2 He takes away every branch in me which has no fruit, and every branch which has fruit he makes clean, so that it may have more fruit.
And even now the axe is put to the root of the trees; every tree then which does not give good fruit is cut down, and put into the fire.
But he said in answer, Every plant which my Father in heaven has not put in the earth, will be taken up by the roots.
For they truly gave us punishment for a short time, as it seemed good to them; but he does it for our profit, so that we may become holy as he is. At the time all punishment seems to be pain and not joy: but after, those who have been trained by it get from it the peace-giving fruit of righteousness.
To all those who are dear to me, I give sharp words and punishment: then with all your heart have sorrow for your evil ways.
For a land, drinking in the frequent rain and producing good plants for those for whom it is worked, has a blessing from God: But if it sends up thorns and evil plants, it is of no use and is ready to be cursed; its only end is to be burned.
Still the upright keeps on his way, and he who has clean hands gets new strength.
And my prayer is that you may be increased more and more in knowledge and experience; So that you may give your approval to the best things; that you may be true and without wrongdoing till the day of Christ; Being full of the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
He will take his seat, testing and cleaning the sons of Levi, burning away the evil from them as from gold and silver; so that they may make offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
And may the God of peace himself make you holy in every way; and may your spirit and soul and body be free from all sin at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, by whom you have been marked out in his purpose, is unchanging and will make it complete.
And he said to the gardener, See, for three years I have been looking for fruit from this tree, and I have not had any: let it be cut down; why is it taking up space? And he said, Lord, let it be for this year, and I will have the earth turned up round it, and put animal waste on it, to make it fertile: And if, after that, it has fruit, it is well; if not, let it be cut down.
Make me free from sin with hyssop: let me be washed whiter than snow. Make me full of joy and rapture; so that the bones which have been broken may be glad. Let your face be turned from my wrongdoing, and take away all my sins. Make a clean heart in me, O God; give me a right spirit again. Do not put me away from before you, or take your holy spirit from me. Give me back the joy of your salvation; let a free spirit be my support. Then will I make your ways clear to wrongdoers; and sinners will be turned to you.
They went out from us but they were not of us; if they had been of us they would still be with us: but they went out from us so that it might be made clear that they were not of us.
Through the hope which is in store for you in heaven; knowledge of which was given to you before in the true word of the good news, Which has come to you; and which in all the world is giving fruit and increase, as it has done in you from the day when it came to your ears and you had true knowledge of the grace of God; As it was given to you by Epaphras, our well-loved helper, who is a true servant of Christ for us, And who, himself, made clear to us your love in the Spirit. For this reason, we, from the day when we had word of it, keep on in prayer for you, that you may be full of the knowledge of his purpose, with all wisdom and experience of the Spirit, Living uprightly in the approval of the Lord, giving fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
For our present trouble, which is only for a short time, is working out for us a much greater weight of glory; While our minds are not on the things which are seen, but on the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are for a time; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Here is my Father's glory, in that you give much fruit and so are my true disciples.
And seeing a fig-tree by the wayside, he came to it, and saw nothing on it but leaves only; and he said to it, Let there be no fruit from you from this time forward for ever. And straight away the fig-tree became dry and dead.
And let us have knowledge, let us go after the knowledge of the Lord; his going out is certain as the dawn, his decisions go out like the light; he will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.
And the poor will have their joy in the Lord increased, and those in need will be glad in the Holy One of Israel.
Who gave himself for us, so that he might make us free from all wrongdoing, and make for himself a people clean in heart and on fire with good works.
And not only so, but let us have joy in our troubles: in the knowledge that trouble gives us the power of waiting; And waiting gives experience; and experience, hope: And hope does not put to shame; because our hearts are full of the love of God through the Holy Spirit which is given to us.
While I was with them I kept them safe in your name which you have given to me: I took care of them and not one of them has come to destruction, but only the son of destruction, so that the Writings might come true.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on John 15
Commentary on John 15 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 15
It is generally agreed that Christ's discourse in this and the next chapter was at the close of the last supper, the night in which he was betrayed, and it is a continued discourse, not interrupted as that in the foregoing chapter was; and what he chooses to discourse of is very pertinent to the present sad occasion of a farewell sermon. Now that he was about to leave them,
Jhn 15:1-8
Here Christ discourses concerning the fruit, the fruits of the Spirit, which his disciples were to bring forth, under the similitude of a vine. Observe here,
Jhn 15:9-17
Christ, who is love itself, is here discoursing concerning love, a fourfold love.
To induce them to keep his commandments, he urges,
Jhn 15:18-25
Here Christ discourses concerning hatred, which is the character and genius of the devil's kingdom, as love is of the kingdom of Christ. Observe here,
Jhn 15:26-27
Christ having spoken of the great opposition which his gospel was likely to meet with in the world, and the hardships that would be put upon the preachers of it, lest any should fear that they and it would be run down by that violent torrent, he here intimates to all those that were well-wishers to his cause and interest what effectual provision was made for supporting it, both by the principal testimony of the Spirit (v. 26), and the subordinate testimony of the apostles (v. 27), and testimonies are the proper supports of truth.