Growing in Love

John 15:1-17

Introduction

            What is the greatest piece of music that has ever been written? We would probably have a lot of different answers. Who is the greatest hockey player? Although Gretzky may be mentioned, there would probably be debate about that as well. If you start asking about what is the greatest with the Guinness Book of World Records in your hands, you would have an interesting time, but if you did it with books from different years, you would also notice that what is the greatest changes.

            The greatest thing of all, however, has not changed ever. Jesus identifies it as the greatest commandment and Paul calls it the greatest of the things that abide. What am I talking about? Love of course and so we should not be surprised that another of the important things which we must cover as we talk about Growing in Community is love. This week the material we are following in our small groups will lead us through a study of Ephesians 3 in order to think about Growing in Love. This morning, I would like to invite you to a study of John 15:1-17 to think about love in our lives as disciples.

I.     The Love Connection

            I was pulling a wagon with Willow, our  granddaughter, in it. Our grandson, Lucas was walking along beside. He commented, "I am going the same speed as Willow and she is going the same speed as you." I complimented him on his solid grasp of logic. I told him about the axiom that if A =B and B = C then A = C.

            There is a logical connection about love in this passage that we need to know and understand. I call it the love connection and it has nothing to do with the game show that was on TV in the 80's and 90's.

            It is found in John 15:9 and 12. Verse 9 says, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you…" and in verse 12 we read, "love one another as I have loved you." The word "as" is the comparison that appears in both verses. The connection is that the Father has loved the Son and the Son has loved His disciples and the disciples must love one another in the same way.

            What is the nature of the love which the Father had for the Son? We know that this love existed because on several occasions God declared His love for Jesus to those who were present and listening. For example, after Jesus was baptized, God declared in Matthew 3:17, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” To put it another way, God said, "That's my boy and I am proud of Him." God demonstrated his love for Jesus by sending Him on a difficult but extremely important mission. He demonstrated His love by empowering Him for service. He showed his love by raising Him from the dead and by placing Him on the throne following His ascension. Jesus experienced the love of the Father and we see it by the joy He had in spending time with His Father on many occasions. We also know that he experienced the love of the Father, in spite of His difficult task because the words spoken in this passage are His words and reflect the experience of love He had with His Father.

            In a similar way, Jesus has demonstrated His love for us. His love for us was shown in His willingness to leave heaven and come to earth. His love was shown most deeply for us in his willingness to die on the cross for us. Romans 5:8 shows us the root of love that is ours in Christ, "But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." Romans 8:35 demonstrates the ongoing nature of His love when it asks, "Who will separate us from the love of Christ?"

            But the logical connection does not end there. As the Father has loved the Son and as the Son has loved us, so we are also called to love one another. How has the Father loved the Son? How has the Son loved us? As people who are loved and who have experienced the most amazing love possible, what does it mean for us to love one another? How do we love? What is the height and depth and breadth of love we have experienced? How do we show that same kind of love to one another? If we acknowledge this love connection we will be very thankful but we will also need to consider what it means in our relationship with one another.

II.  Abiding In Love vs. 9c

            How are we able to love in that way?

A.        Abiding Commanded vs. 9c, vs. 4, 5

            The only imperatives in this passage are found in verses 4 and 9. After affirming that the disciples are loved by Jesus, He encourages them in vs. 9c, "abide in my love." The command of Jesus is to abide in His love. Verse 4 contains a similar command when it says, "abide in me." How can we live as disciples? How can we love one another? The answer to these questions is to abide in the love of Jesus and to abide in Jesus.

            Yet we need to note that these commands are set in the context of some wonderful promises.

            In verse 5 we learn that we are not only called to abide in Jesus, but that He abides in us. Have you ever heard the saying that it is very difficult to climb a fence that is leaning towards you and to kiss a girl who is leaning away from you? If Jesus was telling us to abide in Him, but if he was distant, aloof or absent it would be like trying to kiss a girl who was leaning away from us. But the promise of this verse is that Jesus is not "leaning away from us" but is actually abiding in us. We know that every disciple is indwelt by the Spirit of Jesus and by this indwelling is empowered to follow Jesus. So even though we are commanded to abide in Jesus, we do so in the context of already being indwelt by Him, which makes it possible for us to obey this command. Indeed, this verse also says "apart from me you can do nothing." So we obey this command in the strength, presence and power of Jesus.

            The imagery in this passage is imagery of viticulture. I spoke with Bertha who grows grapes and she confirmed from experience what I had read in other places. She told me that when you grow grapes, the best time to cut them back is in March. The more severely you cut them back, the better they seem to grow. Then throughout the growing year it helps to cut off any branches that have died. She also keeps an eye on branches that have no grapes and cuts them off so that those which do have grapes put all the moisture and energy into filling the fruit. If pruned well, grape vines produce a lot of fruit. This text tells us that in a similar way, it is critical that we abide in Jesus. The text says that every branch that bears no fruit is cut away. It also says that every branch that abides in Jesus is pruned by God so that what is productive will produce even more. It is this encouragement that I would like to highlight. God is at work helping us grow.

