Introduction remarks:
"The work of our salvation! To this aspect of the subject Christ now addressed Himself, as He rose from the Supper-Table. If in the Discourse recorded in the fourteenth chapter, explained, in that of the fifteenth chapter the new relation is set forth which was to subsist between Him and His Church. And this - although epigrammatic (proverbial) sayings are so often fallacious - may be summarized in these three words: Union, Communion, Disunion. The Union between Christ and His Church is corporate, vital, and effective, alike as regards results and blessings (John 15:1-8). This Union issues in Communion - of Christ with His disciples, of His disciples with Him, and of His disciples among themselves. The principle of all these are love: the love of Christ to the disciples, the love of the disciples to Christ, and the love in Christ of the disciples to one another (John 15:9-17). Lastly, this Union and Communion has for its necessary counterpart Disunion, separation from the world. The world repudiates them for their union with Christ and their communion. But, for all that, there is something that must keep them from going out of the world. They have a mission in it, initiated by, and carried on in the power of, the Holy Ghost - that of uplifting the testimony of Christ (John 15:18-27)" (Alfred Edersheim).
The True Vine
Verse 1, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the Husbandman."
LGT "I am the vine, true [genuine] One, and My Father is the husbandman."
"I am the true vine,"
Literally, I am the vine, the true One.
"The vine is one of the OT figures used to illustrate the people of Israel. In Ps. 80:8-19 Israel is the vine, which God brought out of Egypt and planted in the ground, which He had cleared to make room for it. The Psalmist bewails the fact that it flourishes no longer, that its defenses are demolished and it is ravaged by marauders; he prays:
Look down from heaven, and see;
Have regard for this vine,
The stock which Thy right hand plantedÂ…
Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand,
The son of man whom Thou hast
Made strong for Thyself!"
(F. F. Bruce).
"And My Father is the Husbandman."
The Greek word for 'Husbandman' is georgos the earth-tiller, and Hebrew means the chief ruler; therefore, it may mean the 'proprietor' (Vincent). "Jesus is here presented as the true Israel, the genuine vine, the man of God's right hand. As the Psalm, God is both the planter and cultivator of the vine. The noun translated 'Vinedresser' (Lit. Husbandman) is the ordinary Greek word for 'farmer' (georgos), but in English 'farmer' is not used in connection with the vine" (Bruce).
"The fruit that God expected was justice and righteousness (Isa. 5:7). The vine in that vineyard did not fulfill their function. In contrast to them (Israel), Christ said, 'I am the true vine.' The justice and righteousness that would reveal the character of God were displayed in the words and works of the Lord Jesus. Christ further asserted, 'My Father is the gardener.' The responsibility of a gardener was to tend vines so that the vines could produce fruit. Christ explained the aspects of the Father's work that were necessary if 'the true vine' was to be fruitful" (Pentecost).
Verse 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."
LGT "Every branch in Me not producing fruit He takes away, and every one producing fruit He cleanses it in order that it produces more fruit."
In this verse I believe two classes of Christians are described because of the particular phrase 'in Me.'
"Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away:"
In this verse Jesus presents two types of vines, those that are productive and those that are not. In the last chapter Jesus explained the union that exists between the believer and Christ as an indwelling of His Spirit. In this chapter He begins by an analogy of the Vine and the branches, and God as the Husbandman that prunes the branches to make them more fruitful. "This passage is directed to believers, to those who are already 'in Christ.' Jesus is not talking about how a person gets saved. He is not actually talking about salvation at all in this passage. Rather, He is talking about fruit bearing, and that is the next word we wish to mark. Fruit is mentioned six times in the first ten verses. We will find as we go further that there are three degrees of fruit bearing: fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. The whole theme here is fruit bearing. 'Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away.' Where does He take it? He takes it away from the place of fruit-bearing" (McGee).
"And every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."
The Greek word for 'purging' is kathairei meaning to cleanse, so the term 'pruning' fits very well with this analogy of the vine and its branches. God prunes away the dead wood, away from the place of production, in order that the fruitful vines will produce much more fruit. It is not my concern here to explain what is meant by fruit, other than to say, that it is anything that God produces in us that is useful to His eternal cause. The beauty of this fruit bearing on the part of the believer is that all we are required to do is to be in fellowship (Chapter fourteen) and the Holy Spirit will work in and through us; and after He has produced this fruit, in eternity He will crown us for what He has produced. Oh! The beauty of God's grace.
