I Am The True Vine (2)

Intro

As we enter deeper into summer, I am sure that gardening is on many of our minds: either because you love it as a hobby, or because it seems to be the bane of your existence every year when the green starts coming up. Whether you love it or you hate it, if you own property, I’m willing to bet its a part of your life.

I remember when I bought my first house, and I had almost no experience as a gardener. I had pulled weeds before, but I was never responsible for caring for the plants at my parents house. I knew how to pull up the unwanted stuff, but I had no idea how to care for the stuff that I wanted to stay there.

So when spring came for the first time as a homeowner, the green started coming in. The problem was that there was a lot of green I didn’t want, and the things I did want didn’t seem to come back to life like the weeds did. I remember there was one plant in particular that I was excited about — it was one of those plants that I had seen at other people’s houses that get really pretty flowers of all different colors. While it seemed like everything else was alive and growing, this one was just brown and dead-looking.

One day, when my mom was over visiting, I told her it was a shame that I was probably going to have to dig it up and pull it out; it was dead. It was then that I first learned about the importance of pruning your garden; she explained that I needed to cut off all the overgrown dead parts so that the plant could support new growth. So I got my clippers and I just started chopping off all kinds of dead branches and twigs. Sure enough, within days of pruning, this plant began to burst with life.

That was the day I began to learn about life and death in the world of plants.

In our text this morning, Jesus begins to talk about these gardening concepts to help us understand life and death in ourselves. I will break this down into four points:

Apart from Jesus, we are dead in our sin

2. When we abide in Jesus, we experience the fulness of life

3. Everyone that abides in Jesus will bear the fruit of love

4. Jesus causes all his own to abide in him

Without Jesus, we are dead in our sin

State:

John 15:1–2 ““I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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.”

Jesus begins by giving us the idea that the whole world, and everyone in it, resembles one giant grapevine. This vine that we’re supposed to be picturing is a huge vine with a wide range of branches. This is a fruit-bearing vine that we are envisioning, although not every branch is bearing fruit. There are some that are healthy and giving abundant fruit, others who are in need of pruning, and some who are downright dead and will soon be cut off.

Jesus doesn’t force us to wonder too much at what he means by this: He makes it clear that he is the “vine,” or we might think of it as the “trunk” of a tree. As the vine, Jesus is the life-giver. We are described as branches: connected to Jesus with the intention of bearing fruit. Jesus adds to the picture a vinedresser: one whose job it is to care for the vine, to prune its healthy branches and to cut off its dead ones.

Jesus continues the illustration:

John 15:4–5 “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. 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.”

This becomes for us an incredibly helpful picture as we consider our own source of life. By making us the branches of this scenario, Jesus makes one thing very clear: if we are not in him, then we have no life. If we are apart from Christ, we are spiritually dead.

Jesus does not mince words on this matter: apart from Jesus, we cannot bear fruit. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.

Within the world of Jesus’ vine illustration, a person is either connected to the vine, which is Christ, and is bearing fruit as it serves its purpose, or else is it not abiding in the vine, and so it is not bearing fruit, and so it has no purpose.

So then what is to be made of these fruitless branches? We do not have to wonder.

Jesus then moves the illustration forward into quite an uncomfortable direction when he says,

John 15:6 “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.”

Jesus says that the vinedresser does with dead branches what we all do with dead branches: he throws them into the burn pile.

For what good is a branch when it has been severed from its vine? Can that branch still bear fruit? Is it still useful? Or if it is still attached to the tree, don’t you cut it off so that the branches who are alive might be further sustained?

This is the natural thing to do with dead branches: they serve no more purpose, and so they are burned.

Apply:

This illustration has a potent application for our own day, as it its original context. It creates a dichotomy for us when we consider our own spiritual life: Either you are in Christ and therefore bearing fruit, or you are cut off from Christ and are fruitless and dead branches. There is no third option in the illustration that Jesus gives. There is no option where the dead branch goes and joins another tree, or gets planted and grows, or determines a new purpose for itself.

This helps us to see just how central Christ is to our world. While there may be many religions, ideologies, political approaches, and worldviews, Jesus alone is the one who can give life. So while we can be friendly to our neighbors, and respect the differences that we have with them, we cannot in good conscience be content to let those who are dead in sin continue to believe they have no need of Christ.

How could we live in this world that Jesus speaks of, when there are so many branches that seem not to care at all whether they are abiding in the vine, and who are apathetic towards the fire that awaits them if they are cut off from Christ? How can we be content with this, without at least trying to convince them otherwise?

