HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1341
JOHN 16
page 971
he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so
they will produce even more. 3 You have already
been pruned and purified by the message I have
given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in
you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is
severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.
Those who remain in me, and I in them, will
produce much fruit. For apart from me you can
do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me
is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be
burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words
remain in you, you may ask for anything you
want, and it will be granted! 8 When 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. 10 When you obey
my commandments, you remain in my love,
just as I obey my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these
things so that you will be filled with my joy.
Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way
I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love
than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
15 I 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. 16 You 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. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
The World’s Hatred
18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated
me first. 19 The 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. 20 Do 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. 21 They will do all
this to you because of me, for they have rejected
the one who sent me. 22 They would not be guilty
if I had not come and spoken to them. But now
they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone who
hates me also hates my Father. 24 If 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. 25 This fulfills what
is written in their Scriptures*: ‘They hated me
without cause.’
15:25 Greek in their law. Pss 35:19; 69:4. 15:26 Or Comforter,
or Encourager, or Counselor. Greek reads Paraclete.
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. 27 And
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. 2 For 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. 3 This is
because they have never known the Father or
me. 4 Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so
that when they happen, you will remember my
warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was
going to be with you for a while longer.
• Obedience
JOHN 14:15-16, 21-24
Parents set up rules for their children:
Clean up your room, don’t go anywhere
with a stranger, be home by 11 p.m. The
purpose, of course, is for the children’s
benefit and protection; loving parents
are not trying to make their children
miserable by giving them rules to follow.
And parents hope that their children will
understand rules as expressions of love
and concern; they hope their children’s
obedience will be motivated more by
love than by a fear of punishment. Our
obedience to Christ should likewise be an
expression of our trust in his care for us.
• Persecution
JOHN 15:19-21
Jesus reminds us what true loyalty to him
means in a world that is hostile toward
him. If we are truly loyal to God and his
priorities and values, we will have to take
a stand against sin. This will alienate
us from those people and groups who
see sin as acceptable and even normal.
Alienation often leads to rejection and
persecution. Belonging to Christ eventually invites the world’s hatred. But
belonging to the world invites God’s
judgment. If you are not experiencing
alienation and persecution, you must
ask yourself if you are more a part of
the world than a part of Christ. It might
be time to evaluate carefully where your
true loyalties lie.