John 15:1-8 | Abide in Jesus

Text

John 15:1–8 ESV

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Outline

The True Vine

Israel the shadow vine

Jesus the true vine

Abide in the Vine

Unfruitful vines

Fruitful vines

The Glory of the Vine

Fruitfulness of the vine

Introduction

How many of you are blessed with green fingers and love to grow gardens?

I wish I had green fingers, but everything I plant ends up in a disaster.

I blame my 3 dogs who keep digging it all up - that will remain my excuse to the end

My parents are blessed with green fingers and they get a lot of satisfaction out of growing all kinds of things, but especially things you can eat

They grow all kinds of things from thyme, to parsely, chillis, tomatoes, and my father’s favourite is lemons.

I am sure everyone who grows plants that yield fruit gets plenty of joy and satisfaction out of being able to grow the biggest, best and most delicious fruit on their own trees - the more fruitful, the more pride and joy

Our text describes that - Jesus describes a vine and says that the Father is the vinedresser or gardener or farmer.

How much joy do you think the Father has when His vine is fruitful, and produces great, big harvests?

I think it brings Him great joy, and He is glorified when the work of His hands produces bountiful and rich harvests.

Actually that is made plain when Jesus says in verse 8 - John 15:8 “8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

So that forms the main thrust of today’s sermon:

God is glorified when we abide in Him and are fruitful.

But befoe we start, I must warn you that this sermon is going to be both theological and practical.

Some people get anxious around the word “theology”, because it might sound like its going to be boring and too academic.

But I don’t think we should shy away from being theological in our sermons or studying theology even if you aren’t planning on becoming a pastor

Theologians say that theology enriches our doxology… which for the younger ones and those for whom English is not your first language, simply means theology or the study of God enriches and deepens our worship and experience of God.

And I think that makes theology exciting, and hopefully I can bring out and unfold the theology of this rich chapter in a way that makes you excited about theology for the sake of having a better knowledge of and deeper relationship with Jesus.

1. The True Vine (1)

John 15:1 ESV

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

This is the last of the seven “I am” sayings of Jesus in John

Each one of these “I am” sayings is a metaphor or picture that tells us something of the person and role of Jesus Christ in our salvation

“the bread of life” (6:35, 48),

“the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5),

“the door of the sheep” (10:7, 9),

“the good shepherd” (10:11, 14),

“the resurrection and the life” (11:25)

“the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6)

Now, in the latter part of the farewell discourse - His final hours of teaching and talking with His disciples before He is arrested in chapter 18…

Jesus declares to His disciples “I am the true vine”

Now this image of the vine was very significant in Israel.

Israel’s biggest industry was agricultural - they were farmers

and one of their key crops was grapes

The temple gates in Jerusalem were even decorated with a vine

But the significance of the metaphor isn’t only because they mostly farmed with grapevines.

In the OT, God called the nation of Israel His vine. (Ps 80, Isa 5, Jer 2, Eze 15, Hos 10)

So now when Jesus tells His disciples “I am the true vine”, that means a lot more and carries a lot more significance to those of Jewish roots, than it does at face value to people like us

For us the metaphor seems pretty simple and straught forward enough -

Jesus is the vine,

we are branches planted in Him

We are fruitful

God is glorified

But to the people of Israel, Jesus is saying a lot more than that when He says, not only that He is the vine, but that He is the TRUE vine.

Because since in the OT the vine was Israel, then when Jesus says “I am the true vine” He is actually saying “I am the true Israel”

Let me explain this as quickly and simply as I can:

Under the Old Covenant, the vine was God’s covenant people - the nation of Israel

To be one of God’s people you had to be part of the vine - you had to be part of God’s covenant community - you had to be part of Israel, God’s chosen people

The fruit required of the vine was obedience

Obey God

Keep His commandments

If Israel had just done that, if they were fruitful for God by being obedient to Him, God would have been glorified through Israel.

But as it turns out… the vine that was called Israel failed to be fruitful

Psalm 80:8–13 “8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. 11 It sent out its branches to the sea and its shoots to the River. 12 Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.”

Isaiah 5:1–2 “1 Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.”

Isaiah 5:5–7 “5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!”

The vine was meant to be full of glory and glorify God by producing good fruit - by obeying God and being a good people among the evil nations of the world

But instead of producing good grapes, they yielded wild grapes instead - bad fruit or no fruit at all

As a result: judgement. God says that because of its unfruitfulness, the vine - Israel - will be destroyed, removed, devoured, trampled, laid waste.

