The Ideas of the Gospel of John and How I Applied Them in My Life

Identify the genre and describe its interpretive principals The genre of the gospel of John is best defined as ancient biography. The interpretive principals of the gospel according to John includes, historical context is important, the focus is on Jesus, the kingdom of God is central, biblical theology first while systematic theology is second, the emphasis on Jesus as the messiah, and historical-cultural context is extremely important for interpreting the gospel of John.

The Big Idea

The big idea of John 15:1-11 is best described as we need trust in the Lord otherwise we will wither away like a branch that bears no fruit withers away. We will be alive and bear fruit when we have the Lord or God at the center of our life.

Observations

Basic Context

The authorship of the book of John is most likely to be the apostle John. The dating of John is also unknown as it is extremely difficult to pinpoint an exact year that is was recorded. However, the best estimate is between 90-95 AD. The purpose of the Gospel of John is to “tell the story of Jesus’ organs, ministry, death, and resurrection” John also has the intent to bring people to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though John wants to bring new people to Christ, John also wants to deepen the faith of other Christians who have already given their life to Christ.

Ask good questions of the text Why does John paint the picture of the Lord representing a vine and us humans representing the fruit? When it says, “keep my commandments” in verse 10 is it referring to new testament commandments or old testament commandments?

Interpret

There are two sections in John 15:1-11. The first section is verses 1-7 and the second section is 8-17. This assignment is ending in an awkward part right in the middle of a section. The first section describes the vine/vinedresser relationship that is similar to the father/son relationship. In this metaphor, Jesus is the Vine and we are the fruit. In this section, John talks about how the father takes away all the bad things in our lives if we abide by the father and keep him at the center of our life. In verse 6 it says, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers and the branches are gathered and burned.” What this verse is basically saying is that everyone who doesn’t accept Jesus in their life, at the end of their earthly life will go in front of our Creator and be judged. Then they will be thrown into the pits of hell and burn with Satin because they did not choose life with Jesus.

The next section of verses is 8-11 and these are all about how our Father loves those who keep his commandments. The fruit in this passage is also compared to love. I really like what verse 9 says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” I really like what it says because it infers the mutual love between the Lord and us. It shows that the relationship is two way. It takes work on our part to receive the joy that the Lord gives us through him.

Applications

The way that I can apply this passage in two different parts of my life. The first section is verses 1-7. This can be a living metaphor to serve as a reminder of the Lords that he love to us. Everything that we do that is not Christ-like he prunes away so that our hearts may be more prone to serving him and furthering his kingdom. Even though he prunes away doesn’t mean we are off the hook. We still need to strive to be as christ-like as we can even though we will always fall short.

The next section can also serve as a reminder. In verses 8-11 it talks about how the Father loves those who keep his commandments. This set of verses can serve as a reminder to keep the Lord's commandments. It is important to abide by the Lord's commandments because if we do not then we will be pruned away and our Father will no longer abide his love in us. If the lord abides his joy in us then we will have a joyful heart and joy all in our life.