John 15:10-11 Now Available feat. Ryan Gikas

John

Nov 16

John 15:10-11 is now available on all streaming platforms!

The Verse

[10] If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. [11] These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Jesus uses the word “abide” over ten times in John 15. The word in Greek is menō which means “to remain,” “to tarry,” or “to lodge.” In this case, it means to increasingly find a home in Jesus and His way of life instead of other places! To be a disciple is to be a Christ abider; a God dweller. While this sounds good in principle, how do we do it practically and to what end? Jesus tells us in these two verses!

The “how” of abiding is obedience.

Abiding in Jesus isn’t an automatic default setting for the human. Notice in verse 10 that Jesus places an interesting conditional clause in the mix: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love...” Abiding in Jesus’ love is intricately tied to keeping His commandments. This can be a bit confusing for a few reasons. Sometimes we associate someone keeping commandments to a cold relationship that’s more about rules than a warm relationship. It’s important that we keep reading.

Jesus follows this initial statement with a very similar parallel statement: “...just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” Jesus’ perfect obedience to the Father precedes our imperfect obedience to Him! His obedience paves the way for our obedience. While Adam and Eve were called to abide in this beautiful relationship of obedience with God, they failed. Not only did they disobey God’s commandments, but they sought to make their own way and reject His rule! Every human since has walked the same road of disobedience and commandment breaking. Jesus, however, broke that pattern and showed us what true humanity was meant to look like… He came and perfectly obeyed God where we had strayed. He lived a life of perfect abiding and communion with His Father, and in turn, He will teach and empower us to the same. That’s good news for us.

It’s precisely in Jesus’ life and in this command that we see that love and obedience aren’t at odds with each other; they are friends. To abide in Jesus is to be invited into a world of loving obedience. Just as Jesus didn’t have to choose between a life of love or a life of obedience, so we don’t either! In the same way Jesus obeyed His Father’s commandments out of love for Him, so we learn to obey Jesus’ commandments in love as well. Here in John 15 we find that obedience swims best in the fresh waters of love, not the swamps of legalism. We don’t obey in order to gain love from God, but rather we recognize that we are loved already and move toward Him seeking to obey the best we can.

The “why” of abiding is joy.

Jesus tells us His heart behind all of this in verse 12: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” Jesus is trying to be as clear as He can be: He is after our joy! Jesus isn’t after heartless obedient robots, but joy-filled fruitful disciples! Miserable disciples don’t point to a joyful God, but rather misrepresent all He is. He wants us to be as joyful as He is… To be Christlike is to be full of joy. Just as Jesus’ obedience to the Father was marked by love and joy, so our obedience to Jesus is to be marked by love and joy as well. Jesus, the true Vine, knows best how His branches flourish, and not vice versa. Sometimes our will and Jesus’ will are at odds, but we must fight to remember that Jesus is after our joy! Not just in some distant future, but now. It’s in our abiding and obedience that branches bear fruit and one of the fruit of the Spirit is joy! It’s important to note that not only will His joy be in us, but He also says He wants our joy to be full. Not just a splash of joy, but a glass that’s full to the brim! There’s no lack of joy in Jesus and there’s to be no lack of joy in us. To quote David in Psalm 16:11, “In your presence is fullness of joy!” A joyful Vine with His joyful branches; a joyful God with His joyful people.

Take a moment to meditate on these two verses… In particular, zero in on three particular words: Obedience. Love. Joy.

Where are you at with each of these words? Ask the Spirit to highlight anything He might want to shine a light on and reveal to you.

Are there any places where you know you are not keeping Jesus’ commandments?
Perhaps you’re trying to keep them but without any love. Confess those things to Him and ask Him for the strength to keep and obey.
What about joy? What’s the state of the union for joy in your life? Is it nearly empty? Maybe you’re at a quarter or half a tank? Perhaps you’re overflowing! The invitation is to talk to Jesus about where you are, and in turn, ask Him to fill You with His joy like never before! If helpful, picture particular scenarios you need joy in or people you need joy with. Imagine what those scenarios might look like if you were to be marked by His joy! Then ask Him again to do it!

The Song + The Artist

Written by Ben Limpic, sung by Ryan Gikas. Produced and mixed by Taylor Armstrong in San Diego, CA. Mastered by Dave Wilton at Coalesce Studio in Lafayette, CO.

Ryan Gikas - Vocals
Ben Limpic - Harmonies, whistles
Taylor Armstrong - Drums, bass, synths, piano
Joel Limpic - High strung, harmonies