John 15:4 NIV

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - John 15:1-16

5. The importance of abiding in Jesus 15:1-16Jesus continued to prepare His disciples for His departure. He next taught the Eleven the importance of abiding in Him with the result that they would produce much spiritual fruit. He dealt with their relationships to Himself, one another, and the world around them in chapter 15. Their responsibilities were to abide, to love, and to testify respectively."If in the Discourse recorded in the fourteenth chapter of St. John’s Gospel the Godward aspect of... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - John 15:4

The first sentence in this verse is capable of three different interpretations. It may be a conditional statement. In this case Jesus meant that if His clean (i.e., saved) disciples abode in Him He would abide in them. I believe this is the best interpretation. Earlier Jesus had presented abiding in (in contrast to departing from) Him as a real possibility for His believing disciples (cf. John 8:31-32; John 15:10). He did not speak of abiding as the inevitable condition of believers. Jesus’... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - John 15:1-27

The True Yine. The Witness of the Comforter and of the Apostles1-17. The allegory of the True Vine and its interpretation. The metaphor of ’the vine’ was suggested by ’the fruit of the vine’ which had just been consecrated in the Holy Supper (Matthew 26:29), and the allegory was intended to illustrate the main idea underlying that holy rite, viz. union with Christ. It sets forth Christ as the sole source of spiritual life, and of Christian sanctity. As long as the spiritual union between Christ... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - John 15:4

(4) Abide in me, and I in you.—The clauses are here connected as cause and effect. The second is the promise, which will not fail if the command of the first be observed. The union then, and all that follows from it, is placed within the power of the human will. All is contained in the words, “Abide in Me.” He who obeys this command has Christ abiding in him, and is a fruitful branch of the true vine.As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself.—The branch regarded of itself, apart from (“except... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - John 15:1-27

Christ's Appropriations John 15:0 We shall find some jewel sentences in the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel according to John. The expressions shortly to be quoted may be designated the Appropriations of Christ. He seemed to c aim certain things, ideas, principles, emotions, as peculiarly His own. Christ may be said to be before us now as a great proprietor, talking so clearly, though not too loudly, of the things which belong to Himself. The governing word is 'My'. He goes as it were around... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - John 15:1-12

elete_me John 15:1-12XII. THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES."Arise, let us go hence. I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit, He taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - John 15:1-27

CHAPTER 15 1. The Vine and the Branch. (John 15:1-8 .) 2. Communion with Him and its Conditions.(John 15:9-16 .) 3. Love One Another! and the Hatred of the World. (John 15:17-27 .) Israel is called a vine in the Old Testament (Psalms 80:8 ; Isaiah 5:1-8 ; Jeremiah 2:21 ; Hosea 10:1 ) and Christ here in this parable takes the place of Israel and is the true vine. His disciples are the branches. Israel under the law covenant could not bear fruit for God, as the law cannot be the source of... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - John 15:1-27

THE MINISTRY OF EXHORTATION CHRIST THE TRUE VINE (vs.1-8) The Lord's ministry of comfort, or of binding up, has been seen in chapter 14. Now in chapter 15 it is that of stirring up, or of exhortation. If, as we have seen, the sacred presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a precious sanctuary, yet our feet walk on earth, and there must be the trial of faith, the practical test of reality. Israel had been the vine brought out of Egypt and planted in the land (Isaiah 5:17), but in... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - John 15:1-27

CENTRAL TEACHING CONTINUED The fundamental subject of this discourse is that of the relation of believers to Jesus Christ in respect to practical life under the coming dispensation: 1. The relation of members who share in His life and thereby bring forth fruit unto God (John 15:1-8 ). 2. The relation of friends who share in His love and maintain its continuance and manifest its effect by love to each other (John 15:9-17 ). 3. The relation of followers who share in His work toward the world,... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - John 15:1-27

The Self-revelation of Christ John 14:0 , John 15:0 We cannot understand the opening of the fourteenth chapter unless we read it in immediate connection with the close of the thirteenth. "Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice." "Let" notwithstanding all cowardice and recession and... read more