John 15:1-6

August 17, 2014

Were studying through the Gospel of John and weve come to the fifteenth chapter. Of all
the chapters in John, this one is definitely in my top three favorites. Its here that we find
out so much about the source of spiritual life and obedience. The world and false
doctrines tell us that nothing is free and God is only happy if were living up to his
standards. They lay heavy burdens like yokes across their necks and tell them to climb
an impossible mountain. I love this chapter because it shows us that those who are in
Christ have already made God happy, and that Christ has already put us at the top of the
mountain. John fifteen is one of the best answers to legalism and self-effort because its
all about Jesus:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

To start off, we have a metaphor: Christ is the vine, and the Father is the husbandman,
which just means hes the farmer. So on one hand youve got the vine which is rooted
firmly into the ground. Its the main part of the plant, and everything else gets its
sustenance from it. Be sure to note that he calls himself the true vine. See, the context
of this passage is all about bearing fruit and pleasing God. He is the true vine, which
means there are other vines that are fake. Notice that he doesnt say hes a true vine,
but hes the true one. If were ever going to please God and do the things were
supposed to do, we must first acknowledge that its only done through Christ.

We dont have a problem with that if were comparing Christ to Buddhism or Islam or
Mormonism, but these arent the things John had in mind when he wrote this. During
that time the Jews taught that salvation came by Moses and circumcision; theres a list of
laws that we have to keep and lots of things that we have to do if God will commune with
us, but Jesus shows that he alone is the way to the Father.

In our day there are so many inventions, false vines if you will, that take us away from
Christ. Men have developed what they call spiritual disciplines so they can subject
their flesh to spiritual things and be reformed enough to walk like God. They sign
covenants with themselves stating how theyre going to stick with it and finally do all
the things theyve planned to do. It comes off as a spiritualized New Years resolution.
What theyre missing in all this is the finished work of Christ on our behalf. They dont
rest in him and cling to him alone, so they end up feeling frustrated and guilty when
they fail.

Its so much more freeing to just acknowledge that Christ is the true vine, and we get
everything we need from him without working for it, and that the Father is the farmer,
and everything we dont need is taken away without any striving on our part.

Christ is the true vine, and his Father is the husbandman.

2
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that
beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

There tends to be a little confusion about these two groups because he says every
branch in me. But this is a metaphor, and in this case, being in him doesnt mean
having life in him. Its similar to the earlier statement, he came unto his own in the first
chapter (v. 11). They were connected to him, but they were not his children, and they
never would be, so they rejected him. These metaphorical branches are in the vine, but
they receive no nourishment from it, and therefore do not bear fruit. As a result they are
taken away.

The Greek here literally means to raise up, and its used in several other places in the
Bible. One instance is in Matthew 25: Then he which had received the one talent came and
said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and
gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the
earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26
His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked
and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have
not strawed:
27
Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at
my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28
Take therefore the talent from him,
and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and
he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he
hath.
30
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth (v. 24-30).

If you skip on down to verse six here in John 15 youll see that these branches are
thrown into the fire after being lifted up. The idea is that, like a grape vine, the branches
that dont produce fruit are singled out, cut away, and burned because theyre useless.

But there are many branches that do bear fruit, and he says that these are purged.
Technically that word is accurate, but well better understand if we say that the vines are
pruned. Thats exactly what it means, and the idea is that every branch has something
undesirable on it, and the farmer cuts just enough away to make the branch more
productive. Think of Abraham and circumcision; he cut away the flesh as a reminder that
the promise is completed by Gods work and promise. We might read that word purged
and feel a little fear, but take note of verse 11: being purged is something that brings
complete joy because we bear more fruit.

Specifically, the fruit we bear is spiritual in nature. We go over to Galatians five and find
that his fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and
self-control (v. 22-23). In Matthew 3:8 John tells the hypocritical Pharisees and
Sadducees to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. In short, the fruit we bear is
the effect and evidence of God living inside us. Its the proof that were alive and
connected to the vine, and that were heirs of the promise.

