I Am the True Vine abiding, love, and the hatred of the world
In John 15 Jesus gives the last of the great "I am" sayings — "I am the true vine" — and calls his disciples to abide in him, for "apart from me you can do nothing." The fruit of abiding is love; and that love-bound community is set against the hatred of a world that hated Christ first.
Overview of John 15
15:1–17 unfolds the figure of the vine. Jesus is the true vine, the Father the vinedresser; disciples are branches who bear fruit only as they abide in him — "apart from me you can do nothing." Abiding in his love means keeping his commandments, and the chief commandment is to "love one another as I have loved you" — the love that lays down its life for its friends. He has chosen them, not they him, and appointed them to bear lasting fruit.
15:18–27 turns outward to the world. Because Christ chose his own out of the world, the world hates them as it hated him; "a servant is not greater than his master." Those who have seen and heard Christ and still reject him are without excuse — "they hated me without cause." Yet the disciples will not stand alone: the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, will bear witness to Christ, and they will bear witness too.
Passage Units
Both passages of John 15 are available.