and know Him, allowing Him to flow.  Verses 10-12 tell of the overall approach of this --- the same as what Jesus is describing in John 15:13.  Death is working in us so that life can work in others.  We are dying --- laying down our lives --- others are receiving His life.

This is not about the glorious, great act.  There is no glory in this, because there is nothing for me to do.  It is in the surrender, in the dying, in the “just being into Him,” that He is able to flow and make it happen.  It’s not something one can do.  It is something you have to be.

Get up close to someone and see how he lives day in and day out.  Watch him in the situations of life.  Watch how he talks, how he thinks, how he treats people, how he lives.  Is he into dying so that others around him are receiving life?  Does this person depend on Jesus and allow Him to flow into everything?  What do you call a person who has that?  A Christian.

Friends

I have been aware of this concept of dying so that others may have life.  This is what ministry is all about.  I confess that this is shedding new light for me on some of the ramifications --- especially in regard to those with whom I am to have this.

Jesus says very specifically that this is about laying down one’s life for his friends.  The Greek word is philos, which comes from the verb phileo.  It is a love for those with whom I have natural affinity.  Often this is family and people close to me.  It is interesting to see how Jesus approaches the idea of family.  There is no doubt that family is important to Him.  On the cross, He even speaks to John about caring for His mother.  But in His bigger purpose, He is even more focused on the disciples around Him and leading them in their life of response to Him.  Consider the account of Matthew 12:46-50.  It is not that Jesus is against family.  But He is really concerned about these disciples.

It is in this spirit that He has pulled them together in these final hours before His arrest.  He is pouring into them the heart of the kingdom.  They are to be indwelt by Him, and they will each individually take on His style.  But He is now emphasizing that this style is going to spill over into how they live toward others.  This will especially be true for each other.  There are many emphases in these chapters about how they are to operate together.  For example, all of the instructions to ask in His name are in the plural --- to be done together.  He has been sharing with them the command to love one another.  Now, He is defining this love as the laying down of their lives for one another.

This was quite a point for disciples.  They knew about ministry and laying down their lives.  They knew about the great, grandiose act of bravery and glory --- as Peter was suggesting in chapter 13.  But this is not something great or glorious of which Jesus is speaking.  It is the simple, consistent, day-in and day-out laying down of their lives for each other.  In some ways it would be easier to do this for strangers.  It may be that the real challenge of this is with those closest to themselves --- the ones they know well, that have offended them --- that they have to share with.

I know about great, grandiose acts of sacrifice and ministry.  But what if real love --- the real style of Jesus --- it not something anyone is going to ever hear about.  What if real love, and laying down of my life, is in the day-in and day-out death to myself for the sake of those closest to me.  Sometimes it is easier to be nice to strangers.  Those who know me best can see the real me more than anyone else.  They know what I really am.  What if the real laying down of life is for my immediate family and those who really “live” with me.

Get up close to someone and see how he lives day in and day out.  Watch him in the situations of life.  Watch how he talks, how he thinks, how he treats people, how he lives.  Does Jesus spill out of Him on those closest around Him on a day-in and day-out basis?  Does this person depend on Him and allow Him to flow into everything?  What do you call a person who has that?  A Christian.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What are some of the “do’s” and “do not’s” of holiness on which we may become focused instead of Jesus?  How does true holiness differ?

2.       What are some of the avenues of New Age teaching (focus on self as the source) around us?  How does Christianity differ from this message?

3.       Name someone who, in some way, laid down his or her life for me and demonstrated the style of Jesus.

4.       Who are those closest to me that need to see Him in me day-in and day-out?  Is there any particular area in which He is calling me to die?

The Association of Holiness

John 15:12-17

As Jesus spends these final precious hours with the disciples before His arrest, He is preparing them for a remarkable shift that is going to take place.  Certainly the shift is already in process as they have been with Him and have gotten to know Him so closely.  But the radical part of the shift is yet to take place.  In the context of this entire discussion, particularly chapters 14-16, it is all about His indwelling presence through the Holy Spirit.  He has been with them.  He is now preparing them for His presence in them.

As this comes to be reality, they will become the reproductions of who He is in their day.  They will have His style, His way, His nature.  We call it “holiness.”  It is who and what He is, and it is going to happen in them because He will be in them.  They won’t have to try to be like Him.  They WILL be like Him, because it will be Him living in them.

Another part of what is going to happen in them is what we are calling the “association of holiness.”  We saw in the last study what the approach is --- what it looks like.  We are now finding in the same verses also the functioning relationship that we are to have with Him.  It also shows us a radical shift.  Jesus describes this shift especially in verses 14 and 15.  It is a shift from being “servants” to being “friends.”  There are three parts to understanding this shift.  Again, it is all understood in light of the fact of being indwelt.  One cannot experience this shift without being indwelt!

Voice

One important part of this shift from being “servants” to being “friends” is the level of acquaintance with the master.  Even the terms themselves give us a basic picture of the contrast.  The Greek word for “servant” is the word doulos.  It is the idea of one who has no rights or no control of his or her own life.  A doulos is one who simply takes orders.  This was not a sought after position in the Greek world.  No one dreamed of growing up to be a doulos.  You were a nobody.  Jesus even gives some of this idea of a doulos in verse 15.  “For a servant does not know what his master is doing.”  The master had no obligation to tell the doulos his business.  The servant need not know anything of the master except what is the next order.  They did not share many personal details.  There was no close relationship or acquaintance.  It was the master/servant relationship.

Contrast this concept with “friends.”  It is the Greek word philos.  It comes from the verb meaning to love someone of common affinity.  Many times this refers to family members or the closest of friends.  There are deeper bonds.  You know these people.  You share common background, ideas, life.  The family eats and shares together at the dinner table.  The servants eat outside or in the back room.  With family we discuss our dreams and hurts.  We share resources.  We have permanent relationship, such as described in John 8:35.  It is intimacy instead of just acquaintance.

In the days of the Roman Empire, this term for “friends” was used.  There was a limited group of individuals who were called “friends of Caesar,” or “friends of the emperor.”  They were a select group who were allowed to get close to him.  They had access to him at all times --- even allowed to come into his bedchamber in the mornings.  They were his closest and most trusted advisors to whom he talked even before talking to his generals.  They knew him so well that they opened his mail and carried out his correspondence.

This is the kind of intimacy that Jesus is describing to the disciples.  They have known Him in a close way.  But they are going to know Him even better.  They are going to know His inner thoughts.  They are going to be His closest associates.  They are going to know His thought so well that they can do His writing for Him (New Testament).  They are going to have constant access to Him at all times and be more intimate with Him than anyone can ever imagine.  This is going to be so much more than acquaintance level.  They are not “employees” to Him.  Nothing is going to be in the third person.  They are going to be up close with Him enough to have His very thoughts in them. He will not be speaking to them from outside as from a master to servants.  He will be speaking to their very heart from the inside as a close friend.  They will be hearing His voice on a constant basis within --- with no break.

How is this possible?  Because He is going to actually be in them.  Do I have that?  Do I have that kind of intimacy with Him?

Volition

Not only will they be able to hear His voice in a different way, but their entire motivation (or volition) will be different.  We have already discussed the concept of master/slave.  The master gives orders or commands which the servant is to obey.  This is something of the picture of the old covenant before Jesus.  There was a law of God which was to be followed.  Paul describes the law as our guardian, keeping us and preparing us for Christ (Galatians 3:23-25).  The law was the external voice of God for us, telling  us what we were to do and who we were to be.

But, again, there is a great shift that is taking place in the New Testament.  The shift is from an external commandment to an internal one.  This is what the prophets wrote about in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36.  It is what Jesus is now describing to the disciples in this talk in John 15.  “You are my friends if you do whatever I command you (v.14).”  He is not speaking of command in the same way as in the old covenant.  This is the new deal.  It is not God speaking from outside, but God speaking from inside.  He is going to come and live within and place His commands in our hearts.  What is actually happening is that He will live in us and become our life and passion.  His nature is what we are becoming.  As that happens, it will be like commandments inside, because we will become so possessed by Him that we are compelled to be what He is and do what He does.  This is holiness.  It is no longer a command to do something.  It is becoming something --- His nature --- to such an extent that we cannot help ourselves.  We talked about it in a past study in terms of being driven.  There is nothing forced about it.  It is a compulsion.

There is a word that appears in both verses 14 and 15 to describe this reality.  It is the Greek word poieo --- describing an activity that flows from what one is, not just what He does.  He or she does something because of what He or she is.  In verse 15, it describes the activity of the master.  Every activity of the master --- what he is poieo-ing --- flows out of what he is.  How true this is for Jesus and the Father.  His every activity is the pure reflection of what He is.  This is what will happen to the disciple who is indwelt by Him.  The disciple will poieo whatever Jesus commands.  The life of the disciple will be the pure demonstration of what he or she is --- completely possessed by the indwelling presence of the Master.

Do I have that?  Is my life the completely pure demonstration of who and what He is as I am filled with Him and completely possessed by Him?  Am I driven by this and can’t help myself?  Is it just happening in my life?  This is what we call holiness.

Vocation

As we put together these two concepts--hearing His voice intimately and being compelled by His presence within--we get an even greater sense of what Jesus was calling the disciples to.  Again, the shift is from being “servants” to “friends.”  God was not looking for employees to do the work of the kingdom.  He was looking for something much more.  As Jesus said in verse 15, “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.”  Several things are striking about the picture that are so far beyond the idea of being a mere employee who works for God.

The word “made known” almost always in the New Testament has the connotation of a revelation from heaven.  It is something opening up and being shown in the heavenly realms which one could not see before.  One of my favorite places this is used is Ephesians 3:1-12, where this same word is used in verses 3, 5, and 10.  Paul is describing the dynamic activity of revelation from God.  This is what Jesus is saying is happening and will happen for the disciples.  They are not going to be operating on their own intelligence or ability.  They are going to be living in the powerful and living revelation of God from heaven.  This is how Christianity is meant to be lived and how the church exists!

