The Gospel of John 15:1-27

Alright, we are in John 15, 1-27, so we're going through the whole chapter. John 14, 15, and 16 are unique to the Gospel of John and include a lot of similar and connected material. One of the things we'll keep seeing as we keep going through this. Themes keep showing up from one chapter to the next, and even within the chapter, themes are returned to and expanded upon. It's an interesting way of writing. John writes very differently from Paul and even the other gospel authors, and we've seen that in our intensive study of Revelation. the way that John writes, and especially here in 14, 15, and 16, and even into 17, he reveals some very special things. At the end of chapter 14, Jesus said, get up, let us go from here. And so the reason for our map here is the likely location of the upper room is shown there on the map there on the first page.

And from there you see the probable path that they took out of the city and then along the Kidron Valley. This is otherwise called the Valley of Jehoshaphat in the Old Testament. Toward the Garden of Gethsemane. The location of the Garden of Gethsemane is known. So, and with a fair amount of certainty on the location of the upper room, this is very likely the actual map and layout and where they started and where they were headed.

So our point in bringing that up is Jesus had gotten the disciples up and what is said here in John 15 and John 16 is likely said on the way towards the Garden of Gethsemane, possibly while they're at Gethsemane as well, but there's no reason why it couldn't have been sent along the way as he's heading out towards the garden.

And let's step through some slides here. This is just after the last supper. So that was the end of chapter 14. They got up from that supper and were headed out to the Garden of Gethsemane. This is the map that you've seen with the upper room shown here. By the way, Caiaphas residence, possibly not certainly, is just a couple hundred feet away from the location of the upper room.

And then here are the Garden of Gethsemane. The events are numbered in sequence, so if you want to kind of track through on the map, you can see that. The prints are a bit small, but I think readable. Here is a picture of the Garden of Gethsemane. The trees, like for example this one right in the fore view, is pretty old, but it wasn't around during the time of Christ's time there in the garden. Here's another shot, and it is kept up as a garden. Now from the garden you can see this is the eastern or golden gate.

That is how you got into the temple area back in New Testament times. When the Muslims heard that the Messiah was going to return through the gate, they walled it up. Somehow that's going to stop him, right? And then they put a bunch of Muslim graves right in front of it, thinking that's somehow going to stop Jesus from coming back. So at any rate, that's why it's all sealed up.

A Gethsemane is just simply an olive press. So when you say Garden of Gethsemane, it's not some guy's name or something they cooked up. It's just an olive press. That's all it means. And it makes sense because you've got olive trees there. So this would be one style of olive press. You'd put the olives in there and have a donkey or an ox, something like that, go around in circles and then as it went around in circles it would press the oil out of the olives. This would be another style where you'd drop a heavy stone down on the olives and press the olives out that way. So a couple of different styles of olive presses.

The other thing that we keep seeing is references to the Father and to the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, as we term it. Actually, triunity might not be a bad term either. but this just indicate that and we're going to continue to see reference to the spirit into the next chapter as well. So Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all three persons of the Trinity brought up sometimes all within the same verse and we'll see that here in chapter 15. The other thing is you have the four conditions of if, and there's a section in the latter part of this chapter where we have all four of the Greek forms of if represented in that, just several verses right there.

And this is kind of a handy reference just to go through, you know, what kind is this? And so at any rate, those are illustrated and brought forward there at the end of John chapter 15. So we'll take a look at that. This is a grape harvest as would be used for, as would be used, you know, in Jesus' example where he's talking about the vine and the vine dresser and all that. The time that he is speaking is early in the season. It's not later in the season when the grapes are coming out. So the preparation time was fitting to the time he was speaking.

Here is an ancient vineyard as it would be oftentimes. They would have some kind of training up on the vines, but stakes that wouldn't necessarily be there for the lifetime of the vine, just to train it up initially. So this would be fairly common. It might even look like this. just as ragged and rough as this, with even just stones holding the vines up. So this would be typical.

Now, this brings us to an area of controversy about the first part of this passage, and we'll take a look at it. Now, when branches are low, do you, and this is verse two is the area of controversy, Do you lift them up or cut them off? A lot of the Greek scholars lean towards you cut them off. My own inclination, especially having worked in the great vineyards, is to say you lift them up. This is the typical way it's done now where they use wires to hold everything up. They didn't have a bunch of wires to work with. So what they would do is they would have a stick with a little yoke at the top. It might be last year's branches.

