My Disciples Love and Abide in Me
Vern Peterman · Aug 26, 2018
Specials
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/49261911427489

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Good morning. We're going to be venturing into this passage in John 13, 31 through 35, and 15, 1 through 9. But just to explain, we've been going through the book of Acts for some number of months, and we have a number of months ahead of us, if the Lord should allow so long. It's our custom during the camping weekend that the church has to do a relevant passage or set of passages, but not directly in the Acts series or whatever the book is. So that's the pattern here. Now, we live in an era when camping has particular issues and the issue that comes up is smartphones. So you can imagine people are going through smartphone withdrawal. There is no Wi-Fi up there, so far as I'm aware.

And this has got to be horrifying and traumatic for some people, but we'll let them go by with it. There are also some other questions that might be raised. And one of them would be, for example, where does Clark Kent change his clothes into Superman when he goes camping? So I don't know. It's a tough one these days. Phone booths are a little hard to come by. Also, I want to explain one thing.

It's why Nancy and I are here and not camping. I have a few brief words of explanation for that. The first time we went camping was shortly after we were married. I took Nancy to Yosemite She was from a family that just hardly ever went camping and I had never put up a large tent before Especially when the person who loaned the parts to me Didn't give me all the parts Right. So this was very interesting the our first camping trip were brought to you by the words cold and bear and It was so cold the fire froze. It was that bad, okay, and And the bear gave one of our car windows a massage to give you an idea so anyway, so I thought well we got to try this again and We did try it again that camping trip just a few months later was brought to you by the words bear and boil And I don't mean boil water I mean, boil is time to go to the hospital, kind of boil. Anyway, so that briefly explains why we don't go camping, but instead we're here.

So we will, going through this John 13 and John 15 passage, we will be kind of skipping over some parts that you may have questions about, and it's understandable that you will. I'll be glad to discuss things. We won't be talking about the Greek complexities with if in either one of these chapters. We won't be talking about the heiress tents with any of these, where John, as Jim read for us, has the branches get, you know, taken away and what does that mean, all that. So there are a bunch of different questions that we might ask. We're not going to address them here. I'll be glad to discuss them because we've got other things we want to be sure that we address here.

To give you an idea where this is, this is the old city in Jerusalem in Ariel. This is a view that nobody in New or Old Testament times had. This is taken from a satellite. So, at any rate, you'll understand. To make it a little bit more clear, this is the direction that the disciples went from the place where they were having the Last Supper and into the Garden of Gethsemane. So the first part of this took place there where they had the Last Supper, and then they walked probably in this route that you see right here, and then the Garden of Gethsemane is where this likely ends up. They were very likely by this time on the way there. and so this is what the Garden of Gethsemane today looks like and it is in the right place. It's got different trees and plants and whatnot but that's the location. So Jesus is talking to us and what he is doing here in chapter 13 and chapter 15 in this specific set of passages that we've got He talks to the disciples, certainly, who are soon to become apostles. This is by this time the 11th.

Judas has been dismissed and is off basically to betray Christ. None of the rest of the disciples realize that he's going off to betray Christ. They don't realize it. Jesus has washed all the disciples' feet, including Judas. And do you know that Jesus expressed his love for Judas, for whom he would soon die? He expressed his love for Judas so clearly that the rest of the disciples had not a clue that he was the betrayer. Isn't that amazing? Imagine he loved Judas who would soon betray him.

So this is hours before going to the cross when Christ would take your sins and mine upon himself. You and I would die with him. And he would do that because he loved us. He gave himself voluntarily for us. He was not a victim. He did this for the joy set before him, Hebrews 12. Jesus spoke directly to the eleven now, Judas having left.

These would become his apostles to the church, to which Matthias would be added. And the church includes us, all those from the day of Pentecost to the day of the rapture would be included in this body that is the church. Jesus laid out two of the most important principles of all time for us to keep in mind here, with impacts beyond when time is no more. In these two passages, and I've chosen them specifically because Jesus on this This last set of hours that he has talks about my disciples.

And he sets out new commandments. And we'll talk about what that means. Oh, new commandments mean more? Well, not exactly. This event is known as what's called the Last Supper. It is the Last Supper until the next one that you and I will be a part of. The disciples would not have a clue, they would not have the slightest idea what Jesus is talking about. Later they would come to understand.

