The Introduction John 15

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THE NEW PROMISE.

"He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him" — John 14:21.

Long years have passed — the ages roll away —

The shadows lengthen; darker grows the night;

And still we wait to pass into the light,

When we shall hear our Lord, and Master, say,

"Arise my love my fair one, come away."

Yet loving us, He longs that we should know,

Some foretaste of His presence here below,

While waiting for the coming of the day:

So thus He speaks, seeking our hearts to win,

'If any man will bid Me enter in —

If loving Me, he would with Me have part —

Let him My words obey, so shall it be,

My presence shall bring sunlight to his heart,

And I will sup with him, and he with Me.'

The Introduction John 15.

The great end of the discourse in John 13 is to set believers in right relations with Christ and with one another. in order that they may enjoy communion with, or "part with," Christ, in the new place He has taken, as Man, in the Father's house. In the discourse that follows, (John 14), we are permitted to contemplate believers in the enjoyment of this communion with Divine Persons — with Christ in the Father's house; with the Father revealed in the Son; and with the Holy Spirit sent from the Father.

These two discourses are divided from those that follow by the words of the Lord, "Arise let us go hence" (John 14: 31). With these words the Lord passes, with His disciples, from the upper room into the outer world. The discourses which follow wear a character in keeping with the place of their utterance; for now the disciples are viewed as in the world from which Christ has been rejected, bearing fruit to the Father and bearing witness to Christ. It has been truly said, "In the former, the keynote is consolation in view of departure; in the latter, it is instruction for the state which will ensue. There as well as here, the Speaker instructs; here, as well as there, He consoles." The divisions of this fresh discourse are plain:-

First, John 15:1-8. the theme is fruitbearing for the Father.

Second, in John 15:9-17, we have a presentation of the Christian company — the circle of love — wherein alone fruit can be found for the Father.

Third, in John 15:18-25, there passes before us the Christless world — the circle of hate — by which the Christian company is surrounded.

Fourth, in John 15:26, 27, the Comforter — the Holy Spirit — is brought before us, testifying to the Lord in glory and enabling the disciples to bear witness to Christ on earth.

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