You'd stick that underneath and as many as you needed to lift it up. Or you might also just use a rock if you happen to have that. We saw pictures with the rock holding the vine up. So you might have either one of those. The idea is you get the branch and the fruit up off the ground, so you don't have it sitting on the ground where you end up getting rot or you end up getting insects climbing up it or whatever.

And so you lift it up. And so that's a bit of controversy in there. We'll end up seeing, I think, however, where it doesn't matter that much which approach you take. The intent is the same. And so we'll take a look at that in a minute. So with that, let's go into the rest of the passage here. Jesus, in this John 15, 1 through 7, Jesus says I am and this is the last time that this in verse five is the last time he uses the I am a go a me Phrase in there to our word pair to indicate that he is deity.

So it's I am literally I am the true vine, my father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. That's the takes away, one that's the area of controversy. And every branch in me that bears fruit, he prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 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. He continues on in verse 5, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up, and they gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. Okay, so those are the first seven verses.

Verses one and five, Jesus makes the last I am claim to deity with a metaphor. He previously said, I'm the door, I'm the good shepherd, I'm the resurrection, the life. In this one, I'm the vine, twice. His final claims to deity, just hours before his crucifixion.

And the identifications here that are really clear is Jesus is the vine, the Father is the vinedresser, and the disciples are the productive branches. There are two main areas where John 15, 1-7 is controversial. So not just one, but two controversies about this. The first one is John 15, 2 that I pointed out.

He takes away, as thought by many to be better translated, he lifts up. Many of the Greek scholars were countered that he lifts up is not in the semantic domain for the Greek word because it means to lift up. Because if it means to lift up, it means to lift up to take away. So it either means, according to them, take away or lift up to take away.

The debate has gone on for decades, if not longer, and probably longer is more like it. The next one, the parts about cutting branches off entirely and even burning them seems to imply loss of salvation. And that bothers people, especially since John 10, 28, and 29, among other passages, indicate that loss of salvation is impossible. So, the answer to these two areas of debate and concern is threefold.

And this is where I think we can kind of rest on it and not feel like we've got to take some. divisive position one way or the other. The first one, it's important with any illustration such as this to see the point of the illustration. And so what's the point of the illustration here, as Jesus used a number of illustrations, which is to tell the disciples to abide in Christ, since apart from him they can do nothing. Everything the Father does is aimed towards more fruit bearing from the branches, even if that means pruning them. So that's the first thing, is what's the main point? And the main point is abiding in Christ. And the second point is that the Father does everything that he does for the sake of more fruit bearing.

Next one, from a practical standpoint, vines are often pruned back pretty severely after the growing season. Remember some of these shots. The vines get cut way back, sometimes pretty intensely. See on that, you almost have no branches sticking out. It's largely trimmed back to the main vine itself and everything starts over. Anyway, that's important to look at. New branches often grow out to replace them. Suckers that grow from the base of the vine are always cut off.

Though it's possible Jesus is referring to those suckers as being some that would be cut off. Since those almost never turn into healthy productive branches, and they start too low. If it's starting too low, you end up with any fruit on the lower end of them, it's not going to do too well. And since it's already at the base, you can't lift the bottom part of that sucker. up very well.

So then in verse 6, who is they if the father is the vinedresser? There's a reference to just they, and he doesn't define it. The father is the vinedresser, but in normal vineyard practice, you'd have, like we saw in that one harvest picture, a number of people working in the vineyard.

The third point, it's best in addition to seeing the main points of the illustration one above, to avoid overextending the illustration beyond the point that was intended. You've heard that any analogy tends to break down at some point. So the key thing is, what did Jesus intend to convey? And don't feel compelled to go make everything fit some theological truth. Do you see the point there? It's possible to go and push the definition of it far beyond what Jesus intended to illustrate.

Then, in a real vineyard, the branches are not deciding whether to abide or not. And you don't have branches that are kind of, I think I'll abide and I think I won't, it just doesn't happen, right? So it's important to see the point of his illustration but not over-apply it. And he's asking them, he said, abide in me, you must abide in me. He's asking them to make a decision, an act of will, that real branches never do. So anyway, it's important to see Jesus' point, not overextend it, and then just think of some of what Jesus is saying as just the practical realities of how they manage a vineyard.

