14. No COMMUNION — NO FRUIT. CHRIST’S LOVE THE POWER OF OBEDIENCE. (chs. 15)
HAVING ended His discourse at Supper, Jesus says, “Rise up, let us go hence.” The following chapter may therefore probably relate to His intercourse with His disciples on the way to the brook Cedron. Chapters 17. gives His communion with His Father in their hearing.
The first subject presented in chapters 15. is the principle of fruit-bearing and the true power of obedience in the Christian life on earth. Instead of Israel ruined under law, as in Isaiah 5, or restored under the Son of man, as in Psalms 80, the Lord Jesus in this passage substitutes Himself. He was the true Vine and His Father was the Husbandman. Fruitless branches are pruned away. Where fruit is borne, the branch is still further purged to bring forth more fruit.
This is a question of practical association in service and likeness to Christ in moral character on earth, not of the operation of His word to produce a new and holy nature in the power of His life.
The word He had spoken to them at the beginning had already cleansed them, and that of which He now spoke was a matter of communion. They were to abide in Him in the sense of entire dependence upon Him; He then being in them, the result of this dependence would be a practical walk of similar character to His own. It was from Him, however, that all power for this was drawn; just as the branches drew the nourishment and vigor and ability to bear fruit, in a word, the sap, solely from the vine itself. But not only would they bear fruit, but much fruit, since all power was in Him, none in themselves.
If there was no dependence upon Him, such would be cast out, withered and burned, in spite of the culture and privilege bestowed.
But abiding in Him — being sensibly dependent upon Him, and thus His words in them governing their thoughts — all that they might ask should be granted; for the Father was glorified in their bearing much fruit, and they would be manifestly disciples of Jesus.
In chapters 14:13, 14, it is the Lord Jesus Himself who personally does what is asked in His name, as setting aside all power in man except in Himself. In this chapter (15) the answer to their requests is a consequence of communion and a subject spirit — abiding in Him and His words in them — in contrast with the principle of law and a legal obedience. The following chapter (16) shows the disciples in a world of tribulation during the little while of their Master’s absence. In their trouble they appeal in His name to the Father, and the Father Himself grants their requests in view of the power of evil and the circumstances of an antagonistic world.
But the thoughts of the Lord now turn to His Father’s love which He in manhood here below had delighted ever to enjoy. This love had been the moral power of His walk on earth. For it was in obedience that He had enjoyed uninterruptedly His Father’s love. It was similarly true that Jesus’ love would be the power for obedience on the part of His disciples. He had loved them from the first, as His Father had loved Him. They had not to procure or merit it, but to abide in it; and the way of doing so was by keeping His commandments. His well-known love was the power and His commandments the path; not as in the law which imposed a rule of walk upon the flesh, but never gave the life or power to accomplish it.
It had been His joy to keep His Father’s commandments and abide in His love. This He said that His joy in obedience might be in them and their joy also be full. Not that His obedience caused the Father’s love, but it gave a reason for and occasion of its manifestation. It was His joy to obey unceasingly, because thus the love was enjoyed uninterruptedly. So would it be with them. Their obedience was not preliminary to His love (vs. 9), but was the path in which it was enjoyed — not the cause of it, but the course in which it would be manifested to them.
His commandment, far from being legal in its character and repressing an evil nature, was one that gave liberty and expression in them to what was of Jesus Himself. They were to love one another as He had loved them. But this was to propose to them the highest example of devotedness; for as His friends He would lay down His life for them. Loving one another thus, as He commanded, they would be friends of His. He had already called them friends, not withholding anything from them as though they were bondmen under law; but all things which He had heard of His Father He had made known to them. We see here clearly that His grace, not their obedience, originated this precious intimacy; though in obedience only was it to be practically maintained.
His teaching had been of the purest, fullest grace, and they were now to be the vessels of it. But if they were His disciples it was by His sovereign choice, not by the choice or will of the flesh; and the fruit of their service would be by His appointment, not the result of their human energy. The Lord carefully repudiates the legal principle or power in man to bear fruit naturally. We have instead, communion, abiding fruit, and every request in the Son’s name answered.
In contrast with the hatred of the world, the Lord now repeats His command to love one another. The world had hated Him and would hate them, because they were not of it, but chosen by Him out of it. As He, their Master, had been treated, so would they be. The persecution and trial would be, no doubt, in proportion to their faithfulness; for God was not yet vindicating His Son in this world or His saints. It was the day of grace and of the manifestation of the Father in the Son, personally when He the Son was here on earth, and also subsequently by testimony when the Comforter was come.
The mysterious, and one might almost say, the unconscious cause of the world’s enmity and persecution was its ignorance of grace — of the Father who had sent the Son. Yet He had come and spoken to them, otherwise they would have been guiltless of rejecting Him. But now there was no excuse; for in hating Him the world had hated His Father also.
But not only was His doctrine that of absolute grace; His works also were such as no other had done. It was no question of rebelling against law, evil as that would be, nor of rejecting Moses, who was the mediator of it. In His works the world had seen the Son and the Father, and, fearful sentence! had hated them. This was their sin, of which indeed their own scriptures had prophesied. They had hated Him without a cause.
Rejected finally by the world in its peculiarly religious and responsible form, and gone away out of it, He would from His high and heavenly place send from the Father the Comforter who goes forth from the Father. He is the Spirit of Truth, and would bear witness concerning Jesus, not only as the Son in humbled manhood revealing the Father, but now also as glorified in manhood with the Father on high.
The disciples, too, would have their special part in the testimony, for they had been with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry, and would relate as eye-witnesses, or as personally cognizant, that which the Spirit gave them to put on record.
This is in strong contrast with a legal or prophetic and Jewish testimony, which was characterized by a veil over the glory, that the end and annulling of it might not be seen; and which left the prophets themselves ignorant of the meaning of their own inspired utterances. Here the Spirit Himself bears witness, according to His own divine and personal knowledge of Jesus, the eternal Son glorified in manhood. So also the disciples themselves would testify of that with which they were personally acquainted, though under the direct guidance and inspiration of the Spirit.
Marvelous grace that where the beloved Son in His humbled manhood had been cast out and crucified, and His testimony, of the Father revealed in the Son in grace, rejected; there, in that very world, the Spirit of truth should come from the Father, sent by the Son on high, as the consequence of redemption accomplished, and man glorified in the person of Jesus to bring the testimony of grace once more in its fullest heavenly character.
The general scope of this chapter is grace setting us in association with Christ in His place of service and fruit-bearing on earth, and therefore in the responsibility of discipleship. For this He started His disciples clean at the first, under the care and discipline of the Father; so that in bearing much fruit they become practically His disciples and the Father is glorified.
Secondly, He had loved them throughout, in spite of everything, and would prove it to the full. On their part they were to abide in His love by keeping His commandments. Thus His joy would be in them and their joy be full.
Moreover, He had put them in the place of friends, by making known to them all things He had heard of His Father. But it was by obeying His commandments that they would be His friends effectively.
Finally, not as in the law where man was called to choose whom he would serve and the principle on which he would serve Him, and the only fruit brought forth was unto death; Jesus had chosen them, and set them to bear abiding fruit in testimony of grace and blessing, not in the power of the flesh but that of the Spirit of truth.