NLT Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 61
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15:8
Matt 5:16
15:9
John 3:35
15:10
John 14:15
15:11
John 17:13
1 Jn 1:4
15:12
John 13:34
15:13
John 10:11
Rom 5:6-8
15:16
Rom 1:13
Phil 1:22
15:18
John 7:7
1 Jn 3:13
15:19
John 17:14
1 Jn 4:5
15:21
Matt 5:11
1 Pet 4:14
15:22
John 9:41
15:24
John 5:36; 9:41
15:25
†Pss 35:19; 69:4
15:26
John 14:17
1 Jn 5:7
16:2
John 9:22
16:3
John 15:21
16:4
John 13:19
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J ohn 1 6
you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8When you produce much
fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
9“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10When you
obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11I have told you these things so that you will be filled
with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12This is my commandment: Love each other
in the same way I have loved you. 13There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life
for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you
slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I
have told you everything the Father told me. 16You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever
you ask for, using my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.
Jesus Warns about the World’s Hatred (216)
18“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19The world would love you as
one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you
to come out of the world, so it hates you. 20Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave
is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute
you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. 21They will do all this to
you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. 22They would not be
guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin.
23Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. 24If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs
among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have
seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. 25This fulfills what is written
in their Scriptures*: ‘They hated me without cause.’
26“But I will send you the Advocate*—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the
Father and will testify all about me. 27And you must also testify about me because you
have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.
16
“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. 2For you will
be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you
will think they are doing a holy service for God. 3This is because they have never known
the Father or me. 4Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you
15:25 Greek in their law. Pss 35:19; 69:4. 15:26 Or Comforter, or Encourager, or Counselor. Greek reads
Paraclete.
15:8 When we produce “much fruit,” like a fruitful branch, we glorify
15:16 Jesus made the first choice—to love and to die for us, to invite
God. Each day he sends the sunshine and rain to make the crops grow,
and constantly he nurtures each tiny plant and prepares it to blossom.
What a moment of glory for the Lord of the harvest when the harvest is
brought into the barns, mature and ready for use! He made it all happen! This farming analogy shows how God is glorified when people
come into a right relationship with him and begin to “produce much
fruit” in their lives.
15:11 When things are going well, we feel elated. When hardships
come, we sink into sorrow. But true joy transcends the rolling waves
of circumstance. Joy comes from a consistent relationship with Jesus
Christ. When our lives are intertwined with his, he will help us walk
through adversity without sinking into debilitating lows and manage
prosperity without moving into deceptive highs. The joy of living with
Jesus Christ daily will keep us levelheaded, no matter how high or low
our circumstances.
15:12-13 We are to love each other as Jesus loved us, and he loved
us enough to give his life for us. We may or may not have to die for
someone, but we can also practice sacrificial love in other ways: listening,
helping, encouraging, giving. Think of someone who needs this kind of
love today, and give all the love you can.
15:15 Because Jesus Christ is our Lord and Master, he has the right to
call us servants; instead, he regards us as friends. How comforting and
reassuring that he not only chose us but also wants us to be his friends!
Because he is our Lord and Master, we owe him our unqualified obedience and should listen to everything he says; because we are his friends,
we should love him and others the way he loves us.
us to live with him forever. We make the next c hoice—to accept or
reject his offer. Without his choice, we would have no choice to make.
15:17 Christians will get plenty of hatred from the world; from each
other we need love and support. Do you allow small problems to get in
the way of loving other believers? Jesus commands that you love them,
and he will give you the strength to do it.
15:26 Once again Jesus offers hope. The Holy Spirit gives strength to
endure the unreasonable hatred and evil in our world and the hostility
many have toward Jesus. These words offer special comfort for those
facing persecution.
15:26 Jesus uses two names for the Holy Spirit h
ere—“Advocate” and
“Spirit of truth.” The word Advocate conveys the helping, encouraging,
and strengthening work of the Spirit. Spirit of truth points to his teaching,
illuminating, and reminding work. The Holy Spirit ministers to both the
head and the heart, and both dimensions are important.
16:1-16 In his last moments with his disciples, Jesus (1) warned them
about further persecution; (2) told them where, when, and why he
was going; and (3) assured them that they would not be left alone but
that the Spirit would come. Jesus knew what lay ahead, and he did not
want the disciples’ faith shaken or destroyed. God wants you to know
you are not alone. You have the Holy Spirit to comfort you, teach you
truth, and help you.
16:2 Not many years after Jesus said these words, Saul (also known
as Paul), under the authority of the high priest, went through the land
hunting down and persecuting Christians, convinced that he was doing
the right thing (Acts 9:1-2; 26:9-11).