So, with that, the bottom paragraph there, real fruitful branches in this illustration are going to be pruned by the Father, but the intent is to produce more fruit. But the branches are not in control of the pruning by the Father, nor do they control the vine in any way.

Do we control God the Father? Do we direct God the Father about how we get pruned? No. He makes those decisions, doesn't He? He makes those decisions about how we get pruned. Do we give guidance to Jesus about how He's supposed to operate when we're connected to Him? We can pray, certainly, but we don't give Jesus direction.

So what Jesus says, here's the situation, the vine is there, I'm the vine, here's the father, he does what he's supposed to do, and he manages the vineyard properly, and that includes pruning, and that includes cutting off the suckers and things like that. So, he's doing everything right, but we don't have much control over that, and unlike a real vineyard, and unlike a real vine, he's telling them, abide in me. That's the only thing that they can do here, isn't it? Abide in me. Okay, it's the only fruitful choice. I've got one other question, and it's not in here, so you can't look here.

What does it mean to be a fruitberry? What does it mean to be a fruitberry? Now, remember he's talking to the disciples here. What's it going to mean for them to be fruit-bearing? For Christ to work through them. Certainly with the picture of the vine, that's the case. What does a fruit look like? Well, there are other kinds of leavers. Are they the believers? Are they the fruit? Okay, yeah, let's see. The other believers, you think might be one part of it. What else? They look like fish. They look like fish? Because they're supposed to be fishers over there. I see, yes, okay.

Yeah, I jumped to another illustration, right? Yeah. Would it be that we're carrying the nourishment to others? Ah, yeah. Think about it. They're about to be apostles and he's trying to give them guidance on what it means to be an apostle, right? And so, really all of what everyone is talking about, the fruit bearing is not for the sake of the branches, is it? The fruit bearing is not for the sake of the branches. As a matter of fact, the fruit is for somebody else.

So all the impacts that the apostles are about to have on others, both in evangelism and then among those who are believers, to equip them and to train them up and to provide guidance. Everything that they're doing, about to be doing, and you see it described in the book of Acts, and you see it reflected in the New Testament epistles, all those things are fruit. So it impacts upon others as a work of Christ's very life through these apostles. So it's anything that brings glory to the Father.

Yeah, and as a work done through the disciples. And look, it's not like the branches are sitting there working real hard. It is the life of the vine coming into the branches that is producing this fruit. And so it has a variety of expressions. They're all productive, but it's really all for somebody else. So here are the apostles coming to realize, and it took them a while to get this, but their lives are not for them. Their lives are for everybody else, including us. Including us here this morning, right? Their lives, as expended for the sake of producing fruit, sees consequences, good ones, in us.

Alright, good. Let's take a look at the top of page 3. So you'll recall in John 14, 13 and 14, Jesus said, Whatever you ask in my name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. And what he does is he continues with this theme on into chapter 16. So, Jesus said something similar to that in 15.7 except that he connected it to abiding in him. So now with this new theme of abiding, he's taken ask and now expanded. And that's what he does in 14, 15, and 16. And when he returns to a theme, he builds on it, having introduced this idea of abiding now, which wasn't there in chapter 14. Yeah? OK, you see this in the book of Acts, and you see it with a lot of the disciples, like John and Peter, when they ask the man to be healed. He was. OK, so it was pretty evident during that period of time that this was happening. Yes.

Why has that fallen off some? I mean, we don't see a lot of it. Well, OK, a couple of things. One is, can we ask the Lord for things? Sure. Right. We can. And how ought that asking to take place? How ought that asking, our asking, to take place? In prayer. Pardon? Prayer. In prayer, yes. But in abiding, right? in abiding, remaining conditionally in Him, in all of what that means. In essence, thy will be done in His will. What we're asking is in His will.

Just think about this. We went through a study some months back of Romans 8. And think of it, in Romans 8 we found out that you're in Christ, and Christ is in you, and you're in the Spirit, and the Spirit's in you for generally different purposes. It sounds the same, doesn't it? But Christ and the Holy Spirit have different roles, so you're being in the Spirit and being in Christ. Though it sounds the same, and positionally there's something very similar, it has a different outcome. And the Spirit being in you and Christ being in you sounds the same, but it has a different outcome by the ministry of each person of the Trinity. Yeah?

