Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

A relationship with Christ is a fruit bearing relationship.

It is so easy to say, I must produce fruit for Christ, but it is clear by the Word that fruit is only produced by depending of Christ as our life.

The True Vine

“I am”--

John 15:1-

1. “I am”—This is the last of the instruction “I am” statements in John.

As John seems to use these statements to define who Jesus is.

In just a few chapters Jesus knocks people off their feet with this statement. . .

literally.

2. The True Vine is a transfer of an OT idea that Israel was to be a healthy vine blessed of God, cared for by God and used for God’s glory.

Here is where that analogy is transferred into NT or new covenant thinking.

gives a great depiction of that analogy but the best verse is verse 8.

The Father cultivates.

Jesus, as the vine, feeds and provides for the branches.

Branches are to produce fruit through a healthy relationship with the vine.

The transparent purpose of the verse is to insist that there are no true Christians without some measure of fruit.

Fruitfulness is an infallible mark of true Christianity; the alternative is dead wood, and the exigencies of the vine metaphor make it necessary that such wood be connected to the vine.

Fruitful and Fruitless have their place.

John 15:

Fruitless get cut away and burned.

Real Christians bear some sort of fruit.

Fruitfulness is an infallible mark of true Christianity; the alternative is dead wood, and the exigencies of the vine metaphor make it necessary that such wood be connected to the vine.

The type of fruit; converts, good works, spiritual growth; is not as important as the truth that those He saves, he also sanctifies.

All of those things happen, as a result of a relationship with Christ.

Verses 7-10 and verse 16 tell us that all this is in prayerful reliance on the Christ.

Those that bear fruit must be trimmed to bear more fruit.

The Greek displays a play on words that is hard to render in English.

The Father ‘cuts off’ (airei) every dead branch; he ‘trims’ (kathairei) every fruit-bearing branch; indeed the disciples listening to Jesus are already ‘clean’ (katharoi, v. 3) because of the word Jesus has spoken to them.

The verb kathairei and its cognate adjective katharoi are appropriate to both an agricultural (cf.

Barrett, p. 473) and a moral or religious context.

Cf.

Additional Note.

Purge= καθαίρει

καθαίρει

Clean= καθαροί

καθαροί JNPM(3) καθαρός

LXGRCANLEX

LXGRCANLEX

Because they had recieved the Word, or have received Christ He communicates to them that they already have that assurance.

καθαροί JNPM (6) καθαρός

We are either abiders or we are not.

LALS

The Lord now uses the same illustration but in a different way to indicate the source of fruit.

It is not by our sheer passion or hard work, but by the work and power of God.

Abiding is not something that we do to be saved or have a relationship with Christ, it is instead a result of our relationship with Christ.

Being “in Christ” is the real point here.

Being “in Christ” has not just the value of title but the value of fellowship.

Abiding is Depending

The branch’s purpose is to bear much fruit (v.

5), but the next verses show that this fruit is the consequence of prayer in Jesus’ name, and is to the Father’s glory (vv.

7, 8, 16).

This suggests that the ‘fruit’ in the vine imagery represents everything that is the product of effective prayer in Jesus’ name, including obedience to Jesus’ commands (v.

10), experience of Jesus’ joy (v.

11–as earlier his peace, 14:27), love for one another (v.

12), and witness to the world (vv.

16, 27).

John 15:4-

A relationship with Christ means we treat each other as Christ treats us.

Depe

Joy’s source and depth are in Christ and His commands

Following Christ’s commands lead to joy

One primary command is:

That the disciples love and care for each other.

John 15:11

Christians grow by caring for and nurturing one another.

The standard for that care and nurture is Christ’s love.

The greatest love a friend can show is self sacrificing love.

Christ did just that for His friends, therefore: keep His commandments.

Servant of Christ is the friend of Christ

Moving from the slave (δοῦλος) to the friend (φίλους) relationship.

This is moving from being slave to not only a friend but a brother.

δοῦλος

Teacher/Student relationship is turned around

φίλους

BDAG

John 15:

Jesus chose them instead of them choosing Jesus.

The idea of choosing is sometimes difficult to reconcile with man’s free will.

But when we look at just the disciples we can see the truth.

Judas and John are two great examples.

Therefore, keep this commandment: love one another.

It is only natural for the world to hate Christians, it hated Christ first.

Do not be surprised. . .

look at how they treat Christ.

John 15:18-

John

Humility and association principles.

John 15:

You will not be better than the master, then you will no longer be a student.

So do not expect a different outcome than the master had.

Look even today at the hatred that our world has for Christ.

So many Christians want to be popular with the world, if you and I are popular with the world, we are not like Christ.

Because you are with me they will hate you too.

Reason for that hatred is Jesus very name sake.

Before Christ the masses could claim ignorance, but now the light has come and those who believe not are actively rejecting.

John 15:

The idea is not that if Jesus had not come the people would have continued in sinless perfection—as if the coming of Jesus introduced for the first time sin and its attendant guilt before God (the Greek behind ‘they would not be guilty of sin’ is, more simply, ‘they would not have sin’).

Rather, by coming and speaking to them Jesus incited the most central and controlling of sins: rejection of God’s gracious revelation, rebellion against God, decisive preference for darkness rather than light (cf.

notes on 3:19–21; 9:39–41).

Because they hate Christ they hate the Father (22-23).

Christ revealed truth and healed the sick. . .

they hated Him without a cause (24-25).

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Help has arrived!

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Comforter—helper; intercessor; advocate--παράκλητος.