Sermons John 15:14 This Friendship is Proven

Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you, JOH 15:14.

We may experience a situation in which we meet someone who seems like a very personal friend. Since our footsteps preach louder than our words, our actions will establish whether or not we are friends.

We may reach a point where we are called upon to make a personal sacrifice for this new friend. We have a decision to make. Are we able to make this sacrifice for our friend? Are we able to do that which we believe is for his honor and welfare, or will we seek our own honor first? We will come into situations that will test and prove our friendships.

When we say we are the friends of Jesus, we must understand that we experience circumstances whereby this friendship will be tested and proven. We may be called upon to make very great personal sacrifices in order to prove that the friendship is true.

Jesus says, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." Let us look at an illustration that may help us understand.

Suppose someone told me I had to cross the ocean on a ship, and I was told that the man at the helm was a new sailor who had never once crossed the ocean. Would I dare risk my life on such a venture? Wouldn't I be much more comfortable and confident if I knew the man had years of experience, had been through many a storm, and he had always landed safely? Certainly I would be more confident, especially if I knew there were storms ahead.

Are we going to look unto Jesus as the Captain of our salvation as we step into this life's journey? In this new friendship we have with the Lord Jesus Christ, we must understand that we will come through many storms.

We need to know that the friendship will not be drowned in those storms. The Lord sends the storms for the purpose of testing that friendship.

We have pointed out how the word DO is the pivotal word of the exercise of saving faith and of the law of the gospel, so it will be tested. As we venture forward with Christ as our new Master and walk under His leadership, we know our friendship will be tried.

Are we going to do what He commands us to do, even when we must make great personal sacrifices, when it truly comes against our flesh? We will not walk with the Lord Jesus Christ as the captain of our salvation and venture out to sea in this new Christian life with all the storms ahead without having our faith tested.

We will not walk on a sea of glass in this life; our faith will be tested by whether or not we will obey even if it costs us great personal sacrifice.

As friends of Jesus, we must see we have an inheritance as we cross the tumultuous sea. Where is the inheritance? It is in the resurrection of Christ, which is obtained through the obedience of faith, after it is proven by many trials.

We will obtain that inheritance only after crossing a very tumultuous sea and the Captain of our salvation is the One who we must obey if we are going to safely come to shore.

1PE 1:3-5 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

The word through comes from the Greek word dia which is "a preposition denoting the channel of an act." Let's use an illustration to show of the meaning of the words through faith.

Suppose you are out in the desert. There is a well of water, yet you may be dying of thirst because you have no instrument whereby you may get the water from that well.

On the other side of this principle, suppose you have a pail and a rope when you come to the well; the pail and the rope are the "channel of an act." They are the instruments whereby you get the water from the well. The pail and the rope, in themselves, do not satisfy your thirst, but they are the channels through which you receive the water that would otherwise be beyond your reach.

Faith is the pail and rope; it is the channel through which the inheritance is conveyed to you. Read again the above Scripture.

1PE 1:5-6 says, "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations."

We must understand that the tumultuous sea we must cross will bring many temptations. This word "temptations" comes from the Greek word peirasmos, and it means, "a putting to proof."

The Lord is going to put our friendship to proof through many trials and tests. There will be many trials, much heaviness or struggles to put our friendship with Jesus to the proof. Will we obey whatsoever He commands us at such a cost? That is the essence of our faith. It is through the obedience of faith, through that conduit, that we receive salvation. Our faith will be tried.

The mystery of salvation that was hidden in the Lord Jesus Christ was revealed "...for the obedience of faith." ROM 16:25-26 says, "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith."

Your obedience of faith demonstrates your reverence for His authority. Jesus says, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." Your obedience of faith demonstrates your confidence in God, i.e., your confidence in His Being, belief there is a God, and your confidence in all that He has represented Himself to be and do in His Word.

We must have that confidence that He does exist and that He is a rewarder of all those who diligently seek Him.

We see this in HEB 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

The obedience of faith of the friends of Jesus demonstrates their confidence in His finished work to obtain their full and free redemption through His imputed righteousness. It is by His imputed righteousness that we look upon Him as the Author and Finisher of our faith.

This faith gains its value through the trials it takes us through. The faith we have in new friends is not nearly as great as the friendship of one who has been through many trials with us.

Therefore, it is the going through the trials together where faith increases in value. 1PE 1:7 says, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."

