John 15:1 “I Am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. 2 Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.
John introduces a final I Am statement. Using a metaphor that the Jews would have been very familiar with, Jesus says, “I Am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.” There are many Old Covenant references comparing Israel to a vineyard.
You have brought a vine out of Egypt…planted it…caused it to take deep root and it filled the land. Psalm 80:8-9
Jesus was the true vine that sustained the branch of Israel. However, up to this point, most of the leaders of Israel had rejected the true vine. They rejected Jesus and his message of the Kingdom of God. In calling himself the vine, Jesus teaches two lessons.
First, God the Father is the farmer that oversees his vineyard and every branch…that doesn’t bear fruit he takes away. As Jesus has made abundantly clear through his dealings with the Pharisees, the leaders of Israel were mistaken in believing that because they were physical descendants of Abraham and outwardly members of the Covenant that they were automatically spiritual descendants of Abraham.
Later we learn of God’s plan to graft Gentiles into the vine. Romans 11:11-31 However, attending church and culturally identifying as a Christian does not make you a child of God. Theologians distinguish between the invisible church, those who have placed their trust in Christ alone and the visible church, all those who associate with the church, both saved and unsaved. No one has ever been saved by being born in a “Christian” culture. Those who don’t confess their sin, don’t accept the free gift of the Savior, and don’t bear the fruit of repentance, may have attended church, but they were never really in Christ. They will, in the end, be cut off, thrown out and [thrown] into the fire.
Second, on the other hand, every branch that bears fruit [the Gardener] prunes that it may bear more fruit. You might be thinking, “Wait a minute. I’ve put my trust in Christ to take care of me, to meet my needs, to make me happy, not to be pruned.” But for the Christian, the starting point is turning from your old ways and letting the Spirit prune you.
When I was in fourth grade, I wanted to buy a horse. My dad said, ”Sure, but you have to pay for it yourself.” So I planted raspberry bushes and sold berries at a roadside stand. Every fall I made sure to prune the bushes back so that I could get maximum production the next year. Unproductive branches were pruned back so that they did not sap strength from the productive branches, resulting in much more and healthier fruit. After three summers, I had saved enough to buy the horse!
In the same way God prunes, unproductive habits, vices, attitudes, and relationships from believers. This is exactly what Jesus had been doing with his disciples for three years. He tells them that they “are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” Christ’s Word, the Word of God, is the agent that works in us, pruning and cleansing away old destructive habits, beliefs, and attitudes, condemning sin, and promoting holiness.
Notice how Paul describes the pruning process to the Corinthians.
Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
After listing the behaviors and lifestyles that people followed before coming to Christ, Paul says, “And that is what some of you were.” Those behaviors and destructive beliefs were being pruned and sanctified.
They, who are once effectually called, and regenerated, having a new heart, and a new spirit created in them, are further sanctified, really and personally, through the virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection, by his Word and Spirit dwelling in them: the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed, and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified; and they more and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces, to the practice of true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Westminster Confession of Faith, Of Sanctification
Our old sins are being weakened and new habits and attitudes are being formed by the Spirit’s power.
John 15:8 “In this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples. 9 Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. 11 I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.
How much do you think God loves you?
Jesus answers that question; “Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you.” Jesus loves you in the same way and as much as God the Father loves him. God the Father called Jesus his beloved Son, Matthew 3:17, and Jesus loves you in the very same way.
The Heidelberg Catechism, written in 1563, outlines the essentials of the Christian faith under three headings: Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude. In summary, we are to recognize our guilt for our sins and the misery that those sins cause. Grace means that we are freed from the condemnation of our sins through the death and resurrection of Christ. Gratitude refers to how we thank God for his gracious salvation by living lives in obedience to his commands. We thank and glorify God when we bear much fruit.
We are not to just drift along in our faith. We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. Hebrews 2:1 Christ says, we are to abide in [his] love… that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be made full.
How are we to abide in Christ’s love?
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.
We are not to be lone wolves going off on our own and doing things our way. Though it may seem counterintuitive, when we abide in Christ by following his commands [our] joy may be made full.
Train yourself for godliness. 1 Timothy 4:7
What are Christ’s commands?