Loved to Obey, Chosen to Love
“As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love.”
That one line reshapes everything. The Christian life isn’t an achievement—it’s an abiding. It’s not a ladder to climb, but a Vine to remain in. And the love Jesus invites us into is not shallow sentiment, but Trinitarian love—overflowing from eternity into our lives with power, purpose, and permanence.
This week’s passage—John 15:9–17—is not only a continuation of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse; it’s a deepening of the relational truths He’s been unfolding. He moves from the image of the Vine to the intimacy of love, joy, obedience, friendship, and mission. And He anchors it all in the very love the Father has for Him.
Loved to Obey, Chosen to Love
Before we are ever called to love Jesus or others, Jesus roots us in a greater, eternal love—the Father’s love for the Son. This isn’t sentimentalism. It’s Trinitarian reality. The love we are invited to abide in is divine, not self-generated. Christianity doesn’t begin with what we offer to God, but with what He has graciously poured into us.
Are You Really Rooted?
In 2020, a towering cactus in Arizona suddenly collapsed. On the outside, it looked perfectly healthy—lush, green, tall. But inside? It was hollow. Rotting. Dead.
From a distance, it was alive. Up close, it was deceiving.
Abide in the Vine
Jesus opens this section with a staggering declaration: “I am the true vine.” It’s His final “I AM” statement in the Gospel of John—and it isn’t random. In the Old Testament, Israel was often depicted as a vine that failed to bear good fruit (Isa. 5:1–7). Now, Jesus says He is the faithful, fruitful, final vine—the one in whom all life and fruitfulness truly flows. He is not one vine among many—He is the true vine.
The Spirit’s Extraordinary Work through Ordinary Gifts
God does not leave His people unequipped. Every believer in Christ is given at least one spiritual gift by the Holy Spirit. This means there are no spectators in the body of Christ — only participants. These gifts are not talents or learned skills, but Spirit-empowered abilities given for the church’s good.
The Spirit’s Extraordinary Work through Ordinary Gifts
What comes to mind when you hear the words “spiritual gifts”? For many in the modern church, the imagination runs to the spectacular — tongues, prophecies, healings, visions. But what if the most powerful, most consistent, and most transformative work of the Holy Spirit isn’t found in the fireworks, but in the faithfulness?
The Extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit—And Why They Ceased
In a world captivated by spectacle, it’s no surprise that the miraculous or “sign gifts” of the Spirit continue to dominate conversations about the Holy Spirit. Tongues. Prophecy. Healing. These terms evoke strong reactions—either fascination or skepticism, awe or concern.
But amidst all the noise, one question must guide our thinking: What does Scripture actually teach?
If the modern expressions of these gifts differ radically from their biblical definition, function, and purpose, we must be willing to step back and evaluate them not by experience, but by the Word of God.
The Extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit and Me
The gift of tongues was never about private expression or spiritual ecstasy. At Pentecost, the Spirit gave believers the miraculous ability to speak real, known human languages they had never learned. This wasn’t chaos—it was clarity. The purpose? To proclaim the gospel to the nations and serve as a sign of judgment to unbelieving Israel. Today’s unintelligible and disorderly displays fall short of this biblical model.
The Holy Spirit and Me
The Holy Spirit is not a mystical force or an impersonal power. He is a divine person – the Third Person of the Trinity, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. This means He has a mind, will, and emotions, and can be grieved by our actions (Eph. 4:30). He speaks (Acts 13:2), teaches (John 14:26), and intercedes for us (Rom. 8:26), demonstrating personal qualities that cannot be attributed to mere power or energy.
The Holy Spirit: A What or a Who?
When you hear the words “Holy Spirit,” what comes to mind? For many, it’s an image of a mystical force, a powerful energy, or an intense emotional experience. We sing lyrics like, “Holy Spirit, You are welcome here, come flood this place and fill the atmosphere,” without stopping to ask – is this an accurate picture of the Holy Spirit as presented in Scripture? Is He merely a force to be summoned or an impersonal power to be felt, or is He something far more profound?
