João 15
John Calvin · Citado em PreceptAustin
João 15
Calvin - "Many are reckoned by men's opinions to be in the vine who in fact have no root in the vine" The branches which bear no fruit, which are taken away and finally perish do not represent true believers at all. A C Gaebelein - The branches which bear no fruit, which are taken away and finally perish do not represent true believers at all. Whenever a person takes upon himself the profession of a Christian, he claims by that outward profession to take the place, the position, the privileges and responsibilities of a believer in Christ, a separated one and also a branch in the vine. But while his profession in church membership indicates all this, in reality this person is only nominally a follower of Christ. He has not the reality of it, he does not possess what he has taken upon himself in profession, for he was never born again. As a result there is no fruit, because there is no life…. That there are thousands upon thousands of such branches, dead and unfruitful in the professing church, does not need any demonstration…. It is only too evident. Pastor Phil Newton on branches that are taken away - Who are the non-bearing branches? These are those who appear to be Christians but are actually false believers. We can refer to them as apostate Christians, that is, those who make an outward profession of Christ, but ultimately turn away from Him. In terms of outward appearance, they seem to be religious, they may use the words of "Zion," they may exercise many fine religious traits, but they are devoid of the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus spoke clearly in many passages about such false professors of Christianity. Matthew 7:21-23+ tells how Christ declares, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Jesus then describes their religious activity which they purport to be enough evidence of being a Christian, but which Christ does not accept: "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'" Notice the emphasis on what they did, but no reference to what Christ had done in them. Genuine salvation is not what we do but what Christ does. That's why Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that he must be 'born again', a work which is clearly of God and none of man. The declaration of Christ is shocking to those who are false professors of Christianity, "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice (ergazomai in present tense = a lifestyle of) lawlessness'." We have already seen several instances in John's Gospel of false professors of Christianity. I mention just one thing Christ said to the group who claimed to disciples to show how there are many who outwardly appear to be Christians, but are truly lost. "But there are some of you who do not believe," our Lord told the ones following Him as noted in John 6:64+. Right after this many withdrew from Christ or "apostated" by falling away. (Jn 6:66+) Did they lose their salvation? Of course not! They never had a salvation to lose, because they had never truly believed. And every branch that (present tense - continually) bears fruit (karpos), He (present tense - continually) prunes (kathairo) it so that (hina - purpose clause) it may (present tense - continually) bear more fruit (karpos) - How does one know he or she is abiding in the Vine? First, the simple answer is you will bear fruit. No fruit, not root. Second, you will (not might) experience "pruning" by the Father. Third, one who is abiding will experience answered prayer (Jn 15:7). Fourth, the life of this person will bring glory to the Father (Jn 15:8). Finally, the one who abides will experience supernatural joy (Jn 15:11). Don't miss the fact that no fruit bearing branch escapes pruning (cf "every branch"). Note that the difference in this branch is that it bears fruit, but even that does not prevent it from being pruned. However, there is a big difference between a branch that the Vinedresser takes away and a branch that the Vinedresser prunes. For one thing, the pruned branch is still attached to the vine and secondly the purpose of the pruning is not to remove the branch but to improve the branch's fruit bearing capacity. Note the progression in bearing fruit -- Fruit > More Fruit (Jn 15:2) > Much Fruit (Jn 15:5, 8).
João 15
Calvin - Believers often feel that they are starved and very far from that rich fatness which is necessary for yielding abundant fruit. For this reason, Scripture tells us that, whatever those who are in Christ may need, there is a remedy provided for their poverty as soon as they ask it from God. This is a very useful admonition, for the Lord often suffers us to hunger to train us to be earnest in prayer. But if we fly to him, we shall never lack what we ask for; rather, out of his inexhaustible abundance, he will supply us with everything that we need (1 Cor. 1:5). In saying “If my words abide in you,” Christ means that we must take root in him by faith; for as soon as we depart from the doctrine of the gospel, we seek Christ separately from himself. When he promises that he will grant whatever we wish, he does not give us permission to form wishes according to our own fancy. God would do what was ill fitted to promote our welfare if he were so indulgent and so ready to yield to us, for we know well that men often indulge in foolish and extravagant desires. But here he limits the wishes of his people to the rule of praying in a right manner, and that rule is subject to the good pleasure of God in all our affections. This is confirmed by the context in which the words stand; for he means that his people will or desire not riches, or honor, or anything of that nature, which the flesh foolishly desires, but the vital sap of the Holy Spirit, which enables them to bear fruit. (John 15:7-11) Steven Cole offers the following thoughts when we abide in His Word and pray according to His word (will) and yet it seems like God does not hear or respond accordingly... First, the tension we experience stems from the fact that we can know God’s will of desire, but we can’t know His will of decree. While God desires the sanctification of all believers (1 Thess. 4:3), He also permits sin and can even use our sins for ultimate good. Jesus prayed for Peter, not that he wouldn’t fall, but that his recovery from that fall would be used to strengthen others (Luke 22:31–32). We should pray that God would further His kingdom purposes, but we also need to submit to the fact that we don’t know His will of decree in any situation. Second, Jesus’ promise to do whatever we ask does not negate the many Scriptures that exhort us to wait on the Lord. Jesus doesn’t say when He will do it. Paul’s longing and prayer for his fellow Jews was for their salvation (Rom. 10:1), but he never saw that prayer answered. Third, God often accomplishes His purposes in ways that seem backwards to us. We pray for the gospel to spread, so God sends persecution. We pray for power, so God makes us weak (2 Cor. 12:9). Fourth, we do not understand all that God is doing, so we may go to our graves not knowing why He seemingly didn’t answer our prayers. We only see a tiny fraction of what God is accomplishing in His eternal purpose. Somehow, though, He uses our prayers in that process, even when we don’t know how to pray as we should (Rom. 8:26). (Growing Closer to Christ John 15:7-11) C H