2017.08.20                                            John 15: 12-17

                       You are my Friends

Good Morning…. I am glad to be with you this morning… I have Good News for You! His name is Jesus… We are on a great adventure… We are Experiencing the Life and ministry of Jesus… Jesus continues to Transform hearts and minds… by the Power of His Holy Spirit working in and through the Word of God… We are studying a very important section of the Word of God… The Gospel of John… John ch 13-17 all take place on the last evening that Jesus had with His disciples…  Jesus is communicating His Unfailing love for them… His has told them that He will send the Spirit of Truth… The Holy Spirit has been  with them… To live in them when He goes away…   I want to remind us of how this section began…. Look with me at John 13… v1…

John 13: 1                                   NKJV  slt 2000

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

He loved them to the highest… To the max… He laid down His life for them… And we Know…. For us as well…

We can put the Title…  Jesus´ Love for His own… Over this entire section… The   Love of God… Is Perfectly reflected in Jesus´ sacrificial love for us… We are reminded that Jesus is our Lord and Master… And this morning we learn that because He loves us so much… We are also His friends… How do we respond to such love and friendship..?

We can and should rejoice in Him… Look with me at John 15… I will begin with the last verse from last week… John 15:11-17…

John 15: 11-17                                 NKJV    slt 2000

11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17 These things I command you, that you love one another.

The Bible describes those who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ in many ways… It is a long list… You can get this list and the scripture references from the sermon notes… I post the notes on the blog…. Normally on  Sunday afternoon… I will give you a few…

We are called believers… Acts 5:14; 1 Thess. 1:7; 2:10… We are called the beloved of God… Rom. 1:7… We are often called Children… The  children of God… John 1:12; 11:52; Phil. 2:15; 1 John 3:1–2… The children of promise… Gal. 4:28… The children of light… Eph. 5:8; cf. 1 Thess. 5:5…. We are called Sons… Sons of the resurrection… Luke 20:36… In the NT church we are called the people of the way…. Or simply Christians… Christians… Acts 11:26; 1 Peter 4:16… We are called Disciples (Acts 6:1–2; 11:26)… The elect… Matt. 24:22, 24, 31; Luke 18:7; Rom. 8:33…We are called the godly… 2 Peter 2:9… We are called Heirs… The heirs of God (Rom. 8:17; Gal. 4:7; cf. James 2:5; 1 Peter 3:7….  The Heirs of the promise… Gal. 3:29; Heb. 6:17….  Heirs of salvation… Heb. 1:14 KJV… We are called the righteous because of our faith… Hab. 2:4; Matt. 13:43; 25:46; Luke 14:14; Rom. 1:17; Heb. 12:23…  We are called Salt and light in the world… Matt 5:13 ; Phil. 2:15; cf. Matt. 5:14... We are called the people of God… Heb. 11:25; 1 Peter 2:10… We are called a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession… 1 Peter 2:9… We are called slaves of Christ… 1 Cor. 7:22; Bond servants… Eph. 6:6… And Slaves of righteousness… Rom. 6:18…  And surprise… We are called Saints… Acts 9:13; Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Col. 1:12… As we saw last week…. That is our position because we are in Christ… Our Righteousness…. Is Jesus work from beginning to end… He will complete the work that He has begun in us… Phil 1: 6…  

And in our text today Jesus calls us friends… The word “friend” captures a unique aspect of our relationship with the Lord… I want us to focus on that today… What does it mean to be a friend…  What does it mean to be Jesus´  friend…  This   passage shows four characteristics of Jesus’ friends…  

