21 Days in the Book of JohnSample

Jesus gave 7 “I AM” speeches in the book of John. This is the final one. He is speaking about relationships.

Here are a few things I’d like to point out about Chapter 15:

1. The beginning talks about a believer’s relationship with Jesus. There are fruitful branches and unfruitful ones. In this message, the grapevine represents the church. Just as it is difficult to tell the vine from the branches, it should be difficult to tell a believer from Jesus. There is a lot of controversy about what Jesus means when He says He will prune branches that do not bear fruit and that if you do not remain in Him you will be thrown into the fire and burned. Some believe He is talking about losing salvation, some say you were not truly saved in the first place if you do not bear fruit, and some say you will die early if you turn away from Christ.
2. The middle section talks about a believer’s relationship with others. Jesus calls us to love and give. You can give without loving but you cannot love without giving. We are now called friends of Jesus because we have been appointed and we must try to live the way He did.
3. The end talks about a believer’s relationship with the world. Jesus was hated because of the world’s ignorance. He tells His disciples they will be treated in the same way but to appreciate it because it is for His sake. He knows the world will be a tough place to live and the cost to follow Him would be great, but it will definitely be worth it!