Verse 3, "Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you."
LGT "Already you are clean through the Word which I have spoken to you."
God uses His Word as means of cleansing. Jesus tells His disciples that they are clean because of the doctrine He had given them so far. We are clean through confession, and then when we sin, we become dirty and must be cleansed again by His Word, and through our naming our sins to God. "Christ does not mean that the apostles are pure from all sin, but He holds out to them their experience, that they may learn from it that the continuance of grace is absolutely necessary. Besides, He commends to them the doctrine of the Gospel from the fruit which it produces, that they may be more powerfully excited to meditate on it continually, since it resembles the Vinedresser's knife (the sharp two-edged Sword of the Word) to take away what is useless" (Calvin).
"The cleansing of the vine required not only the removal of sterile branches, or old growth, but also the removal of insects that would consume the vine. This had to be done tediously by hand. In the dry climate in which the vine would grow, the leaves would accumulate a thick layer of dust. This dust would weaken the vine. It was necessary for a gardener to sponge the leaves to remove the accumulated dust so that the vine could remain healthy. When Christ spoke of the Father as cleaning the vine so that it would be fruitful, He had in mind the Father's work of removing from the branch anything that would interfere with the production of fruit. Christ assumed that the disciples had been cleansed already because He had given them His Word (vs. 3). The truth that He had communicated to them was a cleansing agent that would make it possible for them to be fruitful. Their fruitfulness, then, would depend on their future relationship to Him" (The Words and Works of Jesus Christ - J. Dwight Pentecost).
The Word of God accomplishes this purging. The cleansing power of the word of God is a wonderful thing; 'Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever' (1 Peter 1:22-23).We were born again by the Word of God, washed from our sins. Then in our walk down here we get dirty and need the Word of God to cleanse us continually. That is one reason to study the Bible - to be cleansed. 'Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word' (Ps. 119:9)" (T.T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
Verse 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."
LGT "Remain in Me, and I in you, just as the branch is not able to produce fruit from itself unless it remain in the vine, so that neither are you unless in Me you are remaining."
"Abide in Me, and I in you."
The only way to insure a vital relationship with the Lord is to remain in fellowship, and this is only possible, if we remain in the Word of God. In order to abide in Christ and He in us is (communion) through the cleansing of the Word. If we do not confess our sins we will remain out of fellowship, and being alone in this regard, will leave us open for more sin. Listen carefully kids: this is an important doctrine Christ Himself is teaching. It is our decision whether or not we want to have an abiding relationship (which is constant communion) with our Lord. He will not force us by abiding in us without our consent. This is not the doctrine of salvation, but the doctrine of fellowship. Paul taught the same doctrine in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in Me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and delivered Himself up for me." And again in Phil. 4:13, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."
"As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me."
The 'Vine' is the vital link for the branch; the branch is impotent of itself. The Vine does the producing, and the branch is only the instrument for the vine to produce its fruit. Whenever we as Christians attempt to produce fruit of ourselves, that is, through self-effort, we only produce what human good can be pleased with. God is only satisfied with the production of the Holy Spirit through yielded branches. A Christian out of fellowship can only produce human good. "A branch that falls to the ground, and no longer abides in the vine as a living part of it, cannot bear fruit, so neither can ye except ye abide in Me. That is, ye cannot bear the fruit My Father, the Vinedresser, looks for, and by which He will be glorified" (The Expositors Greek NT). Calvin says, "The Holy Spirit will always be efficacious [effective] in our lives if we don't prevent Him."
Verse 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."
LGT "I am the Vine, you [are] the branches, the one who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, because apart from Me you are able to be doing nothing."
Jesus repeats that the branches need the vital link to the vine in order to bring forth much fruit. We know that the doctrine of fellowship with Jesus Christ and the Father is a very important subject for the Lord to spend so much time explaining the doctrine to His disciples. Functioning out of fellowship is dead wood trying to accomplish divine good.
"For without Me ye can do nothing."
The Greek words for 'without Me' is choris emou lit. 'Apart from Me.' so the branch that is separated from the Vine [Jesus] the vital link, it is so much dead wood. A Christian out of fellowship is one miserable creature, I speak from experience. "Because we have free will, we can break fellowship with God by allowing sin in our life, by stepping out of the will of God, or by worldliness. He wants us to abide so that we bring forth much fruit" (McGee). The Church today is inundated with pastors who use their own resources to increase their numbers in order to have a large congregation to support their own personal lifestyles. The way pastors get around complete dependence on the Lord is that they claim to have supernatural Holy Spirit gifts to justify their every move. Whenever a preacher or teacher claims to have a supernatural gift they can justly claim infallibility, for the Holy Spirit cannot make a mistake.
