I AM THE TRUE VINE SERMON

John 15:1–8 CSB

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.

There is so much happening in these verses of scripture. Jesus has just said I AM the Way the Truth the Life. Then HE…

· He has predicted Judas' betrayal…

· predicted Peter's denials…

· Jesus reveals the Father, saying “If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father”…

· Jesus instructs us to pray in the name of Jesus…

· He promises another counselor, aka, the Holy Spirit…

· and then Jesus tells them He's leaving them with the gift of peace.

And so all of this has happened in one chapter basically, and the very first thing said in chapter 15 is

I AM THE TRUE VINE.

In the Old Testament the Prophet Isiah had spoken of Israel as the Lord's Vineyard. So when the disciples heard Jesus talking about a vineyard and vines, they would have automatically thought of it in the context of Israel being the Vine, but Jesus is making a claim clarifying that HE is the true vine, that Israel hasn't produced any true fruit, so the son of God has come as the authentic Vine, perfectly obeying the Father and revealing his will to the people.

Verse 2 is so packed full that a whole sermon could easily be preached from this verse alone.

John 15:2 CSB

Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.

Verse 2 says “Every branch in me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so it will produce more fruit.

The Greek verb translated removes in this verse can also be said takes away or lifts up. The branches in a vineyard could become heavy and drag on the ground easily. so God as the gardener…remember from verse 1 it says He is the gardener… takes them away from the ground by lifting them up.

God will, therefore, seek to make you fruitful by lifting you up, encouraging you, and motivating you; for example, through His Word and through the People of God.

God's goal for every Christian is an increase in fruit-bearing. Fruitfulness is a life of spiritual usefulness and productivity for the good of others and the glory of God.

Then verse 2 says the Father, who is also the gardener, prunes the branches that produce fruit. The word prunes is the same word translated as cleanse in other places.

So, in the Greek language the same word could apply to either pruning or cleansing in the ancient Greek. So as God is pruning us, He's cleansing us, helping us to grow, and helping us to become stronger so we grow further which helps us bear more fruit!

So when we have problems or challenges in our lives, it's a pruning or a cleansing and that purpose is to help us grow in our faith and get rid of anything hindering full productivity in our fruit bearing. I love how these scriptures truly show the balance of God. It shows His love, His grace , His discipline, His purification and His judgment.

If left alone and not pruned, a vine will produce a good deal of unproductive growth. Dead wood is worse than fruitlessness, dead wood can harbor disease and decay. God removes the dead wood from His church and disciplines the life of the believer so it is directed into fruitful activity.

Then in verse 3 Jesus moves into talking about the disciples, and we see how that word prunes is understood as cleansing because Jesus tells them “You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you”.

When we look at this verse as the word prunes in the entire context, it seems odd; but when we know and understand that prunes and cleanse are basically the same word in Greek, it makes sense that Jesus tells them you are already clean.

What was it that cleansed them? The Word.

The Word of God is a cleansing agent.- It condems sin;- it inspires holiness- it promotes growth.

As Jesus applied the words God gave him to the lives of the disciples, they underwent a pruning process that removed evil from them and conditioned them for further service.

John 15:4–5 CSB

Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.

Verse 4-5

Abide in Me , and I in you. Jesus is emphasizing a mutual relationship. It isn't only that the disciple abides in the Master, but the Master also abides in the disciple. Something of this close relationship is described in Song of Solomon, chapter 6 verse 3, “I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine”. Abide; to remain in me (Jesus).

Jesus used this picture to assure His disciples of continued connection and relationship even though He was about to depart from them. Yet He spoke this in a way that also indicated an aspect of choice on their part.

Abiding was something they must choose, and it's also something we must choose. When our Lord says, “Abide in me”, He is talking about the will, about the choices, the decisions we make. We must decide to do things which expose ourselves to him and keep ourselves in contact with Him.

As the Branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine; it is impossible for the branch to bear grapes if it isn't connected to the vine.

The disciple can't do true good for God and His kingdom if they do not consciously connect with and abide in Jesus. “I am the vine, you are the branches” they most likely thought of Israel as the vine, so Jesus is establishing that He is the vine!

He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit”, fruit-bearing goes along with abiding. The quality and quantity of the fruit may differ, but the presence of fruit will be inevitable.

The purpose of the branch is to bear fruit. Though there are uses for great leaves people don't raise grapevines to look at the pretty leaves. They take the trouble to cultivate, plant, water and tend to the vine so that fruit can be enjoyed.

In this sense we can say that fruit represents Christian character such as the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.22-23 God's work in us and our connection to Him should be evident by fruit and perhaps by much fruit. Fruit also implies inherent reproduction.

Galatians 5:22–23 CSB

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

Virtually every piece of fruit has seeds within it, seeds that are meant to reproduce more fruit. The concept of abiding is not restricted to our abiding in Jesus, it also includes His abiding in US. It is a mutual dynamic that expects our life to be spiritually and practically and vitally connected with Jesus and that expects Him to indwell us in an active, real way.

Then Jesus tells us the biggest and best truth… that everyone needs to take hold of! He says You Can Do Nothing Without Me!!