Psalm 80:14–19 “14 Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, 15 the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself. 16 They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your face!

17 But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! 18 Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name! 19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!”

The Psalmist comes to God now in verse 14 in repentance, confessing Israel’s failure as the vine, and asks God for mercy and deliverence for the vine

but with prophetic foresight he sees that deliverance is going to come, not through Israel, but through a man… the man of God’s right hand… the Son of Man…

and I can imagine the light going on as the disciples connected the dots to Psalm 80 when Jesus then says to them … “I am the true vine.”

Israel was never the true vine - the nation of Israel only foreshadowed the true vine who is Jesus Christ

to be one of God’s people, to be part of God’s covenant people, you must be grafted into the true vine.

Remember, in the previous chapter, Jesus said John 14:6 “… I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Now I want to make sure everyone understands the significance of Jesus being the true vine.

It is popular today, and has been since the 19th century, for some to still see the country Israel today as God’s people of the Old Testament. (This is a new thought, the Church never believed this before the 19th century)

and part of this thinking is that God somehow has two plans of salvation - one for Israel and one for the rest of the world

and that thinking causes people to think that Israel is automatically the virtuous party in the wars today in the Middle East, that God is on their side, and that we must therefore support Israel.

I am not making an argument one way or another on who’s in the wrong in the Middle East, but what I am saying is that the country that is today called Israel is not the Israel of the Bible and is not God’s chosen people

the Israel of the Bible is those who are in a covenant relationship with God, and Jesus is saying “I am the true Israel” - you can only be in covenant relationship with God through me.

If you want to be part of God’s chosen people, His covenant people, you have to come to God through Jesus. “No one comes to the Father except through me”

The nation of Israel in the OT failed under the Old Covenant.

but God has made a NEW COVENANT

And the NEW COVENANT - the covenant of grace - was signed and sealed in Jesus’ blood.

All that Israel failed to be and to do as the vine of God, Jesus Christ successfully fulfilled.

Israel disobeyed God and broke every commandment, but Jesus obeyed His Father perfectly and fulfilled every last requirement of the Law

And then, just as was foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament…

the sacrifice of the animal to cover naked Adam and Eve with skins after the Fall

the almost sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham in Genesis

the bloody Atonement sacrifices in Leviticus which Israel had to repeat every year…

Jesus Chris became a once-and-for-all sacrifice on our behalf, shed His blood and died on the cross at Calvary…

(open Psalm 80:18-19 here)

to take our death and give us His life…

to redeem and restore us to God…

so that we may be saved…

so that everyone (Jew or Gentile) who calls upon His name, who repents of their sin and believes in the name of Jesus, will be grafted into Jesus - into the true vine

We are joined to Christ and brought into the New Covenant with God by grace through faith - in the moment you believe in Jesus you are grafted in

and then…

God the Father cares for the vine, and the vine produces fruit to His glory.

Now that we understand that Jesus is the true vine…

2. Abide in the Vine

John 15:2 “2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

Since Jesus is the vine and the Father is the vinedresser who loves and cares for the vine, we who are grafted into the vine through faith are the branches

And what then is required of the branches?

Of course, we are supposed to produce fruit.

That is after all what a good and healthy vine does - it is productive and fruitful

Jesus says plainly that the vine exists to produce fruit;

so any branches that don’t produce fruit are going to be taken away, and those that do produce fruit are going to be pruned so that they will produce even more fruit.

So Jesus is describing two kinds of branches - those that don’t produce fruit, and those that do

Unfruitful Branches

We have come to understand correctly that we cannot earn our way into heaven through our own obedience or our works - it is impossible

And we know that we are saved and adopted in Christ only by grace through faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross.

We can only be grafted into Christ and into the true vine through faith alone in Christ alone

Unfortunately, some have wrongly taken this to mean that since we are saved by faith alone, we don’t have to be obedient and we don’t have to do any work!

They think, we can just sit back and rest in God’s grace, since Jesus has done it all for us!

But this is not true. James says James 2:17 “17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

The truth is that although we are saved by faith alone, faith in Jesus is always accompanied by works

We aren’t saved by works, but we are saved unto or for works

Paul says Ephesians 2:8–10 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Put simply, Jesus has grafted us into Him, into the vine, in order that we should be fruitful - in order that we should be productive and do works that glorify Him

If you look at a vine, and at its branches, the wooden branch of a vine by itself is not good for anything.

