John 15:7-17. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
We were created to remain in God and His love:
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26).
He gave us a unique identity as His children, loved with everlasting love. He entrusted to us a heavenly authority:
“Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:27).
More than just giving us life, God established a covenant relationship with us (Genesis 2:17). Our purpose was clear: to remain in Him and His love forever.
Tragically, we broke the covenant, just as Adam did (Genesis 3:1-6; Hosea 6:7). We fell into the deception of the devil and chose to walk away from the love of God. That was the beginning of all problems: sin, separation, death, and suffering.
Yet God, compelled by His great love, did not leave us in this state. He immediately opened the way of salvation from the hand of Satan.
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
This was the new covenant God made with us. But this covenant came at a tremendous cost. It required God’s own Son. Jesus, the only Son of God, born of a virgin, came into the world to fulfill the covenant. He willingly died on the cross and rose again from the dead.
Jesus came as the True King to destroy the devil’s work (1 John 3:8). He came as the True Priest to die for our sins and break the power of curses in our lives (Mark 10:45). He came as the True Prophet to bring us back to God, because we were eternally separated from Him, living in the background of hell (John 14:6). He finished the work of the Christ for us (Matthew 16:16).
Jesus did not have to come, but He did because of His infinite love for us. He did not have to die, but He did because it was the only way to save us from our impossible situation. He rose again from the dead, crushing the power of death, hell, and Satan once and for all.
Jesus, though in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to exploit. Instead, He emptied Himself and took on the form of a servant, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8).
He did this because He loved us beyond measure. We did not deserve His love or mercy, but He poured out His grace upon us. On the cross, Jesus finished all of our problems—past, present, and future—once for all (John 19:30).
Now He invites us once again to enjoy the blessings of the covenant in Him: Remain in Me and My love. Jesus is not asking us to do something great or challenging. He simply wants us to rest in Him (Matthew 11:28). He wants us to find everything in Him (Colossians 2:2-3). He wants us to live by faith in Him (Galatians 2:20).
When you remain in Him and His words remain in you, you will naturally love to pray. You will come to believe that God hears your prayers and answers them. Whatever you ask for in Jesus’ name will be granted, for that is what a loving Father does for His child.
Prayer is the most incredible privilege you have in Christ. It is the channel of the power of the throne of the Triune God. But be aware—Satan knows what happens when you pray. That is why he will do everything he can to keep you from praying. He fears a believer who prays because prayer moves heaven and binds the forces of his kingdom of the air. As seen in Daniel 10:12-14, unseen spiritual battles begin the moment you start praying. This is why you must never give up prayer—it is where true victory begins.
When you remain in Christ, you will bear much fruit in faith and obedience. That will bring glory to the Father (John 15:8). People will acknowledge the work of God in your life. Remember Joseph?
“The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did…” (Genesis 39:2-3).
When Joseph remained in God, even his pagan master witnessed God’s presence in Joseph’s life and work. The same will happen to you when you remain in Christ. Your family, your friends, your coworkers, and even those who oppose you will see the presence of God in your life.
Your life will be the life of a disciple of Christ (John 15:8). The more you remain in Him, the more you will become like Him. Your life itself will proclaim the gospel. God will bring the nations to your doorstep to hear the message of reconciliation from you. More importantly, God will gather His evangelism disciples to you so that together you may carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
God will reveal His plans to you because He loves you. He calls you His friend. He delights in being with you and desires to include you in His eternal plan of salvation for the world. For this purpose, God has chosen you and appointed you. He will fill you with the joy of salvation and the love for the lost. He will make you like Paul:
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).
God will bless you to the point where you will lay down your life for the sake of the gospel.
Prayer. Lord Jesus, thank You for calling me Your friend. Help me to remain in You and in Your love. Open my eyes to see Your plans. Let me walk with You every day, fulfilling the work You have entrusted to me. In Your precious name I pray. Amen.