John 15

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES

15“I am^as the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes,^at and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. ³You are already clean^au because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.^{av 5}I am the vine;^aw you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit,^ax because you can do nothing without me. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside^ay like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire,^az and they are burned.^{ba 7}If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.^{a 8}My Father is glorified^b by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be^B my disciples.

CHRISTLIKE LOVE

⁹“As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love.^{c 10}If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.^d

¹¹“I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.^e

¹²“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved^f you. ¹³No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life^g for his friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master^Ch is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you.ⁱ I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask^j the Father in my name,^k he will give you.^l

¹⁷“This is what I command you: Love one another.

PERSECUTIONS PREDICTED

¹⁸“If the world hates^m you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosenⁿ you out of it, the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’^o If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word,^p they will also keep yours. ²¹But they will do all these things to you on account of my name,^q because they don’t know^r the one who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin.^s Now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³The one who hates me also hates my Father.^{t 24}If I had not done the works^u among them that no one else has done,^v they would not be guilty of sin.^w Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled:^x They hated me for no reason.^Ay

THE COUNSELOR’S MINISTRY

²⁶“When the Counselor^z comes, the one I will send to you from the Father^aa—the Spirit of truth^ab who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. ²⁷You also will testify,^ac because you have been with me from the beginning.