Message
John 15:1
I Am The True Vine
There are seven “I am” passages of Jesus … the last of which is found in John 15:1-6 (read)
I suspect there are plenty of us who remember the “I am the vine; you are the branches” part. I wonder how many also remembered the “I am the vine, and my Father is the Gardener” part? We need to remember both parts to properly understand the application of these words.
The Father has established a garden. In that garden Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. The Father is the Gardener … the Vine-dresser.
Jesus, the Vine, gives the capacity to bear fruit, as the Father keeps pruning. However if the branches refuse to rely on the Vine they are useless and the Father then cuts off the dead branches.
It is a very powerful picture, but it is not a new picture. Using the imagery of a vine to depict the relationship between God and His people is common in the Old Testament.
8 You (God Almighty) transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. 11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea, its shoots as far as the River.
Psalm 80:8-11
Israel is like a vine that God established. The problem with this Vine is that it kept failing.
1 Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. 2 Their heart is deceitful.
Hosea 10:1-2
21 I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?
Jeremiah 2:21
Israel is the vine that failed. So, God sent Jesus, the True Vine.
Not true as opposed to false.
But true in the sense of being the superior.
In all the places where Israel failed, Jesus will overcome. In all the places where Israel sinned, Jesus will be obedient. In all the places where Israel took their eyes of the path, Jesus will endure
Jesus is the Faithful … True … Vine.
That makes Jesus central to our salvation.
Apart from me you can do nothing
That doesn’t mean those who don’t have a relationship with Jesus are totally incapacitated. Indeed there are plenty of unbelievers who have achieved, and are lauded for, their humanitarian accomplishments.
But achievement and “bearing fruit” are two separate outcomes.
Achievement points to me. To my succuss. To my fulfilment. For my satisfaction and glory. Even if no-one else actually recognises it. Achievement is what I do, in my own strength, as an accomplishment which I have put in place. Achievement leads to self-congratulation.
Bearing fruit is what I do for God’s glory and God’s honour.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11
5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
1 Corinthians 3:5-7
Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17
That is what bearing fruit looks like – and it can only happen when we are connected to the Vine. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. Apart from Me you can do nothing.
You are not going to do anything of spiritual significance unless you are connected to the Vine. When you are connected to the Vine you will produce fruit.
Producing fruit.
That sounds like a wonderful spiritual achievement, doesn’t it. But there is an important aspect of the imagery here that is worthy of reflection. Vines … particularly grape vines … need constant pruning so that the vine can be more effective and produce more fruit
It is not just a matter of pruning whenever you like – pruning is done at very specific times so that the pruned branches are not weakened in the long-term.
Pruning is also not the same as cutting dead branches. Dead branches are no-longer of any use and they need to be taken away. Pruned branches are still very full of life – so one must be careful not to prune in such a way as to cause a living branch to die.
It is all part of the pruning process.
The Father is the Gardner who prunes. Working in our life in such a way as to spiritually shape us so that we are continually becoming more fruitful. But “pruning”, by its nature is, not a soft cushy process. Pruning, at times can be difficult, hard – even causing question to rise. In the process of pruning it may feel like the Father is against us. But He isn’t. Rather the Father … the Gardener … has a very specific spiritual purpose in mind.
3 We glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5
That is pruning.
5 Have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “‘My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you”.
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:5, 11
That is pruning. The Father working in our life, as we are connected to the Vine … as we stand in the kingdom because of Jesus. The Father is working to continually strengthen … continually equip … continually grow … each one of us. The Father is working because we, at times, do struggle to keep bearing fruit.
The we struggle to remain in Jesus.
The we struggle against the temptation to focus on our own achievement.
There are times when we push back against the spiritual growth that comes with pruning.
We live in our comfort zones.
To complain about our suffering.
To can become those who are both “in the world” and “of the world”.
This is why the Father is pruning. To give us the spiritual strength and capacity to stand firm in the Vine.
And, yes, pruning can be an uncomfortable process.
But the alternative is much worse.
2 The Father cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit.
6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
John 15:2, 6
The language leaves us with no doubt. If you are not bearing fruit you are dead-wood. Dead-wood is cut away and thrown into the fire. Dead-wood is no longer a branch that is part of the Vine.
There is no doubt about the language. But it is language that causes a lot of conversation doesn’t it. Only just a little further on Jesus says:-
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last
John 15:16
So now we start thinking about the old Calvinism verses Arminianism debate!
Predestination verses Free-will.
“Once saved always saved” verses “falling away”.
We love our theological neat boxes don’t we. And I have nothing against good theology, and a good theological discussion. As long as we don’t get so caught up in our theological framework that we forget the main purpose of Scripture.
It is not the main purpose of Scripture to provide fodder and proof-texts for theological arguments.
You want a great proof text? John 6:37
All those the Father gives me will come to me … you are chosen
and whoever comes to me I will never drive away … you choose.
Does that make Jesus an Armivinist?
I’ll say it again. It is not the main purpose of Scripture to provide theological proof-texts. The main purpose is Scripture is to reveal Jesus so that we can understand the nature of our relationship with Him.
One aspect of the nature of our relationship with Jesus is that it can look like people are in Jesus the Vine … but they are not in Jesus. They are not a fruitful branch. They are dead wood.
At this point in John’s Gospel Jesus is talking to his disciples. He says of the group “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.” (John 15:3).
Hang on … what about Judas?
This particular conversation in chapter 15 started back at John 13:1 and keeps going to John 17:26. In John 13:30-31 we read
30 After receiving the morsel of bread, (Judas) immediately went out. And it was night. 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said …
John 13:30-31
Jesus can say “all of them are clean” because Judas isn’t there. But Judas looked so much like one of the disciples didn’t he.
He has been on preaching missions and rejoiced over conversions.
He left all and sacrificed just like all the others.
Outwardly, no one would pick him out from the others. Going back to another part of the conversation John 13.
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, ‘Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.’ 22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.
John 13:21-22
Judas is so indistinguishable from the others that, at this point, all of the disciples suspect all the others!
Take all your theological boxes, and proof-text, and “yes buts”
Take all that for a moment and push it aside so you can hear what Jesus is saying here. Because Jesus is giving us a warning.
It is possible to be a fake-disciple.
A really good fake who can deceive other true disciples.
Such a good fake you can even deceive yourself.
22 Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” 23 Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
Matthew 7:22-23
They are haunting words. These people have deceived themselves.
So how do you know? What is the difference between a branch which is being pruned, and a branch which is cut off?
The difference is the fruit.
Fruit-bearing pruned branches will produce more fruit. Producing fruit as they rely on Jesus the Vine.
Dead branches … fake disciples … resist bearing fruit – because they ultimately are not relying on the Vine.
So the question today is this.
Am I producing more fruit? Even when I go through the difficult process of pruning?
Am I producing more fruit … or is my fruit shrivelling up and dying?
Prayer