"The pruned branches from the vineyard were dried and then used to heat the ovens in which the daily bread was baked. After these branches had been burned, the ashes were scattered by the wind. Christ said anything these men might produce apart from a vital relationship with Him would be tested by fire [at the Judgment Seat of Christ]. It would be reduced to ashes, proven worthless, and swept away. This was a severe warning to these men that they could not depend on their own resources to discharge the ministry entrusted to them. They must, instead, depend completely on Him so that His life worked in them. Then He would produce His own fruit through them, and that fruit would survive the test of fire" (The Words and Works of Jesus Christ - J. Dwight Pentecost).
Verse 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."
LGT "Unless anyone remain in Me, he is cast out as the branch and is dried up and they gather them and into the fire they cast and it is burned."
There are five verbs in this verse describing the fate of being perpetually out of fellowship; 1) eblethe exo cast out, 2) exeranthe is dried up, 3) sunagousin they gather, 4) balousin cast into fire, 5) kaitai and burned, (The Expositors Greek NT). Remember, kids, these verses are speaking of fellowship and not salvation. It is our works that are useless and will not survive the fires of the 'Bema Seat' that our Lord is referring to, and not our souls. When we think it is all right just to survive in this world, and that our eternal rewards do not concern us, we are in deep spiritual trouble.
"Let me say again that this is talking about our fruit bearing, the product of our salvation. It is not talking about how we are to be saved. Paul uses another illustration for this same thing: 'For another foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.' (This is talking about works of the believers, the fruit in the life of a believer. Fire will purify gold and silver and precious stones and draw off the dross. Wood, hay, and stubble will go up in smoke. That is the same as our verse, which says the works will be cast into the fire and burned). 'If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward' (1 Cor. 3:11-14). I believe that rewards will be given only for the fruit in our lives - and we don't produce the fruit; He produces the fruit when we abide in Him. (I might add; after He produces the fruit, He then rewards us for our willingness to allow Him to produce it; is this God's wonderful Grace or what?)" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
"And men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."
The servants of the Husbandman gather up the dried up branches and burn them.
"In another OT passage where Israel is compared to a vine, it is stressed that the wood of the vine is useless except for the fulfilling of the vine's proper function - the production of grapes. The wood of a dead vine branch cannot be used to make a piece of furniture or a utensil of any kind: it will not even serve as a peg to hang something on. A vine branch that does not produce grapes is good only for fuel (Ezekiel 15:1-8). The moral of the parable should have spoken for itself in Ezekiel's day; it speaks for itself in the new setting and application given by Jesus" (The Gospel and Epistles of John - F. F. Bruce).
"A branch that is not abiding in Christ 'is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.' This is amplified by 1 Corinthians 3:15: 'If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved: yet so as by fire.' He may get to heaven smelling as if he had been bought at a fire sale, but he will not lose his salvation. One of the saddest things is that today the average Christian believes that normal Christian living is a failure. They think that bearing much fruit is entirely out of the question and are willing to live on a low plane hoping to produce just a little fruit. Remember that the Lord wants us to produce much fruit" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
"This passage tells us that when a believer is in fellowship with Christ but is not bearing fruit due to immaturity or injury, our Lord lovingly lifts him up so that he can bear fruit. The believer who is in fellowship with Christ and who is bearing fruit is pruned so that he can bear more fruit. The analogy of the vine and the branches signifies fellowship with Christ, not organic connection with Him. The believer who does not remain in fellowship through disobedience is cast out in judgment, withers spiritually, and faces severe divine discipline in time and loss of reward at the judgment seat of Christ. There is nothing in this passage, which demands that he loses his salvation. Neither is there anything here to suggest that all believers will always bear fruit. It is only the believer who remains in fellowship who will bear fruit" (The Reign of the Servant Kings - Joseph C. Dillow).
Verse 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."
LGT "If you abide [remain] in Me and My words abide [remain] in you, whatever you will you will ask, it will come to be to you."
Notice that I translate the word 'abide' meine 'remain' because it seems a better word in context, because it means to remain in fellowship through God's Word with the Lord Jesus Christ.
