I am the True Vine (John 15:1-8)

Jesus and his disciples have left the upper room and are walking to the Garden of Gethsemane. They could have passed a vine on the way, and maybe that prompted the reference to one. It has been observed that this was the time of year when the vines would be pruned and dead branches removed.

 

The identity of Jesus (v. 1)

When Jesus says that he is the true vine, he is contrasting himself with Israel which had been God’s vine in Old Testament times, but which had failed in general to produce fruit for God to enjoy. The fruit would have been to obey the requirements of God out of gratitude for his goodness to them. Although Israel had been given great blessings, the Israelites had not benefited from them. Jesus identifies himself as the vine that Israel pictured. So Jesus was a replacement for, and a fulfilment of, what Israel should have been.

 

The activity of the Father (vv. 1-2)

Jesus likens the Father to the owner of a vineyard who wants his vine to produce fruit. There are two requirements for the vine to continue producing fruit. Dead branches have to be removed and living branches have to be pruned. After the Father inspects the vine, nothing remains the same.

 

Clearly, Jesus is not speaking of union with him from the point of view of possession of life. Rather he is describing the profession of being linked to him. A profession can only be true or false. The distinction will be shown in the disciples. Judas only had a profession and the Father took him away from the Vine. Peter, despite his fall, had possession and he would experience the Father’s pruning.

 

Peter had already produced lots of fruit whereas Judas had not produced any. Although outwardly they looked similar as disciples, inwardly they were very different. Judas had no desire to honour Jesus whereas Peter, despite his failings, did want Jesus to be honoured.

 

We can say that the Father looks at every professing branch and deals with it appropriately. When a person is a false disciple, the Father removes him in one way or another through his providence. 

 

Jesus indicates here that even as he was the Vine at that moment with his disciples as the branches, so also was the Father at work pruning them. They were at that time facing a dark situation in which various unseemly features revealed themselves, such as denying Jesus. Yet the Father, as the vinedresser, was at work in their lives, dealing with their defects.

 

It is important to note that the Father prunes every good branch in the Vine. This means that a good branch never gets to the situation where he or she does not need to be pruned by the Father. This is a normal Christian experience. Pruning is an aspect of divine chastisement and is not intended to be a pleasant experience. Yet it is for our spiritual good and is an evidence of divine sonship. The Father can use anything in providence that he deems suitable in order for the pruning to be effective.

 

The status of the true disciples (v. 3)

Jesus reminds the disciples that they have been cleaned. He had already referred to this in chapter 13:10: ‘The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.’ Obviously, Judas had been the exception. The other disciples, in contrast to him, had been cleansed from their sins.

 

Jesus reminded the disciples that the cleansing they had experienced was connected to the message he had taught: ‘Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you’ (v. 3). The message of good news that he had declared was the promise of pardon through faith in him. These men had done so and since then they had been clean. Believers are made clean through their justification when the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them and they are made acceptable in God’s sight. But they still need to be cleaned in a sanctifying way.

 

Cleansing did not mean that they had become perfect. They still had many defects, and it was those defects that the Father would remove by pruning. The spaces in the branch that had been occupied with unwanted growths were to be replaced by fruit produced by union with the Vine.

 

The condition for fruitbearing

Jesus makes it very clear that the condition for bearing much fruit is abiding in him. This description is connected to the doctrine of union with Christ. Sometimes the doctrine describes a positional union, at other times it describes a practical union. It is the latter kind that is referred to here.

 

Jesus says that abiding in him is essential and effective. It is essential because without it there will be no fruit (v. 4), and it is effective because with it there will be much fruit (v. 5). It is easy to understand how a branch that was cut off from the vine would not bear fruit and how a branch that was united to the vine would bear fruit. 

 

Moreover, the abiding is twofold: Jesus abides in his people and his people abide in him. How does this happen? The answer is that the Holy Spirit unites Jesus and his people together and they experience life. How can we describe it? This life is shared by all, is sufficient for all, and is suitable for all. The life is another way of describing the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus also qualifies what it means for him to abide in his disciples when he says in verse 7: ‘If you abide in me, and my words abide in you.’ So there is an ongoing connection between their cleansing and their fruitbearing – both are connected to the words of Jesus.

