SERMON: “The Abiding Life” (John 15:7–11)
“The Abiding Life” (John 15:7–11)
Series: “John: Life in Christ’s Name” Text: John 15:7–11
By: Shaun
Marksbury Date:
July 21, 2024
Venue: Living
Water Baptist Church Occasion:
AM Service
I.
Introduction
In
1909 Arthur James Balfour, the former Prime Minister of England, was speaking
at the University of Edinburgh on “The Moral Values Which Unite Nations.” In his address, he discussed different ties
that bind together the peoples of the world — ties of common knowledge,
commerce, diplomatic relationships and bonds of human friendship. When he was done, a Japanese student studying
at the Scottish university got up and asked this question. “But, Mr. Balfour, what about Jesus Christ?” According to an American professor who was
there, you could have heard a pin drop.[1]
Sometimes,
churches can become equally forgetful of what truly ties us together. Thankfully, in John 15, Jesus has given us
the picture of the true vine. He is at
the center of everything we do — it’s not a shared church history, not denominational
tradition, not programs. If we don’t
understand this, then Jesus Christ will never be at the center of our personal lives,
leading us to fruitless Christian living and a Christless church.
Christ
is the true vine, and we’re concluding our look at this image this
morning. We’ve seen that there are true
and false branches which appear in the vine of Christ. The difference is discernable because those branches
which truly come from Christ will bear fruit of the Holy Spirit. Branches from other plants may have wrapped
themselves around the vine, but those branches will be barren of such fruit.
We
must each evaluate where we are. So, how
do we know if we are abiding in Christ or remaining in Christ? This morning, we’ll note four aspects of the
abiding life. We’ll see that the abiding
life actively prays and receives, the abiding life fruitfully glorifies God, the
abiding life lovingly obeys Jesus, and the abiding life joyfully experiences fullness.
II.
The Abiding Life Actively Prays and Receives (v.
7)
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in
you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
First,
He says to “ask whatever you wish.” Do
you pray? This isn’t a suggestion; Jesus
gives us a command here! As Philippians
4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” If we have a need in this life, including a
need to bear more spiritual fruit like peace in a particular situation which
might cause us anxiety, we’re commanded to pray.
And
Jesus promises to answer that prayer in an affirmative. Jesus promised this in Matthew 7:7, where He
said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it
will be opened to you.” Here, in v. 16, He
says His disciples were chosen so that “whatever you ask of the Father in My
name He may give to you.” As Matthew Henry
says, “If we have Christ, we shall
want nothing that is good for us.”[2] Jesus gives this promise to every
abiding believer.
Of
course, this isn’t a blank check. We see
that this verse is constructed as a conditional; those who are not abiding in
Jesus and don’t keep His Word, even though they may be true Christians, may not
expect their requests to be fulfilled. As
our Lord’s brother would later say, “You ask and do not receive, because you
ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3).
Jesus has already instructed His disciples to pray according to the
Father’s will and kingdom (Matt. 6:10).
Some of our prayers go unanswered because we’re praying selfishly, not
according to the will of God.
Yet,
for those righteous prayers, John reiterates this promise later. In 1 John 5:14–15, he writes, “This is the
confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His
will, He hears us. And if we know that
He hears us in whatever we ask, we
know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” The Holy Spirit inspired these promises so
that we could know that they are true.
That
doesn't mean that God answers these prayers the same way for everyone. Sometimes, I’ve personally seen instant outcomes. Sometimes, I’ve had to wait. There have been times where the answer only
came after intense study and counsel from other people. There are some prayers I’m still waiting on,
but because I have already seen that the Lord has been faithful with others, I
know He will stay true.
In
fact, we read in the next verse that this glorifies the Father. Believers are praying as they’re commanded,
and Jesus fulfills the requests as the Father wants. This is what God wants to do in and through
us.
This
promise stands in sharp contrast with the previous verse. Jesus warned in v. 6, “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.” However, the Lord promises help to true
branches so they may bear fruit.
This
is why we are to pray. And that brings
us to the next point:
III.