My friends: if we are cut off from Christ, then we are absolutely lost and dead in our sin, without hope except for the burn pile.

But this is only one half of the illustration Jesus gives. He also describes the branches that are in him, the ones that he says “abide” in him.

When we abide in Jesus, we experience the fullness of life

State:

It seems that this is the emphasis of Jesus’ illustration: that those branches who are abiding in him will bear fruit and prosper. That is why Jesus says to his disciples at the beginning of the conversation,

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

He then goes on to encourage them,

John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you.

The encouragement to those who have been cleansed by the Word of Christ is to then abide in Christ. Here I believe it would be helpful for us to slow down and consider that word: abide. It shows up 11 times in this section that we’re looking at, which out to give us an indication that it is central to the message Jesus intends us to walk away with.

The word we have here as abide also mean, “remain,” or “to continue to exist.” The idea is that this abiding is a permanent thing. And this makes sense when we consider the context in which Jesus uses it: a branch attached to a vine. It would be ridiculous in this illustration to imagine a branch which only connected to the vine sometimes, but was often disconnected or reliant upon something else. The healthy branch is the one who abides, or remains, or continually has its existence in the vine. Its life is continually supplied by the vine, and the vine gives it full nourishment

That is why Jesus continues as he says,

John 15:5 “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 says that the vine who is abiding in him bears much fruit. He gives us the picture that if a person remains in him, has his life in Jesus, then his life will be abundant in fruit. This does not mean that he will be rich with money or possessions, but that he will be rich with spiritual life. This is the person out of whose heart is flowing rivers of living water. The person who abides in Christ is flowing over with spiritual fruit.

To further display just how favorable the position of this healthy branch is, Jesus continues,

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

When we are abiding in Christ, having our existence in and from him, and when we seek to bear fruit for his sake, then he promises he will supply all our requests.

This makes sense, because the person who abides in Christ receives the heart of Christ. That is, his heart is brought into alignment with the heart of Christ. No longer does the one who abides in Christ chase after the world or the pleasures it offers, but he is content with Christ, and the desires of his heart are in line with Christ’s will. Therefore, we would expect and can know for sure that all of his requests are met with a hearty yes from Christ.

And so we get the picture that he who abides in Christ, who remains in him, who has his existence in Christ, is a flourishing person, an abundant person, a fruitful person.

Apply: Abide in him!

Brothers, this is the life that Christ would have for you. But I ask you — are you abiding in Christ? Is he your resting place, your home? Is he where you have your existence, where you remain, the source of your life?

Jesus is so much more than a therapeutic pick-me-up for when times get hard. Jesus is the true vine, the source of our life each and every day. Would you deny yourself life by spending your days elsewhere?

And if you’re wondering, “how do I abide?” Then you’re asking the right question. Thankfully, Jesus has given us real, tangible ways that we can abide in him, and our church calls them the means of grace.

First, Jesus has given us his word in the Scriptures. We abide in him when we abide in his word. We have daily, constant access to the true vine of life in the Bible. This is true as we sit under its faithful preaching, as we study it in fellowship with other believers, and as we commit our personal lives to it as well.

Second, Jesus has given us the sacraments. Baptism is a gift from God that acts as the sign and seal of our new birth into Christ’s body. The Lord’s Supper is a gift from God that acts as a sign and seal of our spiritual nourishment and growth in Christ. Do not neglect these sacraments, for they are full of grace. As we make regular use of them, and as we really ponder their significance in faith, we abide in Christ.

Finally, Jesus has opened up our access to himself and his Father through prayer. We can abide in Christ as we spend time daily communing with him in prayer. Your prayers don’t have to be perfect, or eloquent, or pre-planned. Your prayers should be reverent, but they should also be familiar. You speak to your Almighty God, but you speak at the same time to your heavenly Father.

And as you abide in Christ, he will cause you to be the branch that bears much fruit.

Speaking of which, we get a better understanding of what that looks like practically as Jesus continues to speak

Everyone that Abides in Jesus will display great love for people

State:

John 15:8–10 “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 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.”

Jesus says that his Father is glorified when his branches bear much fruit, and so prove to be his disciples. Here Jesus breaks from the vine illustration and brings it to the people he’s speaking to: bearing fruit is the proof that someone is truly a disciple of Christ. And by bearing fruit, Jesus is referring to keeping his commandments.

Jesus reiterates: all those who abide in Jesus will bear much fruit by keeping his commandments, and so proving themselves to be his disciples.

