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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - John 15
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FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five modern translations. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Third paragraph
4. Etc.
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS TO Joh_15:1-27
A. This is a wonderful and troubling passage! It gives believers great encouragement of God's love and the promise of effectiveness, but it also has dire warnings! Theological traditions are so difficult to discuss in this area; let me quote one of my favorite commentators, F. F. Bruce in his book Answers to Questions.
"Joh_15:4; Joh_15:6. 'What is meant by the expressions "unless you abide" and "if a man does not abide" in Joh_15:4; Joh_15:6? Is it possible not to abide in Christ?'
Passages like these are not difficult in themselves; the difficulty arises when we try to make them and other Scriptures square with our theology, instead of using them as the basis for our theology. At the very time when our Lord was speaking there was a glaring example of one who failed to abide in Him-Judas Iscariot, who had just left them. Judas was chosen as his eleven colleagues were (Luk_6:13; Joh_6:70); their association with the Lord brought them no privileges which were not equally open to him. The plain passages of Scripture which teach the final perseverance of the saints should not be misused as an excuse for soft-pedaling the equally plain passages which speak of the danger of apostasy" (pp. 71-72).
B. It is surprising how many aorist tenses are used in this context where one would theologically expect present tenses. The aorists seem to be used in the sense of summing up all of one's life and viewing it as a whole.
C. The paragraph divisions of chapter 15 are uncertain. John, like 1 John, is a tapestry of various colors. The patterns appear again and again.
D. The term "abide" (menô) is used in the NT about 112 times. Forty of these appear in John's Gospel and 26 in his letters. This is a major theological term for John. Although chapter 15 is the classic expression of Jesus' mandate that we abide in Him, this term has a wider focus in John.
1. the Law abides forever (Mat_5:17-18) so too, the Christ (Joh_12:34)
2. the book of Hebrews points toward a new means of revelation, not through a servant but through an abiding Son (Heb_1:1-3, so, too Joh_8:35)
3. Jesus is said to provide food that abides (Joh_6:27) and produces fruit that abides (Joh_15:16). Both of these metaphors express the same truth, our need for Christ both: (1) initially and (2) continuously (cf. Joh_6:53)
4. John the Baptist saw the Spirit coming down and abiding on Jesus at His baptism (Joh_1:32)
E. See Special Topic: Abiding at 1Jn_2:10.
F. In Joh_15:11-16 the disciples are promised Jesus' joy, while in Joh_15:17-27 the disciples are promised Jesus' persecution. The context of persecution runs through Joh_16:4 a. However, through it all believers are to love one another as He loved them!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. What does "abiding" involve?
2. What if a believer ceases to abide? What if a believer has no fruit?
3. List the evidences of true discipleship.
4. If suffering is the norm for Christians, what does that say to us today?
5. Explain Joh_15:16 in your own words