Not only are they going to experience this dynamic revelation from heaven, but Jesus is making known to them “all things” which He heard from the Father.  They are not being shut out or excluded in any way.  They are being let right into the chamber of the King.  They are in on the intimate details of the kingdom.  They are being treated not only as friends, but as sons.

The New Testament has a lot to say about being sons of God.  Galatians 4:4-7 paints the contrast between being a doulos and a son.  Romans 8:14-17 also describes it.  The disciples are to be heirs of the kingdom.  In on the family business.  Filled with Him to carry out His mission, dreams and plans.

There is a man who farms.  He farms the same property that his father farmed, and from whom he learned every detail there is to know about running the farm.  He drove the tractors, milked the cows, went to market --- ever since he was young.  He just had a knack for working with his hands.  He grows up to farm the same plot.  He marries and births a son.  They love that boy and raise him.  Spend day and night together.  He teaches the boy the trade.  The boy has a natural aptitude with his hands.  He has his dad’s genes.  All he knows is that farm from the time he was young.  He grows up as a boy, teenager and young man working that farm side-by-side with his hero.  He comes to know that farm better than anything in the world.  He comes to love the farm and that life.  It is what he knows and loves.  His dad is up in years now.  This young man feels that there is only one thing to do.  He decides to carry on the family business.  Did someone have to make him do it?  No one had to --- it was what he had become.

What if Christianity could be like that--- yet to an extent far beyond the illustration?  He has come to live in me.  I am a son.  What am I to do with my life?  I am in the family business.  Wouldn’t rather be into anything else in the world.  He is living in me and moving in me.  I am not an employee.  You don’t have to tell me what to do.  It’s like I know what to do.  You see, they can hire a temporary hand on the farm and tell him what to do.  But no one works like the son, or has to tell him what to do.  It is just in him.

Oh, to have that with Jesus.  To have Him in me and be so filled with Him that no one had to tell me what to do.  Just to be the son in the family business.  To just find myself picking up the hammer and getting to work --- because it’s what I am.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Describe the difference in my own life between a particular employee/employer relationship and a particular family relationship.  How does this apply to being a Christian?

2.       What is something I have to be told to do (follow command)?

3.       What is something no one has to tell me to do --- I do it compulsively?

4.       How is God moving in my life in these days?  What is He saying to my heart?

The Appointment of Holiness

John 15:12-17

All about Covenant

We have been seeing the concept of holiness spoken strongly in John 15:12-17.  Jesus is speaking to the disciples about what kind of fruit will be present in their lives as they abide in Him and He in them.  His style will become their style.  The clear hallmark of this style will be loving one another.  It is stated strongly in verses 12 and 17 as the book ends of this section.  There is no question that they are to have holiness about their lives --- His style manifesting in love.  The approach of it will be the laying down of their lives for one another.  The association of it will be that they are no longer servants, but function as friends and sons with Him --- in on the family business.

Verse 16 brings us into the final part of this section, dealing with the appointment of holiness.  The structure of the verse is remarkable.  It is broken into three parts, separated by the Greek conjunction hina.  It is normally translated “in order that.”  It is a conjunction normally used to express cause.  One thing is “in order that” or “for the purpose of” something else.  In verse 16, the first part of the verse leads to the second part of the verse, which leads to the third part of the verse.  The structure looks something like this:

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you

IN ORDER THAT

you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain

IN ORDER THAT

whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give to you.

It is a fascinating construction and causes one to wonder what it all means?  Why and how does the first part lead to the second?  And why and how does the second part lead to the third?

We will get more into the meaning of each particular part.  However, before we do, it is necessary to get the overarching purpose behind the whole thing.  As one looks at these elements, especially in connection with the entire section, the concept of covenant is strongly presented.  We have already seen the emphasis on covenant in the preceding verses.  Jesus is presenting to the disciples the commandment to love one another.  Commandment is certainly a part of covenant concept.  It is the expectations one is expected to fulfill in the covenant.  The new covenant taking place in Jesus has shifted the commandments to be internal instead of external.  However, the existence of commandment has not diminished.  It merely has shifted from an external force to an internal compulsion and drive.

This theme of covenant continued in the command concept also continues in verse 16.  The elements of verse 16 are all elements of the old covenant God made with His people: chosen, provision, relationship.  Consider a summary of this covenant given in Deuteronomy 7:6-16.  Jesus is now including these same elements of covenant in the call to the disciples in the new covenant.  God is still operating in covenant, just in the manner of the new.  This covenant concept runs through each of the three segments of verse 16.

Chosen

The main idea of the first segment of the verse is the concept of “chosen.”  Jesus is telling the disciples that they are chosen, which is strong covenant language.  In fact, the Greek word which Jesus uses in verse 16 is the word from which we get the English word, “elect.”  It literally means to call one out or to single one out.  It is a special choosing of one particular for one’s self.  One use of the word is “to pull out one’s gray hairs.”  This gives you the picture of a very careful choosing.  Jesus is telling the disciples that they have been especially chosen.  They were not by accident.  This was the gray hair in the middle of all the other ones that you were going after.

The most significant thing about this choosing seems to be His emphasis on the initiative.  He is extremely clear in His grammar about where the initiative lies.  “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you.”  He places extreme emphasis in the grammar on you, Me, I and you.  He does not want there to be any confusion over who pursued whom.  He wants it to be abundantly clear who moved.  It was and is Him.  This was strong as well in the old covenant.  It is spelled out so clearly in Deut. 7:7-9.  His choosing of them was not because of something they did or were.  It was just that He loved them.  He chose them --- not based at all on their performance.  They were just chosen.

Is this not fundamental in Christianity?  Christianity hinges on the concept of grace, which says that God is always the one who makes the initiative.  We never sought God first.  We did not go after Him.  The initiative is always from Him.  We call it “prevenient grace.” It is “the grace of God that goes before.”  What does this say?  It says that God always is the one to move.  What is our role?  To respond.  We are to do nothing but respond.  Nothing depends upon us.  We are not in charge of anything.  We are to create nothing.  God has a plan and is working out all things according to that plan.  He is and will move to accomplish that plan.  As He moves, we respond to that plan.  This is what all of Christianity is based upon.  If we will just respond to Him, we will be Christians and in the plan.  The entire illustration of the vine and the branch is based on this.  We simply abide in the vine and He in us, and everything will be as it should.  Responding to His initiative is the key.

This clearly explains Judas.  There has been great debate over Judas.  Was he not really “in” with Jesus after all?  But all of that would be a misreading of the Scripture.  Jesus clearly says to all 12, including Judas, that they are all chosen.  John 6:70 and 13:18 indicate that He has chosen them.  Judas was not excluded.  The strong indication of chapter 13 is that Jesus is giving Judas one more opportunity to repent --- reaching out to him with grace, longing for Judas not to go through with it.  If Judas was chosen just as the others, and had Jesus moving in his life just as the others, what was the problem?  Judas did not respond.  He said NO.  He walked away.  This is the crux of Christianity.  He is reaching to everyone.  No one is excluded.  All are chosen.  But we must respond.

The disciples are chosen.  We are chosen.  We had nothing to do with it.  We did not do anything right.  There is no pressure to perform.  But He has come and moved in our lives.  What will we do?  Will we respond?

Fruit

One natural question might be, “Why am I chosen?”  “What is the purpose of Him choosing me?”  The entire passage answers these questions.  It is all about the bearing of fruit.  I was made to be fruitful and this is what He has chosen me for.  Verse 16 itself is clear about this purpose.  Remember that the first part of the verse, speaking of the choosing, now leads to the second part of the verse, connected by the conjunction which means, “in order that.”  This means that all of what He spoke of in the first part of the verse leads to what He is speaking of in the second part.  All of the grace, the initiative, the moving of God is so that we can go and bear fruit.

We recall from an earlier study that the bearing of fruit is the priority of the vinedresser.  The reason for the existence of the vineyard is to bear fruit.  There is no other reason, and He will not be distracted from His purpose and mission.  His ache, longing, desire, and undeterred focus is that His branches would bear fruit.  What is this fruit?  Certainly it is the style of Jesus as He comes to live in us.  We will be the reproductions of Him in our day.  We will be the living, breathing, demonstration of His presence in our world.  This has something to do with the use of the word “go” in this second part of the verse.  This particular word for “go” always has to do with the comings and goings of Jesus Himself.  We will be coming and going in His style.  We will have the “fruits of the Spirit” in all we do.

But this is not the only kind of fruit the vinedresser has in mind for us to bear.  If we really have His style and are really the demonstration of who He is, then the world around us is going to be affected.  People are going to be won to Him.  This was clear in the book of Acts.  This is the mission and purpose He has for choosing us.  He did not choose us not only for our benefit.  He chose us and moved in us to affect others.  This was a strong part of the old covenant.  God chose Israel and moved so that they could affect the nations.

One strong realization in this choosing and bearing fruit is the realization that it is back to His initiative.  We were chosen by His initiative and moving.  We responded.  It is response that leads to fruit.  Just as we could not move to choose Him first, so also we cannot move to produce fruit.  Fruit is the result of response to Him.  It is the initiative of God and His moving that produces fruit ---- always!  What an awesome thing it is to respond to the moving of God.  He does everything!  He moves, we respond.  We are in --- and then fruit comes along as well.  We don’t have to worry about it.  In the old covenant, the fruit was a promise.  They did not have to worry about fruit and provision showing up.  It is a guarantee (Deut. 7:13-14.)  We can rest in what He will do.  He is a covenant God, and He will come through.  If He promised to bring fruit to those who remain in Him, then He will do it.  We just live in response.

