Unpacking John 15:1-11, part 7 - Abiding and Obeying

Hi Ladies,

Unless I get long-winded, this will be our final week of unpacking John 15:1-11. I didn't plan it this way, but how fitting that next weekend is our retreat on abiding! I pray that your heart has been primed for it by meditating on this passage. Mine certainly has!

Read the passage this final time, noting the bolded section in context:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I 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. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you…"

How much does the Father love the Son?
John tells us: "The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand." (Jn. 3:35)

Matthew tells us: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." (Mt. 17:5)

And Jesus Himself tells us, first in His words to the disciples: "For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing" (Jn. 5:20), and also in His prayer to His Father: "So that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me…. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." (Jn. 17:23, 26)

The love among the Triune God is beyond our full comprehension. And yet Jesus equates that love with His love for us. 

Think about that…. The degree to which God loves Christ (or we could say the Triune God loves each other) is the degree to which Christ (or the Triune God) loves us. Incredible!! What more could we ever need? And yet, how easily we forget. 

But this love requires something of us. Jesus says next, "Abide in my love." It's as if He is saying, "This amazing love? Remain in it. Stay attached to it. Be fully at home in it, so that you may receive and then channel My love." (See Jn. 15:12)

How do we know if we are abiding in His love? He tells us: "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love." (v. 10) 

Hear Him correctly. He is not saying that we earn His love by obedience. We've looked at passages proving this already. Rather, He is saying that our deepest longing for love can only be satisfied in following Him. God has ordered our steps for our good. When we walk in them, we experience His love, and then we are able to love as we ought.

Remember, we were created to dwell with Him - to abide! Sin has profoundly messed that up, but Christ has come and lived and died and risen to conquer sin and restore our broken fellowship. As He told His disciples, "Just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love," He invites us back into the fellowship we were created for, walking with Him, modeling our life after His, as we abide in His powerful love to do so. We know that this side of eternity, we can't keep His commandments perfectly. But Christ has done this for us. And as we abide in His love, we become more and more in practice who He has already made us positionally. This means that we can live with joy, with confidence, and with humble gratitude for all that He is in us and for us.

Let's pray for one another this week, first, that we would come to understand just how much we are loved, and second, that we would rely more and more on His loving power within us to live as He has called us to live - for His glory, and for our good! ❤️🙏

Anna