            Aren't these things encouraging? To be called to abide in Jesus is a challenging call. But to be called to abide in Jesus knowing that He abides in us and that the Father is at work in us leading us to fruitfulness is a great blessing. It takes away none of the responsibility, but it does take off much of the pressure.

            So what does it mean to abide in Jesus? It means remaining close to Him. Such abiding has several components.

            It involves resting, by which I mean that we trust in Him and place all our hope in Him. It means that we enter the Christian life in peace not in frantic activity or desperation to please. We can do this because He abides in us and the Father is at work in us.

            It means relating. We know that there is only one way to get to know someone and that is by spending time with them. The same is true if we are to abide in Jesus. Spending time with Him, however, does not mean dutifully fulfilling certain ritualistic obligations like reading a certain number of verses or reciting a prayer. It means reading Scripture with an ear to hearing from Him and speaking to Him as one speaks to a friend.

            It also means regarding, by which I mean that we need to spend much time contemplating and thinking about Jesus - who He is and what He has done. When it comes to a human love relationship it is not unusual to spend time day dreaming about the one we love. In a sense that is what we must also do in order to abide with Jesus.

B.        Abiding and Obedience vs. 10

            So abiding in Jesus means resting, relating and regarding. But there is another aspect of abiding in Jesus and that is obedience to His commands. Please take note of verse 10 where we read, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love." There is a connection between obedience and abiding in the love of Jesus.

            The second part of verse 10 demonstrates this connection in the life of Jesus. Although the love of God for Jesus was expressed by God and although Jesus knew the Father's love and declared His love for the Father, the greatest evidence of His love for His Father was his obedience to complete the mission which God had given Him. It was a mission that involved a huge sacrifice as is expressed by Jesus when He prayed in the garden, asking to have the cup of suffering removed, but then responding, "yet not what I want but what you want." Jesus' love for His Father was lived out by obedience to His Father.

            So abiding in His love also has a connection to our obedience to Him. In fact it would not be too strong to say that the extent to which we obey Him is the extent to which we will abide in His love. This is so because when we realize the great love with which He has loved us, obedience to Him will be natural, desired and chosen.

            In verse 12, this call to obey the commandments is reduced to one commandment. Jesus says, "This is my commandment, that you love one another." As we contemplate these things, it becomes obvious why love for one another is so important. Obedience to this command must extend in practical ways into the community of God's people.

            It is sad but true that I have heard Christian people admit that they hate others. I know Christians who have something against a brother or sister and don't take communion because of this broken relationship. It seems to me that they completely fail to understand the point of the call to "examine oneself" which is to make a choice to obey this command because of the love we have received. Communion is an opportunity to be reminded of God's love and grace and an opportunity, in the strength of that reminder, to restore our relationships. I know Christians who fail to forgive the hurt done to them in spite of the parable Jesus told about the debtor who had been forgiven much but failed to forgive little. Because of these all too common failures to love one another, we know that we need to be reminded often to obey the command to love one another.

            The really challenging thing is that in verse 12, Jesus raises the command to love one another to a high level by once again pointing to His own life. When we read verse 13, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." we are immediately reminded of exactly what Jesus did. He did lay down His life for His friends, for us. When we remember the love connection, then we also understand that our love for one another is to be just the same as His love for us. Jesus didn't only tell us this to encourage us with how much He loves us, but also to call us to such a sacrificial love for one another.

            If we are to grow in love, we must know these things. We must know the connection. God has a great love for Jesus. Jesus has a great love for us and therefore, we must have a great love for others. We must know that apart from Jesus we can do nothing and that it is only by abiding in Jesus that we will be able to obey the command to love one another.

III.          The Privilege of Abiding in Love

            To encourage us to keep on pursuing deeper love and to keep on abiding in Jesus, we discover in this passage a great number of wonderful privileges that come with abiding in His love.

A.   The Opportunity of Friendship 15

            Abiding in Jesus brings with it the opportunity of friendship with Jesus. In John 15:15 we read, "I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father." If you hire someone to spread the top soil on your front lawn it is quite different than if you invite a friend to help you prepare your lawn for seeding. The camaraderie and the willingness to invest are completely different with a friend than with a hired worker. Abiding in the love of Jesus invites us into a friendship relationship with Jesus which gives us the opportunity to be involved in His work in a completely different way. We still serve, but we do so understanding what He is trying to accomplish. We share passion for what Jesus is doing in us and in the world. We function in a mutual relationship of care for one another, knowing we are loved by Him and loving Him as well. This is the opportunity of friendship that comes with abiding in Him.