Asking

The initiative of God in the choosing and the bearing of fruit, all out of response to Him, leads to the third part of verse 16.  “Whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give to you.”  This is the climax of it all.  This is what it has all led to.  All of the response and fruit has led to the place where I can ask whatever I need and it is given.  The first and second parts take place “in order that” this third part may take place.  This is something of a confusion.  I thought the asking Him was further up in the process.  I thought I had to ask in order for there to be fruit.

There are at least two things this points out clearly.  One is the strong reminder of Jesus that God is a covenant God.  In the old covenant and now in the new, if God said He is going to do something, then He is going to do it.  He promised to provide all they needed in the old covenant.  He always came through, because He made a covenant.  A covenant is a promise --- a guarantee.  Now Jesus is letting the disciples know that God is still a covenant God.  I don’t know why it never struck me before.  God did not stop being into covenant.  He only changed the covenant to this internal mode.  But the new covenant is still a covenant.  If Jesus promised that those who abide and respond to Him will bear fruit, then they will.  We don’t have to ask and beg for Him to make us bear fruit.  It is something He will do as we respond to Him.  Our part is response; His part is producing fruit.  He will do it --- even before I ask (Ephesians 3:20; 1 Corinthians 2:9).  John 15:16 seems to indicate a process.  He moves in me and I bear fruit as I respond to this moving.  Then, whatever I ask in Jesus’ name He will give to me.  He is so able.  Everything I need is in Him.  What if I just got so into Him and responding to Him that He was able to meet all my needs even before I ask?

If He is going to bring the fruit even before I ask, then what is the point of asking?  Maybe He is after something more with the asking.  Maybe it is a higher level to which He is inviting us.  Maybe the kind of asking He is speaking of is something so much bigger than just asking for help in fruit bearing and life.  He is already taking care of that.

Many commentators talk about this promise.  Almost everyone seems to agree on one thing about this.  Jesus is talking about a kind of relationship with Him in which we begin to have the same desires and thoughts as Him.  It is natural, then, that we would receive anything we ask --- because it is His will anyway.  There seems to be something about this kind of closeness of relationship with Him which He desires.  This takes us back to covenant.  We have mostly talked about God’s side of the new covenant.  He is moving and choosing us.  He bears the fruit.  He provides everything we need.  What is our part of the covenant?  We have talked about responding.  What if my responding to Him could take on a covenant tone?  I am not going to respond to You only when I feel like it or when it is what I like.  I am making a binding covenant with You to respond only to You forever.  I will not turn back.  I am vowing a life of response to You.  I determine and choose that I will live in constant response to You.  Who would make such a vow?

How can I miss being what I ought to be?  I can walk in the confidence of my God that I can be everything He dreamed for me to be in my day --- not because it depends on me at all, but because it depends on Him!

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What was a significant time in which I was “chosen” for something?  How does God’s choosing exceed that?

2.       What has God recently communicated to me about His priorities for my life?

3.       What has God done for me lately before I could even ask Him?

4.       What new level do I know I need to go to with Him?

Solidarity

John 15:18-27

Solidarity of God

We have come in our study of John chapter 15 to the last section of this chapter, which is contained in verses 18-27.  The first section of the chapter presented the illustration of Christianity in the vine and the branches.  The message is of constant abiding in Him and He in us.  It is intimacy with Him, allowing Him to be our complete source.  This makes possible what Jesus describes in verses 9-17.  He is now commanding these disciples to love one another.  Love, which is His nature, will be the style of the disciples.  It is a commandment in the mode of the new covenant.  It is not an outside command to do something, but is an internal drive to be something.  This is the kind of Christianity I want!

He now presents these disciples with one more reality of this “responding life.”  If they are to have His indwelling presence in their lives, causing them to have His nature, then they will also experience opposition.  This is the theme of this final section.

As He prepares them for this opposition, He emphasizes the concept of solidarity.  The word “solidarity” has to do with a union of interests and purposes among members of a group.  Different individuals function as one out of this common interest and purpose.  What Jesus strongly shows in verses 18-27 is the solidarity of God.  Each of the three members of the Trinity is referred to in the passage: Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.  In fact, all three are specifically mentioned in verse 26.  The emphasis is that they all function together as one.  It is not that God is one person acting three different ways, but He is three persons functioning together as one.  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all have such common interest and purpose that they act as one.  It is one mind, heart, and purpose.  This is why Jesus says, “He who hates Me hates My Father also” in verse 23.  While they are three distinct persons, each with a mind, will and emotions, there is a consistency among them.  What you get with one is exactly what you get with the others.

Now God is inviting the disciples to be a part of this solidarity.  This is an overwhelming thought.  God has “opened ranks.”  He wants to invite these humans to be a part of who and what He is; for them to share in this solidarity and have His common interests and purposes.  The result would be that they would be as consistent with God as any member of the trinity.  Let us not be confused.  Man is never to become God.  But God is inviting man to have His nature.  The result is that the world will treat the disciples as Jesus, because they are now of His nature (verses 18-21).

How does this happen?  How can a man have the nature of God, the same interests and purposes of God?  How can a man be as consistent with the nature of God as Jesus demonstrates?  How can a man be the same demonstration of God in our day as Jesus was in those days on earth?  The answer is the simple fundamental of Christianity.  God comes to indwell man.  This is the point of verses 26-27.  The Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Christ, comes to live inside the body of a man or woman.  When this happens, a change takes place.  This human being now becomes of the very nature of God.  He or she becomes sourced by God.  Paul talks about this extensively, as in Romans 8:9-11.

This is what we call “holiness,” and the life of holiness.  It is not about some set of rules to follow or “being good” or being a “holy roller” as they said in the old days.  It is about having God come to live inside me, so that I can become the demonstration of who He is in my day.  No confusion about this.  I will never be God.  But wouldn’t it be something if the presence of God could be so real in my life, that you could look at me and actually see Him?  Imagine having the consistency of God Himself in my life, for He has opened ranks and let me in!

Solidarity of the “world”

Again, Jesus is telling the disciples that if they have this happening in their lives, then they will experience strong opposition --- hate --- from the world.  It is interesting to consider what He means by “world.”  Sometimes when we use the word “world,” we are meaning the planet or the physical creation of God.  That is not necessarily the meaning here.  When He is speaking of “world,” He is speaking of a principle more than a thing.  It is the Greek word, kosmos, which has to do with the idea of the order of things --- what holds everything together.  What is the thought, idea, mindset or approach to things that makes the universe work.  What are the rules?

The biblical writers seem to take the idea of kosmos to summarize everything that is outside of God.  When Jesus here says, “If the world hates you,” He is not necessarily talking about the planet.  Rocks and grass cannot hate!  He is talking about a principle of things, a mindset, an attitude, an approach to life.  The “world” is an entire approach to everything that is not God’s way.  There is God’s way, and then there is everything that is not God’s way.  There is being sourced by God, and there is being sourced by anything outside of God.  Everything that is not of God is the “world,” in the manner in which Jesus is using it here.

There are some important things in the gospel message to know about this “world” --- everything that is outside of God.  First, God’s approach to the “world” is to offer salvation through Jesus.  John 3:16-17.  Also, this is not the way God designed things to be.  When God created this physical creation, which we sometimes call “world,” He created it perfect, without sin, operating in His way and sourced by Him --- which is always good.  When He finished creating it, He said, “It is good.”  It was operating under His direction, His way, and His presence and sourcing.

Sin, which is rebellion against God, changed God’s creation.  When Adam and Eve chose to give into the temptation of Satan and operate outside of God, it began a ripple effect that would soon affect the whole creation.  Make no mistake: any rebellion against God has ripple effects!  Our surrender to temptation and sin has affected this entire creation.  Even though God made a perfect creation to function in Him, the basic principle of this creation is now to operate outside of Him.  John speaks of this in his writings when he says, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:19).”  Jesus speaks of this when He says things like, “The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me (John 14:30).”  The New Testament has other references to this work of Satan and influence upon the creation, which has resulted in this basic principle of the “world” --- to operate outside of God.

One thing this speaks to us is the reality of spiritual warfare in our lives.  Our lives are not merely a matter of physical existence: work, make money, eat, sleep, raise kids, go to church, maintain the schedule, get things done.  There is something happening in every moment of our existence.  There are spiritual forces at work constantly to pull us away from God --- to persuade us to live outside of Him, His presence and His source for our lives.  This is real.  And anyone who chooses to respond to God and be filled with Him, coming to live in solidarity with God, will experience opposition in this world from everything that is not of Him.  There will be spiritual pressure.  Even if it is not spoken, it will be felt, because it is something that is happening in the spiritual atmosphere.  It is real.

Of course, if this is too unpleasant, there is a way out of that discomfort.  The way out is to participate in the solidarity of the world.  Just as there is solidarity in God and His style, there is also a solidarity in the world.  It is a union of interests and purposes.  What is the union of interests and purposes of this “world”?  What is the commonality?  Anything but Jesus.  As long as you don’t push Jesus and who He is and being sourced by Him alone, we can accept you.  This was the very principle of Pax Romana and how the Roman Empire functioned.  As the Empire expanded, it was necessary to find a way to accommodate many different kinds of people with all their different religions and views.  The solution was the Pax Romana.  All you had to do was declare your worship of Cesar and that he was god, and then you would be allowed to go on with your own religion or whatever.  This worked for the Roman Empire in “keeping the peace.”  This is what Jesus meant when He said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you (John 14:27).”  The decision the early Christians were faced with was, “Is it Jesus alone, or can I just be a good person who allows Jesus to be a part of things?”  Is Jesus one of the choices, or is He it?  They found that you could keep the peace if you were willing to just be a good person and include Him a little bit in things.  But if you insisted that He is the only way and being sourced by Him is all there is and that anything outside of Him is wrong, then you were in trouble.

