Welcome to AtoZMom’s BSF Blog! Learn about the apostle John as we study BSF International, or Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)’s study of the book of John called “BSF John’s Gospel: The Truth.” See Jesus through John’s eyes and grow in your relationship with him in this rewarding bible study. See all of the 12 Apostles learn from Jesus as they walk with him to the cross and to our eternal salvation.
The world hates the disciples, but the world hated Jesus first. The world hates them because they were chosen by Jesus. They will persecute them as they persecuted Jesus. But, if they obey, then they will obey them as they obeyed Jesus.
No one has excuse for their sin. Unbelievers hate God as much as they hate Jesus.
13a) Unbelievers, things of the world, sin, Satan
b) The world hates Jesus and Christians because they were chosen by Jesus to be believers; they were chosen for greater things and to bear fruit. Simply put, they are jealous of the lives Christians lead. I see this a lot in the way others want to constantly tear you down because they cannot have the happiness that you have.
14) Compassion, love, understanding, and with the message of the Gospel.
15) Teaching the world about Jesus. Continually fortifying themselves against the evil one with prayer and reading of the Word. Serve one another. Love others. Follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your life. Live by the teachings of Christ. Relate to others to bring them over to God. Do good, not evil.
It is always a good reminder to be in this world but not of it; to live according to Jesus and not according to the world; and to help and teach others in an effort to bring them over to Christ.
Jesus is preparing his disciples for persecution. The world will hate them, as they hated him. Their inner hypocrisy and sin is exposed, so it makes them angry and they lash out at believers.
There is no excuse for not knowing Christ. This makes them angry, too.
In short, expect hatred, but answer with love.
Fun fact: John uses the word “world” 77 times in his Gospel.
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Jesus loves you (disciples), and if you keep his commands, you will remain in his love. You will have complete joy. Now, love each other as Jesus has loved them. Great love is laying down one’s life for others. The disciples are his friends for he has made known to them everything from the Father.
Jesus chose them so that they may bear lasting fruit and that whatever they ask in Jesus’ name, the Father will give them. Now, love one another.
10a) As the Father has loved Jesus, so has Jesus loved you. Jesus loves you (believers), and if you keep his commands, you will remain in his love like Jesus kept God’s commands and remained in his love.
b) They receive the love of Jesus, complete joy, are given what they ask for, are friends of Jesus, are given knowledge of God, and they bear fruit. It encourages me when times, things, and circumstances in my life are low.
11a) Because Jesus loved us.
b) Strangers and people who irritate me. I pray for them and for me to deal better with them.
12a) Jesus chose and appointed his followers so that they might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. So that they might spread the gospel.
b) By remaining in Jesus and abiding by His word.
Always a powerful reminder to love others because so many of us do have people in our lives that are hard to love. But, with God’s grace, we can do so.
Jesus loved the disciples by protecting them, guiding them, and leading them. He cared utterly for their every need. No matter what we do, we are loved.
Abiding is obedience to Jesus and his commands. If you do abide in Jesus’ commands, you will experience joy to the full. Joy is being right with God, not happiness or excitement.
Jesus repeatedly emphasize we are to love others.
Love is to be complete, as giving up all that you have (or your life) for one another.
The relationship between rabbi and disciple in ancient times was never one of friendship. So, if we follow God’s commands, we can be friends with Jesus. Obedience must be there.
Jesus chooses us to bear fruit for God’s glory.
Again, we should expect answered prayer.
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Apart from Jesus, you can do nothing. If you remain in Jesus and his words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. You will bear much fruit for God’s glory.
6) You must remain in Jesus and his words remain in you. He meant you must remain connected to Jesus and abide in him in order to bear fruit/lead a productive, fulfilling life.
7) I would say no, not really. It’s not a fulfilling life and it’s not all that they could have done with Christ. And, it could be fruitful for others, but I think for them they will always be missing something.
8 ) I would say in all areas. I do believe I could bear more fruit in helping others.
9) It means just that: ask for what you want, and, if it’s in line with God’s will for your life, it will be granted. God gives us our desires because it reflects God’s desires for our lives
Great passage on bearing fruit. We must remember that it’s about doing God’s will for His kingdom, so His fruit is most likely different than ours.
If you abide in Christ, you will bear fruit. Period.
Without Jesus, we can do nothing of real, eternal value.
Without abiding in Jesus, your life fails. You are not a true disciple unless you abide.
By abiding to Jesus’ word and prayer, we remain connected to Jesus. As such, we should expect answers to prayers. If not, there there is a disconnect somewhere.
When you bear fruit, you bring God glory.
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Jesus declares he is the vine while God is the gardener. He prunes him so that he is fruitful. Those that remain in Jesus will bear fruit, too.
3a) Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. Only when we are connected to him, can we bear fruit/do good in this world.
b) I am challenged to stay connected to Jesus so that I can bear fruit more.
4a) The disciples are clean because they have listened to the Word.
b) Yes. By accepting Jesus as my Savior and reading the Word of God. But, we are all cleansed when we are in Christ.
5) There has been a lot of death in my family this year (my dog, 2 cats, some chickens, and my father). It’s been a year I’ve had to lean on the Lord for his grace and understanding. It’s taught me to be more rooted in Christ for all my needs.
I love Jesus’ analogies and comparisons. It makes his teachings so real.
