It’s More Than Words:
Action Is Required
John 15:12–17
The Change Community Church
LAST WEEK · JOHN 15:9–11
Remain in His Love. Be Filled with His Joy.
• Remain in Christ’s Love — resting in His grace, loving others, obeying His commands, staying connected to Him in every area of life.
• The Joy of Christ in Us — a deep, lasting joy (chara) that He desires to be made full in us through the Holy Spirit.
• John 15:9–11 — the foundation for everything we build on today.
Today, we move into verses 12–17 — where Jesus repeats His command and calls us friends.
John 15:9–17
TODAY’S ROADMAP
It’s More Than Words: Action Is Required
1
Live Out the Second Greatest Commandment on Repeat — “Love One Another”
John 15:12, 17
2
Lay Your Life Down for Your Friends
John 15:13
3
Be Friends of God, Proven through Obedience
John 15:14–15
4
We Are “Chosen and Appointed”
John 15:16
John 15:12–17
TODAY’S PASSAGE
John 15:12-17
John 15:12–17
12 “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.
17 “This is what I command you: Love one another.
1
Live Out the Second Greatest Commandment on Repeat — “Love One Another”
John 15:12, 17
12 “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.
17 “This is what I command you: Love one another.
John 15:12–17
POINT ONE · A
The Command, Repeated
• John 13:34 — Jesus first gives the command to love one another as He has loved us.
• John 15:9-10 — tied directly to remaining in His love and keeping His commandments.
Entolē (Greek): an authoritative command. Not a suggestion.
John 15:12, 17
POINT ONE · B
How Jesus Loved Us – Patience and Prayer
• Matthew 15:12–16 — patient when His disciples misunderstood His teaching.
• Luke 9:54–55 — patient when James and John wanted to call down fire.
• Luke 22:31–32 — prayed for Peter by name, even before his failure.
• John 17:11, 17, 20 — prayed for their protection, their holiness, and for us.
John 15:12, 17
POINT ONE · C
How Jesus Loved Us — Service & Sacrifice
• John 13:4–5 — knelt to wash His disciples’ feet.
• John 10:11 — the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep
John 15:12, 17
Paul’s Prayer for Love
Ephesians 3:16-19
John 15:12–17
16 I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, 19 and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
APPLICATION
Obey the command. Remember Christ’s love for us.
John 15:12, 17
2
Lay Your Life Down for Your Friends
John 15:13
13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:12–17
POINT TWO · A
The Standard of Love
• Romans 5:8 — Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
• 1 John 3:16 — we, too, ought to lay down our lives for one another.
• John 10:17–18 — Jesus laid His life down by His own choice — no one took it from Him.
John 15:13
Christ’s Example
Philippians 2:6-8
John 15:12–17
6 who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
as something to be exploited.
7 Instead he emptied himself
by assuming the form of a servant,
taking on the likeness of humanity.
And when he had come as a man,
8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death—
even to death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6–8)
POINT TWO · B
Christ Emptied Himself
• Romans 5:5 — God’s love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
As the Spirit floods our hearts with God’s love, it naturally spills over into how we treat others.
John 15:13
POINT TWO · C
Examples That Shaped Me
• My mother — She faithfully exposed me to the church and persevered in prayer for me.
• My spiritual mother, Sister Anne — She saw God’s potential in me before I saw it in myself.
• Noel & Grace — They drove 2.5 hours every weekend to disciple a group of young adults
John 15:13
The Goal for Spiritual Investment
Ephesians 4:12-13
John 15:12–17
“12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.” (Ephesians 4:12–13)
POINT TWO · D
The Call to Lay It Down
• Luke 9:23–24 — deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him.
• Whoever loses their life for His sake will find it.
Are you willing to give your time, comfort, and energy for a brother or sister who can’t repay you?
John 15:13
APPLICATION
Lay your life down — not for praise, but for His glory.
Reflect: What does laying your life down look like for you this season?
Apply: Choose one act of sacrificial love to take this summer.
John 15:13
3
Be Friends of God, Proven through Obedience
John 15:14–15
14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father.
John 15:12–17
POINT THREE · A
Friends of God in Scripture
• James 2:23 — Abraham was called God’s friend.
• Genesis 12:1–4 — he left everything familiar to follow God’s promise.
• Exodus 33:11 — God spoke with Moses face to face, as a friend.
• Exodus 24:18; 34:28 — Moses met with God on the mountain, twice, for forty days.
John 15:14–15
POINT THREE · B
Friendship Displayed in Obedience
• John 14:15, 21 — if you love Him, you will keep His commands.
• John 15:9–10 — abiding in His love is tied to obedience.
John 15:14–15
3
Be Friends of God, Proven through Obedience
John 15:14–15
14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father.
John 15:12–17
POINT THREE · C
From Witnesses to Friends
• John 6:10–13 — they passed out bread that would not stop multiplying.
• John 11:12–14, 43 — they watched Jesus call Lazarus out of the grave.
• John 13:4–5 — they received His scandalous, humble service.
John 15:14–15
POINT THREE · D
We Have Everything We Need
• 2 Timothy 3:16 — we hold the full counsel of God’s Word.
• Romans 8:11 — the same Spirit who raised Jesus now lives in us.
• Friendship with God isn’t a mystery to chase — it’s a trust to live out the tried and tested commands of Christ.
John 15:14–15
APPLICATION
Prove your friendship with God through obedience.
Obey: Use what He’s revealed — don’t overthink it, live it.
Rest: Don’t work to earn His favour. Serve because you already have it.
John 15:14–15
4
We Are “Chosen and Appointed”
John 15:16
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit, and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. 17 “This is what I command you: Love one another.”
John 15:12–17
POINT FOUR · A
Chosen — Eklégomai
• Fishermen — Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip.
• Tax Collector — Matthew (Levi).
• Zealot — Simon.
• Others — Thomas, Bartholomew, James (son of Alphaeus), Jude.
• 1 Corinthians 1:21 — “For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached.”
None of the Eleven came from prestige or riches — God chose ordinary people to display His power.
John 15:16
POINT FOUR · B
Why He Chose Us
• Ephesians 2:10 — “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”
• Ephesians 3:8–9 — “This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ, and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.”
John 15:16
POINT FOUR · C
Appointed
• 2 Corinthians 5:20 — As ambassadors of reconciliation.
• Romans 10:15–16 — As heralds carrying good news.
• 1 Corinthians 12:7 — As gifted to build up the body of Christ.
• 2 Corinthians 4:7 — As broken vessels carrying God’s power.
John 15:16
APPLICATION
You are chosen and appointed for a purpose.
Confess: “I am chosen and appointed to bear fruit for God’s kingdom.”
Act: Don’t be a bystander — ask God for your assignment.
John 15:16
LET’S RECAP
It’s More Than Words: Action Is Required
1
Live Out the Second Greatest Commandment on Repeat — “Love One Another”
John 15:12, 17
2
Lay Your Life Down for Your Friends
John 15:13
3
Be Friends of God, Proven through Obedience
John 15:14–15
4
We Are “Chosen and Appointed”
John 15:16
Let the next quarter be glorifying to God.
John 15:12–17
Reflection & Discussion
1
Which of today’s four truths — loving in action, sacrificial love, obedient friendship, or being chosen and appointed — is God highlighting for you right now?
2
Who is one person you can show sacrificial, “lay-your-life-down” love to this week?
3
Where is God asking for greater obedience from you, so your friendship with Him is proven — not just professed?
Take 5–7 minutes in groups of 3–4 to discuss. Be ready to share one takeaway when we come back together.
John 15:12–17