John 15:9

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. AS THE FATHER HATH LOVED ME, SO HAVE I LOVED YOU. See the notes at ; . CONTINUE (OR 'ABIDE') YE IN MY LOVE - not, ' continue ye to love Me,' but 'abide ye in the possession and enjoyment of My love to you;' as is evident from what follows....

9._As the Father hath loved me. _He intended to express something far greater than is commonly supposed; for they who think that he now speaks of the sacred _love _of God the Father, which he always had towards the Son, philosophize away from the subject; for it was rather the design of Christ to lay, as it were, in our bosom a sure pledge of God’s _love _towards us. That abstruse inquiry, as to the manner in which the Father always _loved _himself in the Son, has nothing to do with the present passage. But the_love _which is here mentioned must be understood as referring to us, because Christ testifies that _the Father loves _him, as he is the Head of the Church. And this is highly necessary for us; for he who without a Mediator, inquires how he is _loved _by God, involves him in a labyrinth, in which he will neither discover the entrance, nor the means of extricating himself. We ought...

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....

AS THE FATHER HATH LOVED ME - The love of the Father toward his only-begotten Son is the highest affection of which we can conceive. Compare Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5. It is the love of God toward his coequal Son. who is like him in all things, who always pleased him, and who was willing to endure the greatest sacrifices and toils to accomplish his purpose of mercy. Yet this love is adduced to illustrate the tender affection which the Lord Jesus has for all his friends. SO HAVE I LOVED YOU - Not to the same degree, for this was impossible, but with the same kind of love - deep, tender. unchanging; love prompting to self-denials, toils, and sacrifices to secure their welfare. CONTINUE YE - The

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

AS THE FATHER HATH LOVED ME,.... As his own Son, and as Mediator, from everlasting; and in time, in his state of humiliation, throughout the course of his obedience, and under all his sufferings; which he testified more than once by a voice from heaven; which he showed by concealing nothing from him as Mediator, by giving all things into his hands, by showing him all that he himself did, by appointing him the Saviour of the body, and making him the head of the church, by exalting him at his right hand, and ordaining him to be judge of quick and dead. SO HAVE I LOVED YOU: Christ loves his as his spouse and bride, as his dear children, as members of his body, as branches in him the vine, as believers in him, and followers of him; which he has shown by espousing both their persons and cause, by assuming their nature, by suffering and dying in their room and stead, and making all suitable p...

John 15:1. _I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman._ All other vines were but types and shadows; Christ is the substance; God's ideal vine; «the true vine.» Israel was a vine; the figure is a common one throughout the Old Testament; but it was a false vine, and it bore bitter grapes. John 15:2. _Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:_ The true description of a real saint is that he is in Christ, that he abides in Christ, and that he bears fruit unto Christ. Where there are not these three things, there is no real saintship, and so the man is taken away. Whatever he seemeth to be, and seemeth to have, he is taken away. Oh, the sad loss of many professors in being taken away! What a terrible doom, to have had a name to live, and then to be taken awa

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...

AS THE FATHER HATH LOVED ME, SO. HAVE LOVED YOU. The Father loved the Son and dwelt in him as the Son in the Father, because of their mutual love. Love opens the heart of the disciple to Christ that he may abide there (chap. 14:23) and hence the union of the disciple with Christ may be as close as that of Christ with the Father. Hence he enjoins: ABIDE YE IN MY LOVE. This is the Revision and is better than the Common Version, the Greek word being that before rendered _abide._ The Lord next tells how they shall "continue" or abide in his love....