Him or the World?

It is amazing how the Word of God continues to confront me and my way of thinking.  If someone asked me if I was “worldly,” I would, of course, say NO.  I have been in church for over 20 years now.  I am in the ministry.  I have no problems with immorality in my life.  Anyone could comb through my life and find no obviously “evil” things.  But this is not the concept of the “world” being presented by Scripture.  The “world” is anything outside of Him, His presence and His sourcing.  This brings a whole new perspective.

Without this perspective of the Word, I tend to think of anything that is “good” as acceptable.  “Good” is in contrast to bad or evil.  Going to church is good; going to bars is evil.  Drinking tea is good; getting drunk on alcohol is evil.  Preaching is good; gossip is evil.  Watching Billy Graham on TV is good; watching rated X movies is evil.  However, the question presented by the Word is not, “Is it good or bad?”  The question presented by the Word is “Is it of Him, His presence and sourced by Him?”

I tend to think in three categories.  There is bad, there is good, and then there is high-level, super-spiritual Christianity.  That high level is that which is spoken of in the Word.  Very few of us, if any, ever attain to that level.  So, most of us have to settle for the good.  But there is a problem with this.  Scripture does not paint three categories.  There are only two.  It is either of Him or of the “world.”  This means that there is no “good” outside of Him.  If it is not of Him, His presence, and completely sourced by Him, then it is the “world.”

What if the greatest repentance in my life needs to be for what was “good,” but not of Him?  God is not interested in my best or my good.  He does not want what I can produce and put forth.  He wants to produce and bring forth from my life something that is beyond me --- the solidarity of who He is.  A real demonstration of Him in my day.

What is the greatest sin of a pastor?  Maybe its living in his or her own goodness instead of who Jesus is.  There is no more worldly person in the world than the best person you have ever met who is living in his own “goodness.”

Jesus, I want to repent of all my goodness.  I want to repent of and renounce any good thing that I can do that is so far below who You are and what You want to do through my life.  I want there to be NOTHING going on in my life that is not of You, Your presence and Your sourcing.  I want such intimacy and solidarity with You that what is going on in the Trinity is going on in me.  I want to be so close with You that the consistency of who You are is showing up in my life.  I want to be able to show forth who You are in every moment of my life with complete consistency.  This can only happen through You.  Please cause it to be so, in Jesus’ Name.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Describe an example I have seen of human solidarity (people sharing common interest and purpose).  What would happen if we had that with God?

2.       Do I have any areas in my life where I experience pressure to operate outside of God and His resourcing?

3.       Is there anything “good” in my life about which He has been convicting me lately because it is not altogether what He desires?

4.       Is there any situation in my life where I feel pressure to “back off” from Jesus in order to “keep the peace”?

Missionary

John 15:18-21

Mapping the Spiritual

A common concept in these chapters in John’s gospel is the preparation of the disciples.  Jesus has been working with them for 2 to 3 years.  Now, as his arrest approaches in just a few hours, He especially takes time to share His heart with them.  How can He possibly prepare them for everything they will face?  Since there is no way to describe to them every single situation and contingency they will face, He prepares them with principles and concepts.  This is fundamental to understanding this particular section, John 15:18-27.  He is explaining to them the principles and reasons behind the opposition they will face.

If they are to understand this opposition, one absolute fundamental to grasp is the existence and reality of the spiritual realm.  We have already spoken of this in the last study, but it is necessary to see the vital importance of this if we are to grasp what Jesus is saying to the disciples.  What is important to realize is that there is more going on than what we can perceive in the physical.  This is why the New Testament speaks so much about the reality of the spiritual, or “heavenly” realms.  Paul refers to it often in his epistles.  In fact, Paul even prays for his churches that they may have “spiritual understanding.”  See 1 Corinthians 2:13-14; Ephesians 1:17-18; Colossians 1:9.

In fact, if we really look at the New Testament closely, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we see that spiritual war is taking place.  If we ever become aware of the spiritual realm, we will become aware of this war.  Again, Paul is clear on this (Ephesians 6:10-13; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6).  There are other references to the reality of the demonic and their opposition to believers.  As Jesus is preparing the disciples for this opposition they will face, it is important to know the reality of the spiritual realm, and that what they will face is coming from the spiritual opposition of the warfare taking place in the spiritual.

Where does Jesus say this specifically?  If we have been reading and studying the Gospel of John, we have seen it already.  It is in the context.  The reality of this spiritual war has been seen in Judas.  It is clear that Judas has not been merely acting in the physical.  He has been under the influence of Satan and this spiritual battle (John 6:70; 13:2, 27).  Jesus begins to make reference to this battle to the disciples in 14:30.  He then prays for them in 17:15 that the Father would “keep them from the evil one.”

John speaks of this spiritual battle even more clearly in his letter, 1 John 4:1-4.  What is this “spirit of the Antichrist” which is already in the world?  It is what is against Jesus.  It accepts anything but Jesus.  This is perhaps the greatest trap of Satan for church people.  We can accept what is “good” and do what is “good” without Him.  The spiritual battle is real, and the strategy of Satan is to get us into anything but Jesus; to draw our focus and life away from Him.  This is the battle for which Jesus was preparing the disciples.  And this is the force and dynamic behind all the opposition the disciples will face.  They can have the absence of opposition if they will not be so intent on Jesus, but as long as they are into Him they will have opposition.  This is because of the spirit of Antichrist, which is the world.

Manifest in the Physical

Another strong fundamental of scripture is the relationship and dynamic between the physical world and the spiritual world.  This is important to further understand the opposition the disciples will face.  What is happening in the physical affects the spiritual, and what is happening in the spiritual affects the physical.  This is particularly true in the human being.  Every human is the merging of the physical and the spiritual.  What takes place in a person’s physical life affects his or her spiritual life.  What is happening in that individual’s spiritual life is going to show up in the physical in some way.  It cannot be prevented.  It can be hidden, but will eventually show up.  Paul speaks of this very strongly in 1 Corinthians.  Incidentally, it is also true for a group of people.

The conclusion of this is that a person filled with the Spirit of Jesus and having intimacy with Him is going to have a physical manifestation of that.  What would this physical manifestation look like?  It will look just like Jesus, since He is the prototype.  It is exactly what He has been speaking to them about in this entire context.  He will come to indwell them and produce His own style and nature in them.  What will be its primary “telltale” sign?  Love.  It is the style of love of which He just spoke in verses 9-17.

It is absolutely key to understand that this is not something we can produce.  When we see a lack of love or flow of His life in us, our inclination is to try to produce it by some effort of our own.  The “church growth” movement is based on this.  A church is not growing, not experiencing His life, lacking the power of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, we come up with a plan of how to grow the church ---- instead of just seeking Him and getting on our faces before Him so He can do through us what needs to be done.  I want to do that!  We do this same thing in counseling.  I find myself lacking love and the style of Jesus in my life.  So, I come up with some plan to try to be more like that, instead of seeking Him and getting on my face before Him so He can do through me what needs to be done.  The emphasis of the Word is that this nature and love of His is what flows from Him.  If I will be open and respond to Him, He will flow.  It is possible!

Just as there is physical manifestation of Him, there is also a physical manifestation of whatever is not of Him --- which is the spirit of Antichrist mentioned earlier.  What would this physical manifestation look like?  It looks like hate.  This is what Jesus is particularly describing in John 15:18-21.  The word “hate” is very descriptive.  It has to do with a conscious choice to persecute, or to give “paybacks.”  The grammar that Jesus is using here indicates that it is very purposeful (active voice) and that it is continuous or ongoing (present tense).  It paints the picture of someone that is consumed with something and has to do something about it.

What would so consume someone and what would they hate?  Jesus is saying that the “world” (everything that is not of Him) hates Him and what is of Him.  One reason He gives for this is that His presence exposes sin and what is really going on.  He describes this in verses 22-24.  He also described this same thing back in 3:20-21.

The indication of the Word is that this hate is so strong that it is intertwined with murder.  This is described in 1 John 3:10-15.  The hate that comes from exposure of sin results in murder.  That hate and murder are manifestations of the same spirit—the spirit of Antichrist, or Satan himself.  Jesus described this to the Jews in John 8:44.

If a person is not filled with the Holy Spirit, he or she is bound to this spirit and to end up being consumed by hate and a murderous spirit.  The description Jesus gives in verse 21 is of someone who cannot help himself.  It is the verb poieo, which describes something coming out of a person that is going on inside.  This is not something we can fix or correct in the physical.  It is a spiritual issue.  We are inclined to think, and the world tells us, to try harder or to control this behavior and attitude.  But it cannot happen, because it is a spiritual problem that is being manifest in the physical.  This is what Jesus is telling the disciples they can expect.  He is preparing them for this opposition they will face.  It will be a spirit of hate and murder that will be manifest in the physical by those who are consumed and cannot help themselves.  The opposition is to the Jesus and His Spirit in them, because the opposing spirit is the spirit of Antichrist --- of Satan himself.

Missionary Calling

What are the disciples to do in response to this?  How does this all prepare them?  The indication of chapters 14-16 is that the only thing for them to do is to be filled with Him and live in response to Him.  Their only focus is to be Him.  Spirit warfare can easily become off-focus.  It can become a power battle or a “ghost hunter” mentality.  Jesus is preparing them for the opposition and spiritual battle by calling their exclusive focus to Himself.  They will be filled with His Spirit and resourced by Him, and the only way to battle will be to just live in Him and allow Him to work in them.

