John 15

¹I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ²Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he removes; and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes clean so that it may bear more fruit. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. ⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him—this one bears much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like the branch and withers; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will come to be for you. ⁸In this my Father has been glorified: that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

⁹Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹I have spoken these things to you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be made full.

¹²This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than this: that someone lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I no longer call you servants, because the servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. ¹⁷These things I command you: that you love one another.

¹⁸If the world hates you, understand that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹If you belonged to the world, the world would love what is its own. But because you do not belong to the world—rather, I chose you out of the world—for this reason the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the word that I spoke to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also. ²¹But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³The one who hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴If I had not done among them the works that no one else has done, they would not have sin. But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵But this is to fulfill the word that is written in their law: 'They hated me without cause.'

²⁶When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—that one will bear witness concerning me. ²⁷And you also bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.