John 15:16

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. YE HAVE NOT CHOSEN ME, BUT I HAVE CHOSEN YOU - a wholesome memento after the lofty things He had just said about their mutual indwelling, and the unreservedness of the friendship to which He had admitted them. AND ORDAINED [ etheeka (G5087 ), OR 'APPOINTED'] YOU, THAT YE SHOULD GO AND BRING FORTH FRUIT - that is, ye are to give yourselves to this as your proper business. The fruit intended, though embracing all spiritual fruitfulness, is here specially that particular fruit of "loving one another," which...

16._You have not chosen me. _He declares still more clearly that it must not be ascribed to their own merit, but to his grace, that they have arrived at so great an honor; for when he says that _he was not chosen by them_, it is as if he had said, that whatever they have they did not obtain by their own skill or industry. Men commonly imagine some kind of concurrence to take place between the grace of God and the will of man; but that contrast, _I chose you_, _I was not chosen by you_, claims, exclusively, for Christ alone what is usually divided between Christ and man; as if he had said, that a man is not moved of his own accord to seek Christ, until he has been sought by him. True, the subject now in hand is not the ordinary _election _of believers, by which they are adopted to be the children of God, but that special _election_, by which he set apart his disciples to the office of pre...

9-17 Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a continual feast. They are to show their love to him by keeping his commandments. If the same power that first shed abroad the love of Christ's in our hearts, did not keep us in that love, we should not long abide in it. Christ's love to us should direct us to love each other. He speaks as about to give many things in charge, yet names this only; it includes many duties....

Verse John 15:16. _YE HAVE NOT CHOSEN ME_] Ye have not elected me as your Teacher: I have called you to be my disciples; witnesses and depositories of the truth. It was customary among the Jews for every person to choose his own teacher. _AND ORDAINED YOU_] Rather, _I have appointed you_: the word is εθηκα, I have PUT or _placed you_, i.e. in the vine. _Theodorus Mopsuensis_, as quoted by Wetstein, observes that εθηκα is here used for εφυτευσα; (I have planted;) "and, in saying this, our Lord still makes use of the metaphor of the vine; as if he had said: I have not only _planted_ you, but I have given you the greatest benefits, causing your branches to extend every where through the habitable world." The first ministers of the Gospel were the _choice_ of Jesus Christ; no wonder, then, that they were so

YE HAVE NOT CHOSEN ME - The word here translated “chosen” is that from which is derived the word “elect,” and means the same thing. It is frequently thus translated, Mark 13:20; Matthew 24:22, Matthew 24:24, Matthew 24:31; Colossians 3:12. It refers here, doubtless, to his choosing or electing them to be apostles. He says that it was not because they had chosen him to be their teacher and guide, but because he had designated them to be his apostles. See...

EXPOSITION JOHN 15:1 (7) _The parable of the vine and its branches_._ Incorporation of the disciples into one personality with himself_._ _The image of the vine may have been suggested by some visible object. Either of the hypotheses of place would furnish a reminder of the nature and culture of the vine. Thus around the windows of the guest-chamber the vine may have thrown its tendrils, or on the slopes of Olivet the vineyards may have been prominent objects, or the burning heaps of vine-prunings may have suggested the idea. Again, if they were pausing in some apartments of the temple-court, the golden vine, the image of Israel, upon the gates may have supplied the point of departure. But our Lord needed no such help to his imagination, and it is by no means necessary to find an occasion for his imagery. The fact that

YE HAVE NOT CHOSEN ME, BUT I HAVE CHOSEN YOU,.... Not but that they had made choice of him as their Lord and Master, Saviour and Redeemer; but not first, he was before hand with them; he chose them, before they chose him; so that his choice of them was entirely free, did not arise from any character, motive, or condition in them: the allusion is to a custom of the Jews, the reverse of which Christ acted; with whom it was usual for disciples to choose their own masters, and not masters their disciples: hence that advice of R. Joshuah ben Perachiah, said r to be the master of Jesus of Nazareth, "br Kl hve s, "make", provide, or chose "thyself a master", and get thyself a companion.'' Those words in Song of Solomon 2:16; "my beloved is mine, and I am his", are thus paraphrased by the Jews t; "he hath chosen me, and I have chosen him:''...

Thus speaks the Lord Jesus: John 15:1. _I am the true vine,_ Many questions have been raised about which is the true Church; the Saviour answers them, «I am the true vine.» All who are united, really united, to the ever-living Saviour are members of the true Church. Find ye them where ye may, if they are one with Christ, they are his they are parts of the divine vine; they are belonging to his Church. John 15:1. _And my Father is the husbandman._ It is the Father's province, by the Holy Spirit and by the works of Providence, to see to the prosperity of the Church. «My Father is the husbandman.» All preachers, all teachers, are but, so to speak, the pruning tool in the hand of the great vine-dresser. «My Father is the husbandman.»...

CHAPTER 15 1. The Vine and the Branch. (John 15:1 .) 2. Communion with Him and its Conditions.(John 15:9 .) 3. Love One Another! and the Hatred of the World. (John 15:17 .) Israel is called a vine in the Old Testament (Psalms 80:8; Isaiah 5:1; Jeremiah 2:21; Hosea 10:1) and Christ here in this parable takes the place of Israel and is the true vine. His disciples are the branches. Is

JOHN 15. THE VINE. The relation of the following Chapter s to 14 has been discussed. The Parœ mia, or parable-like discourse, reminds us of the parable or metaphor of the Good Shepherd in ch. 10. Two thoughts are prominent here, the pruning needed to get rid of useless branches and to ensure the fruitfulness of the rest, and the intimate union between Christ and His disciples, symbolised by the relation of the branches to the vine. We must compare the OT teaching which represents Israel as the Vine. Christ is in the spiritual sphere what the vine stands for in nature, in respect of human necessity. He is the source of spiritual strength which satisfies men's needs. As always, He is subordinate to the Father. The vinedresser cuts out useless branches, pruning the rest to make them bear more fruit. So the Father has glorified the Son by cutting out the traitor. Christ's teaching, which is...