Pastor and 1st Lady Mims

Mims Chapel Church

Week 4, March 22, 2026

LESSON 4

The Upper Room Discourse

Lesson Text:

John 15:1-17

Memory Verse
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay clown his life for his friends."
John 15:13

Key Terms
Abide • To live or dwell; to continue without fading or being lost.
Purge • To rid (someone or something) of an unwanted quality, condition, or feeling; to cut away or cut off.

Vinedresser • A person who cultivates and manages vineyards, focusing on the growth and care of grapevines.

Suggested Emphasis

The expressed purpose of John's Gospel was to provide "evidence that demands a verdict" (Laney, 1983). Of course, this could be assumed about the other three Gospels, but we are certain about John's Gospel because he told us so: "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:30,31). John compiled his record of Jesus' life and ministry to persuade his hearers to believe. And his desire to convince others not only characterizes the overall tenor of the Gospel, but describes the discourse we will focus on in this lesson. This is Jesus' last teaching session of the roughly three-year seminar He had conducted for His disciples. It was an opportunity to review the course material before the "final exam"—the persecution that would follow Jesus' own arrest and execution. The Lord needed to refresh His followers with the core doctrine He had been sharing: the essence of Christian identity and service; the reward awaiting the faithful believers; the fellowship believers share with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the specific ministry of the Holy Spirit; and how God will be glorified by the accomplishments of His obedient servants. This lesson will explore a central passage of the discourse on the significance of "abiding in Christ" and the meaning and cost of being His friend.

Emphasis 1:

The Purging and Pruning of the Vine

In this section of the discourse Jesus employed a perfect horticultural analogy to explain His relationship with His disciples. He styled Himself as a grape vine, and all of His believers as branches of the vine. As a consequence of its physical connection to the vine, the branch receives nutrients that allow it to grow grapes. In the same way, we can only be fruitful in our lives if we stay spiritually connected to Christ. Moreover, in the analogy, Father God is the vinedresser. The vinedresser will break off of the vine any desiccated or withered branch because it is a burden to the whole plant. He will also prune every fruit-bearing branch, removing extraneous leaves that divert nutrients from the fruit. In parallel fashion, God's supervision of the Church reflects these duties of the farmer. "As the vine-dresser will remove all branches that are dead, or that bear no fruit, so will God take from His church all professed Christians who give no evidence by their lives that they are truly united to the Lord Jesus" (Barnes, 1962). And then, God will purify (prune) the lives of all genuine believers, as if "with the washing of water by the word." It is informative that the Greek word translated "purgeth" in verse 2 (kathairei) appears in another form as "clean" in verse 3 (katharoi): "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." The pruning God performs on the branches is done through His Word (Barnes, 1962).

Emphasis 2:

How Believers Abide in Christ

Indeed, "abiding in Christ" is itself simply a metaphor for continuing to obey the Lord's commands. This is emphasized in the Epistle 1 John when the apostle writes, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked" (1 John 2:3-6). So, the believer, walking in obedience to the Word, is fruitful and also enjoys favor with God. "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7). It seems that the indwelling Word produces such harmony with the will of God that the believer will always ask for what God already deigned to give. This may be the proper way to interpret verses like, "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart" (Ps. 37:4). The idea is that God will not only give you what you ask for, but He will give you the desire for that thing in the first place. This provides an interesting context for Jesus' assertion that, "herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples" (John 5:8). The preposition "herein" may be taken to refer to what was just said (v. 7). We bring glory to God when we are so attached to His Word that He answers our every prayer.

Emphasis 3:

The Responsibility to Love

After the discussion about being "in Christ," Jesus transitions to a topic that He has emphasized in every major sermon and discourse. "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love" (John 15:9). The Father deeply loves the Son. God's love is shown through the prism of Christ and reflected out to believers. But the imperative Jesus gives makes it clear that we play a role in retaining the effectiveness of the love of God in our lives. "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love" (v. 10). Of course, believers are not trying to buy Christ's love with their obedience. A loving relationship naturally results in each partner acting in ways that please the other. That necessarily means our obedience is the evidence of our love.

Moreover, Jesus emphasized that loving others is an emulation of the love he has shown us. Indeed, there is no higher expression of love than the self-sacrificing version that Jesus demonstrated by going to the Cross "for His friends."

So, the spotlight settles on the concept of friendship with Christ. "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you," Jesus told them. The people that Jesus efficaciously died for are the ones who willingly obey Him. Moreover, our friendship status is a response. "Jesus points out in the first part of verse 16 that our friendship with Him is by His choice, not ours. It was His initiative that obtained our reconciliation with God" (Laney, 1983). Friendship with Jesus also speaks of duty and intimacy. So we know that there are responsibilities that accompany friendship with Christ. Chief of these responsibilities is the charge "that ye love one another" (Acts 15:17).

Missions Application Questions

What is the difference between "purging" and "pruning" in the grapevine metaphor?
What would you counsel someone to do to "abide in Christ"?
How does Jesus identify His friends, according to the passage?

World Missions Prayer Points

Let us pray that the Father prunes from our lives anything that hinders our fruitfulness.
Let us pray for the perseverance of the Saints.
Let us pray to emulate the love Christ has shown the world.