You can’t make furniture out of it. You can’t even make old pallets out of it

The only thing a fruitless, dry branch of a vine is good for is for fire.

And that is exactly what Jesus says happens to them - John 15:6 “6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

In fact you won’t even get good coals out of them so they are really no good, not even to braai with.

The warning here is that there are people who appear to be branches of the vine

they are membes of the church

they sing in the worship team

they serve tea

they go on mission trips

they are on committees and diaconates

they are even preachers, elders and pastors

But by their works they prove to be fruitless.

They have no love for God or for others. They treat others poorly. They behave as if they have never heard of Christ, let alone obey Him

On a real vine, if you leave such dead and fruitless branches on the tree, they take valuable nutrients away from the fruitful branches. The best thing to do is to cut the dead branches off.

That is also why we should practice church discipline and should remove all members who prove to be without fruit and without repentance

Of the true vine, Jesus says all branches that don’t produce fruit will be cut off, thrown away and thrown into the fire

And that is not unloving - God removes them because He loves His Church, it is what is best for His Church.

The same is true in church discipline - by removing the goats, we love the sheep. It is also a loving act to even the goats, because it clearly communicates the seriousness of their spiritual condition, and hopefully brings them to repentance and faith

Its not that those cast away are true, born again Christians that have lost their salvation - the rest of Scripture assures us that can’t happen

But by their deadness these people who are cut off are those who were never truly born again to begin with.

They might have gathered with believers, but they were not really believers themselves.

Fruitful Branches

But then of the fruitful branches, Jesus says these ones God prunes, so that it can bear more fruit.

Pruning is a process where the farmer looks at the good branches that are producing good fruit…

… and he trims away all the smaller branches that are splitting away, so that the nutrients in the tree can be more concentrated and make the branch more fruitful.

Pruning involves cutting, and that sounds painful. And it usually is.

Pruning is the thing that Christians complain about the most.

Have you ever said out loud, or asked yourself, or asked God in prayer:

Why me?

Why is God allowing me to suffer like this?

I do my best to be a good person, surely I deserve better than this?

Those sound like pruning noises

Since we have been grafted into Jesus, into the true vine, God’s work and His purpose in cutting away the dead branches and pruning the good ones is to perfect the branches, to make us more fruitful

Since Christ is perfect in every way, when we are saved and grafted into the vine through faith, God begins the process of pruning and perfecting every good and fruitful branch in the vine so that we become more holy and look more like Christ

And just like that is a never ending process for farmers caring for their vines, this process of sanctification by the Holy Spirit will continue until the end of time when, as Paul says:

in Philippians 1:6 “6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Now that pruning, it will involve taking away from us things that we are still clinging to too tightly. Things that still exist in our lives that are like idols. Things that may cause us to stumble

Things like jobs, money, titles, relationships, vices.

Sometimes God allows us to lose even good things.

But all of it is for our good, according to Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

And Romans 5:3–5 “3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

The pruning is not a sign of God neglecting us, or turning His back on us, which is what Satan will try to convince you is true.

Rather, the pruning is the evidence of God’s love. It is the evidence that God is at work in you.

That’s why we can, as Paul says, rejoice in and in spite of our sufferings, because through those sufferings we are being made more fruitful and perfected to the glory of God

Abide in Jesus

So the important question now is, what are you going to leave here with today?

That’s the most important question.

Because if you leave here today having been convinced that Jesus is the true vine, the Father is the vinedresser, and we are the branches…

and now we must go out and work hard to be fruitful for Him, and obey Him, and do more good works for Him and be productive so that we can glorify Him, then I have not done my job at all today

Because that is not the message or the instruction that Jesus is giving in this passage.

Maybe you’re thinking: “But you said we must be fruitful and productive and if we don’t produce fruit we will be cut off and thrown away and God wants us to produce more fruit!”

Don’t misunderstand the main thrust or Jesus’ instruction. I want you to get this right.

Because although Jesus is saying that the purpose of the vine and the branches is to produce fruit and so glorify God, the command we see here from Jesus is not “Go forth and try harder”

What command do we see from Jesus in this passage? Abide in me.

That phrase “abide in me” appears 5 times in verses 1-8, and the word “abide” appears 11 times in verses 1-17.

