Words of Jesus 61

• John 15:1  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
• 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Someone who grows fruit trees will undoubtedly cut off any dead branches that do not grow any fruit.

This is a warning for the believers to bear fruit and abide in Christ in order not to be cut off. In other words, continue in the word and in the truth holding fast the sound doctrine Jesus taught. Be not moved away by the error of false teaching, being lukewarm, and a bitter spirit toward other believers.

This is a warning that backsliders can be cut off the vine.

Notice who does the cutting off. It is God the Father. No where in the New Testament does God give any church the power or authority to persecute, kill or take property away from one who is branded a heretic, or is unfruitful. Leave them alone until the harvest. We can warn against false teaching but we are not to lift up a hand against anyone in the name of Christ or the church. Too many innocent people have been hurt by those claiming to represent Christ.

• John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
• 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Jesus is our only source of strength. We can do nothing on our own that is any profit in eternity. We must abide in Christ to bring forth fruit. We cannot accept Christ now and live in habitual sin later and expect to enter the kingdom of God without ever repenting or turning from that sin.

• John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
• 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Remember dear folks. God does the burning not the church. Remember also that we are to abide in Christ, in the word of God and not in any apostate church which has left the authority of scriptures.

• John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

This promise is to those who abide in Christ and allow His words to abide in them also.

• John 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
• 9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
• 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

We cannot abide in God's love and hate people at the same time. We cannot abide in God's love and do as we please. We cannot abide in God's love and not keep the commandments.

• John 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Truly to abide continually in Christ is the greatest joy one can know.

• John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

This should be our main goal. We do not persecute, put to death, steal from, or lord over those we love. On other hand we would never genuinely love one another without correcting a serious fault our brother or sister has that could cause them to lose their souls. As believers we must strive continually to not go to one extreme to the other. The two extremes being, persecuting dissenters or ignoring sound doctrine in order to have unity. Abide in Christ and abide in the word to avoid those two extremes. 

• John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

We should be laying down our lives for one another, not setting out to destroy one another.

• John 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
• 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Imagine being a friend of Jesus Christ Himself. This is a privilege we should never take for granted.

• John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

The only true ordination is by the Holy Spirit.

• John 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
• 18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
• 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

If we are loved by the world as a whole, we need to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. The world will hate true believers and those that live godly in Christ Jesus. Even some of the church will hate those that live godly and abide by the word of God. The apostate church will hate the church which keeps God's word. Foxes Book of Martyrs will open our eyes on that score. 

• John 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

This has happened both in the past and is now happening all over the world. Let it not be ever again among believers in Jesus to persecute one another like the church did from the year of 1200 until long after the Reformation years. Those once persecuted by the Pagans began to fall away from their first love and beat their fellow servants. The persecuted became the persecutors.
If they would have kept His commandment to love one another as Christ has loved us, they would never have done this.

• John 15:21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.

Those that persecute and harm any human being in the name of their religion, do not know God and do not know Jesus Christ. They may have once knew Him but they do not know Him if they harm one hair on the head of any human being who is guilty only of disagreeing with what is considered the established religion.

Here is verses of warning in Ezekiel. I know it applies mainly to the religious leaders in Israel but the meaning of the message can also apply to church leaders.

• Ezekiel 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
• 3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
• 4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

Caring for people under one's authority is a work of God.

• John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

Once we know the truth and turn from it, there is no covering for sin.

• John 15:23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

To hate Jesus is to hate the Father.

• John 15:24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

Now that Jesus came in the flesh, preached the gospel, and did miracles to prove that He was the Messiah the Son of God, they were without excuse and would be guilty of sin.

• John 15:25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

Prophecy in the Psalm.

• Psalm 35:19 Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.

• John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

The Holy Spirit will glorify and speak of Jesus. The purpose of the Holy Spirit always centers on Jesus Christ and not on the person receiving the Holy Spirit. Everything is to be done to bring people to Jesus, to give understand of the word of God, to bring glory to God. It is never to glorify the individual receiving or being used by the Holy Spirit.

• John 15:27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

The Holy Spirit will enable us to know the truth. We can choose to yield and listen or go our own way. This is a very important chapter in the bible. It shows that we are not saved one time and never in danger of losing our souls. Never does our free will leave us. Take comfort though because He has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us, to cause us to love one another and to comfort us in trouble. We are not alone.

Words of Jesus Part 62

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