A FAULT LINE WITH THE WORLD

The result of abiding in Jesus is that we are not abiding in the world. The contrast is sharply black and white - no gray allowed.  The result of not abiding in the world is that the world hates us.  Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before you" (John 15:18). The word "know" could be a command instead of a statement (Bernard, 2:491). Facing the hatred of the world, Jesus commands us to know they hated Him first (πρωτον), either first in time or first in importance. Our union with Jesus establishes a fault line with the world leading us to expect persecution from the world.

Jesus states two reasons why the world hates us.  The first reason is because Jesus chose us for Himself (εξελεξαμην - middle voice). "I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you" (John 15:19). Three times Jesus uses the same prepositional clause "out of the world" (εκ του κοσμου) in this one verse. "If you were out of the world the world would love its own; but because you are not out of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you."

The preposition "out of" (εκ) can indicate either origin or separation (BAGD, p. 234). The first clause expresses origin - often used in the sense of family origin. If our birth family is the world, the world would love us.  We are part of the world so why would they not love us? However, we are not out of the world in terms of our birth family any longer. We originate from Jesus. We have a new birth family (point of origin) as those who abide in Jesus.  Our birth family rests in His choice - electing love.  He chose us "out of the world." The final clause indicates separation. The world is the place from which Jesus separates us by His choice to become part of His birth family. The world hates us because Jesus chose us for Himself.

The second reason the world hates us is because they do not know God the Father. "But all these things they will do to you for My names sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me" (John 15:21). Ignorance of God the Father leads to persecution of the Son and His followers.  Ignorance of the nature of God leads to failure in recognizing Jesus. When people don't know who God is they cannot know who Jesus is. Jesus has said that to know God the Father you must know Jesus (John 14:6, 9). Now Jesus reverses the truth - to know Jesus you must know God the Father.

Intimacy with Jesus precludes intimacy with the world. If I am intimate with the world I cannot be intimate with Jesus. If I am intimate with Jesus I cannot be intimate with the world. The world will notice the difference and hate me for it.  The question is: If I am not hated by the world is it because they do not see any difference in me?!

THE OBEDIENCE OF FRIENDS

We don't commonly associate obedience with friendship. We associate affection with friendship and obedience with slavery.  A friend is not ordered to obey like a servant.  There is no duty among friends, we think.  The essence of friendship is voluntary action. Friends can choose how to act while still being accepted as friends.  Yet Jesus says, "You are My friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:14).

The condition (εαν ποιητε) expresses a degree of "reduced probability" (Louw Nida, 89.62). It is not certain that we will obey so it is not certain that we will experience friendship with Jesus. Jesus invites us to be His friends, but the friendship is conditioned on doing what He commands. Doesn't this condition turn us into servants not friends?

Jesus goes on to explain that He calls us friends and not servants because a servant doesn't know the mind of the Master, but Jesus discloses to us "all things" (παντα) that He has heard from His Father (John 15:15). The obedience of affection rises out of the self-disclosure of friendship. A friend shares the heart behind the command. Our knowledge changes the nature of our obedience. There is an obedience out of love that is an act of voluntary affection. Such obedience is a choice which explains the conditionality of our friendship with Jesus. In His love, He risks making known (εγνωρισα) His deepest desires to us, and in our love, we choose to obey His commands. When we choose to obey out of love we enjoy the affection of friendship that comes from His self-disclosure (See D.A. Carson, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God).

Friendship is commonly mutual. Friends usually choose each other but not so with Jesus. Jesus says, "You did not choose (εξελεξασθε) Me but I chose (εξελεξαμην) you" (John 15:16). The verbs are both in the middle voice indicating that the choice is a matter of personal interest. We did not choose Him for ourselves, but He chose us for Himself. Jesus chooses us to be His friends. Jesus chooses to disclose Himself to us as His friends.  He risks possible rejection to call us His friends.  He invites us into his friendship if we will choose to obey Him out of love. This is not an election (choosing) to eternal life but an election to friendship. Therefore, a person can be a follower of Christ without being a friend of Jesus thus turning orders into duties and relationship into religion. When we obey out of love we enjoy the mutual affection of our friendship with Jesus.

How do we know that we love Jesus? We know we love Jesus when we love one another. The teaching on friendship is bracketed by the command to love one another (John 15:12, 17).

If I won't love Jesus' friends, I can't be Jesus' friend!

INEXHAUSTIBLE JOY!

