Abiding in His Love, Part 2

God’s choices are not dependent on the superficial.

Abraham Lincoln won the presidency of a divided country. There were four major candidates in 1860, and Lincoln only narrowly received his electoral majority. Among his harshest critics was a man named Edwin Stanton from Ohio who opposed Lincoln’s election, calling him among other things the “original gorilla.”

Yet Lincoln asked Stanton to serve as Secretary of War, recognizing his organizational skills were greatly needed for the war effort. When Lincoln was assassinated, Stanton said, “There lies the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever seen.”

If we were left up to pick Jesus’ original 12 disciples, we most likely would have come to some different people than what the Lord picked. Nevertheless, they were the perfect choice, according to God’s plan.

In last week’s message, we discovered that Jesus told His disciples to love one another as He loved them. And we found that divine love was characterized as a self-giving, self-sacrificing love. The passage is divided as follows:

verses 12-14: Love defined;

verses 15: Change of identity;

verse 16-17: His choice, our fruit.

Today, he demonstrates His love by informing His closest followers of His loving choice of them and its purpose. Jesus appointed His closest followers that they should go and bear fruit. And this choosing has a lot of facets to it. It reminds us that sometimes good choices go much deeper than the superficial.

Good choices are made by good and godly minds.

Interesting is the place of choosing. Jesus may have surprised His disciples when He said in John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, ...”

You might ask: “Well did not Jesus’ disciples choose to follow Him?” The answer is obviously yes. But there’s always a background to man’s choosing of God. One commentator states:

“Jesus does not mean that His disciples exercised no will of their own; they did choose to follow Him. Rather, He is indicating that the first initiative, the original and saving choice, was His. Had He not chosen them, they would not have chosen Him. The immediate reference is to service as apostles, but the principle applies to many other matters including election to salvation.” (The New Geneva Study Bible, 1694).

We have to first know that Jesus chose His disciples at the outset of His ministry. Mark 3:14

Mark 3:14 ESV

14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach

Great care was taken to pick these 12 men, by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.

This was a three-year investment that would continue throughout the last half of first century. And most of them would be martyred for their faith. Consider how each of the disciples died.

Andrew and Peter were crucified;

James was thrown off a building;

Paul was beheaded;

Everyone was martyred except for John. And John was exiled and suffered greatly for the faith.

His choosing them would be their help in the face of persecution.

If it was their choice, it would certainly die and disintegrate. In the same way, our spiritual fruit is a product of God’s choosing and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Our coming to faith is a product of God’s doing. How so?

Every Christian’s testimony is found in the words of Ephesians chapter two.

Ephesians 2:1–8 (ESV)

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—.”

And later Ephesians 2:9 describes this as...

Ephesians 2:9–10 (ESV)

“...not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

People get overlooked all the time. But it is quite another matter to get overlooked by God. The disciples could have thought that they were in the fold by their own choosing; but Jesus sets that record straight. He chose them; they did not choose Him. And they stayed close to Jesus by the enabling power of the Spirit.

Now no disciple has served the Lord against his own will. They willingly were a part of His ministry. But their ability to abide in that ministry and abide in His love was due to His choosing them, not the other way around.

And this would contribute to their joy. as Jesus said in John 15:11

John 15:11 ESV

11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

And He chose them to bear spiritual fruit. What is spiritual fruit in this context?

Perseverance in adversity (in contrast to Judas),

prayer activity;

faithfulness to Christ;

willingness to be hated by the world.

What is your spiritual fruit? How has Jesus changed your life? As Galatians 5:22-25 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is what gives evidence to His work in our lives.

Galatians 5:22–25 (ESV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

What is it in your life that people can point to and say, that is Jesus in them. Part of that fruit is your participation in prayer.

Prayers given and answered are a blessed part of the spiritual fruit that comes through knowing Christ.

John 15:16–17 ESV

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

F.F. Bruce states:

“This is the enduring fruit of lives in union with the ever-living Christ, bearing witness to his abiding grace. It speaks of confidence in fruit and in prayer (F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, 312).

We ought to be confident when we pray. What damages our confidence is sin or spiritual apathy. But if we are walking by the Spirit and obeying the Lord, we have confidence that He hears us when we pray.

1 John 5:14–15 ESV

14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

To this point, one commentator states:

“Jesus’ election of his people means salvation and service, even lasting fruit. It motivates prayer, love for one another, and willingness to endure the world’s hatred so others will come to know Jesus’ love.” (Systematic Theology Study Bible, (Wheaton: Crossway, 2017), 1312.

And so this affects our prayer life, namely the confidence with which we pray. I’m amazed at how frequently people use the word prayer. It is almost become a byword among the masses. Even those who outwardly show little interest in the things of God, seem to put some sort of value on prayer. Hence the words: “thoughts and prayers.”

But not so for the Christian. He/she can pray with confidence. David Ellis states:

“His sending them forth is grounded in His confidence in them as friends, and this conversely is their ground of confidence in prayer.” (David Ellis, “The Gospel According to John,” A New Testament Commentary, 279).

Fellowship with Jesus; bearing spiritual fruit; and confidence in prayer are attainable through love.

All of this is a result of the work of God’s Spirit, encouraging our obedience and molding us into the people God wants us to be. As one scholar states:

“Fellowship with Jesus, fruit bearing and prayer are all dependent on obeying his command to love.” (The New Oxford Annotated Bible: NRSV, 150).

Just Wednesday, I had a wonderful experience. I was able to connect with a family member who has had a difficult 2023. He spent 4.5 months in the hospital since January 1. While there, He underwent many surgeries. He came home recently, to everyone’s relief. People prayed for Clet.

While in the hospital, he had some time to think. He recalled a text I had sent him in March and wanted to talk. By the end of our conversation, He prayed to receive Christ, to turn from sin and now wants to be baptized. What a wonderful experience.

But it was God at work from beginning to end.