Jesus talks about the vine as a symbol for his people and Israel. Vineyards and wine making was common around Israel. Here, Jesus speaks and says he is the vine, meaning his people need to be rooted in him in order to bear fruit. We depend on Jesus and are connected to him.
God cultivates and cares for the vine.
Branches that don’t bear fruit are not abiding in Jesus. God prunes the branches, so they bear fruit.
The disciples are clean because they have listened to the Word.
We abide in Jesus, and he abides in us.
The branch must be connected to the vine to bear fruit. Similarly, we can only bear fruit if we are connected to Jesus.
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Jesus gives his disciples peace. They should be glad he is returning to the Father. He has told them ahead of time so that they may believe.
12a) That the peace Jesus brings is beyond the peace the world can give.
b) Peace with God is the peace we receive when we accept Christ as our Savior. We have made peace with God. Peace of God is the peace we receive when we trust Jesus. It is a feeling of closeness to God and being well with our relationship with Him.
Peace with God comes before Peace of God; both are God’s gift to us.
c) It gives me comfort and hope that my dreams will be achieved, that He will put me where He wants me; that life will be great.
13) Jesus’ death brings him back to the Father, which is what we all want. How wonderful is that! Jesus is preparing them, so they won’t be shocked. They can be comforted that Jesus is in a better place.
14a) Jesus will defeat the prince of this world aka the devil. The world/us can learn from Jesus’ battle with the devil that we can overcome him, too.
b) There’s really only two choices: a life of faith and a life without faith. No matter what, having God on your side is the only way to hope and strength in dire circumstances.
I love God’s peace! We all can have the peace of God. So amazing!
Saying “peace I leave with you” was a customary saying in the first century AD. Yet, Jesus’ peace was is better, a real peace we all can have.
Jesus’ death is a matter of rejoicing, as he will defeat the devil once and for all for all of us.
Jesus obeyed God on his way to the cross to defeat the devil; he is a willing sacrifice.
Now, they would be heading to the Garden of Gethsemane; the time has come.
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Jesus says whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. They will be loved by the Father. Those who not love him (Jesus) will not obey him. The Holy Spirit will teach them all things and remind them, too.
9a) When you love the Lord, you will obey him. Studying the Bible allows us to know his commands so we can obey them and love him more.
b) Those at my church, my friends and family, God’s Word, prayer, and the Holy Spirit. I can tell them about the Lord and live a Godly life, too.
10) They live in us, meaning they are present within us, so we can draw their strength when needed, be comforted, and not be alone.
11a) The Holy Spirit will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. The Holy Spirit helps us to understand God’s Word.
b) There has been countless times in my life where I’ve experienced God’s presence, grace, comfort, help, strength, and more. My faith grew as a result; I became a better person; I became closer to Him and more obedient.
I love the connection of love and obedience! And, I love the presence of God every day of my life.
The disciples are confused since they thought Jesus would reveal himself (Matthew 24:30). In addition, since they haven’t received the Holy Spirit yet, some things are just hard to understand.
Jesus reveals himself through love, obedience, and his union with the Father and us.
Three times in this passage we see whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me (John 14:15, 21 & 23-24).
God the Father sends God the Holy Spirit at the request of God the Son. How amazing!
The Holy Spirit would teach the disciples (and us).
Every believer receives the Holy Spirit when they receive Christ as their Savior.
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Jesus comforts his disciples again, saying he won’t leave them. They will see him again. He will be in them.
6) 1) I will not leave you as orphans 2) I will come to you 3) You will see me 4) You will live also 5) You are in me 6) I am in you.
Each is important because it comforts us and let’s us know we are not alone. We have the power of Jesus in us, so we can vanquish the Enemy. Jesus will help us when we need it. We are never alone.
7a) Jesus and God are one. We abide in Jesus. Jesus abides in us.
b) The fact that we are in God and Jesus and they are in us. It’s hard to fathom.
8 ) He cares about our every need and provides for our every need. No matter what, we can come to him — always and forever.
I love how Jesus is not concerned about himself at all, only about his disciples. That’s how it should be for us, too.
Jesus’ third assurance is that he will come to them (we saw this previously in John 14:3). This includes his Second Coming and the Holy Spirit.
The disciples will see Jesus after his resurrection. The Holy Spirit will live in them.
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Jesus tells the disciples they will receive the Holy Spirit (an advocate) that will live inside them.
3) They all work together for our good, to bring us closer to God.
4a) Advocate — someone who recommends and supports you or your cause. An advisor, defender, mediator, and intercessor.
Spirt of Truth — The Holy Spirit who allows us to understand God’s spiritual truths and guide us towards spiritual truth.
b) Right now, the disciples cannot understand the Holy Spirit because it has not been given yet (not until after Jesus’ death). After Jesus’ death, the disciples will receive the Holy Spirit inside of them and it will live inside of them, and then they will be able to understand the Holy Spirit.
5) That it exists at all!
I love how Jesus loves us enough to prepare us and to give us gifts, such as a guide for life. How amazing!
Loving Jesus is keeping his commandments. It’s action.
Obedience comes out of love. Disobedience can be from a lack of love.
This is Jesus’ 2nd assurance he gives to the disciples: that he will give them a helper (Holy Spirit).
The Holy Spirit will abide with us permanently.
Jesus was already with them. The Holy Spirit would then be in them.
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