The Abiding Life Fruitfully Glorifies God (v. 8)
My Father is glorified by this, that you
bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
Jesus explains how we glorify the Father here and what it means to be His true disciples. Both the ESV and the NKJV fronts the phrase, “By this,” mirroring the emphasis of the underlying Greek text. This could refer to the preceding context of answered prayer or the subsequent instruction on bearing fruit. Yet, both interpretations align with the overarching principle that all aspects of a believer's life, including prayer and fruitful living, are meant to bring glory to God. This echoes Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 5:16, where He instructs His followers to let their light shine before others so that their good works will lead others to glorify the Father in heaven.
Jesus
does specify here that we glorify the Father by bearing “much fruit.” The grammar here implies a continuous action
of bearing fruit, [3] meaning that this is not a one-time event. Fruit-bearing is a vital sign of a believer's
union with Christ. Scripture tells us
this in Ephesians 2:10, saying we’re God's workmanship, “created in Christ
Jesus for good works,” plural. God
expects that we not only produce fruit but to do so in abundance, which is why
the divine gardener in v. 2 prunes our branches.
Abiding
in Christ means our lives are rooted in Him.
That’s where the concluding phrase “and so prove to be My disciples”
comes into play. It’s worth noting this has
been subject to various interpretations due to textual variations. Some manuscripts suggest “you may become” (in
the present) while others read “you will become” (in the future). Despite these variations, the core message
remains clear: true discipleship is evidenced by fruit-bearing. As Jesus said, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine” (John
8:31).
So,
continuing in Jesus’s word is a mark of genuine discipleship. As one commentary notes, this parallels the
love that proves we are disciples of Christ back in John 13:35.[4] Fruitful
lives communicate a message to the lost that we are connected with Christ. They may see that as a good thing or a cause
to persecute us, but we can be sure that we won’t be able to effectively
evangelize if we’re not already bearing Christ’s fruit in our lives!
Do
you have such tangible proof of a true, transformative relationship with Christ? This is what James was getting at when he
said that faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Faith in Christ should change us into people
like Him, people who will glorify the Father with their works.
That
brings us to the next verse:
IV.
The Abiding Life Lovingly Obeys Jesus (vv. 9–10)
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.
This
is a theme in these farewell-discourse chapters, where Jesus also reminds His
disciples of His love for them as He departs.
As one commentator notes, “When Christ was entering upon his sufferings
he comforted himself with this, that his Father loved him.”[5] We
see that love emphasized in just these two verses. In English, you can see the repetition of the
word “love.” The same idea for love
(noun agape, verb agapao) used three times in these two verses. The committed, steadfast love of God should
be our motivator.
In
v. 9, Jesus begins by noting this love: “Just as the Father has loved Me, I
have also loved you; abide in My love.” This
declaration establishes the pattern of love; the love the Father has for the
Son is perfect and eternal, a love that existed before time began (cf. John
3:35; 17:23–26). Jesus extends this same
love to His disciples, emphasizing its completeness and perfection. This isn’t an abstract or distant love; it’s a
tangible, active love that Jesus demonstrated throughout His ministry and
ultimately on the cross.
It's
only within the context of redemption that Christ extends the call to “abide in
My love.” To abide is not a passive act;
as the MacArthur Study Bible notes, “This is not emotional or mystical, but
defined in v. 10 as obedience. Jesus set
the model by His perfect obedience to the Father, which we are to use as the
pattern for our obedience to Him.”[6] This
is an ongoing action, as indicated in the KJV — “continue
ye in my love.”
Understand,
then, that obedience is a response of love, not an earning of it. Jesus wasn’t earning the Father’s love — He had
it already, and because He also loved the Father, He obeyed. In us, the Holy Spirit makes this abiding
love possible, as we experience the outpouring of God’s love in our hearts and
respond in faith.
The
next verse here reinforces the connection between love and obedience: “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.”
We can read this as a simply conditional for salvation, that commandment-keeping
earns us Jesus’s love. But that ignores
the context of the Father’s love for the Son and the fact that Jesus already
loved His disciples (John 13:1). So,
this is instead simply explaining how we express love for Him and know that we
are pleasing Him with our lives. Our obedience
isn’t burdensome or legalistic; it flows naturally from a heart transformed by
the love of Christ.