Do you know that on this night when he lays out a number of incredibly important and deep truths, they're still arguing about which one of them is the greatest. Isn't that astounding? Mind-boggling, right? He is about to go to the cross very soon to be arrested and they're still arguing over why I'm better than him. Oh, I get to sit closer to Jesus. Yeah, right? Okay.

Jesus told the 11 soon to be apostles about the very, very important things that they and we and the entire church absolutely must come to understand and live out. These are not optional, incidental, inconsequential things that he lays out here this is spelled out for you and for me we are his disciples he calls us my disciples here's John 13 34 and 35 and again I said I'm going to kind of jump to the high spots here a new commandment I give to you that you love one another even as I have loved you that you also love one another by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another so Jesus gave a new command to this eleven here that's also for you and for me we are his disciples as well a new commandment I give to you eleven applying also to all the others who will become disciples after you That commandment was not delegated for us to live out on our own or by our own human best efforts. Not what would Jesus do, and boy I'm sure going to try my best to fulfill that. Not even what would Moses do, right? Not that.

You and I are given this commandment, a new commandment to love one another And the standard of that love is what Christ Himself is going to lay out and portray in a matter of hours. By the standard and example of Christ's love for us, that He gave His life for each one of us is the standard. It's not simply the standard of love to emulate and to imitate, but rather that is the measure of how it is to look like and to come about. This is also a grace-given commandment. Can you imagine that? It's very important we get this. It's a grace-given commandment.

We don't add it to the 613 commandments given to the Jews. We don't add it to the 10. Some people say, oh, that's God's top 10. Yeah, it was for the Jews. Maybe. Actually, what was higher than the Ten Commandments? Circumcision. Even the rabbis would say that. But this is not to be added to that. It's not one more on top of the 613 or the 10.

So, you are my disciples. We are, you and I, by God's design and intent, made to be and are called to be Christ's disciples. The distinctive that Jesus makes clear here that will set us apart before all others is that we, his disciples, love one another.

Even if you don't recognize the people in these pictures. And you're even to forgive me for the people I put in these pictures. That's part of your love. This is not a love that shows because I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine. You do it for me, I'll do it for you. It's like we mentioned last week, Yogi Berra-isms. Be sure you go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours.

So anyway, it's not that kind of love. Or, because the other believers are always really easy to love, right? Oh, they're so easy, they're such nice people, of course, you know. No, and by the way, if you've ever been in a church, not everybody's easy to love. Okay? Just so you know that. Okay.

John 15.1, so we're now moving from chapter 13.

Chapter 15 John 15 1 I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser Notice I've capitalized am because this is a special expression I of who Christ is, there are in the Gospel of John seven metaphors, I am the door, I am the bread of life, I am the good shepherd, there are seven metaphors and each of those is begun by this special expression of I am that also matches exactly the words in the Greek Old Testament where Moses says to God in the burning bush, who should I say has sent me? And God's response is, I am. These words in the Greek Old Testament. I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser.

So Jesus is setting up here a word picture. It may well be that they are passing by grape vines on the way to where they are headed that very evening. But even if it is not the case, they had passed by a great many, for sure. But he set up a word picture for our benefit and better understanding.

Christ is the true vine, and I will just state that briefly, in that in the Old Testament, Israel had repeatedly, from the Psalms on, been presented as the false vine. Christ is the true vine, and as we'll see, you and I are the branches that connect intimately to that vine. The Father is the vinedresser who watches and manages.

Notice that Jesus gives the example of the Father and himself. He does not in these passages explicitly mention the Holy Spirit. However, chapters 14, 15, and 16, all three mention the Holy Spirit. So in the bigger picture, the Holy Spirit is not forgotten.

But in this illustration, it's important for us to look at Christ has the vine and the Father is the vinedresser. One of the things that happens in a vineyard is that the vinedresser does not just kind of stand off at a distance and shake his hands or do something at a distance. He gets up very close and personal with the vines. And that's the way the Father is involved with us. What the Father is doing in our lives is done deliberately up close and personal, person to person at a time.

There are several good purposes for Christ to give us here this spiritually valuable word picture. He wants us to better understand who He is, and our relationship to Him, to Christ, and who the Father is, and what the Father is doing in each of our lives.

The Gospel of John mentioned that there are the seven I Am metaphors beginning with the Bread of Life. This is the last one that we see in this passage of those seven. and I'll leave it to you to explore that further but it is an amazing pattern in the Gospel of John where there are seven miracles and seven I am's here among other things. Here's John 15 3 and 4 Christ says abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine so neither can you unless you abide in me This is a very absolute statement and it's not accidental.