We talk about being the friends of Jesus, and Jesus says we are His friends if we do whatever He commands. We can do what He commands us very easily until sacrifice is required. However, as we start coming to situations and circumstances where personal sacrifices are making demands on us, we start coming to the trial of the obedience of faith. Are we able to make these sacrifices in order to obey?

These trials put our faith to the test to prove that it is genuine. In MAT 13:20-21 Jesus is telling of the person who went out to sow seeds. People, like seeds scattered abroad, react differently. Verses 20-21 say, "But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it [but his faith was put to the test to see if it was genuine]; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended."

Are we the friends of Jesus? Are we able to hear and do His Word, even in times of persecution and tribulation? When we must stand persecution because of the Word, are we able to prove our faith or will we be offended? Are we like the seed that fell on good ground and thrived, or are we like the seed that fell on stony ground and withered when the going got rough?

Our text teaches our friendship with Jesus is proven to be genuine through our obedience of faith. As the Lord leads us through this life's journey, we will be put to many tests. Our friendship, our hearing and doing what He says, will be tested. Are we willing to make such a sacrifice?

Jesus tells us how His obedience of faith is His evidence that His relationship with the Father is genuine. Now let's consider the context of our text. In JOH 5:35-36 Jesus is talking about John the Baptist. "He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season [until tribulation arose] to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me."

The work His Father gave Him to do included laying down His life and taking it again. It was by finishing that work that He proved His faith. It was the obedience of faith; the fact Jesus had finished the works His Father had given Him to do bear witness of His faith. This is something we must ponder carefully.

We may all claim to be Christians and friends of Jesus, but it may be with a selfish motive. Are we able and willing to do His commandments even if we have to make great personal sacrifices? He said, "the same works that I do, bear witness of me;" there is our evidence. When we do as He commands, it is our witness of being His friend.

It is not until faith has passed its test through "temptations," i.e., "a putting to proof," that it gains value. We can claim great faith and proclaim all the wonderful things we believe, but only after they have been put to the test of obedience does it prove and bear witness that we are the friends of Jesus. Does the exercise of that faith lead to our reverence to the Word of God?

HEB 12:2-4 says, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

He endured the cross for the joy He was to receive as His reward for such obedience. "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name," PHI 2:8-9.

Are we able to look unto that faith of Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our faith? Are we able to take up our cross, die unto self, and die unto sin and the world? Can we despise the shame that we will suffer for His namesake? Are we able to obey all He commands us to do in order to establish the evidence of our friendship?

If we must suffer shame, we need only remember the shame He suffered. "For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." HEB 12:3.

When we suffer contradiction of sinners against ourselves, our faith must be derived from His faith; that is how He becomes the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Our text refers to the command to follow His example who covered our sins with His life's blood. His is a commandment of love. Let's look at that commandment, which we find in the two verses before our text wherein Jesus says, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends," JOH 15:12-13.

Are you and I able to follow the commandment of love, loving God above all with our hearts, souls, and minds and loving our neighbor as ourselves? Are we able to stand the test, and prove our obedience of faith? That is the trial that Peter speaks of when he said, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold...," 1PE 1:7.

In Verse 22 of the same chapter he says, "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently."

Where is the purification Peter was speaking about? It is in obeying the truth; it is the trial of the obedience of our faith. That trial is much more precious than gold and silver. Now see Jesus command repeated again here, "...unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently."

Verse 23 continues, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." It is by walking according to the Word of God through His grace, that we have the evidence of the new birth, the work of regeneration in our soul.

See how the Word teaches the trial of faith God sends to prove our love for one another. Now we are talking about the commandment the Lord Jesus gives us to love one another even as He has loved us.

The love we have for one another will be proven to see if we are able to cover our brother's sin, even if it takes our life's blood to do it. HEB 12:4-5 says, "Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." Remember that in Verse 3 it said, "For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself..."

We will suffer contradictions from our brethren. Our faith will be proved according to God's commandment. Can we forgive him and cover his trespasses and his sins against us even if we must do it with our life's blood? That is obeying His commandment; that is the trial of the obedience of faith.

Verse 5 continues, "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him."

How does the Lord often send chastening and rebuke? He sends it through our brethren. He brings us into a set of circumstances where we must cover the brother's sin; he has come against us with an unloving spirit.

