As the Father has loved MeThis phrase highlights the perfect and eternal love within the Trinity. The Father's love for the Son is foundational, reflecting the divine relationship that has existed from eternity. This love is mentioned in other scriptures, such as
John 3:35, where the Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. The love is not only relational but also functional, as it underpins the mission of Jesus. The Father’s love is characterized by approval, delight, and a shared purpose, which is evident in Jesus’ baptism (
Matthew 3:17) and transfiguration (
Matthew 17:5).
so have I loved you
Jesus extends the same quality of love He receives from the Father to His disciples. This love is sacrificial, unconditional, and redemptive, as demonstrated by Jesus’ willingness to lay down His life (John 15:13). The love Jesus has for His followers is a model for how they are to love one another (John 13:34-35). This love is also a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah’s role as a shepherd and caretaker of His people (Ezekiel 34:23-24).
Remain in My love
This command emphasizes the necessity of abiding in the love of Christ. To remain in His love means to continue in a relationship with Him, characterized by obedience and faithfulness (John 15:10). The concept of abiding is central to the Johannine writings, where it signifies a deep, ongoing connection with Jesus, akin to the vine and branches metaphor earlier inJohn 15. This abiding is not passive but involves active participation in the life of Christ, reflecting the covenant relationship God has with His people, as seen throughout the Old Testament.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Jesus ChristThe speaker of this verse, Jesus is addressing His disciples, emphasizing His divine love and the importance of abiding in it.
2.
God the FatherThe source of love, whose love for Jesus serves as the model for Jesus' love for His followers.
3.
The DisciplesThe immediate audience of Jesus' teaching, representing all believers who are called to remain in His love.
4.
The Upper RoomThe setting of this discourse, where Jesus shares His final teachings with His disciples before His crucifixion.
5.
The Vine and the BranchesThe metaphor used by Jesus in
John 15 to illustrate the relationship between Him and His followers, emphasizing dependence and connection.
Teaching Points
Understanding Divine LoveRecognize that the love Jesus has for us is modeled after the perfect love of the Father for the Son. This love is unconditional, sacrificial, and eternal.
Abiding in LoveTo "remain" in Jesus' love means to live in a constant state of awareness and acceptance of His love, allowing it to influence our thoughts, actions, and relationships.
Love as a CommandJesus' command to remain in His love is not optional. It is a directive that requires intentionality and commitment, reflecting our obedience and devotion to Him.
Empowered by the Holy SpiritRemaining in Jesus' love is made possible through the Holy Spirit, who enables us to experience and express this divine love in our daily lives.
Love in ActionDemonstrating Jesus' love involves practical acts of kindness, forgiveness, and service, reflecting His love to others and fulfilling His command to love one another.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of John 15:9?
2.How can we remain in Jesus' love as stated in John 15:9?
3.What does "abide in My love" mean in practical daily life?
4.How does John 15:9 connect to the commandment in John 13:34?
5.In what ways can we demonstrate Jesus' love to others today?
6.How does understanding John 15:9 deepen our relationship with Christ?
7.How does John 15:9 define the nature of Jesus' love for His followers?
8.What historical context influences the interpretation of John 15:9?
9.How does John 15:9 relate to the concept of divine love in the Bible?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from John 15?
11.What does 'I Have Called You Friends' mean?
12.What does "I Have Called You Friends" mean?
13.What happens when a wayward son returns home?
14.Why do we not find divine fingerprints in DNA or physics?What Does John 15:9 Mean
As the Father has loved Me– Jesus begins by revealing the eternal pattern of love within the Trinity.
•John 3:35 reminds us, “The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.”
•John 5:20 confirms, “The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does.”
• This love is perfect, unbroken, and intentional—demonstrating the flawless fellowship that has always existed between the Father and the Son (John 17:24).
– Because Scripture is accurate and literal, we take these words at face value: the Father’s love for the Son is real, personal, and immeasurable.
– By anchoring His statement in the Father’s love, Jesus establishes the unshakable foundation for everything He is about to say next.
So have I loved you– Jesus applies that same divine quality of love directly to His disciples.
•John 13:1 records that Jesus “loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end.”
•Ephesians 5:2 speaks of Christ who “loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering.”
•Galatians 2:20 personalizes it: “The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
– The scale is staggering: the limitless love the Father lavishes on the Son is the very love Christ pours out on believers.
– This means His love for us is:
• Steadfast—unchanged by circumstance (Romans 8:38-39).
• Sacrificial—proved at the cross (John 15:13).
• Satisfying—meeting every need of the heart (Psalm 63:3).
Remain in My love– Jesus now issues an invitation and a command.