Jesus intended us to experience a life of inexhaustible joy. The noun translated "joy" (χαρα) was used 7 times in the upper room that night before the cross (Jn. 15:11 (2x), 16:20,21,22,24, 17:13) but had been used only once in John's gospel prior to that night (cf. Jn. 3:29, Morris, John, p. 674). Jesus intends His teaching to produce joy in our hearts. The byproduct of abiding in Jesus is inexhaustible joy.

"These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full" (Jn. 15:11). "These things" (ταυτα) looks back to the previous instruction about abiding in Jesus' love by obeying His commands (Jn. 15:10). Jesus emphasizes an inseparable connection between love and obedience throughout His teaching in the upper room. There is a double purpose for abiding in Jesus: 1) that My joy may be in you, and that 2) your joy may be made full.

"My joy" (η χαρα η εμη) is Jesus' own joy not the joy produced by Jesus (Meyer, John, p. 434). The Son and the Father experienced an inexhaustible joy in their love for one another from eternity past.  God was not a lonely God before creation. He was complete in His own happiness. Jesus' joy stood on the twin pillars of eternally abiding in the Father's love and always obeying the Father's commands (Jn. 15:10). The obedience of a slave produces duty, but the obedience of love produces joy so Jesus' joy is the product of His loving obedience. The happiness Jesus enjoyed with the Father is the happiness He wants us to enjoy with Him. We will experience the same joy He experiences with the Father by abiding in His love through obedience to His commands.

Our joy is filled up to its fullest extent when we commune with God in prayer (Jn. 16:24). The word translated "made full" (πληρωθη) means to be filled up or to be completed (BAGD, p. 671). Jesus asks His Father "that they (us) may have My joy made full in themselves" (Jn. 17:13). The pronoun is plural and reciprocal (εν εαυτοις). Joy is relational, communal and reciprocal. Joy is not found in isolation. Our joy is filled up as we experience our love with Jesus and with each other.

The tri-unity of God is a community of infinite love and inexhaustible joy. Our friendship with each other is grounded in our friendship with God - Father, Son and Spirit. Our joy is made complete as we experience the dual community of God and church (1 Jn. 1:3-4).  We will not find true happiness in isolation. Our greatest happiness is relational happiness because we were made to enjoy God in the people of God united as one in Jesus.

O, Lord, my lack of inexhaustible joy stems directly from my lack of love for you and your people. Open my heart to your joy by opening my heart to your love.

GLORIFYING THE GARDENER

Jesus tells us, "By this my Father is glorified" (John 15:8). The words "by this" (εν τουτω) are in the emphatic position at the start of the verse.  Jesus is referring forward not backward to the upcoming purpose clause. We glorify God in two ways: 1) by producing much (πολυν) fruit and 2) by being (or becoming) his disciples.  Abiding in Christ is the means of producing fruit and being his disciple bringing glory to the gardener.

The second half of the verse is problematic.  Jesus is clearly speaking to those already his disciples so how could they glorify the gardener by becoming his disciples? Several translations supply the word "so" which is not in the text thereby turning the second clause into a result of the first clause.  Bearing much fruit proves (or shows) that they are true disciples of Jesus is a common way to interpret the verse.

There is also a textual problem with the verb. Is the verb "become" a subjunctive (γενησθε) mood or a future (γενησεσθε) tense? The manuscript evidence is evenly divided, but it is probably better to take the verb as a future because of the grammatical structure of the passage. Often a purpose clause introduced by "that" (ινα) would take the subjunctive. However, this construction has two verbs connected by "and" (και). As such, it is a special case where the first verb is in the subjunctive mood and the second is a future tense. The future tense indicates a further consequence or future result that stands independently of the first one (Blass/Debrunner, Grammar, p.186). Therefore, being a disciple is not a result of bearing fruit but rather a second way to glorify God. We glorify God by bearing much fruit and by being Jesus' disciples. Both are necessary to glorify God.

What does it mean to be/become a disciple? The verb (γινομαι) is a fairly loose term with multiple meanings. It can mean to come about or take place - to become. It can also man to "be" as a substitute for the verb "is" (ειμι). I suggest that the verb used in this context simply acts as the equivalent of "is" or "are" (BAGD, p. 160). We can translate the verse this way.  "By this, My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and you will continue to be My disciples."

What is a disciple?  Disciples (μαθηται) are learners or pupils - students and followers of a teacher (BAGD, p. 485). Learners are always learning and never learned.  Disciples are continuously in process. Discipleship is a developmental process - a growing way of life - just as fruit growing on a branch is a process.  Jesus is not talking about the point of origin but a continuing process. We have been pupils in the past. We are pupils now, and we will be pupils in the future. To return to the analogy of the vine and the branches, discipleship culminates at the end of life when the fruit of our lives is full and luscious thereby glorifying God, the master gardener.