This amazing verse is so misunderstood by careless Christians that they like to interpret it as meaning that whatever they want God will grant it to them, all they need to do is ask. This is not the meaning of this verse at all. What our Lord is saying is, that if His disciples would remain in fellowship with Him, they would never will to ask anything that was not in line with God's Word. There is absolutely no difference from abiding in the Word of God and abiding in Christ. Christ is the embodiment [personification] of His Word. It is impossible to separate God from His Word. The whole concept of this abiding relationship Christ is here describing is abiding in His Word. We must study His Word and then obey His Word.
Verse 8, "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples."
LGT "In this My Father will be glorified, in order that you should bear much fruit and you will become to be to Me My disciples."
"Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit,"
"The word 'herein' en toutoi, that is in the vital union (vs. 7) and much fruit bearing (vs. 8) looking backwards and forwards" (Robertson). The Father is glorified not only in the fact that the disciples are vitally linked in fellowship with Him, but also the Holy Spirit will be able to produce fruit in them.
"So shall ye be My disciples."
This phrase is literally, 'in order that you will become to Me disciples, that is, that you will be My disciples in word and deed. "Christian discipleship implies progress and growth" (Vincent). There is no Christian maturity and growth, where there is no fellowship; all Christian activity demands that we remain in fellowship.
Verse 9, "As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love."
LGT "Just as the Father has loved Me, and I loved you: you remain in the love, that which is Mine."
"Not only the love of the disciple for Christ, nor the love of Christ for the disciple, but the Christ-principle of love which includes both;" 'in the love, that which is mine' (Vincent).
"Love is the true bond which gives unity to the moral world, and inspires discipleship. All that Christ experiences is the result of the Father's love: all that the disciples are called to be and to do is the outcome of Christ's love. This love of Christ was to be retained as their possession by their conforming themselves to it: 'Abide in My love,' no longer 'abide in Me,' but specifically 'in My love'. Abide in it, for there is a possibility of your falling away from its enjoyment and possession" (Expositor's Greek Testament).
To abide in Christ's love is the realization that He loves us, and that the Father loves us with the same divine love He loves the Son. We can remain in this love-principle. It is only as we remain in His love, that we are able to love one another; in fact, it is impossible for us to even love the Father, if we are not remaining in His love.
Verse 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."
LGT "If My commandments you are keeping, you will remain in My love, just as I, the commandments of My Father have kept and remain in His love."
"If ye keep My commandments,"
These commandments, I repeat, are the two He gave the disciples that they should love God and also to love one another. The true test of discipleship is obedience.
"Ye shall abide in My love;"
Better expressed in the Greek, 'That love which is mine.' Of course we all know by now that this is walking in fellowship with Him. John states in His first Epistle, "If we walk in the light, as He Himself is in the light, we will have fellowship one with one anotherÂ…" (1 John 1:7); Jesus Christ can only be fellowshipped with in the Word of God, and Jesus cannot be separated from His word. To abide in the love of Christ is to remain in fellowship.
"Even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love."
"The high example of Jesus (the Son) in relation to the Father is set before us as the goal" (Robertson). The love Christ has for us is a constant love, while our love for Him is sporadic (intermittent). We do not always remain in fellowship, that is, in close association to Him in His Word, but He remains always faithful to us. My! But this should stir our souls to the core. He loves us, even when we don't love Him. I would like to know of another relationship on this earth that can make this claim.
Verse 11, "These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."
LGT "These things I have written to you in order that the joy, which is mine be in you, and also that your joy may be filled full."
"These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you,"
Literally it is, 'that joy which is mine". Jesus describes to His disciples a new kind of joy that can be theirs by keeping His Word. The Lord was looking forward to the worse kind of suffering man could ever face, and He is talking about the joy He is experiencing by doing the Father's will. No man has ever suffered as Christ suffered, and yet, the outstanding feature is that He can only speak of His joy.
"The great joy of His life had been found in the consciousness of the Father's love and in keeping of His commandments: this joy He desires that they might inherit, 'My joy,' i.e., the joy I have enjoyed, the joy which I habitually feel in accomplishing the Father's will. This joy is not an incommunicable monopoly. 'And your joy be full,' which it could not be until they, like Him, had the spring of full joy in the consciousness of His love, and perfect obedience to Him; standing in the same relation to Him as He to the Father" (The Expositor's Greek Testament).