In chapter 17, Jesus even indicates in His prayer for them that they are not to be out of the world, but in the midst of it (John 17:14-15).  He wants to live in them and empower them live in Him in the midst of this world and its opposition.  There seems to be two typical responses to spiritual battle: flight or fight.  Flight is to run away and hide.  Fight is to think it is our battle to fight.  Jesus is presenting the disciples with a whole different approach to the battle: just remain in Him and He in them.  He will be their entire resource in the midst of this opposition.

Why would He leave them in this?  There are two fairly simple reasons.  First, there is no question that Jesus wants to flow through them to impact the world around them.  They are to be missionaries.  The missionary heart of God is always to allow Jesus to move through us to touch people around us --- especially those who oppose.  For God so loves the “world,” that He desires to reach them somehow.  How will this happen except through people like us who have Him in our bodies and will allow Him to be seen by those who oppose?  In fact, maybe the greatest Christian witness comes in the face of opposition.  It is easy to be nice to people who are nice to me.  Only Jesus can produce out of me His style and nature in the face of hatred and murder.  People are won to Jesus not by words, but by seeing the real thing.  Are they seeing that in me?

How can that happen in me?  How can I have the real thing going on in me?  Could it be that the way that grows and develops is through the pressure of life?  Maybe the reason Jesus wanted the disciples in the “world” is that they needed it.  If they were really going to know Him and have His nature produced in them, maybe they need to experience the opposition of the cross in order for that to happen.  Do I really want to know Him?  Do I really want to grow?  Maybe the way that will happen is in the face of pressure, opposition, hatred and murder (Philippians 3:7-11).

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What spiritual reality has been evident in my physical life of late?

2.       What spiritual reality has been evident in the physical environment and lives of the people around me of late?

3.       What is Jesus doing in their lives through me?

4.       What is Jesus doing in my life through them?

Remember the Word

John 15:20-25

Requirement of the Word

A close look into John 15:18-27 reveals a spiritual reality behind what will be taking place with the disciples.  Jesus is preparing them for the opposition they will face, which will be most characterized by “hatred” from the “world.”  An understanding of this from the Scriptural view has revealed that this hatred from the world is not merely a physical matter.  It reveals the reality of the spiritual realm.  It is beyond what can be seen and sensed by the natural senses, but is just as real.  Scripture is abundantly clear on the existence of this spiritual or “heavenly” realm.  Paul prays that his churches may have insight and knowledge of it.  One reason this is significant is to realize that the spiritual and physical realms are constantly interacting, each affecting the other.  What happens in the physical affects the spiritual, and what is happening in the spiritual will become manifest in the physical.

The hatred to be experienced by the disciples will be a physical manifestation of the spiritual war taking place on a continuous basis.  Again, there can be no question from the Scripture that this war is happening.  Paul discusses it clearly in places such as Ephesians 6 and 2 Corinthians 10.  This is not fable or imagination, but a description of what is really happening.

What is this war about and what is the nature of the war?  From what is presented in Scripture, this war has at its core a battle between truth and deception (lies).  It is not a battle over power or might.  God is all powerful and has no equal, so this is not a battle at all between equals.  In fact, all power has been stripped from Satan and all demonic forces at the cross.  “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:15).”  The only “ability” left to Satan by God, the Almighty, is the ability to deceive.  Scripture is clear from the beginning that Satan is a deceiver and a liar.  “When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44).”  Satan is allowed by God to tell his lies only to serve the purposes of God, which is always to reveal our need for Jesus.

What is the answer to these lies and how does one fight deception?  TRUTH.  Truth always dispels deception the same way light dispels darkness.  What is darkness?  The absence of light.  Just turn on the light and there is no darkness.  What is a lie?  The absence of truth.  Just bring the truth in and there is no lie.  This is an important lesson for spiritual warfare and battle.  This is not a power struggle.  We don’t have to “give the devil a black eye.”  We don’t need to fight him in hand-to-hand combat.  We would lose.  The way to win is with truth.  We can’t lose with the truth!

What is the truth?  By listening to the Gospel of John we know that the truth is Jesus!  Truth is not a thing, a set of ideas, or a bullet list of information.  Truth is a person.  Jesus is the truth; anything outside of Him is a lie.  The way to dispel every lie of Satan is to get Jesus in the middle of everything and have Him there all the time!

This is why Jesus is so emphatic about His Word.  If we are to know Him and have His truth, it will come from His Word to us.  We have already seen an emphasis on His Word and the Scriptures throughout the context of this section (John 12:47-48; 13:18; 14:10, 24; 15:3).  Now in this section, He seems to emphasize even more His Word and the Scriptures in 15:20, 22, 25.

The real urgency of His Word in this section seems strongly connected to the spiritual warfare being described. It is as if the Word and the issue of spiritual opposition are inseparable.  The suggestion of this is that the Word is the only solution and answer to the spiritual warfare and opposition they will face.   Since He is the truth, and the need is for the dispelling of the lies of Satan, the only way this will happen is through His Word.  This is certainly the essence of His prayer for them in John 17:15-17.  “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them by Your truth.  Your word is truth.”  If they are to be in the world, then they will certainly face attack and opposition from Satan, the father of all lies.  They are going to need victory in the midst of this battle.  What is the answer to this victory?  It is that they would be sanctified by Truth --- the Person of Jesus in their lives.  And the Word will be the instrument of how this happens, for it is an extension of Him.  It is HIS word.

Is the Word, and our involvement in Him through the Word, the fundamental key of our spiritual growth and victory?  Can we not tell the level of spiritual victory an individual has from his or her level of involvement in the Word? Is it not absolutely critical and urgent that we have His Word at work in us?

Recognition of the Word

What if an individual does not have involvement in the Word like this?  What if he or she attempts to live through the spiritual warfare of life (remember its factual existence) without the Word?  This certainly seems to be the picture of what the Jewish leaders were doing.  We know something of the history of those who were the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day.  The Pharisees were the dominant party.  They had formed a couple of hundred years earlier in an attempt to get back to the ways of God.  However, instead of simply remaining with God’s Word, they developed their own interpretation of it --- which is called the “oral tradition.”  As time passed, this oral tradition became more central and important to them than God’s Word itself.  They fought over and carefully guarded the oral tradition.

As we come to this current section, we get a picture of what some of the results of that had come to be.  While they were experts in their own oral tradition, they had become “dulled” to the actual Word of God.  This is the sense we get from verses 20 and 22, but especially of verse 25.  The emphasis in the grammar is upon what had been written in their law.  Note the possessive emphasis on “their” law.  It was not someone else’s, but theirs.  It was what they claimed to know so well.  The grammar also emphasizes this by the use of the perfect tense for “written.”  Perfect tense suggests something that happened in the past with results continuing into the present.  This law was written long ago, but had been with them all this time even up until this very day.  It was still speaking, but they were not listening.  They had the Word with them, but had become dull or even deaf to it.  When Jesus came to speak the very same Word, they rejected Him.

This demonstrates a spiritual dynamic and cycle that can happen to people.  By not hearing the Word of God (getting off on other things, such as oral tradition), they became spiritually dull.  They had no spiritual discernment or openness to realize at least a couple of things.  First, that God was now speaking to them in the flesh.  Secondly, that they were being partners with Satan in his deceptive schemes.  While they may have been good people, they had become spiritually dead with an apparent lack of any spiritual discernment.  They probably had no idea of the spiritual battle going on, let alone the reality of a spiritual realm.  In such a state of spiritual dullness, they could not realize their need for Jesus and His word.  This caused them to go further in not hearing God’s Word.  Not hearing God’s Word causes more spiritual deadness, which causes more of a lack of hearing God’s Word, and so on.  This cycle looks like the following:

Don’t hear or believe God’s Word

Don’t grasp spiritual reality/battle

and need for the Word

PLEASE NOTE: God’s people become the “world” apart from the Word!  Even the best people become the “world,” living and participating in the deception of Satan if they do not live and grow in the truth of the Word.

In contrast to the dire reality of the above cycle, the opposite is also true.  One who hears and lives in response to God’s Word will grow in a realization of the reality of the spiritual realm, the battle, and what is at stake.  This will create in him or her an urgency in realizing his or her need for the truth of the Word and to grow in Him.  As He or she hears and responds to the Word more, a greater discernment of the spiritual grows.  As that greater discernment of the spiritual grows, so does the greater need for the Word, and so on.  It looks like the following:

Hear God’s Word --

hunger and seek

Grasp spiritual reality/battle

and need for the Word

An important realization in this process is that the Holy Spirit is the facilitator.  Being into God’s Word and actually hearing truth and knowing Jesus (not just reading words) is a spiritual process.  It is not something we can do in our human ability.  The truth is spiritually discerned, and Jesus promised His Spirit as the resource.  This is what He points toward in verses 26 and 27, leading into the great truths about the Holy Spirit in chapter 16.  What a way to live!

Remember the Word

This understanding makes complete sense of our motivation for knowing truth and being into His Word.  We have tried so many motivations, all of them having failed: guilt, sense of duty, threat of punishment, rewards, contests, on and on.  None of these have seemed to succeed in motivating us to be into the Word.  Motivation does seem to be the issue.  We do not lack motivation to watch a game or make time for our favorite TV show or book.  We have time.

But what if we realized our lives depend on this?  What if we would believe what the Scripture is telling us and understand that there is a spiritual reality in which a spiritual war is taking place, and that the Word is the only way for us to come through it?  It is not hard to motivate a soldier on the front lines of battle.  He does what he needs to do to survive.  What if I thought of it in terms of food?  I need to eat to survive.  I can eat junk and not survive, or I can eat good food and live and be healthy.  What if the Word is something that I need to begin eating in order for my life to become healthy enough for me to realize how much I need it?

Jesus speaks of taking the Word this seriously.  Verse 20 is only one of the places He speaks of “keeping” His word.  It is the idea of a guard who is not going to take his eyes off of his charge.  He is in complete focus and commitment to what he is guarding.  Are we that way with the Word?