Jesus´ Friends

1 They love each other… John 15: 12,13,17

2 They Obey Him… John 15: 14

3 They know Divine truth… John 15: 15

4 They have been chosen by God… John 15: 16

Look with me at the first 3 verses…

1 THE FRIENDS OF JESUS LOVE EACH OTHER

v11… that My joy may remain in you… and that your joy may be full… This evening has been full of grace… Jesus has been loving His own… To the very end… Even though their World is going to be torn apart… He has promised them peace and comfort and joy… He has promised to send the Holy Spirit… He is with them already…. He will be in them forever… And as we saw last week… Jesus said… Abide in me… Keep your close connection to me… There is much more that He will say to them this night… look at v12…

v12…  love one another… just as I have loved you… For the second time this same evening…. Jesus said…   love one another… John13:34… His loving example is the theme of this evening… Jesus´  love flowing out of us to others… Will be the proof that we belong to Him… And that He has transformed our lives…

Paul said that God´s love flowing from a transformed heart is the fulfillment of the law…  Look at Romans 13: 8-10 with me…

Romans 13: 8-10                  NKJV  slt 2000

8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Only genuine believers who abide in Him… Have the ability to love as Jesus loves… This all begins when we are born again… When we were born again…  Jesus  began the process of transforming us into His image… Phil 1:6… Paul also wrote to the Romans about this character forming transformation… It begins with Jesus… As we repent of our sins and turn to Him in genuine faith… look at Romans 5: 1-5 with me…

Romans 5: 1-5                        NKJV   slt 2000

1Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

v1,2… We have been Justified by Faith… We have peace with God through the Lord Jesus… We stand in grace… We rejoice in hope… No matter what is happening in our lives…

v3-5… Tribulations will come… They are part of the pruning and cleansing  that happens as we abide in the vine…God´s grace helps us endure hard times… It forms our character and gives us hope… We can clearly see this transformation is happening because of His Love…  His love has been poured into our lives…

I would also like to look at what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians… 1 Thess 4:9…

1 Thessalonians 4: 9                 NKJV   slt 2000

9 But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;  

Paul says that we are taught by God to love one another… This is true of all genuine believers… God Himself teaches us to love… It is Jesus at work in us… And we learn to love each other…   back to John ch 15… look at v13…

v13… Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends…

We learn to love each other… Even to sacrificially love each other… Because of Jesus´ example… It is perfectly reflected in Jesus life and ministry… And as we know… Jesus loved us to the max… by laying down His life for us… Look at the end of the verse…

Jesus says you are my friends… I gladly lay down my life for you…

This standard of laying down our lives for each other is impossible in the flesh… We cannot do that in and of ourselves… We need the love of God flowing through us…

We need the transforming power of the Holy Spirit working in us…    We are to love each other as the Lord Jesus Christ loves us…

Clearly… Love for other believers characterizes the redeemed…  John writes a lot about this in 1 John… Home work!!

That does not mean that believers can love perfectly…   But just as Jesus loved sacrificially… so also we must seek to walk in love… That is how Paul put it… “Look at Ephesians ch 5… v 1,2… 

Ephesians 5: 1,2                        NKJV  slt 2000

1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

The love that we as genuine believers show each other… Should be marked by selfless devotion to meeting one another’s needs… Not the Selfishness that the world so dearly loves…  Our selfless love for each other is the most powerful proof to the unbelieving world that we belong to Jesus… John 13:35...

In 1 John ch 3 v16… John points to Jesus as our great example of sacrificial love…  John wrote this…

1 John 3: 16-18                  NKJV   slt 2000

16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

We should be willing to lay down our lives for each other… John expresses the practical implications of that truth…  We are dear friends…. Friends of the Lord Jesus… Friends of each other as well… My stuff is your stuff… Remember the early church held all things in common… The friends of Jesus Christ show their love for one another by humbly meeting each other’s needs... let´s go to the next point… scroll down for John 15…. V 14,15…

2 THE FRIENDS OF JESUS OBEY HIM

v14,15… You are My friends if you do what I command you… No longer do I call you servants… The Greek word (Doulos) is often translated as slaves… Jesus is our Lord and Master… Masters have servants… really they are His slaves… We totally belong to our Lord and Savior… But we are more than slaves and bondservants…. We are His friends… Here again is the idea that as we grow in our love for Jesus… We will also obey Him out of a transformed and thankful heart… Not slave-like obedience to the Master… Rather we love and obey Him… Because of the grace and mercy that He has given to us…

