If My Words Abide In You

True disciples of Jesus bear fruit. John 15v1-6

John 15:1–6 KJV 1900

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 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. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 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. 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. 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.

1. Jesus is the true vine.

This is the last of Jesus’ “I am statements”.

Exalting Jesus in John True Disciples Bear Spiritual Fruit (John 15:1–6)

• “I am the bread of life” (6:35).

• “I am the light of the world” (8:12).

• “I am the gate” (10:9).

• “I am the good shepherd” (10:11).

• “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25).

• “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (14:7).

When Jesus says he is the true vine that tells us that there is a false vine.

The path to God doesn’t go through a nation, it goes through a Jesus. One doesn’t have to become and Israelite in order to be a child of God.

2. Only branches in the vine bear fruit.

John 15:2 “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.”

Either a person bears fruit for God and they are continually purged so that they might bring forth more fruit, or they don’t bear fruit and are cut off from the vine.

Exalting Jesus in John True Disciples Bear Spiritual Fruit (John 15:1–6)

He says, “False disciples will be cut away by my Father” (v. 2; my paraphrase). If you don’t bear fruit, then you’re not connected to Jesus. If your life shows no evidence of Jesus, then you don’t belong to him.

Exalting Jesus in John True Disciples Bear Spiritual Fruit (John 15:1–6)

If you are connected to the vine, God is going to do whatever it takes to cause you to bear fruit. God will cut you and prune you and trim you and chop you. He is not content to let you stay on the vine bearing little fruit. God is ruthlessly determined to shape you into something much better and more beautiful than you are right now. He is determined to make you more like his Son Jesus.

Transition: Look at v.4-5

John 15:4-5 “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. 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.”

Exalting Jesus in John True Disciples Bear Spiritual Fruit (John 15:1–6)

Jesus is talking about a fixed reality. He’s saying, “True disciples are connected to me. We are united together. Now abide in me. Remain connected to me. Get your life from me. Live your life out of your connection with me.”

The illustration of the branch helps us. The branch gets its life from the vine. If the branch is not connected to the vine it has no life. We get our life from Jesus.

Exalting Jesus in John True Disciples Bear Spiritual Fruit (John 15:1–6)

The life of Jesus flows through every Christian. Apart from his life, we can accomplish nothing for God; we can do nothing to please God. But because of his life, we now have the ability to deny sin and live for him. The key to the Christian life is Christ’s life in the Christian.

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Exalting Jesus in John True Disciples Bear Spiritual Fruit (John 15:1–6)

A fruitless disciple is no disciple at all. It does not mean believers won’t suffer periods of drought or barren years, but over the course of life, they will see evidence of Jesus’s life at work in them.

Transition: True disciples for Jesus are united to Him and He bears fruit through them. What kind of fruit does He bear, exactly?

The fruit of the disciple is how they pray, love, have joy, and sacrifice for each other. John 15v7-12

John 15:7–13 KJV 1900

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Disciples of Jesus bear fruit in these ways…

1. Their prayers are answered.

A union with Jesus points to a relationship. A relationship with Jesus is strengthened through communication.

Jesus speaks to us in His word and we speak back to Him in prayer.

Exalting Jesus in John Answered Prayer

Where there is prayer, there will be answers. God listens to his people. Think about this circle. We receive the words of God (his words inform us, instruct us, and command us). In response to the Word, Scripture, we pray to God (our requests are guided and shaped by the truth of the Word and are therefore in line with God’s will). God hears our prayers and joyfully responds to our requests because they were offered up in obedience to his Word. As the Word shapes our desires and the Spirit forms us from the inside out, we will begin to pray for those things that God cares about. God will hear and answer those prayers (cf. 14:13–14). If you aren’t seeing answered prayer, are you praying? Is your praying shaped by Scripture, the Word of God? Is your praying a ritual or the overflow of God’s life flowing through you?

Exalting Jesus in John Answered Prayer

You breathe without thinking because blood is pulsing through your veins. When the Holy Spirit is pulsing through you, you pray without thinking. You just talk to God. An e-mail chimes, mention it to God. Someone steps into your office, mention it to God. You can’t find your keys, mention it to God. Prayer is as important to the soul as breathing is to the body.

2. They have obedient love.

John 15:9-10 “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”

We don’t obey God to earn God’s love. Our obedience proves our love for God.

Exalting Jesus in John Obedient Love

It’s spiritual insanity to say, “I’m a follower of Jesus, but I don’t follow what Jesus says.” “I love Jesus, but I don’t listen to him.” No, you don’t. Faith without works is dead! A disciple who doesn’t obey is not a disciple; he’s a fraud. If Jesus lives in you, you cannot help but produce the fruit of loving obedience. His life in you will cause you to love what he loves, to treasure his words, and to obey, not out of duty but out of joy. You will delight in doing what Jesus wants you to do because he lives in you and is shaping your heart to be like his.

3. They are joyful.

John 15:11 “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

Exalting Jesus in John Inexhaustible Joy

Joy in Jesus is inseparable from knowing and following him. You can’t know him and lack joy. You can’t follow him and lack joy. You can’t be united with him and lack joy. It’s a biblical, logical, and theological impossibility

Not only do we prove our love through obedience, joy flows from our obedience.

We often believe the lie that we have to choose between the two. Either we can choose joy, or we can choose obedience to God. That is a false dichotomy. Jesus is saying that joy comes from our obedience.

4. The love sacrificially.

John 15:12-13 “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Conclusion:

According to Jesus, are you one of his disciples?

Do you bear any of the fruit mentioned here?