The Lord sends this chastening and rebuke to try our love; it is a proof of where we stand. Are we going to respond by heaping coals of love upon his head to melt his bitterness against us, or do we become bitter against this brother?

Jesus suffered contradictions from sinners — you and me; it was our sins that hung Him on the cross. It was the sins of His people; the sins of God's people, the brethren, the one's from whom we have expected the most love are often the hardest to forgive.

Yet while our sins were nailing our Saviour to the cross, while He was hanging, bleeding, and dying on the cross for our sins, He prayed for us saying, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." LUK 23:34. This shows the immeasurable love He had for His people.

Now Jesus says to you and I, "Ye are my friends..." if "...ye love one another, as I have loved you," JOH 15:12 and 14.

You and I must learn to forgive. This love for one another, if we love one another as Christ loved us, must be able to stand the trial of proof; faith which cannot stand the trial is of no value. If you say you have faith, and you do not have works, your faith is as dead as a corpse without breath, JAM 2:26.

If you claim that you have faith, but it is never proven by testing, it is dead. The Lord may bring a person to you needing food or clothing; if you send him away without supplying his necessities, you have failed the test of the obedience of faith, JAM 2:16.

See what Job said in JOB 23:10, "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." My faith will be tried. How? Will I obey under extreme circumstances? Will I show love to my brethren even though they do not show love to me? The Lord sends that trial to try our faith so we have proof of the obedience of faith.

What was in Job's cup that the Lord used to try Job's faith? Not only did the Lord withdraw His presence as it is recorded in the previous verses, but other difficult circumstance arose.

JOB 19:12-19 says, "His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle. He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me. They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight. I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth. My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children's sake of mine own body. Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me. All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me."

Do you understand who He sent to try Job's faith? He sent Job's friends, his own brothers and sisters, who became as his adversaries.

Do you see the severe trial of faith Job endured? In such circumstances what was Job's response? Did Job respond with bitterness? No, he turned his face to the Lord; he looked to find the Lord's purpose in the events taking place.

His troops came together. Whose troops? The Lord's troops came for the purpose of trying his faith. Under such a test, how would you respond? Would you turn to the Lord as Job did?

There are many ways in which faith is tried.

1) It is tried by Divine commands. God tries the obedience of faith.

2) Faith is often tried by doubts and fears.

3) Faith is tried by fire: the fire of discipline, of persecution, or of prolonged bodily affliction and illness.

The greatest trial of faith that was ever endured was a trial of the obedience of faith. If we fail the test of obedience, we have no faith of any value. Any faith more precious than gold or silver is the faith that can stand the test.

Now let's examine the greatest trial of the obedience of faith that was ever endured which is recorded in PHI 2:8, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

You see, the obedience of faith, i.e., to humble one's self and become obedient unto death even the death of the cross, is the greatest trial into which any person can ever be placed. "For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord," ROM 6:10-11.

The blessedness of this obedience of faith was a mystery which was kept secret from the foundation of the world, "But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen," ROM 16:26.

The mystery revealed was that the Lord Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. It was in the way of obedience that He paid the penalty of sin.

We are reflecting on the friendship of Jesus; "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you," JOH 15:14, i.e., the friendship between God and Abraham, the father of the faithful.

Was Abraham truly the friend of God? (cf., JAM 2:23). How did he prove it? (cf., JAM 2:21). It was proven by the obedience of faith as we see in GEN 22:1, "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham [`God did prove Abraham,' as it reads in the original], and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am."

So how did God prove Abraham? He did it with a trial of obedience! Take notice that it was this trial of obedience where Abraham was proven to be the father of the faithful. He stood the trial.

GEN 22:2 says, "And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."

After Abraham had stood the trial of obedience, God showed how He was pleased by the reward He gave Abraham for his obedience of faith. We must understand what faith is.

First, we must believe "that He is," then know that "He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Cf., HEB 11:6).

Here in GEN 22:15-18 we see the reward. "And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."

God the Father was so pleased with such obedience and surrender to His will. Abraham's sacrifice was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ being able to give up His all, to sacrifice His own life's blood, as an act of obedience. This was a type of that blessed obedience. Abraham passed the trial of faith.

In many cases the command of our text to love one another as Christ loved us is tried by being persecuted by the brethren as we see in the case of Joseph.

The Lord will allow us to have a trial of faith by those brethren we are commanded to love. God does this by not only allowing but by sending that very trial. In the case of Joseph it was his own brethren whom the Lord used to test Joseph's obedience of faith. Would he obey?

