Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Human Friendship
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
Jesus’ Spiritual Death
Friends of Jesus
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Human Friendship
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“You are my friends” – human terms that
we can understand.
Friendship is one of the greatest treasures
of this life.
Jonathan and David
Friends can even sacrifice their lives!
But Jesus’ sacrifice is different!
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
Jesus’ death surpasses anything we can
imagine in human terms of love.
 Jesus’ death is exceptional because
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He did not have to die – John 14:6; Heb. 9:27
John 14:6 (NASB)
6
Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and
the truth, and the life; no one comes to
the Father but through Me.”
Hebrews 9:27 (NASB)
27
And inasmuch as it is appointed for
men to die once and after this comes
judgment,
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
Jesus’ death surpasses anything we can
imagine in human terms of love.
 Jesus’ death is exceptional because
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He did not have to die – John 14:6; Heb. 9:27
He knew He would die
He calls us friends but we were anything but
friends when He died for us – Romans 5:8
Romans 5:8 (NASB)
8
But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
Jesus’ death surpasses anything we can
imagine in human terms of love.
 Jesus’ death is exceptional because
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He did not have to die – John 14:6; Heb. 9:27
He knew He would die
He calls us friends but we were anything but
friends when He died for us – Romans 5:8
He died that sinners might become friends
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
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Only in a proper understanding of who we
were before Christ can we understand the
magnitude of Jesus’ statement –
Romans 1:21-28
Romans 1:21-28 (NASB)
21
For even though they knew God, they did
not honor Him as God or give thanks, but
they became futile in their speculations,
and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the
incorruptible God for an image in the
form of corruptible man and of birds and
four-footed animals and crawling
creatures.
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
Only in a proper understanding of who we
were before Christ can we understand the
magnitude of Jesus’ statement –
Romans 1:21-28
 “God gave them over to” – 3x
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“sexual impurity” – verse 24
24
Therefore God gave them over in the
lusts of their hearts to impurity, so
that their bodies would be
dishonored among them.
25 For they exchanged the truth of God
for a lie, and worshiped and served
the creature rather than the Creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
Only in a proper understanding of who we
were before Christ can we understand the
magnitude of Jesus’ statement –
Romans 1:21-28
 “God gave them over to” – 3x
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“sexual impurity” – verse 24
“shameful lusts” – verse 26
26
For this reason God gave them over to
degrading passions; for their women
exchanged the natural function for that
which is unnatural,
27 and in the same way also the men
abandoned the natural function of the
woman and burned in their desire
toward one another, men with men
committing indecent acts and receiving
in their own persons the due penalty of
their error.
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
Only in a proper understanding of who we
were before Christ can we understand the
magnitude of Jesus’ statement –
Romans 1:21-28
 “God gave them over to” – 3x
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“sexual impurity” – verse 24
“shameful lusts” – verse 26
“a depraved mind” – verse 28
28
And just as they did not see fit to
acknowledge God any longer, God gave
them over to a depraved mind, to do
those things which are not proper
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
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God made us.
God made us in His Image.
We rebelled and defaced that image.
Instead of God’s glory, we have advanced
man’s depravity.
Instead of God’s sovereignty, we have
sought human autonomy.
Instead of holiness, we have sin.
Instead of love, we have hatred.
Romans 5:6-8 (NASB)
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For while we were still helpless, at the
right time Christ died for the ungodly.
For one will hardly die for a righteous
man; though perhaps for the good man
someone would dare even to die.
But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Jesus’ Spiritual Death
 Jesus’ death was a spiritual death.
 As believers, our death is only physical!
 Death is separation.
 Physical death is separation of the soul
and spirit from our physical body.
 Spiritual death is the separation of the
soul and spirit from God!
 Jesus experienced spiritual death so we
would not!
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Friends of Jesus
In verse 13, the text says that Jesus is
our friend (speaking to believers).
 In verse 14, Jesus flips the coin and says
we are His friends if we obey His
commandments. How?
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Our obedience is to be active.
Our obedience is to be continuous.
Our obedience is to be in all things.
Friends and Brothers
John 15:12-14
Application
Is Jesus your friend?
Are you the friend of Jesus?