Each one of us who believes is already in Christ. This is true of every single believer here in the church age starting with the day of Pentecost and on into the day of the rapture. He is already in each one of us who has believed as well. We already have this position to which he is calling us to abide, that position being we in Christ and Christ in us. It's interesting, he puts this, abide in me and I in you.

Have you ever seen a vineyard where the branches are having a hard time deciding whether or not to abide in the vine? Have you ever seen that? I haven't either. I spend a little bit of time hanging around and working in vineyards, so certainly I would have seen it, but no, I never have.

So this is an unusual thing in that he challenges and says to these branches, that includes you and me, abide in me. This is a command, an imperative. Christ calls us here to act by faith and abide in him and he in us. We're unusual branches in that for each of us there is an act of will involved. Abide means for us to remain in him.

One of the things that you do with a dog if you're training is teach him how to stay. You go, stay! Stay! And of course you're kind of nervous about it at first because they're not getting it. And you don't want him to not stay at the wrong moment, because that could be bad. So, abide means for us to remain in Him, to stay in the position we already have. And that position that we have, did we earn it?

No, no, no, no, no. It is by grace. Each one of us who is in Christ by faith is already indwelt by Christ. And we are called to remain in ongoing fellowship with Him. That's what this Abide in Me and I in You is about. For us to abide in Christ means this. For us to have biblical insight into the position that we have in Christ and He has in us. To have faith in those spiritual facts.

Abiding in Christ, and he and us, is very closely related to, we're talking about describing different aspects of the same thing. Fellowship with him. Paul wrote to the believers at Corinth, and he said, you are called into fellowship with his son. Fellowship with him. Beholding Christ.

Those same believers, 2 Corinthians 3.18, it talks about beholding Christ. Beholding Him. We who cannot physically see Him, beholding Him spiritually, with spiritual eyes. Looking upon Him.

There is also, in Galatians 5.16, walking in the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote to them. So in that way you will not satisfy the desires of the flesh. Being filled with the Spirit, which they'll get to pretty quick here in the Ephesians elective, which I'm really excited about. But that would be another way of expressing the same thing. Relying and depending and trusting in Christ, and we haven't used up all the different ways of describing it. But these are all different descriptions of precisely the same thing. So the question I have for you, here is the Apostle Paul, as we've seen recently in the book of Acts, he's being taken away from the Jews who are just then, they've been beating him up. And they have the intent to kill him right there.

So as Paul is being taken away on the shoulders of the Roman soldiers, is the Apostle Paul resting in Christ? Well, the answer is yes. As he is being strapped down, ready to be beaten, of course he's going to stop that by asking, do you beat Romans? Is Paul walking in the Spirit while he can't walk? Yes. How about that? He's walking in the Spirit while he can't even walk. As Paul is standing up on the stairs speaking to the Jews, who when he mentions the word Gentiles will be very riled at him. Is he beholding Christ?

The answer is yes. One of the things we see in this passage is fruit bearing is very important. So, should you put fruit-bearing on the top of your to-do list? The Father wants fruit. Jesus is talking about fruit. Should you put fruit-bearing on the top of your to-do list? Yes? No? Well, guess what? Fruit-bearing is very, very, very important, but it's not our job. Exceedingly important. Very important. It's just not our job. In this vine and the branches picture, the Father does desire the fruit through us.

But we have not been delegated. Here, you go do this. We've not been delegated the job of bearing fruit. It's not been assigned to us, delegated to us. God has not said, hey, you guys go out and give it your best shot, bear some fruit, and come back and check in with me and we'll see how you did. That's not how God intends us to go.

We've got one job, abiding in Christ the true vine, and He in us. That's it. Is God pleased when we do our very, very best to be fruitful? Not really. That's not what this is all about. Our best efforts at being fruitful is not what He's looking for.

John 15.5, I am the vine. This is the same I am. I am divine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from me you can do a lot of things. Apart from me you can do some things. Apart from me you can do nothing. Not a zip, zilch.