B.   The Honor of Being Chosen 16

            When we abide in His love we soon discover we are not in that place because we brilliantly and faithfully chose Him. We discover the honor of being chosen, as Jesus declares in John 15:16, "You did not choose me but I chose you."

            When working on a PhD, students would like to be able to study with some well respected professor. They would like to choose that professor and would be honored if the professor accepted. We often think that we have chosen Jesus, but this verse reminds us that it is the other way around. Jesus has first of all chosen us. If a professor would choose a particular student that would be a very great honor. That is what has happened to us. Jesus has chosen us.

            Buck Pierce, the former quarterback of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was recently traded to BC. In an interview, he talked about what he had tried to bring to the team and he stated that he still wanted to maintain his principle residence in Winnipeg. As he spoke, I thought I could sense a disappointment at being traded. I am sure the feelings he had that day were quite different than the feelings he had on the day he was first chosen to play.

            The honor which is ours is the honor of being signed up to play. Because He chose us, we know that we are accepted and  are not left wondering if we belong or not. We abide in His love because He wants us to abide in His love. Such assurance encourages us to keep on abiding and to keep on obeying Him.

C.   The Benefit of Bearing Fruit vs. 5, vs. 16

            The purpose of this choosing is not only so that we will feel good, but more importantly that we will bear fruit. Several times in this passage, we are reminded that abiding in Jesus is for the purpose of bearing fruit.

            The question which quickly comes to mind is, "What kind of fruit are we called to bear?" There are two kinds of fruit that could be intended. First of all, there is the fruit of growth in Christ likeness. In this case, we are reminded of such verses as Galatians 5:22 where we read, "…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness" and so on. On the other hand, when Jesus invited the disciples, in John 4:35 to notice that "the fields are ripe for harvesting" he was talking about the harvest of the fruit of lives which are brought to Jesus. Perhaps this passage is left ambiguous so that we recognize that both kinds of fruit bearing will happen in those who abide in the love of Jesus.

            There is an interesting sequence that happens in this passage. If we do not abide in Jesus, verse 2 tells us that we will be unable to bear fruit. How many churches and individuals have sought to grow and flourish without a relationship with Jesus? Yet, lasting fruit will never come apart from abiding in Him. If we abide, verse 4 tells us that there will be fruit. Verse 2 furthermore tells us that if we abide in Him and the Father is at work in our lives we will bear more fruit. Then verses 5 & 8 tell us that if we abide in Him, are pruned by the Father and are active in seeking to bear fruit, we will bear much fruit. May we do what we can to bear much fruit. Let us abide in Jesus, allow the pruning work of the Father and work diligently in His strength to experience the benefit of bearing much fruit.

D.   The Advantage of Answered Prayer vs. 7, 16

            Abiding in Jesus also gives us the advantage of answered prayer. In John 15:7 we read, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." Verse 16 also speaks of this privilege when it says, "You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name."

            We notice first of all that God promises to answer prayer. The promise is made that "…it will be done for you." and "…the Father will give whatever you ask…" But we must be aware that this promise of answered prayer is conditional upon abiding. In verse 7 it says that prayer will be answered if we abide in Jesus and if His words abide in us. In verse 16 Jesus says that God will answer prayer if we ask in His name. This makes a lot of sense. If our prayers begin out of our needy and often selfish hearts, we may not receive what we ask. But if our prayers begin in the will of God arising out of a relationship of abiding in Him and knowing His will and seeking what is done in relationship to Jesus, then we can know that we are praying according to His will and we can know that such prayer will be answered. Abiding leads us to understand the kind of prayer that will be answered. Abiding leads us to desire to pray the kind of prayer that will be answered. Abiding gives us the advantage of answered prayer.

E.   The Pleasure of Joy vs. 11

            Abiding in the love of Jesus also gives us the pleasure of joy as we read in verse 11. "I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete."

            Abiding does not leave us with duty, drudgery or disappointment. If that is what our Christian life is about, we have not really understood what God desires for us. Abiding will always introduce the pleasure of joy. When it says, "that your joy may be complete" we also understand that it will not be a partial joy, but one that is full.

Conclusion

            How has love impacted your life? How has the love of your parents, your spouse, your children impacted your life? How has the love of God impacted your life? How have you experienced love in the community of faith? Love is a big concept and we can not discuss a topic like "Growing in Community" without talking about love. It touches so many aspects of our life. It touches our relationship with God, our relationship with each other, our involvement in the world, our sense of security, our hope, our work.

            It is a big topic, and therefore, also one we need to learn so much about. With the words of Jesus in John 15 ringing in our ears, may our discussion in our small groups on Ephesians 3 help us to make steps forward as we Grow in Love.