THE CHRISTIAN’S THREEFOLD RELATIONSHIP
TEXT: St. John 15
Introduction: This chapter is filled with instructions for the believer, and can be divided into
three parts. Each part shows a distinct relationship of the believer.
I. OUR RELATIONSHIP TO CHRIST.
Our relationship to Christ is one of --
A. LIFE-(V.5).
1. John 15:5 - (NIV) “I am the vine; you are the branches.”
2. Each branch is made a partaker of the Life that is in the Vine.
3. I John 5:11 - (ICB) “This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”
4. 2 Peter 1:1-4 - (KJV) “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
5. John 1:4 - “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
6. There is no life outside of Christ.
B. ENTIRE DEPENDENCE (V.4).
John 15:4 - “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
1. The chief purpose of the Branch is not merely to draw as much Life from the Vine as needed to maintain its own existence, but to bring forth fruit.
2. John 15:2 - “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
3. John 15:8 - “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”
4. Phil. 1:11 - “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”
5. 2 Cor. 3:5 - “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of
ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] of God;”
(ICB) -“I do not mean that we are able to say that we can do this work ourselves. It is God who makes us able to do all that we do.
C. CO-OPERATION
1. John 15:5 - (ICB) "I am the vine, and you are the branches. If a person remains in me and I remain in him, then he produces much fruit. But
without me he can do nothing.”
2. The Vine and the Branches labor together in fruit bearing.
3. Phil. 2:13 - “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure.”
(ICB) - “Yes, God is working in you to help you want to do what pleases him. Then he gives you the power to do it.”
4. I Cor. 3:9 - “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, [ye are] God’s building.”
5. 2 Cor. 6:1 - “We are workers together with God. So we beg you: Do not let the grace that you received from God be for nothing.”
6. A barren branch dishonors the Vine.
D. GREAT POSSIBILITIES.
1. John 15:7 -(NIV) “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”
2. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
3. See Thompson Chain #3803.
4. Mark 16:17-20 - “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with [them], and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”
II. OUR RELATIONSHIP TO ONE ANOTHER (VV. 12-17)
As believers, we are closely related to one another, and there is a --
A. ONENESS OF LIFE
1. Each branch is possessed by the same Life Source (The Holy Spirit), and dependent on the same Source.
2. Jesus prayed- “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us.”
3. Gal. 3:26-29- (ICB) “You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This shows that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 28 Now, in Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek. There is no difference between slaves and free men. There is no difference between male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus. 29 You belong to Christ. So you are Abraham’s descendants. You get all of God’s blessings because of the promise that God made to Abraham.”
B. ONENESS OF LOVE (V.12)
1. This means to love with the love of God. His love is unmerited, unselfish, and abiding. If His love is in us we will not wait till we are loved before we love others.
2. 1 John 4:21 - (NIV) “And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
3. Love one to another is the universal mark of discipleship.(Jn. 13:35)
C. ONENESS OF FRIENDSHIP (V.15)
1. The doing of His will is the basis of this friendship.
2. (v.14) “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”
3. Because of Abraham’s faithfulness to His will, God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?”
D. ONENESS OF WORK (V.16)
1. Our unity of life and privilege leads to unity of service.
2. I Cor. 1:26-29 - (ICB) “Brothers, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 And he chose what the world thinks is not important. He chose what the world hates and thinks is nothing. He chose these to destroy what the world thinks is important. 29 God did this so that no man can brag before him.”
3. The Source of all fruitfulness is not in the branch, but in the Vine.
4. Hosea 14:8 - (NIV) “I am like a green pine tree; your fruitfulness comes from me."
III. OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORLD (VV.18-27).
Our relationship to the world is one of --
A. SEPARATION
1. V.19 - (ICB) “If you belonged to the world, then it would love you as it loves its own. But I have chosen you out of the world. So you don’t belong to it. That is why the world hates you.”
2. II Cor.6:14-17 - “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:...for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will
receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
3. II Thess. 3:6 - “...withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.”
4. Deut. 7:6-8 - (NIV) “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”
B. OPPOSITION (vv. 19-20)
1. Heb. 12:1-3 - (NIV) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
2. Matt. 5:10-12 - (ICB) “Those who are treated badly for doing good are happy. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them. 11 "People will say bad things about you and hurt you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things about you because you follow me. But when they do these things to you, you are happy. 12 Rejoice and be glad. You have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. People did the same evil things to the prophets who lived before you.”
C. WITNESSING (V.27).
1. V.27 - (ICB) “And you also must tell people about me because you have been with me from the beginning.”
2. Lk. 24:48 - (NIV) “You are witnesses of these things.”
3. The more intimately we know Him,-- His Word, His work, His will--the more powerful and convincing will be our witness.
4. We are witnesses to --
--His Death- because we are crucified with Him.
--His Resurrection- because we are raised to life in Him.
--His Ascension-- because we are seated together with Him in heavenly places.
5. Matt. 5:16 - “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Conclusion:
Our relationship to Christ, to one another, and to the world is very important. We should strive to make them the best they can be.