Verse 12, "This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you."
LGT "This is the commandment, that which is mine, in order that you may love one another just as I have loved you."
This is the commandment, that which is mine, that you should love one another. Our Lord repeats this commandment over and over so it must be important. If we as Christians don't love one another we will live in complete defeat; our lives will not amount to any thing; we will receive a big 'goose egg' at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Verse 13, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
LGT "Greater than this love no one is having, that any one his life should lay down on behalf of his friends."
Self-sacrifice is the highest form of devotion. Christ is going to the Cross, to lay down His life for His friends, and He states that this is the highest form of love. The term John uses for love is agapao while the term for friend is philos; Christ saying that the disciples were the object of his love. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:2, "Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God of a sweet smelling savor."
Verse 14, "Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."
LGT "You are My friends if you are practicing what I am commanding you."
"You may expect of Me this greatest demonstration of love, and therefore every minor demonstration of it which your circumstances may require, 'if you do,' etc. This condition was added not to chill and daunt, but to encourage: when you find how much suffering the completion of My work entails upon you, assure yourselves of My love. It is co-partner work that will give you assurance that you are My friends" (The Expositor's Greek Testament).
Being a friend of Christ is tantamount [equal] to spiritual fellowship; and this fellowship cannot be had outside the Word of God.
"Whatsoever I command you."
In the Gospel when Christ gives a command He uses the term entollomai 'I command; now this is different from the Ten Commandments when the term nomos 'The Law' is used. Christ has given His disciples this command that they should love one another, or that they should keep on loving one another, and this will be the command that governs all disciples being regarded by Christ, through fellowship, as His friends. Christ will give these same disciples another command later on to go into all the world and preach the 'Gospel of the Kingdom.' Some modern day preachers take this as a general command for all time, and that we all are commanded to 'go into all the world with the gospel.' I believe in this age of grace we are to keep the two commands of Christ, that is, to love God with all our hearts, and to love one another. Now, in this 'Age of Grace', now that Bible is complete, if we are keeping these two commands, and we are studying to know Him better, He will accomplish His 'Great Commission' through us, even though we may not be aware that He is working. I can't see how any Christian can study God's Word, and be fellowshipping with our Friend Christ, and remain quiet about the divine riches of His grace. If we love Christ, we will study His Word, and if we study His Word, we will love Him even More, and our joy will be 'filled full.' Calvin adds, "If anyone refuses to obey His commands, they are renouncing His Friendship."
Verse 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."
LGT "No longer do I call you servants, because the servant is not knowing what his Lord is doing: but you I have called friends, because all things which I have heard from My Father I have made known to you."
"Henceforth I call you not servants:"
The better reading is 'no longer do I call you servants' as under the dispensation of the Law. The disciples are no longer to be obedient as slaves, but obedient as friends of Christ.
"Throughout their relationship together, Christ viewed these men as servants and Himself as Master. The responsibility of the servant is to submit to the will of his Master. The relationship was now to be altered. Christ said, 'You are My friends' (v. 14). The relationship between the Master and His servants was that of will to will; the relationship between them as friends was that of heart to heart. These who had been Christ's servants were now constituted His friends" (The Words and Works of Jesus Christ - J. Dwight Pentecost).
"For the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends;"
The slave does not concern himself with the whys and where fore's of His Master, he is just compelled to carry out his task. Now they are not considered to be slaves because the Master is now their friend letting them in on the reasons for this friendship. The disciples are now operating in the grace of Christ, as we will see from the next phrase.
"For all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you."
"Jesus had opened to them the mind of the Father in sending Him into the world, and as this purpose of the Father had commended itself to Jesus, and fired Him with the desire to fulfill it, so does He expect that the disciples will intelligently enter into His purposes, make them their own, and spend themselves on their fulfillment" (The Expositor's Greek Testament).
"Not one of those things, therefore, which related to our salvation, and which it was of importance for us to know, was omitted by Christ in the instructions given to His disciples. Thus, so far as He was appointed to be Master and Teacher of the church, He heard nothing from the Father, which He did not faithfully teach His disciples. Let us only have an humble desire and readiness to learn, and we shall feel that Paul has justly called the Gospel wisdom to make men perfect, (Col. 1:28)" (John Calvin's Commentary on the Gospel of John).
Verse 16, "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should 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."