His command to the disciples at the beginning of verse 20 is especially descriptive of the attitude they are to have.  “Remember the word I said to you.”  It is a command, and is in the active voice.  This means it is something in which they are to be fully involved --- they are the ones acting.  It is also in the present tense, meaning that this is to be an ongoing activity.  It is not temporary or brief, but continuous.  They are to be absolutely committed to what He is saying to them.

The meaning of this word “remember,” has to do with an ongoing condition of being mindful of something and not forgetting.  One way the word was used in the ancient day was for the activity of a municipal “recorder.”  He or she was the person who recorded all the details of the proceedings so that they could be remembered.  So, essentially it is an attention to detail over the long run.

This word was used in the Old Testament for the covenant God made with His people.  They were to live their lives in “remembrance” of what He had done for them and that they were His people and that He was their God.  The entire structure of Jewish life had been set up by God to live in this remembrance.  Every law, every feast, every sacrifice, every custom, was set up so that they would walk around all day, every day, in constant awareness of Him.  This is what Jesus was getting at with the disciples.  He would come to live in them by the Holy Spirit.  They are going to walk around all day, every day, living in constant awareness of Him and sourced by Him at all times.  In fact, the act of receiving the Lord’s Supper would be done in “remembrance” of Him --- not of a dead and distant Jesus, but of the alive presence inside of them.  They were to live in constant awareness of Him all the time.

This is the sense of one final meaning of this word “remember.” One definition of the very most basic root word is “to woo or court one’s bride.”  Remember courting someone?  You thought of her all the time.  You couldn’t get her off your mind.  You walked around all day, every day, in constant thought about her.  You spent your time on her, even when you didn’t have it to give.  You gave yourself.

Could we come back to that with Jesus--treating Him as a “first love”?  If we are to have that with Him, could we “remember” His Word like this?  Could we live in it and have constant awareness of Him in the Word?  Anyone who does will grow in truth and realize the need for it all the more.  Our lives depend on it.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What lie has Satan told me?  What truth of the Word dispels that lie?

2.       Describe how either the cycle of spiritual dullness or the cycle of growth in truth has happened in my life.

3.       What have I remembered (made time for) in my life as one courting his bride?  Is the Holy Spirit saying anything about this to me in relation to my involvement in the Word?

4.       What has been my involvement in God’s Word?  What is my commitment?

The Myth of Neutrality

John 15:20-24

Movement

As Jesus prepares the disciples for what is to come, it is definitely a preparation for movement.  Something is always going to be happening.  If you are going to ask Jesus Christ to come and live in you, it will not result in an uneventful existence.  Things are going to be moving!  There will be a transformation and moving of God that is to happen in them.  How exciting to be a Christian!  And there will also be a moving of opposition to what is happening through them.  That is the specific part of the preparation about which Jesus is speaking to them at this moment.

He tells them in verse 20, “Remember the word I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”  The word translated “persecute” is a fascinating word.  It literally has the idea of going after, seeking, chasing or pursuing after something or someone.  Some of the essence of it even has to do with the wind as it drives a ship; the concept of compelling motion or movement.  This is where the concept of “persecution” comes from in the New Testament.  It is someone “going after” a person of faith.  It is an intense opposition that will come from the “world” to those who are in Christ.  Jesus talked of this kind of persecution many times to the disciples (Matthew 5:11; Luke 21:12).

But this word has an interesting twist.  Just as it can mean to “go after” something or someone in an evil way, it can also mean to “go after” something in a good way.  The New Testament is full of this, talking about “pursuing” what is good and righteous (Romans 14:19; 1 Corinthians 14:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22; Hebrews 12:14).

The Apostle Paul is certainly a demonstration of both of these directions.  Before his conversion, he was a determined and passionate persecutor of the church.  He really “went after” it (1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13, 23).  But after his conversion, when his life changed in Christ, Paul’s passion and drive was redirected.  He now “went after” Jesus with his entire being.  In Philippians 3:12-14, he used the same exact word to describe his “pressing” after Jesus.  As we read the previous verses, we see that Jesus is his entire life and nothing else is of any significance or interest to him.  All things are considered loss, and he only seeks to know Christ.  This is certainly the pattern of New Testament Christianity.

Myth

It is tempting to dismiss the life of the Apostle Paul as unique, if we ever really consider it at all.  After all, how many people will ever go through the extreme circumstances he did?  Furthermore, we might think that he was just a unique personality type to be so driven.  However, the letters that he writes to the churches serve as the standard of heart, attitude and behavior for the early church.  He says to those in the churches things like, “Therefore I urge you, imitate me (1 Corinthians 4:16).”  We find in the book of Acts that Paul’s “kind” of heart, attitude and behavior are indeed the norm for those called Christians --- even those who do not know him!  Actually, it is common to find the same “kind” of Christians in churches in mission areas today, with a few radical ones here and there in our circles in the U.S..

Yet, there is a persistence among some to say, “I am just not like Paul or those in the early church.  I am more laid back.”  This has led to the formation of some kind of large “cultural middle” in Christianity in our country at least.  It is the “kind” of Christianity that we have come to think of as normal, and is what is commonly accepted as the norm in our churches.  Some have come to believe that there are three categories into which people’s spiritual lives fit.  One extreme is those who are not saved.  These are those who would be haters of God and persecutors of the church.  The other extreme is the radical, seeking kind of Christians exemplified in Paul and the early church.  These are a unique, higher level of Christianity.  The third category is very large and occupies the middle ground.  It is made up of those who believe that they are Christians and are saved because they at some point asked forgiveness for their sins, but they do not have the intense level of Christianity in the same way as those “Paul-like” people.  Yet, they believe that they are still saved and will go to heaven.

The problem with this view and practice is that it is out of line with the New Testament.  The New Testament clearly presents that there are not three categories of people’s spiritual lives, but only two.  It is always a contrast of what is of Him and what is not, what is in and what is out.  It is an either/or proposition.  Paul speaks extensively in his letters about two categories: those living in the flesh and those living in the Spirit; the works of the flesh versus the fruit of the Spirit.  There is a clear and marked contrast between the life of one living in the flow of the Spirit versus the one who does not have the life of Christ.  John makes very plain two categories in 1 John 5:12 when he writes, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”  There is no “in-between” or third category.  It is one or the other.  Jesus himself speaks of the intensity of this choice in Matthew 12:30 while strongly confronting the Pharisees about their closed hearts.  “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

This is certainly the feel and emphasis of the discussion with the disciples in John 15 as He prepares them for what they will face.  It is going to get intense, and everyone is going to go after something.  Either you will be into Him or you will not.  There is no “middle.”  And there will be a persecution from those who are not going after Him.  If they are not going after Jesus, they will be coming after the disciples!

Motivator

Some may still say, “Even though I am not after Jesus at that level (Paul-like), I am certainly not against Him or a persecutor of anyone.”  The answer to this is that it may not be evident right away.  It may not even be evident right away to the person who mistakenly believes he or she is “in” (just not in the way the New Testament describes).   He or she may have been deceived into thinking that everything is OK when it really is not.

But Jesus indicates that this is all going to be brought out by His presence and His Word.  He makes this clear in verses 22-24.  It is the enlightening of His presence and Word that brings conviction and light to what is really going on inside a person.  This is the conviction brought by His Spirit which is so vividly described in the next chapter.  We need to look more at this process of light which He brings in the next study.  But we do understand clearly from this that the light of His Word and presence are going to expose everything for what it is.  The light is so bright that nothing will remain hidden.

One thing is sure to happen as a result of this enlightening of things as they are.  Each person who is being exposed is going to move in one of two directions.  These two directions are clearly explained in John 3:19-21.  One response to the light is to seek and to respond; to live in truth and welcome the exposure as described in verse 21.  This “doing” (poieo) or living of the truth is the kind of lifestyle of Christianity described in the New Testament.  This is “going after Him.”  It is all out for Him and a total surrender of one’s life with nothing to hide.  If there is anything not just the way it is supposed to be, this attitude brings us into the open in order to repent and to be changed.  It is a constant attitude and style of living in truth, being changed, being open and exposed --- living an “open book” life.  What a way to live!  No fear either of the present or of the future.

But there is an opposite approach to this enlightening that He will bring.  It is resisting and hating the light as described in verse 20.  It is an attempt to escape the light and not be exposed in order to not deal with the evil and rebellion in one’s heart and life.  This concept for “hiddenness” is what Jesus refers to in John 15:22.  “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no EXCUSE for their sin.”  The word translated “excuse” has to do with pretense or covering.  It is pretending to be something that one is not.  One interesting translation of this word is “cloak” in 1 Thessalonians 2:5.  It is the idea of wearing a disguise or covering to deceive someone.  I have a picture of this in the movie “Robin Hood” where he wore a cloak to hide his true identity.

Yet, Jesus is always going to be “uncloaking” us through His Word and Spirit, so that any cloak we have is of no good (v.22).  Yet if He is uncloaking us, and we don’t want to be exposed, what will our reaction be?  According to John 3:20 it will be to hate the light.  This is the attitude and spirit of the persecution from the world Jesus is telling the disciples to expect.  Could it be that ordinarily nice, normal, good church people could become nasty and hateful when they are presented with truth because they do not want to be uncloaked?  There can be no doubt that everyone will go one direction or the other when His Word and Spirit bring truth and expose us.  We will grow and become more like Him, or we will become hateful and murderous-- persecutors of the avenue of truth.  Just watch this take place.  There is no middle ground --- it is a myth.