So does God want each of us to do the best we can? You know how the way they say it, you know, you do your best and God will do the rest? Is that the way God wants us to do it? Do your best, God will do the rest. Or, maybe you've got another alternative we've got to work on here. Does God want each of us to help Him? So God's out there doing things, and I, you know, wait for me, wait for me! Pick me! Right? No. That's not what he has in mind either. Guess what? We're done already. So it isn't God saying, well get going. When you're going to get going, the message is instead, you're already done. Just abide. That's it. I'll do the rest. As branches, we're absolutely and totally dependent upon the vine. We only rely on the vine as anything that will account for anything. Our reliance on the vine is all that matters.

And guess what? You ever run into things where, you know, wow, that was then, this is now. Things change, you know, different set of... This is always true. This will always be true. We don't have to say, you know, this is good for now, but, you know, come January 1st, 2019, we've got a whole different set of rules. No. This is a principle. The expression is, you can take it to the bank. Don't take it to the bank. Take it to heaven. Right?

So, this is also not horseshoes and hand grenades. With some things, getting nearby or close is just fine. You know, the expression, close enough is good for horseshoes and hand grenades. And yes, that's a horseshoe-shaped toilet seat that the guy's trying to do. Anyway, so not horseshoes and hand grenades, not that, okay?

That's not what God has in mind with spiritual relationship with Him. He doesn't want us to get kind of close by. It doesn't want us to just sort of hang around Jesus, or even hang around the Father. The believer is in Christ in his death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seeding. It's God's accomplishment entirely. It is spiritual intimacy and the ultimate in those five things. In these five things, we can't get any closer to Christ. One of the things that we do to underscore the priorities here, is we show this locomotive on the train tracks. And we show faith in the facts, just like the train in the tracks, and like the caboose, the feelings follow.

In many of the churches today, based on where our culture has gone, especially since World War II, the tendency is for people to pursue feeling close to God. Is that biblically what we're to pursue? Actually, the Bible doesn't say for us to do that. It calls for us to have faith in the facts and let the feelings follow from that, rather than pursuing it. There's not too many trains where the caboose takes the lead. And the same thing here, it is faith in the facts that takes the lead, and the caboose, the feelings, follow, and not otherwise.

From the day that we believed We've been made to be in Christ and He in us. As a matter of fact, we could even look to passages that date it before that. But, each one of us who believes is already spiritually intimate with Christ in the ultimate, and that's not just hypothetical. Being in Christ and He in us is not only a spiritual fact, It's God's intent, God's design, God's idea that being in Christ and Christ in us is a spiritual reality moment by moment, day by day.

Here's John 15, 8 and 9. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Abide in my love. So the Father is indeed glorified by a lot of fruit bearing and even says much fruit bearing.

But we have how much? Zero direct ability to produce fruit. If we got up and said, boy, you know, today I am really going to work on that fruit bearing thing. That's not what God has in mind. If we said, you know, come January 1, I'm going to have a New Year's resolution, and man, am I going to bear fruit. It's just going to be so great. I'm really going to pour it on and bear lots of fruit. The Father will not be pleased or impressed. Fruit-bearing is not our job.

It's a by-product of our abiding in Christ. Period. The Father loved and loves Christ. That's what this passage says. And Christ has loved and does love each one of us. We are called to abide, remain in, depend upon, rely upon that love. The outcome from that, this goes back to chapter 13, is that we then love one another. Loving one another comes from abiding. It does not come from us working really, really hard at loving one another. It does not come Because you finally look at Vern and you say, okay, I guess I'll forgive him for all those messages that he's given me and talking over time, right?

It comes as we abide in Christ. The outcome from abiding in Christ is that we love one another and thus fulfill His grace-given commandment to love one another. Abiding in Christ, and He in us, is closely related to that fellowship, to that beholding Christ, and walking in the Spirit, and being filled with the Spirit, and relying and depending upon and trusting in Christ. So, is this what it looks like to be resting in Christ?

Yeah, it might. Or, you may have it in all kinds of other circumstances. Resting doesn't necessarily have an outward appearance, does it? Is this what it looks like to be walking in the Spirit? Well, it might be. As a matter of fact, walking in the Spirit might be one of the most important things you do if you can't walk. There are times, you know. Is this what it looks like to behold Christ? Yeah, could be. At all times. When everything seems really, really great. Or when you're camping and things are just unbearable. Right? Those times too.

Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for what you have laid out. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your care for us as the vine dresser in this illustration. And Lord, we pray that you would teach us that dependence upon you, living in that intimacy that we already have with you. We cannot improve upon it, but we can live upon it by faith. And we just thank you for what you've laid out and presented before us in this wonderful word picture. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.