Jesus here does not say that doing his commandments will earn his love. He has already told them that he has loved them with the same love that his Father has shown to the Son — but we abide in that love when we follow him and keep his commandments. Obedience is not the entry into Christ’s love, and our obedience can’t even keep us in the vine, but we find ourselves abiding in the vine as we follow Christ and keep his commandments.

And thankfully, Jesus clarifies even further what he means here by keeping his commandments

John 15:12–13 ““This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Jesus reminds us here that love is the fulfilment of the law and of his commandments. This is the central ethic of Christ’s church: that we love one another. Whatever else must be important to our way of life, and however else the Word of God informs our living, it all must be subject to this overarching rule of obedience: that we love one another.

And Jesus even defines what this love is when he refers to his own love for us. We are not to allow any other definition of love to dictate how we behave towards one another, though there are certainly many other, and even contradictory, definitions of love.

True love is this: that we lay down our lives for one another. In another letter, John again defines love like this:

1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

Illustrate:

Apply:

So we see that our instructions for abiding have expanded. While the means of grace are foundational concerning our relationship with Jesus, we also see that abiding can only occur as we practice this Christ-like love for one another.

To put it in the inverse: you cannot abide in Christ’s love if you do not love others. To “Love Jesus but hate the church” is an incoherent phrase according to the gospel. We cannot love God and hate people. If we find ourselves hating people, then we have not properly understood Jesus, and we certainly have not been abiding in him.

But if we do abide in him, and if we do love him, and if we have come to know his love, then we will love one another in the same kind of sacrifical way.

This does not mean that we will always agree, nor will it mean that we always support one another’s decisions or opinions. But it will mean that we are displaying a disposition towards one another of sacrifice and love.

This must be the barometer of our love for one another — not support, not agreement, but this — I will lay down my life for you.

And now I know that whenever obedience enters the conversation about our relationship with Jesus, it can cause our minds to be uneasy. This is natural in one sense, because we have learned not to trust our own obedience — this is wise. However, Jesus ends this section with one more word of encouragements to his branches, his people.

Jesus ensures that all his people abide in him

John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

Jesus here shows his disciples what their relationship is like. Though it is right in some sense to call ourselves his servants, Jesus here chooses the word friend to relate to us. He says he calls us friends because he has welcomed us in to a degree of intimacy that servants would not be able to experience.

Specifically, Jesus has told us all about what he is doing, what his Father is doing. No longer does he act without telling, but he reveals all about what he is doing to us.

And what does he reveal here to his people?

John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

Here Jesus makes it clear to them that they are not here by accident. They are not fruit-bearing branches by accident. They will not abide in his love by accident. They will not glorify the Father through their obedience by accident. No, and they won’t even do any of it by their own power.

What Jesus makes clear here is this: the disciples status as fruit-bearing branches that abide in Christ is entirely within the sovereignty of Jesus.

Jesus says that his disciples did not choose him. This is profound, because they each experienced a moment in time when they did choose to follow the call of Jesus.

But Jesus says that the only reason they followed was because Jesus first chose them.

What’s more than that is that Jesus is now telling them that just as he chose them, he has also appointed them to bear much fruit, and that their fruit will abide.

This brings an immense comfort to the disciple of Christ. This gives us every reason for confidence that we will remain in Christ to the end — though our flesh gives us no such confidence. If it were merely by chance, or it the end were up to our own strength, then this whole message would be grounds for great fear and anxiety.

But because Jesus has called us his friends, and because he has told us what he is doing, we have great confidence to press forward. We know that Jesus himself has chosen us, and that he has appointed us to bear fruit, and to continue with him forever as we abide in him.

Apply:

There are some who think that such a theology of Christ’s sovereignty breeds apathy in us. But just the opposite is true; to know that you have been chosen by Christ and appointed by him for obedience and much fruit, this should breed great zeal and excitement in you! You can go forth into this day, into this week, into your whole future with utter confidence that you will bear much fruit and abide in Christ’s love. Obedience is no longer a daunting impossibility, but a new future that is bursting with spiritual life!

My brothers and sisters, go forth with great confidence in Christ’s sovereign love. His love will cause you to persevere and abound; and so abide in his love.

FCF: Sin has cut us off from God, the source of our life

CFC: Abiding in Christ gives us full and true life

Call: Abide in Christ through the means of grace

Big Idea:

Thoughts:

Abiding is a continual thing. To call to abide is to call to persevere, to remain, to continue forever. Just as a branch cannot be connected to a tree for a day, and then have life forever, but must remain in the tree forever, so also we must always remain in Jesus.