What Does It Mean That Jesus Is The True Vine?

What Does it Mean That Jesus Is the True Vine?

John 15:1-17

In the book of John, Jesus says “I AM” seven times. Seven is the number of completeness, of spiritual perfection. They are:

I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE – (John 6:35)

I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD – (John 8:12)

I AM THE DOOR – (John 10:7, 9)

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD – (John 10:11)

I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE – (John 11:25)

I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE – (John 14:6)

I AM THE TRUE VINE – (John 15:1, 5)

A preacher could draw a sermon from each of these "I Am's." A teacher could put together a class for Sunday school. A child of God could facilitate some type of devotional meeting. But today let us focus on just one of those, the True Vine and how being connected to the True Vine produces a Fruitful Vineyard.

The grapevine is a productive plant. A solitary plant can bear numerous grapes. In the Old Testament, grapes represented Israel’s productivity (fruitfulness) in tackling God’s job on earth (Psalm 80:8; Isaiah 5:1-7). During the Passover meal, God’s goodness and righteousness were represented by what the vine had produced, the fruit.

In the first sixteen verses of chapter fifteen of the book of John, we can see the content, the condition, and the consequences of a fruitful vineyard.

In verses one - five, we have the content of a fruitful vineyard – The Church.

Christ is that vine. God is the planter who focuses and tends to the branches of the vine to make them productive. The branches are all the people who profess to be followers and believers of Christ. The productive branches, the branches that bear fruit, are the genuine believers who by their living association with Christ produce a lot of fruit. Yet, the individuals who become inefficient, those individuals who abandon following Christ after making a shallow profession, will be isolated or cut off from the plant. Inefficient or unproductive believers are just about as useless as a dead branch on a tree and will be cut off and thrown away.

Jesus makes a qualification between two sorts of pruning: (1) isolating and (2) scaling back branches. Productive branches are scaled back to advance development. All in all, God will, at times, teach us to fortify our character and faith. In any case, branches that do not prove to be fruitful are cut off at the base, since they are useless, they frequently contaminate the remainder of the tree. The individuals who will not prove to be fruitful for God or who attempt to impede the endeavors of God’s believers will be cut off from the heavenly progression of life.

Fruit is not restricted to just only soul winning. Answered prayer, joy, and love are referenced as fruit (15:7, 11, 12). Different qualities of the Christian character are portrayed as fruit in Galatians 5:22-24 and 2 Peter 1:5-8.

God provides what we need. God purges, He prunes, and He promotes. What is produced is fruit, more fruit, and much fruit.

In verses six - fourteen, we see the conditions of a fruitful branch – The Christian.

The Christian is to abide in and obey Christ.

A Christian believes Jesus is God’s Son.

1 John 4:15, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”

A Christian receives Christ as Savior and Lord.

John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

A Christian will do what God directs.

1 John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”

A Christian will continue in the faith.

1 John 2:24, “Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.”

A Christian will relate with other believers.

John 15:12, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”

There are so many Christians who attempt to do what is good, to be honest, and to make wise decisions. However, Jesus says the best way to carry on with a genuinely decent life is to remain connected to Him, like a branch connected to the plant, the vine. Aside from Him, our endeavors are unfruitful.

God is glorified when a plant, or branch, bears “much fruit.” For every day He sent the sun and the rain to make the crops develop. God continually sustained each minuscule plant and set it up to bloom and to blossom. What a snapshot of magnificence for the Lord of the harvest when the harvest is brought into the silos or barns, protected, and prepared for use. This cultivating, or farming comparison shows how God is glorified when individuals come into the correct relationship with him and start to bear “much fruit” in their lives.