LGT "You did not chose Me (for yourself), but I chose you (for Myself) and appointed [set in order] you in order that you should go and bear fruit and your fruit should remain, in order that whatsoever you may ask the Father in My name He may give you."
The most important thing in this verse, as is with all Scripture, is that we keep it in its context.
"Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you,"
The Greek word for 'chosen' is exelexamen, which is a first aorist middle indicative of exlego to choose. The English language does not have a middle voice, but the Greeks did, and it means in effect, we did not choose Christ for ourselves, but Christ chose us for Himself. The middle voice means that the subject of the sentence is acting, but it also means that the subject receives the action, it is reciprocal. It doesn't really change the meaning from the KJV; it only clarifies it a little. Jesus is saying that He has chosen these disciples for a mission, and His Father will supply everything needed to complete it, if they pray to Him in Jesus' name, as we will see in the last phrase.
"And ordained you,"
The word ordained is etheka a first aorist indicative if tithemi to set or place in order, or to appoint. In my translation I have chosen to use the word appoint, because of the pre-conceived ideas Christians have when they hear the word 'ordained;' they immediately think of predestination. We have all been placed in a position of service and all we have to do is submit to Christ who has chosen us for His particular purpose.
"That ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:"
The only fruit that will remain is the fruit that the Lord produces; remember, He is the vine, we are the branches, and the vine produces the fruit. We are not to tuck our Bibles under our arms and go out and buttonhole people and try and get them to make a decision for Christ. This sounds quite pious, but all it gets is what some well-meaning preachers call fruit; however, this can only produce embarrassment for the other person and for the Christian who is trying to produce fruit, if he or she is not already too far gone. We are to concentrate on keeping Christ's commands to love God and to love one another, then, and only then, will He be able to produce fruit in our lives. Don't spend too much time, kids, trying to determine what is fruit and what is not fruit; let the Lord work in you through His word, and you will produce fruit that will remain, and at the judgment seat of Christ, He will reward you for what He has done in your lives; so please relax about fruit, and study God's Holy Word; He will take care of the fruit bearing.
"That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you."
Again, I repeat, this is not talking about asking God for things; this verse is talking about fruit bearing, and we must ask Him about fruit bearing, and He will answer our prayers. We will probably not know what the fruit is that He is producing, but at the judgment seat of Christ, when He hands us our rewards, then we will know. I believe He keeps it a mystery to us for our own sakes, so that we don't get puffed up and start determining on our own what we are to do to bear fruit. I repeat, God will produce the fruit, all we need to do is be obedient to His commands; I hope by now we all know what these commands are; if you are still confused call me. Vincent says, "He has appointed them that they should bring forth fruit, and that they should obtain such answers to their prayers as would make them fruitful." Calvin adds: "My Father will have His hand stretched out to assist you, whenever you pray to Him, in My name, to grant you assistance." We, in this age of grace, have God's assistance at our disposal, in the completed Word of God; all we have to do is take advantage of it.
Verse 17, "These things I command you, that ye love one another."
LGT "These things I command you, in order that you love one another."
"All My teachings are to the end that you love one another" (Vincent). Jesus ends this paragraph with His oft-repeated command 'that they love one another'. "These men were specifically chosen by Christ, and this choice was an evidence of His love. Since they were His friends and were joined heart to heart with Him, they were to bear evidence of that oneness by loving each other" (Pentecost). "This should be the relationship of believers. There is also a relationship with the world, and now He goes into that subject" (McGee).
The World's Hatred
Verse 18, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you."
LGT "If the world [system] is hating you, you know that Me first in regard of you has hated and still hates."
"If the world hate you,"
The word for hate in the Greek NT is misei is in the present active indicative voice literally means, 'If the world hates you, and it most certainly does.'
"Ye know that it hated Me before it hated you."
"The world hated Me first in regard to you," that is, it would not have hated you if were not for Me; but because of our union with each other, the world will now continue to hate you, as it continues to hate Me. I might add, that as we love one another, this will anger the world even more, because they cannot understand what Christian love is; this love that Christ has bestowed on us, is not the same love the superficial imitators of Christians display, such as we see in the cults. If one were to investigate into the lives of the cultists they would soon find how utterly their love is based on emotion and outward display.
Verse 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."
LGT "If out of the world you were, the world would love its own: but because out of the world you are not, but I have chosen you out of the world, because of this the world continues to hate you."