So, could one say that this is kind of now broken up and metered out through the gifts of people? Yeah, one of the things that we haven't gone through it here in the Gospel of John, but one of the things to look at is that there's two categories of spiritual gifts.

One set of spiritual gifts was in effect only during the time of the Apostles, including the gift of Apostle. And another set of spiritual gifts is in effect today that was in effect back then. Some of the reasons for having gifts that were only in effect during the time of the apostles include things like you had the apostles who were establishing, they were writing scripture, we no longer need to write scripture.

Their miracles were also, in addition to being fruit-bearing, they were validations of their apostolic message. And so there was a reason for them to have this. They had also the gift of discernment and knowledge and prophecy during that time because they lacked the complete New Testament. As the New Testament was being completed, these gifts had lesser and lesser particular value because you had revelation from Scripture itself.

Paul writes to the church at Philippi and he says, I pray that you would have discernment. And this is when he's, you know, about 30 years after the time of the ascension of Christ, he's writing to them and he's in the house arrest in Rome. And so he's writing to them, he prays for them to have discernment.

Well, our discernment now, with the New Testament completed, is from Scripture itself. That's where it needs to come from. Not woo-woo feelings of, you know, woo-woo, that's weird doctrine or something. So it's objective, it's objective discernment because it comes from Scripture and we all can look at it and study it. Okay, so here's John 15, 8 through 11.

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. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full.

So drawing upon the vine, vinedresser, and branches illustration some more, Jesus said that bearing much fruit glorified the Father and bore out that they were Christ's disciples. And what were they about to do? They were about to learn more and more in the weeks and months and especially years and even decades ahead. They were about to learn more and more of what it meant to be fruit bearers. Yeah, right? Okay, let's think about that.

Nancy and I abide at 14333 East Bellwood Place. What does that mean? That's where we live. The abiding in the vine needs to be even more permanent than Nancy and I are abiding in that house. That's the place where we live. The branch obviously can't go off for a vacation. It needs to stay there in constant connection with Christ. So the urging to abide, let's think about that.

Do you abide permanently and continuously as a believer in your position? Yes, you do. You are permanently connected to Christ, divine, and that's expressed in, you're in Christ, abide in me, right? And what he is asking, since he's giving them an imperative, you must abide, Whenever you see an imperative or an urging, I urge you, I encourage you to do this, anything like that that calls for an act of will, that means it's an appeal in your condition to live according to the position that you already have. See that? So anytime you see an imperative just like this one, it's you already have a position, now live in your daily condition according to that eternal position that you have.

We as believers are always in Christ. Christ is always in us. There is an intimate and continuous connection in our position. He's saying, in your daily condition, walk, step by step, walk in the position that you already have. Does that touch on your question there? Christ at home in your hearts. And you are at home in Him. You are in Him, He is in you. So the home idea, Being at home goes both ways, doesn't it? Yeah, there's a connection.

By the way, does the vine get anything out of the branches? Yeah, I see a head nodding. What does the vine get out of the branches? Pardon? Yeah, there is a joy in it which compares to the Lord doesn't need us in some essential way. He's not a needful person, but the Lord nonetheless finds joy and fellowship with us. Just analogously, a branch has leaves that bring in energy to the plant, to the vine. Let's look at John 15, 12-17.

This is my commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends for all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you you would go and bear fruit and that your fruit would remain so that whatever you ask of the Father in my name he may give to you.

This I command you that you love one another." His first statement in that passage and his last statement are very similar. Let's go step through it one bit at a time here. He gave them a commandment that they love one another. Why do they need to be told to love one another? Pardon? Okay, one is that problems with the old sin nature might creep in there. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yes.

Well, they're no longer going to be able to follow him and love him because he's going to be gone. So the hierarchical state that they're going to be living in is going to be totally different. And now it's going to be a group working together like church, instead of having one person. Right, here he is and we can see him and walk with him and all that, and all of a sudden you've got a different mode of operation altogether.

And part of what he's trying to do is to tell them, look, I'm leaving, but don't think that that makes things worse. Don't see it as a big disappointment. It's actually going to be better if I leave. I'll see you again. Don't worry about that. So he's trying to encourage them here. Ruth?