•John 15:4, “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you,” ties abiding directly to a living relationship.
•1 John 4:16 echoes, “Whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”
• Jude 21 urges, “Keep yourselves in the love of God.”
– To remain means to stay, to dwell, to make our home in His love. Practical ways include:
• Continual obedience (John 15:10) – His commandments guide us into the experience of His love.
• Ongoing dependence through prayer and Scripture (Psalm 119:97;John 17:17).
• Fellowship with other believers where His love is expressed (Hebrews 10:24-25).
– Remaining is not passive; it is an active, daily choice to live aware of, and responsive to, Christ’s unwavering affection.
summaryJohn 15:9 reveals a breathtaking flow of love: from the Father to the Son, from the Son to us, and then through us as we intentionally remain in that love. Because Scripture is true and literal, we can rest assured that the same perfect love the Father has for Jesus is the love Jesus has for every believer—inviting us to dwell securely and fruitfully in it each day.
(9)
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.--Better,
As the Father hath loved Me, I have also loved you. He had passed from the thought of their discipleship to the foundation of their union with Him and with God. It was in the eternal love of the Father, ever going forth to the Son, and from the Son ever going forth to all who would receive it. The Father's love and presence was ever with the Son, because the Son ever did those things which were pleasing to Him. (Comp. Note on
John 8:31.) The love of the Son is ever present wherever willing heart of obedient disciple is open to its power.
Continue ye in my love.--Better,abide ye in My love. The word "continue" misses the connection with the context. By "My love" is meant, not "love to Me in your hearts," but, "My love towards you." The one produces the other. "We love Him because He hath first loved us;" but that which is prominent in the thought here is His love to the disciples, which He has just compared to the Father's love to Himself.
Verse 9. - Two ways of explaining this verse:
Even as - inasmuch as - the Father hath loved me,
and as I have loved you,
abide in my love;
i.e., as Grotius has put it, the first clause suggesting accordance with the mystery of the Trinity, and the second the mystery of redemption: "So do ye continue, or so do ye abide, in the amplitude of this double love which is mine, dwell in it as in a holy atmosphere, breathe it and live by it." But there is another and more satisfactory way of translating the passage
: Even as the Father loved me, I also loved you; a fact of stupendous interest and transcendent claim. Heaven had opened over the incarnate Word, and other ears as well as his own had heard the Father say, "Thou art my beloved Son," etc. The Lord was conscious of being the Object of this infinite love before the foundation of the world (
John 17:24), and of reciprocating and responding to it; and this love of the Father to him on his assumption of his mediatorial functions was the well-spring of his obedience unto death and after it (see
John 10:17, note). Now, if the
κἀγὼ is to be translated as above, Christ declares that
even as the Father has loved him, he has' loved his disciples. Again and again he has emphasized this love to them (
John 13:34), but here he asserts a loftier claim, viz. that his love to them corresponds with the eternal Father's love to himself. The one great fact is the ground on which he commands them to
abide in his love. This is obviously a more explicit and more intelligible form of the commandment to abide in him. With Olshausen and Westcott, "The love that is mine "is not the love to Christ, nor the love
of Christ exclusively, but a blending of the active and passive idea in "the love that is mine" - in the "love" lavished upon me from eternity, and to which I have eternally responded, which I have made known to you and expended on you and received back again from you.
Abide in that love that is mine.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
AsΚαθὼς(Kathōs)Adverb
Strong's 2531:According to the manner in which, in the degree that, just as, as. From kata and hos; just as, that.theὁ(ho)Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.FatherΠατήρ(Patēr)Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3962:Father, (Heavenly) Father, ancestor, elder, senior. Apparently a primary word; a 'father'.has lovedἠγάπησέν(ēgapēsen)Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 25:To love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem. Perhaps from agan; to love.Me,με(me)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473:I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.soκἀγὼ(kagō)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2504:To also, I too, but I. From kai and ego; so also the dative case kamoi, and accusative case kame and I, me.have I lovedἠγάπησα(ēgapēsa)Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 25:To love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem. Perhaps from agan; to love.you.ὑμᾶς(hymas)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771:You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.Remainμείνατε(meinate)Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 3306:To remain, abide, stay, wait; with acc: I wait for, await. A primary verb; to stay.inἐν(en)Preposition
Strong's 1722:In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.Myἐμῇ(emē)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Feminine 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1699:My, mine. From the oblique cases of ego; my.love.ἀγάπῃ(agapē)Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 26:From agapao; love, i.e. Affection or benevolence; specially a love-feast.
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NT Gospels: John 15:9 Even as the Father has loved me (Jhn Jo Jn) 
