While those are the exact recorded words of Christ, Christians must rightly divide the Word of Truth by comparing Scripture with Scripture.
The immediate context is below, but the larger context is John chapters 13-18. This was the Last Supper and all that Christ said between the Last Supper and the Garden of Gethsemane. The words were primarily addressed to the eleven apostles, and by extension to all Christians. But We need to see what was applicable to the apostles, and how it applies to Christians.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
The four Gospels show us that the Lord Jesus Christ specifically chose his twelve disciples who later became eleven apostles, to send them forth with the Great Commission. But Judas, the Son of Perdition, a "devil" or demon, who was also possessed by Satan for a while, was not chosen for that ministry.
This choosing of the twelve was not for salvation (which would have meant that Judas too was saved through that choosing). The choosing of the eleven apostles was for their work as apostles after the ascension of Christ. They were commissioned to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Acts 1:8). They also received the spiritual gift of apostle, and apostolic authority in the churches.
The choosing of Judas was to fulfil the prophecies regarding the betrayal of Christ, followed by His crucifixion. Jesus knew from day one that Judas was not a true disciple, and definitely not fit to be an apostle. So if anyone would take John 15:16 as applicable to Unconditional Election, it would be contradicting Scripture (since God chooses none for salvation) and also misapplying Scripture (which is primarily to tell us that we all must labor in the Kingdom of God). Yet Calvinists persist in using this as one of their *proof-texts* for Unconditional Election (as Kermos has done above).
At the same time John 15:14-16 can be extended to apply to Christians AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN SAVED. We are children of God and both servants of Christ and friends of Christ. We have all been chosen to be perfected in Christ, and also chosen (or ordained) unto good works, which should bear fruit. Every Christian receives at least one spiritual gift, and all Christians are to share the Gospel and be witnesses for Christ, and bear various kinds of spiritual fruits.
Rightly dividing scripture is crucial! I agree. I read your entire post, Enoch111, so I hope you extend the same courtesy.
[First of 5] Within the self-same passage that includes John 15:16, Lord Jesus contrasts believers (disciples) and the lost (world), and it is in this passage that Lord Jesus states:
"I chose you out of the world"
(John 15:19)
Remaining with the first point, this is certainly talking about salvation, and this declaration of the Sovereignty of God harkens right back to John 15:16 when King Jesus said:
"you did not choose Me, but I chose you"
(John 15:16)
Behold, Lord Jesus said "I chose you" in John 15:16 and "I chose you" in John 15:19. God chooses people unto salvation, and God does not stop there - for there are good works (discussed in the fourht point)!
[Second of 5] Judas left the supper previous to John chapter 15 as recorded in John 13:30.
[Third of 5] Lord Jesus' words are addressed and applicable to all disciples of Friend Jesus in all time. Lord Jesus explains this in His prayer recorded in John 17:20, and the Apostle John explains this in John 20:30-31. The Apostle John included that which we call John chapters 13-17 so that believers believe!
[Fourth of 5] Prior to John 15:16, Lord Jesus revealed relationships when He talked about the vine, the vinedresser, and the branches. I do not want to summarize, so I include the passage:
1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every [branch] that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither [can] you unless you abide in Me.
5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and [so] prove to be My disciples.
Remaining with the fourth point, at the conclusion of verse 5, Lord Jesus said "apart from Me you can do nothing". A series of questions/answers with Bible citations provides clarity:
Can a person cause the new birth? No, it is the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-6).
Does a person willfully cause faith/belief in God within said person? No, it is a work of God (John 6:29, Ephesians 2:8-10, John 1:12-13).
Can a person bring on repentance? No, God brings on repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10).
Is a person good? No, God alone is good (Mark 10:18).
Then, what about good works? Any good a believer performs is fruit of the Spirit - for any good works of a person are attributable to God (John 3:21, Galations 5:22-23). Good works are accomplished by God in the Creators vessels of mercy. Only believers can do good works because good works are fruit of the Spirit; on the other hand, unbelievers can not do good works because unbelievers do not have the Holy Spirit (however, God can use unbelievers to accomplish things).
See how apart from God a person can do nothing (John 15:5).
[Fifth of 5]
@Enoch111 and
@CharismaticLady, trying to isolate meaning to merely the 11 or 12 Aposstles within John chapters 13-17 is an attempt to rob the richness of the words of Lord Jesus for all believers. Meditate upon the prayer recorded by the Apostle John (John 17:1-26). Hear the words of Lord Jesus in John 15:1-8.
The enormous two fold error of Armenianists resides in (1) the deflation of the Sovereignty of God and (2) the introduction of the sovereignty of man a.k.a. the elevation of man to a god. I write this because God states God chooses who to save, but Armenianism states that man chooses to be saved.
I repeat, by the grace of God, I write and speak Christian Truth (John 14:6).
The teaching that you promote tries to make the person the author and perfector of faith, yet such a teaching is contrary to the scripture in context and scripture explicitly.
Lord Jesus is the Author and Perfector of the Faith (Hebrews 12:2) once given to the saints (Jude 1:3)!