JOHN 15 • PART 4
Remain in Christ's Love
and Find Joy
John 15:9–11 (NASB)
“Remain in My love.”
OUR TEXT
John 15:9–11 (NASB)
9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
Two movements: (1) Remain in Christ's love — What, How, When & Where, Who. (2) The joy of Christ in Us.
POINT ONE
Remain in Christ's Love
A daily dwelling, not a one-time feeling — a matter of discipleship, not salvation. (John 15:9)
A
What does it mean to remain?
1 John 4:7–8
B
How are we to remain?
John 15:10
C
When & where do we abide?
Psalm 139:1–3
D
Who is our Example?
John 15:10
POINT ONE · INTRODUCTION · VERSE 9
We Cannot Miss How God Loves His People
A SNAPSHOT OF GOD'S LOVE
John 3:16 — He gave His only Son for the world.
1 John 3:1 — We are called the children of God.
Romans 8:38–39 — Nothing can separate us from His love.
1 John 4:19 — We love because He first loved us.
KEY VERSES John 5:20 · John 13:34 · John 3:16 · 1 John 3:1 · Romans 8:38–39 · 1 John 4:19
POINT ONE · A · WHAT
What Does It Mean to Remain?
AGAPE — the highest form of love: selflessness, sacrifice, and unconditional care (used 116x in the NT). To remain is to dwell in the fullness of who Christ is.
Rest in His Grace
Believe you are loved completely. Jesus delights in you — no matter how overlooked you feel.
Zeph. 3:17; Ps. 139:17
Love Others
Be a conduit of His love — selfless, sacrificial — so the Church is visibly full of love.
1 John 4:7–8; John 13:35
Responsive Obedience
Remaining is closely tied to obeying His commands — not from fear, but in response to His love.
John 14:15
Active Connection
A relationship that requires communication and intentionality — always accessible.
John 15:5
POINT ONE · B · HOW · VERSE 10
How Do We Remain? Obedience.
Remaining is conditional — “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love” (v.10). Abiding is not passive; it is ongoing, visible, and established in obedience.
Obedience is the first litmus test of His love in us. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
Love grows through tried-and-tested means — the greatest commandment, loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind.
KEY VERSES John 15:10 · John 14:15 · John 14:23 · 1 John 5:2–3 · Matt. 22:37
PUT INTO PRACTICE
Obedience
Reading His Word
Prayer
Spiritual Discipline
Participation in the Body
POINT ONE · C · WHEN & WHERE
Everywhere, and at All Times
His love is not relegated to “spiritual” settings. Christ cares about all parts of life — so we remain in His love everywhere and always.
Because the Holy Spirit resides in us, we have access to His love at all times (Romans 5:5). God is always with us — not only in our praise, but through our most trying times (Psalm 139:1–3).
THE TRUE TEST
When you go back to work tomorrow and are pushed to the limit — when you are stretched as a parent — when you feel exhausted and spent: will you remember that you can remain in His love, even in that uncertain moment?
KEY VERSES Romans 5:5 · Psalm 139:1–3 · Ephesians 3:14–19
POINT ONE · C · WHEN & WHERE
Paul's Prayer for Us — Ephesians 3:14–19 (NASB)
If you feel unsure today, receive Paul's prayer as a prayer for us:
14 For this reason I bend my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.
“Make it our aim to always remain in His love — no matter the circumstance, no matter the surrounding. His love is here and there.”
POINT ONE · D · WHO · VERSE 10
Our Example: Christ Himself
“…just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love.” Jesus asks us to exemplify what He demonstrated on earth.
He Spent Time with the Father
Dwelling in the Father's love, trusting God with big decisions.
Luke 6:12–13
He Received the Father's Word
Welcoming what the Father entrusted Him to speak.
John 12:49–50
He Rested Securely Through Trial
The Father's love saw Him through.
John 3:35; 5:20; Matt. 17:5
Saints can help us — but their examples are incomplete. The one example to prioritize is Christ's. The “WHO” is Christ. Let's follow it.
POINT TWO
The Joy of Christ in Us
“…so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:11)
A
The joy He Promises
John 14:27; Gal. 5:22–23
B
That your Joy may be full
John 16:24
POINT TWO · A · VERSE 11
The Joy He Promises
Verse 11 is the outcome of everything taught — abiding, bearing fruit, bold prayer, proving to be disciples, and remaining in His love — so His joy would be in us. Peace, Love, and Joy are essential gifts of the walk with God (John 14:27).
HAPPINESS
Situational — dependent on favorable circumstances, moods, and external motivations.
JOY (Greek: chara)
A profound, enduring gladness — the contentment of knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Spirit.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and it is our Christian duty to rejoice in the Lord — a joy that grows as we live the abundant life.
KEY VERSES John 15:11 · John 14:27 · Galatians 5:22–23 · Philippians 4:4 · 1 Thess. 5:16 · 1 Peter 1:8
POINT TWO · B · VERSE 11
That Your Joy May Be Full
“Full” (Greek: plēroō) — filled to the brim, completed, lacking nothing. Christ desires to take our fragile, incomplete joy and replace it with a robust, overflowing joy that satisfies the soul entirely.
24 Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. (John 16:24, NASB)
Take inventory: have we received Christ's joy to the fullest? Don't settle for a joy plagued by pressure and worry. Today is a great day to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with His joy — let us be a people of full joy in Christ.
“Joy is not contingent upon outward circumstances, as is happiness, but is always available because God is, and He is always good.” �— Brian Broderson, Calvary Chapel
KEY VERSES John 16:24 · 1 Peter 1:8
RECAP
The Heart of John 15:9-11
A
Remain in His love.
B
Obey His commandments — and then remain in His love.
C
If we live out His teaching, His joy will be in us.
D
May we follow Christ's words to have joy built in us to the full.
Discipleship is for the growth of the disciple — anchored in Christ's love.
FOR SMALL GROUPS
Reflect & Discuss
1
Jesus calls us to remain in His love — not just receive it. Of the four areas (resting in His grace, loving others, responsive obedience, staying connected to Christ), which is strongest in you right now, and which needs the most attention?
John 15:9; 1 John 4:7–8
2
Obedience is the “litmus test” of remaining in His love. Where in daily life — work, home, relationships — is it hardest to remain in His love, and what would faithfulness look like there this week?
John 15:10; John 14:15
3
Jesus wants our joy to be “full” — not dependent on circumstances. What is currently robbing you of Christ's joy, and how might abiding in Him begin to restore it?
John 15:11; John 16:24