On
the flip side, no one can claim that they love Christ or are seeking to remain
in His love if they live disobedient lives.
The husband that leaves his wife but says he prayed about it has deceived
himself — he is not remaining in the love of God. The church that follows tradition instead of
Scripture is not abiding in the love of Christ, even if it has great worship
music. We must obey if we are to claim
that ours is a loving relationship with Christ.
If
we have that relationship, though, we have one of blessing. That brings us to the final point today:
V.
The Abiding Life Joyfully Experiences Fullness
(v. 11)
These things I have spoken to you so that
My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
In
this verse, Jesus shifts the focus from the theme of obedience to the resulting
joy that fills the life of a disciple who abides in Him. This verse encapsulates the ultimate purpose
of Jesus’s teachings, which is to bring complete and overflowing joy to His
followers. Christians don’t always know
about this, or don’t always experience this due to worldly distractions, but
this is a treasure Christ wants all believers to experience!
It's
important that we understand joy isn’t superficial or fleeting. It’s not like happiness that can change based
on our circumstances. Jesus is going to the
cross; He warns His disciples they will experience persecution. Yet, in the midst of our trials and sorrows,
there can be a deep, abiding, and complete joy.
Consider
this. The Reformation Study Bible
notes, “Many imagine that obedience to Christ is burdensome because it requires
sacrificial self-surrender and service (Rom. 12:1, 2). Jesus teaches the opposite, associating
obedience with joy.” This isn’t
prosperity gospel nonsense; we will experience heartache, even living an
obedient life. But, as another
commentary notes, “The purpose of abiding in the vine is to provide the sense
of delight to those who are authentic disciples of Jesus, even though they may
face pain or persecution.”[7] All
abiding believers can experience this unique joy which will sustain them
through life.
The
abiding life in Christ is not only about obedience and love but also about
experiencing the fullness of joy. Jesus
imparts His own joy to His disciples, promising that their joy will be made
complete as they remain in Him and follow His teachings. This complete joy is a testament to the
abundant life that Jesus offers, one that transcends our circumstances and is
rooted in the deep, abiding relationship with Him.
VI.
Conclusion
To
abide in Christ means that much will be different about His disciples; they’ll have
active prayer lives, experience fruitful living, engage in loving obedience,
and have fullness of joy. If you’re a
true branch in the vine, this passage invites you to continue deepening your present
relationship with Christ in these ways. Pray
to Him according to His will, knowing that He’s pleased to answer those kinds
of prayers. Seek to glorify God through
the fruit you bear. Express your love
for Him by finding new areas of your life in which you can submit to Him. And as you remain in Christ, make His joy your
own, filling you with a sense of the abundant life. Abide in Him to allow His word to transform
every aspect of your life, making you an effective witnesses of His grace and
truth.
If
you’re an unbeliever, I hope you are not discouraged by the fact that this passage
has not been describing anything true in your life. Rather, I hope that you’ll see it as an invitation
to enter the life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. By accepting His invitation to abide in Him,
you can experience true joy, peace, and purpose. The fruitfulness that glorifies God and the
fullness of joy that Jesus promises are available to all who believe in Him and
follow His commands. This is not a life
free from challenges, but it is a life anchored in the unchanging love and
faithfulness of Jesus Christ.
[1] Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia
of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times, (Garland, TX: Bible
Communications, Inc., 1996), 655.
[2] Matthew Henry, Matthew
Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume,
(Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 2018.
[3] A. T. Robertson, Word
Pictures in the New Testament, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Jn
15:8.
[4] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne
House, The Nelson Study Bible: New King
James Version, (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1997), Jn 15:8.
[5] Henry, 2018.
[6] John MacArthur Jr., Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., (Nashville, TN: Word
Pub., 1997), 1615.
[7] Gerald L. Borchert, John 12–21, The New American Commentary, (Nashville: Broadman &
Holman Publishers, 2002), 25B:147.