Happy B-Day to Me

: My birthday always falls close to Thanksgiving.

: What am I thankful for? So much….

• Thankful for the faith in which I find myself.

• Thankful for the privledge / responsibility to be an ambassador of the Gospel.

The context of John 15:6, is Jesus teaching on the vine and the branches. 

A couple of important elements to this teaching: vv. 1-8

1. Jesus being the vine (the true and only).

2. Connection to Jesus serving as the binder for a successful beliver/discipleship experience.

3. Abiding / remaining results in personal blessing and God glorification.

n: The second section of chapter 15 is from verses 9-17.

1. Keeping of commandments with emphasis on loving God and one another.

2. Relational position/differences between: not servant but friend.

: Then verse 16, which is my primary focus/thought.

3. Genesis / Initiation of one’s faith.

4. Appointment / Commission of purpose.

‘You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you…’

• It is not my intention to look at this portion as a positioning point on salvation; or the place and role of election, predestination, foreknowledge as it relates to salvation but just the purity of the thought.

Jesus says, ‘I have chosen you…’

eklegomai {ek-leg’-om-ahee} 

Meaning: 1) to pick out, choose, to pick or choose out for one’s self 1a) choosing one out of many, i.e. Jesus choosing his disciples 1b) choosing one for an office 1c) of God choosing whom he judged fit to receive his favours and separated from the rest of mankind to be peculiarly his own and to be attended continually by his gracious oversight 1c1) i.e. the Israelites 1d) of God the Father choosing Christians, as those whom he set apart from the irreligious multitude as dear unto himself, and whom he has rendered, through faith in Christ, citizens in the Messianic kingdom:

, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jer 1:5 NKJ)

[Before I formed thee] I had destined thee to the prophetic office before thou wert born: I had formed my plan, and appointed thee to be my envoy to his people. 

Paul speaks of his own call to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles in similar terms, Gal 1:15-16. 

6, ‘But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me1 so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being’.2 (NLT)

Application: I won’t profess to understanding how this all works and why but I will say that I am grateful that:

1. God did reach out to me first.

, ‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’.

2. Somehow I heard and responded in the affirmative.

3. Still here!

4. Still bearing fruit!

Transition: Which leads me to my 2nd main piece. That he chose me first and then that he has commissioned, commanded, promoted fruit (growth, productivity).

Ordained = tithemi {tith’-ee-mee} Meaning: 1) to set, put, place 1a) to place or lay 1b) to put down, lay down 1b1) to bend down 1b2) to lay off or aside, to wear or carry no longer 1b3) to lay by, lay aside money 1c) to set on (serve) something to eat or drink 1d) to set forth, something to be explained by discourse 2) to make 2a) to make (or set) for one’s self or for one’s use 3) to set, fix establish 3a) to set forth 3b) to establish, ordain

Tithemi – Set apart that which belongs to him!

Fruit – 1) fruit 1a) the fruit of the trees, vines, of the fields 1b) the fruit of one’s loins, i.e. his progeny, his posterity 2) that which originates or comes from something, an effect, result 2a) work, act, deed

Remain = meno {men’-o} Meaning: 1) to remain, abide 1a) in reference to place 1a1) to sojourn, tarry 1a2) not to depart 1a2a) to continue to be present 1a2b) to be held, kept, continually 1b) in reference to time 1b1) to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure 1b1a) of persons, to survive, live 1c) in reference to state or condition 1c1) to remain as one, not to become another or different 2) to wait for, await one

: I am so blessed on this my birthday. So many reasons but none greater than what I know from John 15:16.