Don’t we believe that this “uncloaking’ and exposing of sin is what brings revival?  Every revival --- a powerful moving of God among a group of people --- in church history came when people were willing to be exposed, deal with their sin, come to repentance and be changed.  There is no other way.  Revival never comes to the “cultural middle” or what we have come to accept as “normal,” mediocre Christianity.  There simply is no middle category, and those who are not living in Him according to what the Scripture says are really not in at all.  This is the way it is.  This is not something made up by man or any church --- it is the standard set in His own Word.  We each must decide whether or not we accept His Word as the standard of truth for us or not.  This is the crucial decision of this hour in our culture and world.

If we accept His Word as the standard for what is normal Christianity, we see the John 3:21 approach.  It is a seeking of truth, a willingness to deal with sin and be exposed, a seriousness about repentance and being transformed.  Of course, we deal with all sin in the love, grace and mercy of God, but we take it seriously.  It is a “Paul-like” seriousness about this whole thing.  And out of that, God always brings revival.  Without it, we do not have His moving.

Isn’t it easier sometimes not to deal with it at all?  Isn’t it simpler and smoother to ignore sin in our lives and in the church and just go on?  Just “cloak” it and go on --- believing everything will be fine.  Ever wonder how individuals and churches go on year after year the same in spiritual deadness and no moving of God?  This is how --- by just cloaking and pretending everything is OK.

Need to be uncloaked at all?  Satan will have you believe you need to hide and cover.  He will tell you to just go on and everything will be OK --- that some good will come out of it.  But it will not.  The answer is in being exposed and coming to Him as you are.  We don’t need to live in fear anymore.  His grace, love and mercy are more than enough.  He takes us as we are.  And, though it is hard to see, He will do more out of my exposure than I could ever ask or imagine.  Don’t live in hate anymore toward the light.  Come as you are and let Him change your life.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       How does my view of the authority of God’s Word shape my approach to Christianity?

2.       What is my attitude toward the “Paul-like” approach of seeking, responding, being exposed, repenting and being changed?

3.       Is God shedding light on something in my life right now?

4.       How am I responding to that?

Enlightenment

John 15:22-24

The New Testament has a bold and simple, fundamental message: Jesus Christ is everything and there is nothing true, good, or lasting outside of Him.  He is all truth.  He is what is real.  He is everything that is good, and there is nothing good apart from Him, no matter how good it may seem at first.  Wrapped up in His person is everything there is, and when you embrace Him, you have everything you need.  When you don’t have Him, you have something false, temporary and fake.  “He who has the Son has life, and He who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12).

One other way that John especially speaks of this concept is that Jesus is the “light of the world,” as in John 8:12 and 9:5.  As this light of the world comes to each person’s life, He will reveal everything for how it really is.  There is no way to hide from Him or cover.  There are no excuses, as is stated in John 15:22.  It is this “enlightening” which prompts the moving in one direction or the other.  This enlightening is being described in verses 22-24.  Jesus came to the “world” as the light to reveal, expose and bring them to Himself.  From this process and in seeing His approach we gain insight into how He is bringing light to all our lives in this very moment and always.

Exhaustiveness of the Light

One thing clear about this process of Jesus coming and being the light is the exhaustiveness of the light.  By exhaustiveness we mean thoroughness and completeness.  It becomes clear the more we look into this section that when Jesus is speaking of the “world,” He is speaking of the Jewish leaders.  The very simple statement of verse 25 clarifies this.  He is talking about what is written in “their” law.  This follows the entire discussion of hatred from the “world.”  Furthermore, He clarifies the source of this hatred even more in 16:2 when He says, “They will put you out of the synagogues.”  Therefore, we know, in the context, that the ones that hate Jesus and will hate the disciples --- the ones to whom He has brought light --- are the Jewish leaders.  This helps us really understand the light process in verses 22-24.

He says in verse 22 that He had “come and spoken to them.”  The Greek word translated “spoken” has an interesting meaning.  It can be translated “to prattle, chatter or babble,” even sometimes in reference to the speech of a monkey.  Jesus uses this term at times to refer to His speech.  For example, He used it in John 14:25, 30 to refer to His speaking to the disciples.  The great emphasis on this section is that He had been real with them.  He had not come and talked to them in high and lofty theological language.  He had actually come and become one of them.  When He spoke to them, He spoke on their level.  He used their vocabulary, their slang.  He was just hanging out with them.  He spoke to them as one of them.

This is certainly what Jesus did with the Jewish leaders.  He did not speak over their heads or in language or approach which was beyond their ability if they would have been open.  The conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 is a prime example of this.  Jesus makes reference to the plainness of His speech to Nicodemus in verses 10-12.  The rest of His interaction with the Jewish leaders certainly reveals that He was very willing to talk with them and do so on their level (John 8:25).  He was bringing light and truth to their lives right where they were and providing opportunity for them to respond.

Just as He came to speak to them in verse 22, He also describes that He did works among them in verse 24.  Again, it is evident from John that Jesus was active among the Jewish leaders bringing truth and revelation from the works He did.  He describes this clearly in John 10:32-38.  The emphasis of these verses is that He was doing something among them that was recognizable.  It is very apparent from the conversation with Nicodemus that Jesus had been doing something that gained the attention of the Jewish leaders.  Note the statement of Nicodemus in John 3:2.  It is apparent from the statement that something became evident to the Jews, and that it was to at least a group of them (“we know”).

This is always the approach of Jesus.  It is the great concept of God’s grace.  He is not going to let us miss Him.  We may choose not to respond to Him, but it will not be because we did not hear from Him or see Him in some way.  We may be slow of understanding, but He is going to get through somehow.  There is great rest in the concept of God’s grace.  Somehow, He is going to get through to me in the way in which I will hear it and understand it.  It may be in a different way than how He gets through to someone else.  But I never need to worry about “missing it.”  I can rest in the fact that everything God wants to be and do in my life is going to be plain to me somehow.  He is very patient and willing to repeat Himself!  The only way to not be in is to choose not to be in!  Am I responding today to what He is bringing right before me?  Is He waving a flag or yelling or pulling at my heart?  Is He making something clear to me?  Will I respond?

Endurance of the Light

A second important concept of understanding the process of Jesus bringing light (Himself) to our lives is the endurance of it.  Verses 22 and 24 reveal some extremely important things in the grammar.  The two verses are parallel in many ways.  It is as if they are saying the same thing, just in two different aspects or ways.

Note the phrase “have no sin” is used exactly the same in both verses.  The tense of the verb both times is the imperfect tense.  The imperfect tense describes an action which took place in the past and was continuous.  So, this phrase, used in both verses 22 and 24 describes a condition or activity of these Jews in the past which was continuous.  In other words, it describes that they were in a condition of not having sin continuously in the past.

But something changed.  The second half of verse 22 says “but now they have no excuse for their sin.”  Verse 24, in parallel, also describes a similar change in the second half of the verse by saying, “but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father.”  The “have” in verse 22 is in the present tense.  It means an action that is continuous and ongoing.  The “have seen” and “hated” in verse 24 are both in the perfect tense, which means something that has taken place but has ongoing results into the present.  Note also the emphasis on the words “but” and “now” in each verse.

All of this paints a picture.  The picture is that the Jews were going along as they had been not in sin.  But something changed, and after this change, they were in sin from this point on.  What produced this change?  In the verses it was the speaking and works of Jesus that brought the change.  In other words, it was light that revealed sin.  They were not responsible for what they were until the light came.  But after the light came, it forever changed the dynamic.  There is no going back.  Since they did not respond openly to Him, they were now in sin.  They were not in sin.  He came and revealed Himself.  They did not respond.  Now they are in sin.

This is an extremely important aspect of the enlightening process.  When Jesus brings light to a person, it is irrevocable.  Once light is received, one can never go back to the way things were before.  He or she is now responsible for that light from now on --- forever.  This puts a tremendous weight on responding and saying yes to Him on the issues He brings to me.  I may not have been aware of something before.  But once He brings it to my attention, I must respond to Him.  Any decision of non-response on my part is sin, and I am in sin until I respond.  My relationship with Him and His presence in me hangs on that response.  He will keep bringing me back to that same item again and again, keeping it before me all the time, until I respond to it.  This is again the exhaustiveness of the light.  He will keep at me until I hear Him.  And If I do not respond, then I am in sin.  Someone might ask, “What if I die having not responded?”  Then I will die in sin and not be in.  It is crucial that we are responding to Him in the light He has brought to us at this moment.

Expression of the Light

There is no way to take light and responding to Him casually.  It matters.  Whatever I do with light will have immediate and lasting consequences in my life.  These consequences will certainly play out in many areas, but they all will stem from what is happening inside me.  As human beings, we are designed and built to be operated from the inside-out.  We were made to be containers or conduits.  The dream and design of God is that I would be filled with His presence and have Him demonstrate Himself through my life.

As we saw in John 14, Jesus is certainly the prototype for this.  He became fully human, and was filled with the Holy Spirit, allowing the Father to do through Him the works.  John 14:10-11 described this.  He is now describing this again in 15:24.  He has had the works of God flowing out of His life.  The word “done” is the Greek word poieo.  Jesus was not just doing works, His life was the flow of the works the Father was doing through Him.

This is the natural and normal flow that will happen in the life of anyone who responds to light.  When I respond to Jesus, His indwelling presence is going to flow through my life and produce His works.  It will not be something I have to do.  I will be what I am.  It will be an inside thing that is just bursting to come out!

In like manner, someone who does not respond to Jesus is going to have an inside-out effect also.  To not respond to light is to have my insides become dark.  It does something inside a person.  He or she becomes filled with something that is not Jesus.  It is going to burst out also.  What does it look like?  It is the hatred described in verse 23 and throughout the passage.  Where does such hatred come from?  It comes from inside.  It is boiling inside and is going to explode out sometime.  Verse 21 gives a description of this process.  He says, “But all these things they will DO to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”  The word “do” here is also poieo.  The one who does not respond has something going on inside that is going to find expression in his or her life.  It is bursting to come forth!

