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Final Discourse
John 15:13-15

13 Greater [meizon] love [agape] hath [echo] no man [oudeis] than [meizon] this [taute] , that [hina] a man [tis] lay down [tithemi] his [autos] life [psuche] for [huper] his [autos] friends [philos] .
14 Ye [humeis] are [este] my [mou] friends [philos] , if [ean] ye do [poieo] whatsoever [hosos] I [ego] command [entellomai] you [humin] .
15 Henceforth [ouketi] I call [lego] you [humas] not [ouketi] servants [doulos] ; for [hoti] the servant [doulos] knoweth [eido] not [ou] what [tis] his [autos] lord [kurios] doeth [poieo] : but [de] I have called [ereo] you [humas] friends [philos] ; for [hoti] all things [pas] that [hos] I have heard [akouo] of [para] my [mou] Father [pater] I have made known [gnorizo] unto you [humin] . KJV-Interlinear


13 'Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14 'You are My friends, if you do what I command you. 15 'No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. NASB


We should be content to be slaves of Christ, being obedient to His will. After all our other choice in life is the Lake of Fire had we rejected Christ, and that is not a good choice for anyone.

But now we are told that Christ does not look to those who comply with His will, as slaves, but as informed friends. Not just casual friends as you would think of a neighbor, someone who you might be acquainted with but do not communicate your most private thoughts, but we are close to Christ in that He makes known to us (through the written scriptures), the will of the Father, and the Plan of God for ourselves and for all of humanity.

We can be friends of God, or we can not be friends of God by our choice to not comply with His commands. Further there is a third class of people which would be the enemies of God, and that would include anyone who rejects Christ (unbelievers).

If you are ever in a hopeless and helpless state, then having a very good and close friend would be a real benefit to you. How many people look to friends for connections for advancement in life either through work, or politics, or socially, to gain some advantage for themselves? At some point in life we have all been in that situation. As a young child, your friend probably was one or both of your parents. They went to bat for you (with or without your knowledge) in school, perhaps later in life with a job search or a business adventure. There would have been others who have helped you out in work or business and probably at your request.

Friends and/or connections are a good thing in life. We have all heard of networking when searching for something we need or want. What better friend to have than God?

And that is just what is available to all of us, when we are positive toward Him, and are advancing in our spiritual lives.

Someone (actually lots of someone's) once told me that believing in Christ was enough, that it was just a matter of getting through life until called home. That all this Bible study stuff didn't really matter much so long as one was reasonably honest in life. And that couldn't be further from the truth.

The Bible is very detailed and clear as to our responsibilities and Gods expectations from us along with the blessings we will enjoy if and when we advance to spiritual maturity. We are not to just drift through life with no responsibilities or obligations. To think that is to deceive ones self. The soul is a living life, your life within it. It requires nourishment and that nourishment is Gods Word. Without it, we are deceived by the wisdom of this world, and that leads us into areas of soul decay which we could never get free from were it not for Bible doctrine.

We can be fools and think we don't need anything in life once we have been saved. But then is an infant child free from need once the umbilical cord has been cut? Of course not. The infant needs care and a friend, just as we do in life and especially in our spiritual life.

But unlike the infant which looks to the world for its care, we look to God for our care and that is a far better relationship. Better benefits too!

Now, just one more verse and we can tie a lot of principles together to make this picture complete.
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