I can't remember, it seems like, I don't know if it was the Jews or the Brahmins, but wasn't there a cultural group that it was a good thing in their culture to be sneaky and sly? Yeah, this would be the Cretans particularly, yes. However, you think about the Jews, even the law, one of the 613 laws is to love your neighbor as yourself.

So there was even a basis in the law, but his basis, notice he didn't refer to that here, he says it's my commandment. So it comes from him, not from the law of Moses, which is very important for us to recognize. Even while he was still here, there was some argument between them as who was the most important.

Ah, yes. And he, as we've seen with Judas, he never, he loved all, I mean, he may have had his favors, but he loved all of them outwardly, each as one, one as much as the other. And that's kind of what he's, I guess. Yeah, he had expressed love, but they needed now to focus on loving one another. Yeah, Roy?

Christ's exhortation includes, as I have loved you. Okay. I don't know that it's in this message, but it is. Yeah, oh yeah. As I have loved you, that's verse 12. Totally different than the law. Yeah. Where you're looking at yourself. Yeah, the law, you're looking to yourself, and you're doing this because that's what the law says to do, as opposed to, this is not only the example of Christ, but it's the life of Christ expressed in you. Yes. And along with that, if you notice in the upper one, John 15, 8-11, it's plural, my commandments. Okay.

And down here, it's commandment. This is a particular So I assume down here is probably the priority, and the one up there on top is what you said earlier, that has to do with his imperative statements? I'm supposed to walk in here? The commandment says no longer do this or we'll throw rocks at you. That can be easily misunderstood. I can hear they were under the law.

Yes, yeah. And transitioning out of that now is something, I mean they took a while to catch up to this, right? I see when he says it that way. Yeah, oh yeah. This is extraordinary what he's telling them and they will take a while to catch up to it. Remember it's ten years later. after this, that Peter's told, you know, hey, go and eat that stuff. Oh, no, I don't eat that. Right? Three times. No, no, no, no, no, no. I don't eat that stuff. Right? And so they're still thinking in a Jewish legal context up to almost a decade later. This is pretty astounding stuff.

Verse 13, greater love has no one than this, than one to lay down his life for his friends. That's maximum love, right? You lay down your life for your friends. That's what Christ did for us, exactly. And by the way, Ephesians, the very first kind of love that's spelled out there in Ephesians 5, sacrificial love. The husband is to love the wife, as Christ laid down his life for the church. That's the example there. Greater love has no one than this, than one lay down his life for his friends. By the way, it seems you can only do that once. It seems to me. You are my friends, so Jesus makes the connection, I'm dying for you guys. Which I'm sure at the time Jesus said this, they were still probably scratching their heads a bit.

It would take them a while to catch up to what Jesus had said. The disciples were called friends rather than slaves because he would express maximum love by laying down his life. He would disclose things from his father to them. Jesus is the one who chose and appointed these men to the task ahead. In verse 16, Jesus told them again that whatever they ask in his name, the Father will give them. And he has told them that before, and he'll tell them again. I'll tell them again. He keeps repeating this theme. This is an important theme throughout 14, 15, and 16.

One of the things, getting back to Stan's question earlier, just to clarify, these disciples, they said, whatever you ask in my name, it'll happen. Does the Lord grant us, who are not apostles, everything we ask? Even if we're walking in fellowship with the Lord, we're trusting Him for everything, and we ask a prayer in faith, is the Lord going to answer everything we ask with a yes?

I see heads going like this. No. Why not? Pardon? It's not His will, right? And so what happens is these guys were given a special apostolic privilege. So Peter didn't come up to the guy who was lame and say, I don't have any gold or silver, but what I have, I give you, and let's see if Lord will heal you.

I shared yesterday at the end of the Revelation intensive, that there was a point in time, 20 years ago, Nancy and I each had a pretty severe illness that was bothering us. In my case it was the Lyme symptoms. In her case she had whole body itching, chronic whole body itching for the last five years. So anyway, we knelt down to pray together, to ask the Lord to deal with it, and in the middle of the prayer, before we said Amen, Nancy's itching was healed. My Lyme disease wasn't.

So the Lord can do as He wishes, and He can still heal, and we can still ask Him. But it's not the same as the promise to the apostles here. Some Christians mistakenly claim that and go around thinking they can ask anything and it'll happen. And I've seen some Christians get very discouraged and distressed because it doesn't always happen. They'll expect, well, the Lord's going to heal me. And the reality is the Lord may have good reason, as He did with me, for not healing me. But he can certainly choose, as he did with Nancy, to heal her before we say Amen. Yeah.