GEN 37:23-24 says, "And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it."

They thought about murdering him, but they sold him as a slave instead. All of this tested the love of Joseph for his brethren. Could he forgive this? Could he reward them good for the evil they did unto him?

Even though Joseph's eyes of faith were upon the Lord, he suffered much anguish at the hands of his brethren. "And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us," GEN 42:21.

Joseph had pleaded and begged his brothers, and now the brothers saw how the Lord rewarded them for the evil they had done to Joseph. The way Joseph responded to this was his trial.

The Lord, for the purpose of bringing Joseph to the kingdom. brought all this about. And the Lord predetermined it. He not only allowed, but also brought this trial upon Joseph as He had predetermined.

We must learn to understand that if we have a trial of our faith, we are to take our eye off the instrument the Lord is using to try our obedience of faith and turn our eye unto the Lord Jesus Christ who is our example of love.

God often allows our brethren to sin against us to prove whether we are the friends of Jesus. The Lord sends these trials, and they are more precious than gold or silver that are tried in the fire. They are to prove how our heart responds; do we build bitterness and hatred? Do we become an adversary to our brother, or do we beseech them, plead with them as Joseph did?

In MAT 10:34-39 the Lord Jesus Christ says, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth [When we see these trials and feel contentions building among the brethren, do we become defensive and contentious? No! We must learn to see that it is Christ who sends this trial; this brother is only the instrument He is using as a trial of the obedience of our faith. Are we the friends of Jesus? Will we obey His commandment of love? Will we love that brother as Christ loved us? Jesus said]: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

The Lord sends these trials to test our obedience of faith under the law of love, i.e., to love God above all and our neighbour as ourselves. It is to try us to see if we will respond with love!

Under such conditions, when the ones of our own house come against us, we must turn it all over to the Lord as we follow Christ as our example which we find in 1PE 2:21-23. As we follow Jesus in the way of the cross, we must respond with love in spite of all the trials the Lord has sent. Now we are passing the test. Now we are graduating in one of the schools of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But when our hearts become filled with bitterness, and we become defensive or an adversary, it proves we are not willing to take up our cross to follow Jesus' example. Then we are not worthy of Him. This is a sobering thought. Our reactions will prove whether or not we are friends of Jesus. Are we able to stand those trials?

Even though the Lord used Joseph as His instrument to reward his brethren for the anguish they had caused him, yet Joseph loved them as Jesus loved him.

See the record we have of the love Joseph had for his brothers in spite of what they did to him. It was his love that broke their hearts. Our trial of faith asks that we heap coals of love upon those who come against us. It is not only our trial of faith; it is how the Lord is glorified.

The Lord rewards every man according to his doing. When a brother comes against you, the Lord will also bring him into his place, but let the Lord do it. Don't try to take God's place to reward a brother for his iniquity.

GEN 42:22-24 says, "And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. [And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes."

Joseph's heart of love was yearning after his brothers, but he was yet the instrument in God's hand to reward them for their conduct. The Lord was using Joseph as His instrument so they would understand the blood of their brother was being required at their hands, but it was done from love.

Joseph understood God's purpose in all these things as we see in GEN 45:4-5 tells us, "And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life."

He didn't hide their sin, nor did he come against them. He let the Lord deal with their sin. He is telling them to take their eyes off the flesh; get their eyes back on the Lord. The Lord allowed all their jealousy and bitterness to bring about His purpose, but Joseph forgave them rather than coming to them with an accusatory spirit.

If we are the friends of Jesus we will have our obedience of faith tried many times by persecution from those of our own house as well as by those of the world.

Joseph's brothers acted foolishly, but Joseph's response is the trial the Lord is bringing you through when He brings you into a set of circumstances where a brother, a Christian, one for whom Christ has died, sins against you.

See 1PE 2:15-20, "For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. [Then the circumstances under which we are to obey are revealed]. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward [the unkind and unloving]. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God."

How do I show gratitude for what Christ suffered for me, except by my suffering wrongfully? Christ was crucified and put to death, and He had not sinned. He was put to death for my sin. Can I now suffer wrongfully when the Lord uses this to try my faith to see if I will love the brotherhood?