All through the Bible… Obedience and faith are closely linked…  Look with me at Romans ch 6… v 17-19… Romans 6: 15-19                NLT  Neues Leben

15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

I think of Bob Dylan everytime I study this passage… Do you know the song….  You´re gonna have to serve somebody… Now It may be the Devil or it may be the Lord…. But you are gonna have to serve somebody… Paul uses the word picture of slavery to illustrate our possible relationships… We are either slaves to sin and unrighteousness…. Or We have repented of our sins and turned to Jesus as our Lord and Savior… Then we as believers become Slaves of righteousness… Genuine Conversion happens when we who  “were slaves of sin” become “obedient to God from the heart… Slaves to righteousness and godly living… That is what it means to Have Jesus as Lord in our lives… We grow in grace… We grow in our love for Him… And we begin to obey Him from our transformed thankful hearts… back to John ch 15…v15…

3 THE FRIENDS OF JESUS KNOW DIVINE TRUTH

v15… No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you… Jesus is their Lord and Savior… They called Him Master… They… We  are His Slaves… Most translations substitute the word Servant or Bond servant… It sounds better than slave…

But in the ancient world… the term slave was not such a terrible idea…   In fact, some of the most important people in the Old Testament were described as slaves of God… Including Moses… Num. 12:7… And Joshua… Josh. 24:29… David… 2 Sam. 7:5…   and even the Messiah… Isa. 42:1... Jesus is the Suffering Servant of the Lord in Isaiah 52,53…

In the New Testament Paul (Rom. 1:1), James (James 1:1), Peter (2 Peter 1:1), Jude (Jude 1), and John (Rev. 1:1) also called themselves slaves (Doulos) of Jesus Christ…

Slaves lived in total submission to the will of his master… Why am I telling you all of this…? Because the reality of slavery and the connection of Jesus as Lord… Believers as His servants… really as His Slaves… Make Jesus words so very important… Now I call you friends and I tell you everything that I and the Father are doing…  Slaves would normally not know what his master was doing…  

While it is true that the followers of Jesus are also designated as slaves… As we saw in the various descriptions of our relationship with Him… We are also called Sons and heirs… for example… And now we are also called His friends…   In the Old Testament only Abraham had the privilege of being named the friend of God… 2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; James 2:23…  

Because we are His friends… Jesus has promised to share with believers all things that He had heard from the Father...   Our ability to understand the spiritual truths Jesus reveals…  Sets His friends apart from the unredeemed…  We have the Holy Spirit…. The Spirit of truth living in us… look with me at 1 Cor 2…v12,13...

1 Corinthians 2: 12,13                NLT   Neues Leben

12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.

It is only because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds… that we can truly understand Jesus as we study the Word of God… Let´s look at the last point of our outline… Back to John ch 15… v16,17… scroll down…

 4 THE FRIENDS OF JESUS HAVE BEEN SPECIALLY CHOSEN BY HIM

v16… You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you…

I chose you… the disciples did not choose Jesus… He chose them… We did not Choose Jesus… He chose us…  That means…. It is all grace… There is nothing special about me… Or any of us… We have nothing to be proud about…. We are all sinners saved by grace… If we are saved at all… There was no hope for me or any of us… We had no chance to redeem ourselves…  One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Ephesians 2… look with me there as we finish today… This is the story of my life…

Ephesians 2: 1-10                    NLT  Neues Leben

1  And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

 Having chosen and trained the disciples, Jesus commanded them to go into the world, proclaim the good news about Him…

Jesus calls us Friends

Because we are  the Friends of Jesus Christ… We have responsibilities… The Bible commands us to “fervently love one another from the heart… 1 Peter 1:22... We know divine truth… And we are exhorted to study it diligently… 2 Tim. 2:15… Paul wrote that we who have been granted the  privilege of being the friends of Jesus…  must “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which [they] have been called… Eph. 4:1… Let´s Pray…