What does it mean?

to remain in Christ

live in Christ

stay in Christ

wait for Christ

trust in Christ

lean on Christ

rely on Christ

depend on Christ

Think of a branch depending on the vine to give it the nutrients it needs to remain healthy and fruitful - that is what it means to abide in Christ.

Jesus says just as a branch can produce nothing if it is cut off from the vine, so also you cannot produce the kind of fruit God is looking for on your own.

John 15:4–5 “4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jesus is the true vine. He was able to do what no man or woman can do - walk in perfect obedience and fulfill the Law of God

We are not saved because WE were able to fulfill the Law - we are saved because Jesus fulfilled the Law FOR us, and died to satisfy God’s wrath against us

Everyone who believes in Jesus therefore is forgiven their sins and is made righteous by FAITH

Now, having been saved by faith alone, why would we have to revert back to trying to earn or keep our salvation by works?

This was Paul’s complaint against the Galatians…

Galatians 3:3 “3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

So Jesus says to us: “you cannot bear fruit unless you abide in me”

“apart from me, you can do nothing”

You cannot produce the fruit on your own. But you will produce the fruit by abiding in Christ.

Whoever abides in Christ will produce fruit (v5)

So it is very important that you understand this:

Jesus is not saying that we must go and try harder and produce fruit so that we can remain in Him

Jesus is saying “Remain in me, and you will produce fruit”

Its true that Jesus later tells us to keep His commandments - of course we should! But the fruit comes as a result of our abiding.

Apart from abiding in Christ, we cannot keep His commandments

John 15:6 “6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

Abide in Christ

How to Abide in Christ

What does that mean? How do we abide in Christ?

Let’s keep this real and practical and not only theological

John 15:3 “3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.”

John 15:7 “7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

Jesus links abiding in Him with His Word and with prayer.

Since our productivity, fruitfulness and obedience are linked to our abiding in Christ, the closer we abide in Christ, the more fruitful we will become

The way you draw closer to someone is to listen to them and talk to them

The way to draw closer to Jesus is by being washed and refreshed constantly by reading the Word and talking to Him in prayer

Through the Word:

Jesus reminds us of His finished work on our behalf and of our salvation

He reminds us of His love when we feel unloved and unworthy

He also convicts us and corrects us when we go off track (pruning)

He reminds of our purpose when we feel directionless and lost

Above all He reminds us of His infinite worth and glory, and also of the glory that awaits everyone who abides in Him

And then through prayer we

carry our burdens to God

make known our fears and our needs

and make our requests to God

and Jesus Himself promises that when we ask God, whatever we wish, it will be done for us

because the more we abide in Christ, the more we become like Christ -

and the more our minds and hearts are conformed to Christ through the Word and prayer, the more we will desire the same things God desires, and He will give us all that we ask.

So abide in Christ

If you take a burning log of firewood out of the fire and place it somewhere on its own, the wood quickly becomes cold.

Stay close to Christ

Jesus says if you abide in Him, He will abide in you.

Trust Jesus, stay in Jesus, depend on Jesus, call on Jesus.

3. The Glory of the Vine

John 15:8 ESV

8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

The reason we have assurance that God will do all that He promises to do in this passage, and make you a strong, healthy, fruitful Christian if you abide in Him, is because He is doing it for His own glory

Again, think of the joy you might feel when your lemon trees, your chilli trees, your avo trees produce big, healthy bunches of fruit

Think of how much satisfaction that gives you

It always give us a tremendous mount of pride to work with your hands and produce something good, something of value

Now picture the joy it gives God when the work of His hands produces good things in you

Think of the pleasure it gives the Father when, having planted you and grafted you into the vine…

… you remain steadfast in your faith in Jesus, abiding in Him, trusting Him, leaning on Him, depending on Him, listening to Him, talking to Him, taking your needs to Him …

and then to see the Holy Spirit producing the God glorifying fruit in you…

Galatians 5:22–23 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

That fruit is to be desired, and will be cultivated in you when you abide in Jesus

And what a beautiful and fruitful community the church would be if everyone produced such fruit

But if you see in yourself instead the bad fruit described by Paul earlier in Galatians 5:19–21 “19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Take heed of Christ’s warning of what the Father does with such fruitless, dead branches.

Those things have no place in the vine, and the Father loves His children too much to allow those things to carry on for too long among His children.

But praise God that He is patient.

Turn to the Lord, everyone, call on His name. Abide in Him, and He will abide in you.