"If ye were of the world, the world would love its own:"
A very important word in this phrase is the word 'love.' As the world is not capable of divine 'agape' love, I had to look up what the meaning of the word used in this context for love, 'ephilei' an imperfect form of 'phileo' which means, 'To manifest some act or token of kindness or affection' (AGL). The world will show its own a certain type of respect and affection, which is known as approbation or admiration. It is well known by any thinking Christian that we all want to be well thought of, and admired, however, this is not the love we are to covet, because even the world can display to its own admiration. This is what a popularity contest is all about?
"But because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,"
The fact that He chose the disciples out of the world shows that at one time they were part of the world system, and that they must now be prepared to face the opposition He is about to face. Jesus says that He chose them out of the world means the unregenerate world of those who will perish in their sin.
"Therefore the world hateth you."
"Notice what will happen if you are a child of God. The world will hate you. I believe that a Christian's popularity can be an indication of how he is representing Christ to the world. I do not believe a Christian can be popular in the world. No Christian has any right to be more popular than Jesus was. Beware of a compromising position in order to be popular. The world will not love a real child of God. The world will love you if you are of the world. You don't have to act oddly or be super-pious. The world will hate you if you are a child of God. This is difficult, especially for young people who want so much to be popular. Let's tell our young people what the Lord says. They are not going to be popular with the world if they are the children of God.
Unfortunately, there are folk in the church today who are not born again [when he says the church we know of course he is speaking of the public organization and not the body of Christ; there could not possibly be unbelievers in the Body of Christ], and they will also hate you if you are a child of God. They will hate the preacher if he is true to the Word of God. May I say again, beware of the Christian who is popular with the world" T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
Verse 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."
LGT "Remember the word which I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted Me, also you they will persecute: if My word they kept, also yours they will keep."
"The servant is not greater than his lord."
Jesus is reminding His disciples the words He spoke to them in John 13:16. The Disciples of Christ would not be immune from the persecution of the world.
"If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you:"
The Lord is giving the disciples a look into the future concerning their ministry; they would be persecuted by some, and would be received by others.
"If they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also."
The believers will accept the words of the disciples, just as they accepted the words of Christ. It is no different today; believers that are positive towards doctrine have no trouble receiving the truth of God's grace, but those who are opposed to grace will find great difficulty believing any truth.
Verse 21, "But all these things will they do unto you for My name's sake, because they know not Him that sent Me."
LGT "But all these things they will be doing unto you because of My name, because they know not Him that sent Me."
"Loyalty to the name of Christ will bring persecution as they will soon know (Acts 5:41; Phil. 1:29; 1 Peter 4:14)" (Robertson). The name of Christ represented the faith, the attitude, the claims, and the aim of the disciples. His name was their confession. Luther says: "The name of Christ from your mouth will be to them nothing but poison and death" (Luther - quoted by Vincent).
"Christ gave four reasons why the world would hate them. The first reason was that they had been chosen out of the world (v. 19). They once had belonged to the world and had conformed to it, but now they were separated out of the world. The world had received them when they were a part of it; so the world hated them. The second reason for the world's hatred arose out of the relationship that Christ had established between these men and Himself. They were friends (v. 14). They would be persecuted because they were friends (v. 20). The third reason they would be persecuted by the world was that the world did not know the Father (v. 21). And the fourth reason was that the word that Christ had spoken to them - the revelation of the Father that He had given to them - rendered the world inexcusable (v. 22). Christ's life and words revealed the righteousness of God and provided a pattern of the kind of life that a man must live in order to be acceptable to God. Before Christ came, the world might have pleaded ignorance of God's demands as an excuse for their sins; but now that Christ had come and spoken, the world had no excuse for their sin. Consequently the world hated Christ, who made this revelation. And the world also hated those who represented Christ" (The Words and Works of Jesus Christ - J. Dwight Pentecost).
Verse 22, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin."
LGT "If I had not come and spoken to them, they had not sin: but now they have not an excuse concerning their sin."
"If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin:"
"If I had not come and spoken to them, as the revealer of the Father, they would not have sin, they would still be ignorant of the Father, but would not have incurred the guilt which attaches to ignorance maintained in the presence of Light" (The Expositor's Greek Testament). Calvin adds: "Christ had said, that their ignorance is utterly inexcusable, because in His person they maliciously rejected God." Christ is not saying that these Jews would not be guilty of sin, only that their contempt for His spoken word is what makes them inexcusable. The fact of the matter is, these rejected the doctrine of Moses and the Prophets, so they are doubly convicted.
