John 15:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

NIV: This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

NASB: My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

CSB: My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.

NLT: When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

KJV: Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

NKJV: By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus' actions often inspired others to glorify God the Father (Matthew 9:8; Luke 17:15–16; John 11:4). He also made it clear that He acted only according to the will of God the Father (John 5:19; Matthew 26:39). When God's people depend on His Word (John 15:7), and obey His will, He is glorified in it. This is not only the ultimate point of our service to Him, it is also proof for ourselves and others that we are truly born again.

The sequence Jesus uses here is important for our understanding of salvation. He does not say, "when you obey, you are saved." He does not say, "when you bear fruit, that earns you the status of disciple." Christ specifically says that bearing spiritual fruit is evidence of one's relationship to Him. This is an important point when looking at Scriptures such as James 2:14–17. There, James says the same thing as Jesus, but with a different perspective. Good works, and spiritual fruit, are evidence of one's salvation—not something one pays in order to buy it.

In the prior verse, Jesus pointed out that prayers from one "abiding in" Christ, in whom His words also "abide," are aligned with the will of God and therefore guaranteed. It is His power and His will that make these things possible. Without a true connection to Christ, spiritual fruit cannot be produced (John 15:5). Merely pretending to have eternal life doesn't result in spiritual abundance, or salvation (Matthew 7:21–23; John 15:6).

John 15:1–11 contains one of Jesus' most well-known metaphors: the vine and the branches. This features the seventh of seven "I Am" statements as recorded by John. Jesus lays out several nuanced ideas, touching on Christian perseverance, faith, false conversion, and spiritual effectiveness. This ends with another reference to loving obedience, which sets up the next passage of Jesus' teaching.

This passage begins with a celebrated analogy from Christ: the vine and the branches. This includes the seventh and final "I Am" statement of the gospel of John. Jesus uses this metaphor to explain how our spiritual life, as born-again believers, is drawn from His life. God's intent for our lives is to progress from barrenness to fruitfulness, to spiritual abundance. Jesus also repeats His command for believers to love each other. In this context, He goes so far as to refer to those who follow His teachings as His "friends."

Jesus is in the middle of a long discourse given to the disciples, which began during the last supper. He presents the analogy of a vine and branches, then repeats His command for believers to love each other. Jesus also warns about how the unbelieving world will hate and persecute Christians. This leads into the teachings of chapter 16, which focus on perseverance in the face of trials.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.