All things exist for the glory of God. Jesus shows us this in this discourse on fruitfulness and abiding in Him that our chief end is to glorify God. Jesus brings up this fundamental truth of God because this is the underlying reality from which all biblical revelation issues. Jesus points our attention to the glory of God because the glory of God is the purpose and the reason for the existence of all things. May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to see and savor the glory of God as the fountainhead of all blessing and good and the rarest gem which is the source of our great enjoyment and delight.

”I in you” are the words of our Lord to capture His manifest presence in His people who abide in Him. This speaks not only of the power and life of Jesus in us, but His very presence in us through His Holy Spirit. The only way to be sanctified and live the Christian life is for Christ to live in us, and Jesus shows us this is what is true of those who abide in Him. May we attain to the measure of the stature that belongs to the fullness of Christ as we learn to daily abide in Him.

Jesus calls us to abide in Him. As the Son of God from heaven who is our Savior from sin, He has every right to say that apart from Him we can do nothing. In this study, we explore what it means to abide in Christ and what responsibility the Lord has given us in our own growth and sanctification.

To live a life that bears much fruit is to live according to God’s intent for our lives. In this passage, Jesus explains to us what the fruitful life of a Christian is. He shows us that a life that conforms to the Lord Jesus Christ is the product of the Father’s expert orchestration of all things and the Son’s provision of all that need for life and godliness. Jesus explains this to us with a beautiful picture of a vineyard wherein the Father is the vinedresser, the Son is the vine, and humans are the branches. In this part 1 of the study of the fruitful life, we examine what fruit-bearing is and how it is that God operates in this world to bring about maximal fruitfulness in His people: cutting off the fruitless branches and the pruning of the fruitful ones.

Jesus debunks the lie of Satan that God is of an ugly character and that He cannot be trusted. Contrary to the deception of Satan, Jesus shows that the Father should be loved and obeyed. He demonstrates with His own life the loveliness of God. May the Lord build up His people to love God truly and obey Him willingly because we trust in Him even as Jesus trusted in Him.

Jesus makes provisions for His disciples. Among four that He mentions in this last section of John 14, Jesus points out His provision of peace. People today need peace. There is a need for peace at every level of our human existence. But Jesus keenly focuses on one area of peace, inner/spiritual peace, and this is the peace He gives to His people. Furthermore, this is a profound peace that is both the gift of God and the attribute of God. There is indeed a reservoir of peace for all those who truly trust and follow Christ. May the Lord give His peace to us all!