John 15:7-17

"If ye abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7

Of necessity we must be in Christ to live unto Him, and we must abide in Him to be able to claim the largesse of this promise from Him. To abide in Jesus is never to quit Him for another love or another object, but to remain in living, loving, conscious, willing union with Him. The branch is not only ever near the...

"If ye abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7

Note well that we must hear Jesus speak if we expect Him to hear us speak. If we have no ear for Christ, He will have no ear for us. In proportion as we hear we shall be heard.

Moreover, what is heard must remain, must live in us, and must abide in our character as a force and a power. We must receive the...

"If ye keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in My love." John 15:10

These things cannot be parted — abiding in obedience and abiding in the love of Jesus. A life under the rule of Christ can alone prove that we are the objects of our LORD's delight. We must keep our LORD's command if we would bask in His love. If we live in sin we cannot live in the love of Christ. Without the holiness which pleases God we cannot please Jesus. He...

As the Father loves the Son, in the same manner Jesus loves his people. What is that divine method? He loved him without beginning, and thus Jesus loves his members. "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." You can trace the beginning of human affection; you can easily find the beginning of your love to Christ, but his love to us is a stream whose source is hidden in eternity. God the Father loves Jesus without any change. Christian, take this for your comfort, that there is no change...

The margin of the New American Standard Bible reads "…give permanence to the work of our hands." Now that is a thought worth pondering and a request worth praying! We should make it our ambition to spend our lives doing that which will last.

This finds an echo in the New Testament when the Lord Jesus said, "I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain" (John...

The friendship of Jesus is a theme that evokes a warm response in the hearts of His people everywhere. When He was on earth, He was derided as "a friend of publicans and sinners" (Matthew 11:19), but Christians have taken the taunt and converted it to a title of honor.

Before going to the cross, our Lord called His disciples "friends." "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant...

This is a valid argument with those that are concerned for the glory of God. It is addressed to those who are acquainted with this spring of action. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork; but in vain, till Christians in a far higher degree exhibit his glory by showing that Christ is the true vine, and that they who abide in him obtain the communications of a divine life, and produce heavenly fruits on earth. What the sun, moon, and stars, the hills and...

These disciples were the representatives of the universal church. They stood in the place of all believers. We were all there by proxy. It must never be supposed that the beautiful words and condescending acts of Christ were just for Peter, John, James, and their companions. John is not the only beloved disciple who is encouraged to lean upon the bosom of his Lord. His love for the family of Bethany is not a singular love, with which other families have nothing to do. It is a specimen of his...

Christ's love takes us as it finds us; but it does not leave us so. If it did not make us better, it would not be Christ's love, but just common earth-love. There are two mighty chapters in the history of Christ's love. One relates to the means by which he brings us to himself, the other to the means by which he keeps us with himself. After we have been brought to him, a sublime work expands itself before him. We are to be made like unto himself. He will not rest until he has communicated...

John 15:1-12

When Jesus says, "I am the true vine," He means that He is the source of the spiritual life of His people, who are compared to branches. What the vine is to its branches, Christ is to all who believe on Him. The branches, down to the smallest twigs, are dependent on the vine. So every believer is dependent on Christ. He is the source of...