And so, we can say with confidence that there are two kinds of people and two realities.
One receives from the vine and bears fruit because of it. He is loved by God and nurtured.
The other receives nothing from the vine and is only a dead branch. Hes like the barren
fig tree that Jesus cursed (Lk. 13:6-9), and he will be cut away.

3
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

The Greek words for "clean" and "purge" share the same root, and they follow right
1 2 3
along with the idea of pruning. Hes saying that the Father prunes the branches that bear
fruit, and youre already pruned. Now, just let that sink in for a minute. Now. Right now
theyre pruned by the Father. Think about what the disciples must have been thinking
about the branches thrown into the fire. Theyre all sinners, so how can they bear fruit?
What if they fail? Will they be separated from Christ? And then Jesus says this: the work
is finished. Youre already pruned!

We are now raised to life. Weve already got hearts of flesh. We are presently Gods
beloved children. We have the full measure of the Holy Spirit right this instant. Its
important that you get this because abiding and producing are often misunderstood;
the false vines want you to think its a work of the flesh, and theyll direct you away from
Christ.

But Christ makes it simple in saying, Now are you clean through the word which I have
spoken to you. I want to go to two other verses to see how were made clean through the
word he has spoken:

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26
That
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27
That he might
present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but
that it should be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-27).

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye
have received, and wherein ye stand;
2
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I
preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3
For I delivered unto you first of all that
which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4
And that
he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Cor.
15:1-4).

Christ declared the Father to the disciples, and they believed him. Faith was the first
spiritual fruit they showed; it was the evidence that they belonged to God and had been
called out of the world. They bore the fruit of faith, and so they were pruned to bear even
more fruit:

1
http://biblehub.com/text/john/153.htm
2
http://biblehub.com/text/john/152.htm
3
http://biblehub.com/greek/2508.htm
4
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in
the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me
ye can do nothing.

Theres a lot of confusion about what it means to abide, and its sometimes used in a
mystical sort of way. Its like, If I can get into the right state of mind, then Im abiding in
Christ. But we abide in him regardless of our emotions; abiding is as simple as staying,
and it literally means that. Its used in ancient Greek to describe someone staying at home
or a soldier standing fast on the battleground. Weve heard the word of Christ, and we
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believe it; thats a fruit of the Spirit. Now nothing will cause us to stop believing because
he has promised to finish what he started, and nothing is more important to us.

If a branch is separated from the vine, it doesnt have even the potential of bearing any
fruit; it might have a form, but it has no power! Weve been pruned, and we bear fruit, so
we find that Christ is both sufficient and necessary: without him we have nothing, and
with him we have everything!

Now, I want you to notice in verse five that he says, the same brings forth much fruit. It
doesnt say that believers should bring forth fruit or that we might. Spiritual fruit is the
guaranteed, supernatural result of our union with Christ. Hes the vine, and were the
branches. A branch separated from the vine cant produce anything, but a branch that
stays with the vine cant keep from it: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10).

6
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men
gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Those who dont abide in him dont believe his word. Theyve rejected him, and for that
theyre thrown out to wither. They may have looked healthy and promising at one point,
but they didnt abide in the vine, and all their beauty is lost. Therefore theyre good for
nothing except to be gathered together and burned.

We need to pay close attention here because this describes the fate of those who reject
Christ. A lot of people dont believe that a loving God would send anyone to hell, but the
Bible teaches otherwise. There is no karma or reincarnation or purgatory or second
chances; if you reject Christ youll be like those branches: the wrath of God abides on you
and you will not see life (Jn. 3:36).

The place that the Bible describes is a place of torment where theres burning and
gnashing of teeth. Its a place where the fire never goes out and the smoke rises forever.
Its a place where Gods wrath is continually poured out, but the debt is never paid. All of
the agony of the cross is there but none of the forgiveness.
4
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=meinate&la=greek#lexicon

This is why we cling to Christ and abide in him; we know we can never pay our own debt,
so we rest fully on him.

Well pick up there when we return next time.

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