And along with that, even though they had apostolic privilege, he didn't always do it back then because obviously Paul asked three times and he was lucky. Yeah, well, interesting. Everything that Paul did for others was answered, but when he asked for himself, take this thorn away, nope. So interestingly, the asking has to go along with their apostolic ministry that it will always be answered. But regarding themselves, they didn't always get a yes answer.

That's very interesting. Yeah. Also, you don't have to answer this if it takes too long, but this is interesting here in the statement about choosing, because this is the one that Calvinists use all the time. Yes. Yeah. So is it the fact that it relates to the task that's at hand for the disciples here? Yeah, let's talk about this.

This whole thing of choosing and election and all that, the Calvinists get real heavy handed with that. Let's think about, did he choose them for salvation in this passage? Yes. Ah, he chose them not for salvation, he chose them instead as disciples. You see that? So that's an important one.

Someone of a Calvinistic bent might be inclined to jump on that and say, see here you chose and you didn't choose me. When in fact it's choosing as disciples, not choosing for salvation. So that's a statement specifically for the disciples? Yes, specifically for them. Because remember he invited them. Yeah, it's specifically for them because it's an apostolic selection. And by the way, he chose one to be his betrayer.

So this isn't about salvation. I don't think we're going to see Judas in heaven. Not going to happen. This isn't about salvation. This is about choosing to be a disciple. It's a different kind of statement. So, should not be applied in a Calvinistic sense. Okay, John 15, 18-27, and this wraps up the passage.

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world. I chose you out of the world, and because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, a slave is not greater than his master.

If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake, because they did not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sinned, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sinned, but now they have both seen and hated me and my Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in the law. They hated me without a cause."

And then in verse 26 and 27, when the Helper comes, so he returns to the theme of the Holy Spirit, when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth which proceeds from the Father, He will testify about me. And you will testify also because you have been with me from the beginning.

Several important things to take a look at here. One, let's take a look at the last page there, appendix four class conditions of if. And those four conditions, we have a first class is assumed to be true. Second class is assumed not to be true. Third class is may or may not be true. It's a probability statement, uncertainty and possibility. And then the fourth one, I wish it were true.

So now, looking at the examples, because you have other examples from other passages, but in this case, in John 15, 14 through 24, we have all four of those conditions of if. So when you look at the ifs in the English, find out which one it is, because it matters a lot, whether it's assumed to be true, or whether it's not assumed to be true, or whether it's possibly true, or you wish it were true. All those are indicated, but not necessarily brought out in English. So this is the key to help you find out which one of those it is.

So John 15.4, you are my friends if, third class, and it may or may not be true, you do what I command you. You may or may not do what I command you. So if you don't do what I command you, that's not a friendly thing. John 15, 18, 19, and 20.

If first class, the world hates you. So what does that mean? Is the world going to hate you or not? It's assumed to be true. So what that means is if the world hates you, and they will, count on it. You know that it has hated me before it hated you. If, second class, you were of this world, and you're not, right? Second class, you're not. The world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world because of this, the world hates you.

Remember the word that I said to you, a slave is not greater than his master. If, first class, they persecuted me. Did they persecute him? Yep. First class. they will also persecute you. If first-class, they kept my word, they will keep yours also." Assume to be true. John 15, 22, if first-class negated, if I had not come, that's what it means by negated, and spoken to them, they would not have sinned.

But now they have no excuse for their sin. Let's ask this question, why is it that having seen Jesus works, which were from the Father, and having heard Jesus speak, which is what the Father told Him to give, what's the issue, what is it that makes these people who hear and see all of a sudden guilty of sin? Why is that? I think it's what you're teaching in Hebrews, that Christ is superior to Moses. And so he's deity. And so what he's saying and what he's pointing out here is greater than the law.

I mean, this is, they're wrong. Yeah, they're flat out wrong, but they don't recognize him for, they think he's just some other charlatan claiming to be the Messiah. But he's doing works, and they're not, calculating, uh oh, I got this calculated wrong. And they're not getting it. So by what he says and the works that they see, they're turning it both down. Turning it all down.

