Can you explain john 15 verses 12 to 14?

Answer 1

15:1 In the OT, the nation of Israel was depicted as a vine planted by Jehovah - Jer 2:21. But the nation proved unfaithful and unfruitful, so the Lord Jesus now presented Himself as the true vine, the perfect fulfillment of all the other types and shadows. God the Father is the vinedresser.

15:2 There are different opinion about what is meant by the branch in Him that does not bear fruit. Some think that this is a false believer who pretends to be a Christian but has never really been united to Christ by faith. Others think it is a true Christian who loses his salvation because of his failure to bear fruit. This is not possible because many other passages teach that the believer has an eternal salvation. Others think that it is a true Christian who becomes a backslider. He gets away from the Lord and becomes interested in the things of this world. He fails to manifest the fruit of the Spirit-love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

Exactly what the Lord does to the unfruitful branch could refer to the discipline of physical death (1Co_11:30) or it could be the positive ministry of encouraging the fruitless branch by making it easier to get light and air, and hopefully, to bear fruit.

The branch that bears fruit is the Christian who is growing more like the Lord Jesus. Even such vines need to be pruned or cleansed. Just as a real vine must be cleaned from insects, mildew, and fungus, so a Christian must be cleansed from worldly things that cling to him.

15:3 The cleansing agent is the word of the Lord. The disciples had originally been cleansed by the word at the time of their conversion. Just as the Savior had been talking to them, His Word had had a purifying effect on their lives. Thus, this verse may refer to justification and sanctification.

15:4 To abide means to stay where you are. The Christian has been placed in Christ; that is his position. In daily walk, he should stay in intimate fellowship with the Lord. A branch abides in a vine by drawing all its life and nourishment from the vine. So we abide in Christ by spending time in prayer, reading and obeying His Word, fellowshipping with His people, and being continually conscious of our union with Him. As we thus maintain constant contact with Him, we are conscious of His abiding in us and supplying us with spiritual strength and resources. The branch can only bear fruit as it abides in the vine. The only way believers can bear the fruit of a Christ-like character is by living in touch with Christ moment by moment.

15:5 Christ Himself is the vine; believers are vine branches. It is not a question of the branch living its life for the Vine, but simply of letting the life of the Vine flow out through the branches. A vine branch has one great purpose-to bear fruit. It is useless for making furniture or for building homes. It does not even make good firewood. But it is good for fruit bearing-as long as it abides in the vine.

15:6 There are many opinions about this verse. Some believe that the person described is a believer who falls into sin and is subsequently lost. Such an interpretation is in direct contradiction to the many verses of Scripture which teach that no true child of God will ever perish. Others believe that this person is a professor-one who pretends to be a Christian but who was never born again. Judas is often used as an illustration.

Most believe that this person is a true believer because it is with true Christians that this section is concerned. The subject is not salvation but abiding and fruitbearing. But through carelessness and prayerlessness this believer gets out of touch with the Lord. As a result, he commits some sin, and his testimony is ruined. Through failure to abide in Christ, he is thrown out as a branch-not by Christ, but by other people. The branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, and they are burned. It is not God who does it, but people. Possibly this means that people scoff at this backslidden Christian. They drag his name in the mud. They throw his testimony as a Christian into the fire. This is well illustrated in the life of David. He was a true believer, but he became careless toward the Lord and committed the sins of adultery and murder. He caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Even today, atheists ridicule the name of David (and of David's God). They cast him, as it were, into the fire.

15:7 Abiding is the secret of a successful prayer life. The closer we get to the Lord, the more we will learn to think His thoughts after Him. The more we get to know Him through His Word, the more we will understand His will. The more our will agrees with His, the more we can be sure of having our prayers answered.

15:8 As the children of God exhibit the likeness of Christ to the world, the Father is glorified. People are forced to confess that He must be a great God when He can transform such wicked sinners into such godly saints. Notice the progression in this chapter: fruit (v. 2), more fruit (v. 2), much fruit (v. 8).

Answer 2

15:12 Jesus would soon leave His disciples. They would be left in a hostile world. It would be important that they show the love of Christ starting with love for each other.

15:13 Their love should be the kind of love that may mean dying for each other. The greatest example of human self-sacrifice was for a man to die for his friends. The disciples of Christ are called to this type of devotion. Some lay down their lives in a literal sense; others spend their whole lives in service for the people of God. The Lord Jesus is the Example. He laid down His life for His friends.

15:14 Christians show that they are His friends by doing whatever He commands. This is not the way a person becomes His friends, but rather the way Christians exhibit it to the world.

Answer 3

John 15:1-13 says, "I am the true vine, and my father is the cultivator. Every branch in me not bearing fruit he takes away, and every one bearing fruit he cleans, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Remain in union with me, and I will remain in union with you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you unless you remain in union with me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in union with me and I in union with him, this one bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing at all. If anyone does not remain in union with me, he is thrown out like a branch and dries up. And men gather those branches and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in union with me and my saying remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will take place for you. My father is glorified in this, that you keep bearing much fruit and prove yourselves my disciples. Just as the father has loved me, so I have loved you; remain in my love. If you observe my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have observed the commandments of the Father and remain in his love. "These things I have spoken to you, so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be made full. This is my commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you. No one has love greater than this, that someone should surrender his life in behalf of his friends."

In this illustration Jehovah is the cultivator, Jesus is the vine, and the apostles whom Jesus was addressing are the branches. As long as the apostles strove to "remain in union" with Jesus, they would bear fruit. By keeping Christ's commandments, his followers remain in union with him, and that unity, in turn, enables them to bear fruit. In this illustration, Jehovah "takes away" or lops off, a branch when it does not bear fruit. All disciples are required to bear fruit and that all are capable of doing so, no matter what their circumstances or limitations may be. Jesus' illustration of the vine also shows that within the limits of our circumstances, we must make room for growth in our activities as a disciple. Jesus urged his followers to bear "much fruit." The message is that we should never become complacent, rather we should look for ways to make progress in bearing fruit. The fruit that we bear are (1) "the fruitage of the spirit" and (2) the kingdom fruitage. The first listed fruitage of the spirit is love. Jesus emphasized this quality to repeatedly to his apostles. The kingdom fruitage constitutes the seed that is sown by our preaching the word of the kingdom.

Answer 4

Put simply, it means that the greatest way you can prove your love for someone - is to give up your life to save theirs.