Glory Revealed

Week 11 – John 15

Revealed as the Vine

If you abide in Me and My Words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. John 15:7

I. The Ruler of this world – John 14:30

Satan had nothing in Christ!

II. Proof of love: obedience – John 14:31

Christ obeyed – “I do exactly as the Father commanded Me” (John 14:31).

III. Jesus is the Vine – John 15:1

He is our life source

I am one with him by the Word on his part and faith on mine. If I oppose the Word I oppose my Lord when he is most near; if I receive the Word I receive my Lord wherein he is nigh. O thou who hast the hearts of all men in thine hand, form my heart according to the Word, according to the image of thy Son, so shall Christ the Word and his Word, be my strength and comfort (Valley of Vision, Christ the Word, p. 30-31).

“Perhaps if we were more often to yield ourselves to the pruning of the Word, we should escape the pruning of sore pain and trial” (F. B. Meyer, Gospel of John, p. 263-264).

“Nature is a parable of God...Each natural object, as it stood in Eden’s untainted beauty, displayed some aspect of Him whom no man can see and live” (F. B. Meyer, Gospel of John, p. 260).

As we are joined with Christ, we are joined with each other.

IV. The Father is the Vine Dresser – John 15:1-3

Pruning and refining – Psalm 66:10; Isaiah 48:10; 1 Peter 1:6-9

Pruning – done every spring (February-March) to increase growth and fruit production.

Refining – gold is heated to melting to separate the other metals from the gold – the result is pure gold.

Pruned to bear more fruit – the purpose of the vine is fruit bearing.

V. Our life is in the Vine – ABIDE – John 15:4-11

Abide appears 10 times in seven consecutive verses.

In the midst of the Coronavirus, we have had things stripped away – sports, entertainment, extra curricular activities for our children, school, church, shopping, spending time with friends and family due to social distancing and wanting to protect others. How are you doing? When all is stripped away, do you find that your well-being is tied to any of these things? Can we truly say, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)?

Abandon – “If you abide in Me”

Start by abiding in Christ. Recognize that you are “in Him” and nothing can separate you from His love (Romans 8: 38-39). He is love and “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).

Believe – “and My Word abides in you”

Spend time daily reading and meditating upon His Word. If you don’t already have a systematic plan for reading through the Bible, choose one today. Commit to read the Psalms daily and reflect on what you read. Take the words of the Psalmist and pray them back to the Father. As you abide in Christ and His Word, the problems of this world will shrink before the reality of the God Who spoke all that we know into existence.

Stop scrolling and start focusing on Christ and His Word. Stop worrying and start meditating. Stop wasting today worrying about tomorrow. Simply change your focus.

Intercede – “ask”

The next part of the verse tells us to “ask”. Are you taking your thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) and letting your requests be made known to God? (Philippians 4:6-7) If you are, then you can claim the promise linked to this verse – God’s peace that “passes all comprehension will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus”.

Delight – “whatever you wish”

Then we are told to “ask whatever you wish”. God knows our desires and our thoughts. Prayer is simply communicating with the One who created you and knows you better than you know yourself. “Delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalms 37:4). Make yourself submissive to His will. As you submit to Him, He begins to open your eyes and mold your desires so that they come in line with His.

Expect –“and it will be done for you”

Christians “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). In our flesh, we want to see before we believe. But like so many truths of the Christian life, God turns the natural inside out and upside down

John 15:8 - “My Father is glorified by this...” Answered Prayer!

To pray in the Name of Christ, we must live for that Name!

VI. Commanded to love – John 15:12-17

“To His friends, then, Jesus has disclosed all that He himself learned from the Father. True, there is much that they are not yet able to grasp (John 16:12), but the limitation lies with their capacity for comprehension, not with His willingness to impart the full truth (F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, p. 312).

VII. Not of this world – John 15:18-25

“Whether the people recognized it or not, Jesus work was nothing less than God’s work. In Jesus’ speech God’s words were heard (5:19ff); in Jesus’ works God’s activity was seen (4:34); indeed, in Jesus God himself was seen (14:9). Jesus is the One who ‘narrates’ God on the plane of human existence (1:18)” (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, p. 526-527).

VIII. Our Helper: the Holy Spirit – John 15:26-27

We have received the Spirit of Christ sent from the Father. He will reveal to us all that we need to know as we submit to Him. We join Christ’s first witnesses (who had been with Him from the beginning of His ministry) as we testify about Christ.

What is your testimony? “Test” is part of our testimony. How are you reflecting Christ in the midst of this test?