John 15:2–27

²Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, ^zand He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. ³You are already ^•clean ^abecause 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, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. ^b

⁵“I am the vine; ^cyou are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, ^dbecause you can do nothing without Me. ⁶If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside ^elike a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, ^fand they are burned. ^g7If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. ^h8My Father is glorified ⁱby this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be ^jMy disciples.

Christlike Love

⁹“As the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Remain in My love. ^k10If you keep My commands you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love. ^l

¹¹“I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. ^m12This is My command: Love one another as I have loved ⁿyou. ¹³No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life ^ofor his friends. ¹⁴You are My friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you ^•slaves anymore, because a slave doesn’t know what his master ^pqis 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. ^rI appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask ^sthe Father in My name, ^tHe will give you. ^u17This is what I command you: Love one another.

Persecutions Predicted

¹⁸“If the ^•world hates ^vyou, 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 chosen ^wyou out of it, the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ ^xIf they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, ^ythey will also keep yours. ²¹But they will do all these things to you on account of My name, ^zbecause they don’t know ^athe One who sent Me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin. ^bcNow they have no excuse for their sin. ²³The one who hates Me also hates My Father. ^d24If I had not done the works ^eamong them that no one else has done, ^fthey would not have sin. ^gNow they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵But this happened so that the statement written in their scripture might be fulfilled: ^hThey hated Me for no reason. ^ij

Coming Testimony and Rejection

²⁶“When the ^•Counselor ^kcomes, the One I will send to you from the Father ^l—the Spirit of truth ^mwho proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me. ²⁷You also will testify, ⁿbecause you have been with Me from the beginning.