And that makes them guilty of sin. They have had ample truth and ample evidence put in front of them and still they're saying Satan did this. So is this blasphemy? of the Holy Spirit that they're talking about? I believe so, yes. And imagine you specifically, and this particular thing is not an option now, but a particular thing to hear words straight out of the mouth of Jesus and to see works right out of Him, right in front of themselves, and to say, that's Satan's doing. This is Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies.

So to make an attribution like that, having seen what they saw and having heard what they heard, this is really awful what they have done. Few people get that opportunity, right? Few people get that opportunity to personally see the Son of God embodied in human flesh, and to express truth that the Father said to say, and to do works that the Father sent him to do, and to then turn that all away and put that on Satan, that's vile. Yeah, Roy? They believe they're doctrine, but they didn't believe the one who came to them. Yeah, they believe they're doctrine, but not the one who was the source of it. Yeah, exactly.

Let's take a look at the last one there, 1524. If first class negated, I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sinned. But they now have both seen and hated me and my father as well. So you have in 22 and 24 about what he said and what he did. It's first class soon to be true, but negated. So in both of those cases about what he said and what he did. Okay, let's go back to finishing up the rest here on page four.

So the world which included the Jewish leaders. So interestingly, these Jewish leaders thinking, boy, we're the best thing in the world, right? Get that operative term, in the world. They think they're the best thing in the world and they are in the world. That's what Jesus calls them. These guys think they're holy, they're worldly. They're worldly. They're on the other side.

They would hate the disciples turned apostles, and in fact we read in the early chapters of Acts that's exactly what they did. Because they, just as they hated Jesus, because of the fact that these Jewish leaders had heard the truth and seen the works, they had incurred a responsibility for the truth and for the works, and the refusal to listen and see and respond favorably, Jesus just called sin. That's sin. The rejection of the truth was rejection, not just of Christ, but of the Father. They have hated Christ without a cause. That's both in Psalm 35, 19 and 69, 4.

The helper, who is the Holy Spirit sent from both the Father and the Son, will testify about Christ, as will the disciples. By the way, that doctrinal question is what split the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The Roman Catholic Church said that both the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit. The Orthodox Church is Russian, Greek, Syrian, Serbian, all those different Orthodox churches, about a couple dozen of them. They said that only the Father sent the Holy Spirit. Which one is correct? Ultimately, the Western Church, as it was called, the Western Church was the doctrinally correct view. The Orthodox Churches were wrong. This passage right there.

So both the Father and the Son sent the Spirit. Isn't it interesting that you'll have two persons of the Trinity sending one? Note that the help, the Holy Spirit, is not sent to draw attention to Himself, but will focus the attention of the believer and others upon Christ. Let me read that in verse 26. He will testify about me. The end of verse 26. He will testify about me.

The Holy Spirit puts the focus upon Christ. In a church where you have the focus upon the Holy Spirit as primary, you've got a problem. We're having a class downstairs on the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and that's fine. But in the end, what does the Holy Spirit do? The Holy Spirit focuses upon Christ. And the ministry of the Holy Spirit indwelling us, is to draw our attention and focus us upon Christ.

As a matter of fact, 2 Corinthians 3.18, the Holy Spirit who focuses us upon Christ, as we behold Christ, uses that to transform us into the image of Christ. So the Holy Spirit is not only focusing us upon Christ, but using our focus upon Christ to transform us into the image of Christ.

See that? So that this is a part of the Holy Spirit's ministry. Yeah, Roy? Yeah, we're a temple. This is chapter, 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Yeah. There's a song that at some point I'd like to sing. John Fisher wrote it. We are the holy of holies, don't fail the door, don't fail the door. We have a spirit controlling. Don't hide the source, don't hide the source. He is at home.

One of my favorite verses is Colossians 3.16. Here's this abiding at home. May Christ dwell in your hearts richly. Not meagerly, not occasionally. May he abide there richly.

That's key and it fits right along with this passage that we just read here very well. Other thoughts and comments? Let's pray. Lord, thank you for the marvelous and wonderful and rich truths that are begun here in this passage that we saw even started in chapter 14 and next time we get together continued in chapter 16 and expanded upon. We thank you for the deep rich truths.

We thank you for that abiding that you intend for us all the time. You have made it true in our position. It is simply a matter of living it out in our condition, which is why Jesus says, Abide in Me. And we thank you for that accomplishment that's entirely to your credit. And we just pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.