Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the Gospel of John, although they are a bit better formatted than former efforts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, fall 2009 through late spring 2010, things are looking increasingly bleak with the economy, health care and unemployment, there is a renewal and increase of racism, and godly principles of living being disregarded, there are floods in India, earthquake and tsunami in Samoa. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Seek His wisdom. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked…Stacey
Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 15 of the book of John. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations…
15:1 – The seventh “I AM” Statement – Jesus is the true vine. We must stay connected to Him to be fruitful.
Are you connected to Him today?
Jesus is the vine, the Father is the gardener.
15:2 – If branches that don’t bear fruit are cut off, and we are the branches (see v.5), does this mean that we can have been attached to Jesus at one point but not produce fruit and be cut off? Provide Biblical support for your answer. See verse 4 for a hint.
Describe your experience with God’s pruning process.
15:3 – You are already clean because of the Word spoken to you. What does this mean? Are we washed in the Living Water of the Word by hearing it?
15:4 – if we remain in Christ, we will be fruitful.
Jesus won’t push us away. The only way He separates from us is if we detach from Him.
15:6 – What is this fire Jesus speaks of?
15:7 – If Jesus’ words remain in us, we will ask for what He wants us to have, and of course He will give it to us!
15:8 – What fruit are you bearing? How are you glorifying God?
15:9 – I am precious to God.
How had Jesus loved the disciples? This is how the Father loved Jesus.
15:10 – We remain in Jesus’ love by obeying Him. What steps are involved in obeying?
15:11 – Remaining in Jesus’ love includes experiencing perfect and complete joy!
15:12 – How had Jesus loved the disciples? Remember verse 9. This is how we are to love each other. Who is part of your “each other”?
15:13 – The ultimate expression of love is dying for one’s friends.
15:14 – Jesus is going to die for His friends. Who are His friends? Those who obey Him. That said, are you one of His friends?
15:15 – Apparently, the disciples were considered servants at one point. But they graduated to being friends because Jesus taught them all the Father told Him. Can you tell at what point this transition happened?
15:16 – Jesus chose and appointed the disciples to bear fruit. He chose us for the same purpose. So, what fruit are you bearing? When Jesus says that the Father will give them everything they ask for in His name, this is not a “carte blanche” yes answer to anything we want. If we are bearing lasting fruit, we are obviously attached to the vine and obeying His commands. When we do this, we become more like Him, so our prayers are aligned with what He wants for us instead of being selfish wish lists.
15:17 – I think if we ask God to give us love for each other, He will absolutely do that since Jesus commands us to love each other.
15:19 – Because we belong to Jesus, the world will hate us.
15:20 – Because of that hate, we will be persecuted. Have you already experienced persecution because of your faith?
15:22 – The world hates Jesus because He convicts them of their sin.
15:24 – How could witnessing Jesus’ miracles make the world guilty of sin?
15:26 – The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus.
15:27 – We must testify about Jesus, too.
• The book of John is called the “Love Gospel”. How have you seen God’s love at work in this chapter of scripture and how will you apply it to your life this week?
• What attributes of God do you see in this book?
• What verse of scripture seemed to be God speaking directly to you? What is He teaching you in these verses? How does He want you to respond?
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