juan-15:2-17-rva

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:5

Christ returns to the main theme of the previous verse, but here discriminates more forcibly the vine from the branches, and yet holds and binds them into a unity. I am the vine, ye are the branches ; which shows that he treated the disciples themselves as the organs of his earthly fruit-bearing; and then draws a larger circle and makes a complete and comprehensive statement on which the very existence of the "true vine," the "body of Christ, including the Head," depends, viz. He that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:5

Apart from Christ. Our Lord does not say, "Apart from my doctrine ye can do nothing;" important though it is that Christian people should apprehend and receive his truth. Nor does he say, "Apart from my Church ye can do nothing;" though, if we understand the term "Church" aright, this would be manifestly true. But he says, "Apart from me." Christ is, then, himself everything to his people. He is the Power, the Wisdom, the Salvation, of God, and consequently, could we be sundered from... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:5-8

The union of Christ and believers. Notice this union— I. IN ITS NATURE AND SOME OF ITS LEADING FEATURES . 1. It is spiritual It is not physical and material, neither is it based on the same principles as the unions of this world, which are carnal and corrupt; but the principles of this union are spiritual, such as love, faith, and hope. It is the union of the human with the Divine, the spirit of man with the great Father of spirits—the union of life with... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:6

If any one abide net in me, he is cast forth as the branch —perhaps away from the vineyard, as well as from proximity to the vine— and is withered . The two aorists, ἐβλήθη and ἐξηράνθη , are simply cases of a common daily experience. These are the inevitable consequences of not abiding in the vine. We may imagine two ways in which this non-abiding in Christ, this severance from him, may be effected: read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:7

In this verse he returns once more on the principle of union with himself, and of what will come out of it. The disciples may be sorely distressed at this possible doom, for whatever may be the lot of those who do not obey the gospel and are ignorant of the Law of God, the curse here uttered fails heavily upon those who have been once enlightened, etc., and have apostatized ( Hebrews 6:4-6 ). The anxiety of the apostles ]s grievous, and they desire deliverance from this doom. And our Lord... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:8

Here the Lord shows what he knows will be and must be the dominant desire of the man who abides in himself, in whom his own word abides. Such a man will seek, yearn, ask, that he should bear much fruit . This prayer will be heard, and in this sublime synthesis between Christ and his disciples, says Christ, was my Father glorified . "In the fruitfulness of the vine is the glory of the husbandman," and in the answer of your prayers, and the regulation of all your desires, so ye shall... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:9

Two ways of explaining this verse: Even as—inasmuch as—the Father hath loved me , and as I have loved you , abide in my love ; i.e. , as Grotius has put it, the first clause suggesting accordance with the mystery of the Trinity, and the second the mystery of redemption: "So do ye continue, or so do ye abide, in the amplitude of this double love which is mine, dwell in it as in a holy atmosphere, breathe it and live by it." But there is another and more satisfactory way of translating... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:9

Abiding in the love of Jesus. I. PAST SATISFACTION . How Jesus here lifts up his disciples by a recognition of the good thing in them! The Father loved the Son; found in Jesus of Nazareth what he could not find in any other being of flesh and blood. And so the Son loved his disciples, finding in them a spirit of obedience and recognition of himself which promised great results in due season. To us it may seem as if Jesus must have been painfully impressed with the faults of his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:9-16

The condition of abiding under the power of Christ's love. I. THE SPHERE AND CONDITION OF UNION . "As the Father hath loved me, I have also loved you: abide in my love." 1. The relation between the Father and the Son is the absolute type of the union between Christ and believer s. 2. The love of Christ is the sphere or atmosphere in which the disciple lives . "We love him, because he first loved us." 3. The disciple is under no other condition than that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:10

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love . This is the method and secret, the stimulus and proof, of abiding in the love of Christ. This is not exactly the converse (Westcott) of "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Doubtless there is a love which dictates obedience to the loved One's will. Our Lord here avers, however, something further, viz. that obedience issues in a higher love . The obedience here described is the outcome of love, but the power is thus gained to... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:5

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:5

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:5-8

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:6

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:7

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:8

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:9

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:9

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:9-16

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:10

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