you another comforter,* that he may abide 17 with you forever even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall 18 be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I 19 will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more: but ye will see me : 20 because I live, ye shall live also. At that day† ye shall know that I am in my Father, and you 21 in me, and I in you. He who hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is who loveth me: and he who loveth me, shall be loved of my Father; and I will love him, and 22 will manifest myself to him. Judas (not Iscariot,) saith unto him, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the 23 world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto 24 him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings and the word which you hear, is not mine, but the 25 Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said un27 to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I * Or advocate, or monitor, as some render it. unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, 28 neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my 29 Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it is 30 come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you; for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.‡ 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. CHAP. XV. 1 I AM the true vine, and my Father is the 2 husbandman.§ Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit, he purifieth it, that it 3 may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are * Peace of conscience, not external and temporal peace. †Though I exercise a divine power in performing miracles, and claim great authority, yet I derive all this power and authority from God. He is Almighty. In him ye believe. Be certain, then, of his favor and aid in support of my cause, and in the fulfilment of my promises. I am soon to be tried by worldly power, though nothing can be alleged against me. However, the world will know that I love the Father. § See Jeremiah ii. 21. I am the Head of the church : The root, from which every good man is to derive spiritual instruction and comfort. Those who improve their privileges will receive aid and assistance from God. clean through the word which I have spoken 4 unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye 5 abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He who abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye 6 can do nothing.* If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered: and men gather them, and cast them into the 7 fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.† 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved 10 you; continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's command11 ments, and abide in his love. These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be com12 plete. This is my commandment, that ye 13 love one another, as I have loved you. No man hath greater love than this, that a man lay 14 down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. * Christ here teaches the necessity of considering him a divine teacher, and his doctrines as essential to uniform virtue. If we set aside his gospel, we have no support to virtue, and no assurance of divine favor. + If ye are faithful to me, whatever ye may ask of God, he will hear and answer you. See Acts iv. 31. It is by our virtues, then, and not by our sins, as some vainly pretend, that we honor and glorify God, 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth : but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father, I have made 16 known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain that whatever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may 17 give it you.* These things I command you, 18 that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated 19 you. If ye were of the world,† the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, and I have chosen you out of the 20 world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you if they have kept my saying, they will 21 keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they 22 know not him that sent me. If I had not come, and spoken unto them, they had not had sin :‡ but now they have no excuse for their sin : 23 He who hateth me, hateth my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no other man did, they had not had sin : but now they have seen, and hated both me *See chap. xvi. 24th verse. That is, worldly in your views and dispositions. 25 and my Father.* However, the word is thus fulfilled which is written in their law, They 26 hated me without a cause. But when the Comfortert is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proccedeth from the Father, he shall 27 testify of me. And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. 1 CHAP. XVI. THESE things I have spoken unto you, 2 that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whoever killeth you, will think 3 that he doeth God service. And these things they will do unto you, because they have not 4 known the Father nor me. But these things I have told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. did not mention them to you at the begin5 ning, because I was with you. But now I my way to him who sent me, and none of you 6 asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because go * Christ was actuated by the Spirit of God-and whoever dislikes the doctrines and precepts of Christ, must be a bad man. + Advocate: The same word which is used in John's first epistle, chap. ii. 1. That is, I have thus forewarned you of the treatment which you will receive, that you may not hereafter be offended, and desert my cause. § Paul thought he was doing service to the cause of religion, when he persecuted the apostles and first Christians. |