John 15:3

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. NOW YE ARE CLEAN THROUGH THE WORD, [ Eedee (G2235) humeis (G5210) katharoi (G2513) este (G1510) dia (G1223) ton (G3588) logon (G3056), 'Already are ye clean by reason of the word'] which I have spoken unto you. He had already said of the Eleven, using another figure, that they were "clean," and "needed only to wash their feet." Here He repeats this, reminding them...

3._You are already clean, on account of the word. _He reminds them that they have _already _experienced in themselves what he had said; that they have been planted in him, and have also been _cleansed _or _pruned _He points out the means of _pruning_, namely, doctrine; and there can be no doubt that he speaks of outward preaching, for he expressly _mentions the word, _which they had heard from his mouth. Not that _the word _proceeding from the mouth of a man has so great efficacy, but, so far as Christ works in the heart by the Spirit, _the word _itself is the instrument of _cleansing _Yet Christ does not mean that the apostles are pure from all sin, but he holds out to them their experience, that they may learn from it that the continuance of grace is absolutely necessary. Besides, he commends to them the doctrine of the gospel from the fruit which it produces, that they may be more pow...

1-8 Jesus Christ is the Vine, the true Vine. The union of the human and Divine natures, and the fulness of the Spirit that is in him, resemble the root of the vine made fruitful by the moisture from a rich soil. Believers are branches of this Vine. The root is unseen, and our life is hid with Christ; the root bears the tree, diffuses sap to it, and in Christ are all supports and supplies. The branches of the vine are many, yet, meeting in the root, are all but one vine; thus all true Christians, though in place and opinion distant from each other, meet in Christ. Believers, like the branches of the vine, are weak, and unable to stand but as they are borne up. The Father is the Husbandman. Never was any husbandman so wise, so watchful, about his vineyard, as God is about his church, which therefore must prosper. We must be fruitful. From a vine we look for grapes, and from a Christian we...

Verse John 15:3. _NOW YE ARE CLEAN_] καθαροι εστε, _Ye are pruned_. As our Lord has not changed the metaphor, it would be wrong to change the expression. _THROUGH THE WORD_] δια τον λογος, _Through that word_-that doctrine of holiness which I have incessantly preached unto you, and which ye have received. Perhaps our Lord more immediately refers here to the words which he had spoken concerning Judas, John 13:21, in consequence of which Judas went out and finished his bargain with the chief priests; he being gone off, the body of the apostles vas purified; and thus he might say, _Now_ _ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you_....

NOW YE ARE CLEAN - Still keeping up the figure καθαροί katharoi. It does not mean that they were perfect, but that they had been under a process of purifying by his instructions all the time he had been with them. He had removed their erroneous notions of the Messiah; he had gradually reclaimed them from their fond and foolish views respecting earthly honors; he had taught them to be willing to forsake all things; and he had so trained and disciplined them that immediately after his death they would be ready to go and bear fruit among all nations to the honor of his name. In addition to this, Judas had been removed from their number, and they were now all true followers of the Saviour. See the notes at John 13:10. THROUGH THE WORD - By means of the teachings of Jesus

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

NOW YE ARE CLEAN THROUGH THE WORD WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN UNTO YOU.. These words being inserted in the discourse concerning the vine and branches, and the pruning and purging them to make them fruitful, are thought, by the learned Dr. Lightfoot, to be an allusion to the law in Leviticus 19:23; by which the fruit of trees, for the first three years, were accounted uncircumcised or unclean, and in the fourth year fit for use; concerning which the Talmudists have a whole tract, called ערלה, "Orla"; the apostles having enjoyed the ministry of Christ, and been his disciples about such a time. Though the "now" seems to refer to the removal and taking away of that withered and unfruitful branch, Judas. Christ, in John 13:10, had told his disciples, that they "were clean, but not all", because the betrayer was among t

John 15:1. _I am the true vine,_ Now we know where to find the true Church. It is to be found only in Christ and in those who are joined to him in mystical but real union: «I am the true vine,» John 15:1. _And my Father is the husbandman._ Now we know who is the true Guardian of the Church. Not the so-called «holy father» at Rome, but that Father above, who is the true Guardian, Ruler, Keeper, Preserver, Purifier, Husbandman of the one Church, the vine. John 15:2. _Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:_ There are many such branches, in Christ's visible Church, which are not fruit-bearing branches, and consequently are not partakers of the sap of life a

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...