 

The Saviour tells his disciples that without him they can do nothing. Obviously, it is correct to regard this statement as a warning against self-sufficiency. Some could be tempted to depend on their gifts and talents, or even on their past experiences and insights and connections. Yet the statement is more than a warning against self-sufficiency. It is also a warning against laziness because it contains an expectation that his people will be engaged in appropriate activities. It would be wrong for them to assume that, because the involvement of Jesus is essential, they can sit back and not do anything. 

 

It is important to see this statement of Jesus as more than a warning because it is also a guarantee that fruit will come. It is true that without Jesus we can do nothing, but it is also true that with Jesus we will produce fruit. As Paul affirmed, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’

 

Are there any other requirements for fruitbearing? Jesus mentions two other necessities before there will be fruit. One of them is abiding in Christ and the way that this is preserved is by obedience: ‘If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love’ (v. 10). Jesus is not saying that believers can merit this position by their obedience. Rather the meaning is that walking in his commandments is the road of blessing. They recognise that he is their Lord, and therefore they follow his instructions because it is the path of sanctification. 

 

Another requirement is prayer: ‘If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you’ (v. 7). This verse is not saying that God will answer any idea and longing that comes into our heads. Rather it says that our prayer requests will be governed by the information given in the Bible. Therefore we can see why it is important to know what the Bible says about what we can pray for with certainty.

 

The word ‘abide’ is a picture of where a person stays. Believers are called to recognise that the place where they live is Jesus and the place where he and his words live is them. Clearly for a home to be happy, there has to be certain features such as conversation, confession, contentedness and commitment. For a conversation to happen, people must speak about the same topics, otherwise the words are meaningless. No home is perfect, but it is happy when those in it admit their failures. Our homes may not be palaces, but they should be places where people are content to live. Content means that one has found the most suitable place for them. And there will be commitment, a determination to do what is necessary to maintain the happy atmosphere. 

 

Abiding in Jesus is not a place only for those who somehow have attained a higher level of living by a secret formula. Rather it is normal Christian experience, in which his people obey his commandments, live by his Word, and speak to him in prayer. They then find that there is mutual happiness – they love to be with him and he, by his word and Spirit, loves to be with them. The barrier to experiencing his blessing is sin in whatever form it shows itself. Although we are sinful, it is good to know that sinners can be fruitful through the mercy and grace of God. 

 

The fruit

What kind of fruit does Jesus have in mind? Verse 8 indicates that it is ample fruit: ‘By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.’ After all, since it is the outcome of the work of God, we would expect there would be an abundance of fruit. At the same time, verse 8 indicates that the type of fruit is assuring in that it confirms that those who have it are truly Christ’s disciples.

 

It must be authentic fruit. A literal vine would produce grapes. If it did not, there would be something wrong. The authentic fruit in the Christian life is the fruit of the Spirit, summarised for us in Galatians 5:22-23: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.’

 

Since that is what the fruit is, it is attractive to look at because it is a picture of Christlikeness. What healthy Christian would object to the presence of this fruit in another believer? Seeing someone live like this would bring great joy to others and it would be a source of assurance to the individual who had it because he can see that it is a way of life that the Bible commends.

 

This fruit is appealing, but for who? Obviously, the produce of a vineyard is for the satisfaction of the owner who can go around his vineyard tasting his grapes. The fruit in the lives of his people gives great pleasure to their heavenly Father. Of course, the fruit has come from him, even as it was said to Israel, ‘In me is your fruit found’ (Hos. 14:8).

 

This fruit is an alternative, indeed the only alternative to the products that are the result of sin. Paul contrasts the fruit of the Spirit with the works of the flesh. The fruit that comes through grace is totally different from anything else that exists. It is not the same as religion or a desire to be good. It is the outworking of what God has worked in.

 

Therefore we can see that the presence of this fruit is amazing. When we think of the kinds of men there were sitting with Jesus when he called them his branches, we should be full of wonder at what the grace of God can bring about. James and John were the sons of thunder, but Jesus changed them. Peter was unstable, but Jesus changed him into a rock. Matthew was a despised tax collector, willing to stoop to working for a foreign power, but Jesus made him a different man. We don’t need to look at them only, or even at the range of Christians that we know or have heard about. All we need to do is look at ourselves and see the fruit that the Father has produced in us through union with his Son and by his Spirit. 

 

Jesus said to the disciples that he had spoken these things because he wanted his disciples to know his joy. Bearing this type of fruit enables a person to experience real joy.