"But now they have no cloak for their sin."
All the doctrine, which Christ had spoken, makes it impossible for any man to find an excuse. The Greek word for 'cloak' is prophasin to make excuse.
Verse 23, "He that hateth Me hateth My Father also."
LGT "The one who is hating Me also hates My Father."
The one who hates Christ also hates the Father because Christ reveals the Father (Robertson). Any time an unbeliever speaks evil words against a believer, that one is actually speaking against God and Christ.
"This is an important verse. The world does not hate their idea of God, as some vague some one out yonder. It is Christ they hate. Jesus says when a man hates Him; he is hating God the Father also. You can say you believe in God and be popular. The real test is your relationship and attitude toward Jesus Christ. You cannot be popular and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is the One who is hated" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
Verse 24, "If I had not done among them the works which none other men did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both Me and My Father."
LGT "If the works I had not done among them which no other one did, they are not having sin: but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father."
"The coming of Christ has revealed the weight of sin on those who reject Him" (Robertson). "This verse repeats in a slightly varied form the statement of v. 22. He had not only come and spoken, but had done works which none other had done. The miracles wrought by Christ were themselves of a kind fitted to produce faith. In them men were meant to see God, v. 17, 19, 20. So that He could say, But now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. This is their guilt, that they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. This does not imply that they had been conscious of seeing the Father in Christ, but only that in point of fact they had done so" (The Expositor's Greek Testament). Bruce says: "He had come to show them the love of God, but they reacted to His love with hatred, just as, when He came to them as the light of the world, they chose darkness rather than light. They thus passed judgment on themselves: if they rejected the giver of true life, they shut themselves up to the only alternative - death."
Verse 25, "But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated Me without a cause."
LGT "But in order that the word might be fulfilled which has been written in their law that they hated Me without cause."
The Scripture being quoted here, They hated Me without cause, is from Psalm 69:4 (or Psalm 35:19). The Jews hated Christ without cause, because He is their Messiah who was taught them from their youth up. The Scriptures with which these Jews prided themselves is now condemning them. Calvin notes: "But nothing is more contrary to reason than to hate God; and therefore, Christ says that so great was the malice with which their minds were envenomed, that they hated Him without a cause."
Verse 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:"
LGT "Whenever the Paraclete [Holy Spirit] comes Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth which from the Father is proceeding, He is witnessing concerning Me."
In this verse the Holy Spirit is represented as the 'Paraclete' and 'The Spirit of Truth.' The entire mission of the Holy Spirit is a 'witness concerning Christ' as it should be ours.
"When He says that He will send Him from the Father, and, again, that He proceedeth from the Father, He does so in order to increase the weight of His authority; for the testimony of the Spirit would not be sufficient against attacks so powerful, and against efforts so numerous and fierce, if we were not convinced that He proceedeth from God. So then it is Christ who sends the Spirit, but it is from the heavenly glory, that we may know that it is not a gift of men, but a sure pledge of Divine grace. Hence it appears how idle was the subtlety of the Greeks, when they argued, on the ground of these words, that the Spirit does not proceed from the Son; for here Christ, according to His custom, mentions the Father, in order to raise our eyes to the contemplation of His Divinity" (John Calvin's Comm. on the Gospel of John).
Verse 27, "And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning."
LGT "And you also witness, because you are with Me from the beginning."
Christ chose these disciples in the beginning of His ministry, and He is telling them they will be filled with the Holy Spirit and that they will be witnesses of Him, for they were called for this purpose, as only the apostles could be. These apostles could not go out with the Gospel until The Holy Spirit was poured out upon them at Pentecost. Now that the Bible is complete, and we have the full revelation of God, the Holy Spirit is able to work through the Scriptures and produce fruit in us. The only way we can be of any use to Him is as we yield ourselves in the study of His Word; then, and only then, can we be used; without studying doctrine, we are sounding brass, and tinkling symbols.
McGee writes on this verse, "Jesus told these men that they would bear witness to Him, and they certainly did that. It is the witness of John concerning the Lord Jesus Christ that we are studying right now. No one but the apostles could bear such a witness because they had been with Jesus from the beginning."
John writes in His first Epistle, "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled concerning the Word of Life, and the Life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us - what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write, so that your joy may be made complete" (1 John 1:1-4 - NASB).
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