Church Fathers Commentary John 15:8-11

"Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and [so] shall ye be my disciples. Even as the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you: abide ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father`s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and [that] your joy may be made full." — John 15:8-11 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: Our Lord showed above that those who plotted against them would be burned, since they did not abide in Christ. Now He shows that they themselves would be invincible and bring forth much fruit: Herein is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit. It is as if He said, "If it is for My Father’s glory that you bring forth fruit, He will not neglect His own glory." And he that brings forth fruit is Christ’s disciple: So shall you be My disciples.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The fruit of the Apostles are the Gentiles, who through their teaching were converted to the faith and brought into subjection to the glory of God.

St. Augustine of Hippo: "Made bright" or "glorified"—the Greek word may be translated in either way. In Greek it signifies glory, but we must remember it is not our own glory, as if we had it from ourselves. It is from His grace that we have it, and therefore it is not our own glory but His.

For from where do we receive our fruitfulness, if not from His mercy that goes before us? Therefore, He adds, As My Father has loved Me, even so I have loved you. This, then, is the source of our good works. Our good works proceed from faith which works by love, but we could not love unless we were first loved: As My Father has loved Me, even so I have loved you. This does not prove that our nature is equal to His, as His is to the Father’s, but it points to the grace by which He is the Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. The Father loves us, but He loves us in Him.

St. John Chrysostom: If, then, I love you, be of good cheer. If it is the Father’s glory that you bring forth good fruit, bear no evil. Then, to rouse them to exertion, He adds, Continue in My love. He then shows how this is to be done: If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Who doubts that love precedes keeping the commandments? For whoever does not love lacks the means to keep the commandments. These words, then, do not declare where love comes from, but how it is shown, so that no one might deceive himself into thinking that he loved our Lord when he did not keep His commandments. Although the words, Continue in My love, do not by themselves make it clear which love He means—our love for Him, or His love for us—the preceding words clarify it. He says, I have loved you, and then immediately after, Continue in My love.

Continue in My love, then, means "continue in My grace." And, If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, means, "Your keeping of My commandments will be evidence to you that you abide in My love." It is not that we keep His commandments first and then He loves us, but that He loves us, and then we keep His commandments. This is the grace that is revealed to the humble but hidden from the proud.

But what do the next words mean: Even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love—that is, the Father’s love, with which He loves the Son? Must this grace, with which the Father loves the Son, be understood as being like the grace with which the Son loves us? No; for while we are sons not by nature but by grace, the Only Begotten is Son not by grace but by nature. We must, therefore, understand this to refer to the humanity in the Son, as the words themselves imply: As My Father has loved Me, even so I have loved you. The grace of a Mediator is expressed here, and Christ is Mediator between God and man, not as God, but as man. This, then, we may say: since human nature does not belong to the nature of God, but by grace belongs to the Person of the Son, grace also belongs to that Person—a grace that has nothing superior or equal to it. For no merits on man’s part preceded the assumption of that nature.

Alcuin of York: Even as I have kept My Father’s commandments. The Apostle explains what these commandments were: Christ became obedient to death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8).

St. John Chrysostom: Then, because the Passion was now approaching to interrupt their joy, He adds, These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you. It is as if He said, "And if sorrow comes upon you, I will take it away, so that you will rejoice in the end."

St. Augustine of Hippo: And what is Christ’s joy in us, if not that He graciously rejoices on our behalf? And what is our joy, which He says shall be full, if not to have fellowship with Him? He had perfect joy on our behalf when He rejoiced in foreknowing and predestining us. But that joy was not yet in us, because we did not exist then; it began to be in us when He called us. And this joy we rightly call our own—this joy with which we will be blessed. It begins in the faith of those who are born again and will be fulfilled in the reward of those who rise again.