Which is happening in my life?  So much hangs on my response to Him at this moment.  He will make it clear to me.  And once He brings light, I am responsible forever.  My response will do something inside me one way or the other, and it will show up.  John writes in 1 John 1:7. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.”  Imagine walking in the light, living in constant response to Him in the light.  This will mean constant growth. Oh, the joy and rest of knowing that we can’t miss it.  All we have to do is respond right now!

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       Name one or more “light” items God brought to my life in an extremely clear manner.  I couldn’t miss it!

2.       How did that “light” change my life?

3.       What did I notice happening inside of me as I responded (one way or the other)?

4.       Is there any clear light God is bringing to my life at this moment?

Making a Case

John 15:26-27

The Person

As chapter 15 comes to a close, we keep in mind that the chapter and verse divisions did not exist in the original writing of these documents.  They are were added in much later.  The material was originally written to flow together in one unified message.  This is especially evident in this section of John.  Chapters 13-17 are flowing together into one message in the final evening Jesus had with the disciples.  Chapters 14-16 especially flow together as a prolonged message from Jesus to the disciples.  This is very clear especially at the end of chapter 15 and beginning of chapter 16.  They clearly flow together.

As we catch the message of this flow, it all seems to have one focus:  the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which will resource them.  The Holy Spirit will be the presence of Christ actually within the disciples.

This unity of the three Persons of the Trinity is especially emphasized again here in this last section of chapter 15.  We saw it in verse 23, for example.  “He who hates Me hates My Father also.”  There is such a union between these persons that they cannot be separated.  This concept is emphasized again now in verse 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.”  This is a remarkable verse in which we see all three Persons of God, the Trinity, operating together.  The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all mentioned in particular.  They are three distinct persons.  God is not one person acting three ways, but He is three Persons functioning as one.  It is this unity of the operation of God which is so striking in this verse.  It is the idea that they are distinct, but that they cannot be separated --- because they are operating together.  This is especially important here in our understanding of the Holy Spirit --- since He is going to be the one to indwell the disciples.

Jesus says that He will “send” this Spirit.  The word send is a translation of the Greek word pempo.  It has the idea of a king or an authority sending someone with authority.  However, this word has an additional emphasis.  It carries with it the idea of “escorting.”  The picture is of a king who not only sends someone, but gets off his throne and goes with the one being sent.  Jesus is using this word to describe His sending of the Holy Spirit.  He is not just sending Him, but is escorting the Spirit.  Jesus and the Holy Spirit are so intertwined that the presence of Jesus is with this Holy Spirit.  Wherever the Holy Spirit is present, Jesus is present also!

This idea is further reinforced by the description of this Person as “the Spirit of truth.”  It is a strong element in John’s writings that Jesus is the truth.  Truth is not a formula, an idea, or a set of propositions.  Truth is a Person, and His name is Jesus.  If you have Jesus, you have truth; if you do not have Jesus, you do not have truth – which is a lie by the biblical definition (see John 8:44).  Since Jesus is the truth, this third Person of the Trinity is the “Spirit of Jesus.”  Note what He will do in John 16:12-15.  He will “guide you into all truth” in that “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”  This is what Jesus was saying in 15:26 when He stated that “He will testify of Me.”  The sole function of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Jesus.  They are so intertwined and connected that they cannot be separated.

Yet, the Trinity is so intertwined and inseparable that the Father is in on this as well.  Note how Jesus repeats the phrase, “from the Father.”  “From” is a preposition that normally is translated “alongside” or “with.”  When used in the manner it is presented here, it is emphasizing the relationship to the person mentioned.  Therefore, the emphasis is on the connection of the Spirit to the Father.  He is alongside the Father and with the Father, and brings the presence of the Father with Him also.  This is exactly what the presence of the Holy Spirit did in the life of Jesus.  Jesus could say that the Father dwelt in Him because He had the presence of this same Spirit living in Him.

This is a powerful and significant truth about the Holy Spirit.  When He comes to indwell the life of a person, he or she has the full presence of God.  We do not have a “half” presence of God or some shade of it.  We do not have to imagine that God is with us.  When we receive and respond to Jesus, we have the complete fullness of God.  All the power, all the wisdom, all the resource we will ever need to live as we were made to live.  In fact, we can be so bold as to say that God’s presence is as real in the life of any Christian here on earth as it is in heaven.  That’s what it means to be a Christian.

The Presentation

As Jesus prepares the disciples for the coming of this Person, He describes to them what His role and function will be.  As we look at this description, we see a strong emphasis on legal aspects.  This Holy Spirit is functioning almost as a lawyer making a case.

The term Jesus often uses for the Holy Spirit is sometimes translated, “Helper” or “Comforter.”  The Greek word is parakletos.  It is made up of two Greek words put together.  Para (as we saw above) means “alongside” and kletos comes from the verb usually translated “to call.”  A literal translation of the word is “to call alongside.”  In some contexts this can mean to encourage, comfort or help.  It is the idea of someone who is coming alongside to speak to you.  However, the normal usage of this word in the ancient day was for a legal advocate in a court setting.  It is the person that is coming alongside of you in court to speak for you or make an appeal.  It is something like a lawyer.

This legal theme is also reinforced by the use of word “testify.”  It is the Greek verb martureo.  If this sounds familiar, it is from where we get the English word “martyr.”  In the original Greek, this word was also normally used in a legal setting.  It was the act of testifying or being a witness to something.  As in our day, the credible witness had to be someone who had experienced something or known something personally.

Finally, this legal description continues as we slip into chapter 16, especially in verse 8.  “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”  The verb “convict” actually describes the action of a lawyer cross-examining and getting down to the bare truth and facts of the case.

As we take all of these elements into consideration, we see a fascinating picture of the Holy Spirit.  He is acting as something of a lawyer who is making a case.  He is pleading the case as a legal advocate, He is testifying of Jesus, and He is cross-examining to reveal things as they really are in order to get down to the real truth of the case.  When we look at the grammar and description of this, we see that this is not a part-time activity of the Holy Spirit, but a constant activity of the Holy Spirit.  He is always working in this way, pleading the case, witnessing, revealing Jesus and bringing things down to the bare truth.

To whom is the Holy Spirit pleading this case?  To us.  We believe that He continues to work in the lives of believers and reveals Jesus more and more (as in 16:12-15).  He is constantly pleading with us and bringing light to every area of our lives so that we can know Jesus more.  What a comfort to know that I do not have to go and find Jesus, but that He is brought to me.  The Holy Spirit will never cease in bringing Jesus to my life and revealing Him more to me!

But He is also pleading this case to the world all the time.  This is clear in 16:8.  He never ceases.  God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and now has sent His Holy Spirit to plead the case before the world.  God cannot rest.  His love compels Him.  A lost and dying world matters to Him, and He will not let them go.  This is the urgency of the heart of God that gives us our urgency for evangelism.  A test of Christianity is whether or not we have this urgency.  How can we have His heart and not feel it?

The Persuasion

If the Holy Spirit is functioning like a lawyer making His case to the world, what is the evidence He will use?  We are the evidence!  This is why Jesus said in verse 27 that “And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”  He is not saying that our witness is to be separate from the Holy Spirit, but that the presence and witness of the Holy Spirit is going to take place through us until we are also the witness.  We are to be the message of God --- the very extensions of Him.  We are not God, but are extensions of Him.  This is why Jesus speaks of the world treating us as it does Him (verse 20), because He is in us and we are extensions of Him.  The Holy Spirit is pleading the case through us and showing our lives as evidence.

The Apostle Paul believed, preached and lived this strongly.  Consider what he says in 2 Corinthians 5:20.  “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”  When Paul writes “as though God were pleading,” he uses the Greek verb parakaleo.  It is from where we get the Greek word parakletos, which is the term for the Holy Spirit.  It paints the picture of this urgent pleading and presenting of a case.  The Holy Spirit is urging and pleading the world to be reconciled to God, and He is making this case through us.

Imagine having the presence of God so real in my life that this was really taking place.  Could I become so intimate with God that I could actually become the message of God at all times?  Could He be so real in my life that I am the evidence of Christianity to my world?  He is not going to use wonders in the sky to reach them, but wants to make the case through me.

How is the case going?  How compelling is the evidence?  Who is being convinced?

We may be tempted to say that I do not have to be the evidence for Christianity; there needs to be nothing compelling about my life.  I am just a “regular” Christian, and people will be won to Jesus through some other means.

But we must note that Jesus uses an imperative in John 15:27.  “And you also will bear witness.”  This verb is in the present (ongoing and continuous), active (my total involvement), imperative (command!).  This is not optional.

I am glad that the imperative is not a quota of how many people have to be won to Jesus, but just that I am to be a witness.  The only command is that I allow this to be going on in my life --- that I allow Him to make the case through me and that I allow Him to make me into the evidence.

Does it not cause me to cry out today?  Oh God, work in me to be so real in my life that my very living is the evidence that will convince everyone around me and a lost and dying world.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

1.       What evidence did He use to convince me that Jesus is the answer for me?

2.       To whom is God pleading the case of the gospel through me in these days?

3.       What conviction is the Holy Spirit bringing to my life today?  How do I need to respond to Him right now?

Table of Contents

Copyright

Introduction

The Responding Life

The True Vine

Life in the Vineyard

Clean Living

Staying Power

Interface

Fruit Production

Indisposable

Fruit Dreams

Definition of a Disciple

Parameters of Community

Choices

Driven

The Approach of Holiness

The Association of Holiness

The Appointment of Holiness

Solidarity

Missionary

Remember the Word

The Myth of Neutrality

Enlightenment

Making a Case