The word patiently when taken from the original means joyfully. We are to cheerfully endure; this is acceptable to God. God brings about those circumstances to put our faith to the test. It is under these tests and trials that the genuineness of our friendship with Jesus is revealed. Our cheerful response to the trials He sends is acceptable to God.

If we may claim to be the friends of Jesus, our greatest delight will be to become conformed to His blessed image. 1PE 2:21-23 says, "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps [Isn't that precious? We are called to follow His footsteps in well-doing when we are suffering wrongfully]: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously."

Our Saviour patiently endured our sins placed upon His head as a crown of thorns. Now we are called to endure patiently the buffeting from our own house for well-doing. Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword...a man's foes shall be they of his own household," MAT 10:34-36.

A man's enemies are those of his own house; they are of the brotherhood. We will suffer wrongfully at the hands of our brethren and those within the fold. You may often ask, can they be Christians? Don't sit in the judgment seat; if you receive but a glimpse of the corruption of your own heart, you would judge them much more worthy than yourself.

The Lord showed me at just such a time that "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob," NUM 23:21. The Lord looked at Jacob in Christ—even though he was a deceiver, trickster—yet the Lord did not behold iniquity in him because all his sins were cast into the sea of everlasting forgetfulness.

So we may not pass judgment on our brother whom the Lord is using to try our faith. We are called unto this type of suffering wrongfully because Christ also suffered though innocent, leaving us an example.

We are to follow the steps of the One who did not sin. "Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously," 1PE 2:23.

Are we being reviled? Are we wrongfully accused and suffering wrongfully? We are to follow the example Jesus laid before us.

It is also like the experience of Joseph; the twelve tribes of Israel denote the tribes of the Lord. Those twelve brothers of Joseph were all chosen vessels of God. The twelve gates of heaven were named after the twelve tribes of Israel, but look how hideously they sinned against Joseph. Why? The Lord used them to bring about His purpose to send Joseph into Egypt and to also try his faith.

Joseph is also an example for you and me that we should love our brother and commit all of our circumstances unto the Lord who judges righteously. In His righteous judgment, the Lord brought the brothers to the point where they saw the blood of their brother was upon their heads.

Even though the Lord used Joseph as His instrument to open their eyes to see this, Joseph didn't mention it. The Lord did it through Joseph. That is the important thing for us to understand; we must not have a revengeful spirit. We must commit it into the hands of the Lord who judges righteously.

If we are in the right frame of mind when the Lord sends a grievous trial, we will love one another as He loves us. We will not react with bitterness, reviling, persecuting, or defensiveness that are the natural reactions of our human nature.

If we are the friends of Jesus, we will love one another as He has loved us. We may not pass judgment on our brother saying, "Well, he can't be a Christian..." In the Lord's time, he will be put in his place through God's providence to bring about His purpose in that person's life. We may not sit in the judgment seat; we must commit it to Him who judges righteously.

If we have not that Spirit or mental disposition of Christ, we are none of His. (Cf., ROM 8:9). This is important. If the Lord does not bring us to that spirit where we are able to forgive and receive these things as from the Lord, then we are none of His. Our eye must be taken off the person and the wrongdoing must be received as a trial from the Lord.

ROM 8:16-18 says, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God [That Spirit is the mental disposition of Christ; it is the attitude with which Christ dealt with those who came against Him.]: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. [This is fellowship in the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ], For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Fellowship in the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ means we must have His mental attitude; then we are able to say, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." That mental disposition is the Spirit of Christ.

The few things we suffer in this life are the trial of our faith; they are testing and proving us to determine whether or not we are indeed the friends of Jesus.

The lesson of our text in context is "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you," JOH 15:11-14.

There is no greater joy in heaven than when a sinner repents. To repent means to come to a change of attitude, to come to the mind of Christ.

Reread that passage of Scripture to see why Jesus is speaking these things to us. It is so our joy might be full, and that we might rejoice to see our brother come to a change of attitude and in the Spirit of Christ. Our joy is then full as His joy is fulfilled in us.

His commandment means that when I came against the Lord Jesus Christ and hung Him on the cross, He died for me while I was yet an enemy. When I can have that spirit toward my brother when he is persecuting me and doing the things that nail me to a cross, then Jesus says, "Ye are my friends..."

We are talking about a love that enables us to lay down our lives, cover our brother's sin with our life's blood. We are able to love him enough to reach out to heap coals of love upon his head in order to melt his bitterness and hardness. With love we will win him and his attitude will change.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." Amen.