The Abiding Principle

The Abiding Principle John 15:1-2, 5-6, 15

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, that it may bear more fruit.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

15.No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Jesus uses as a metaphor a vine and branches, he used the imagery of agricultural life at the time, vines and vine crops to present fruitful living. Notice that Jesus speaks of two types of branches:

1. Branches that bear fruit.

2. Branches that don’t produce fruit.

Israel turned out to be a false vine producing false grapes.

Listen to Isaiah 5:1-5 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. 2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes. 3 “ And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 4 What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes? 5 And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.

The Trinity is one; therefore, just as God expected Israel to produce fruit, Christ and the Comforter (The Holy Spirit) expects His new covenant believers to produce.

Listen to Romans 5:10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Intimacy with God begins now. He desires for His followers to cultivate His presence in all things.

Brother Lawrence lived over 300 years ago in the 17th century. He was a Christian layman who lived in a French monastery. He was a humble cook in a French monastery, he writes, “The key to friendship with God is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do. What you normally do for yourself you now begin doing for God, whether it is eating, bathing, relaxing or taking out trash.”

John 12:24GWT I can guarantee this truth: A single grain of wheat doesn't produce anything unless it is planted in the ground and dies. If it dies, it will produce a lot of grain.

Can I tell you there is a big difference in being planted and buried? A planted seed produces, but a buried seed dies.

John 15:2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Have you been pruned lately? The Father prunes to bring Christ likeness or more fruit. (John 10 No man can pluck one branch from God’s hands.) Moreover, the Father burns up all branches that never produce.

Say this… that it may bear more fruit.

John 15: 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

You are powerless without Christ!

Remember this, “satan doesn’t attack a retreating army, he joins them.”

Romans 16:20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Satan hates your confidence in God and blind you to how great, how powerful, and how mighty your God is.

Listen to Ephesians 1:18-22NLT I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.