The Parable of the Vine and the Branches-pt.5
The Vine and the Branches • Sermon • Submitted
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· 10 viewsThe attachment to the Vine is via the justifying and sanctifying purpose and work of the Vinedresser. All of that work comes down to one factor, the Words of Christ. All that is mentioned in this parable is the fruit that the Father is looking for.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.
7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
What is this?
First, again a condition.
What are the conditions in this section?
V. 4-the disciples abide in the Vine -> they can’t bear fruit unless the disciples remain in Christ.
V. 6-the disciples who do not abide in the Vine -> they will be removed from the Vine and burned.
V. 7-the disciples who remain in the Vine and His Words->their prayers will be answered.
V. 10-the disciples who obey Jesus’ commandments->they will be loved by the Father and the Son.
“If ever you abide in Me…” = ἐὰν μείνητε ἐν ἐμοὶ
“If ever you abide in Me…” = ἐὰν μείνητε ἐν ἐμοὶ
This is the first part of the condition.
He has already told them that abiding in Him produces fruit ONLY WHEN He abides in them.
Word Pictures in the New Testament John 15:7
This astounding command and promise (γενησεται [genēsetai], future middle of γινομαι [ginomai], it will come to pass) is not without conditions and limitations. It involves such intimate union and harmony with Christ that nothing will be asked out of accord with the mind of Christ and so of the Father.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
Thus, truly abiding in Christ includes Him abiding in the disciple.
Notice that throughout this section, he has been speaking about those who abide in Him.
However, that group of people does not include the hypocrites, although at first it appeared that it did.
A clearer way to say it is that there are those who identify with Jesus Christ, but do not abide in Him nor He in them.
Because, if they did abide in Him, He would abide in them and they would bear fruit, especially the fruit of prayer (v. 8).
Other side of the condition:
“My Words (it) abides in you…”
“My Words (it) abides in you…”
What does this mean?
Apparent conditions to prayer: abide in Him; His words abide in you.
What does this mean?
How are these men to have the Words of Christ abiding in them?
NOTE: this verse precludes the idea of “abiding” as “believing.”
You cannot have equate “abide” with “believe” as many do because the same kind of abiding that the disciples are supposed to do in Christ is the same kind of abiding that Christ is to do with them and the word with them.
Therefore, this “abiding” must mean exactly what it appears: to be inside something and remaining there.
Jesus is telling these men not to leave Him, His Words, and, by extension, His purpose.
This opens up the entire parable!
In fact, it opens up so much of the NT!
The idea is to remain with Christ and that He would remain with the disciples.
How could one leave Christ?
Well, if the vinedresser removes them, they would leave.
The connotation is that the disciples are to insure that they remain with Christ, where He is, and in Him by continuing with Him such that the vinedresser would not remove him and throw him away.
The act is simultaneous.
To remove yourself from Christ is to be removed from Christ by God.
Disinterest, habitual transgression, believing a lie, a false Messiah, all indicate leaving Christ.
One like this is evident by the lack of fruit = the Vinedresser is no longer pruning but has cut the branch off and has caused it to wither.
A branch that abides in Christ produces fruit and does not/has not been cut off and caused to wither.
Again, you will know this because that branch is bearing fruit.
Fruit-bearing = abiding in Christ/remainig with Him/remaining in His Word.
Think of those who are dead branches in the NT:
Judas - John 13
Ananias and Sapphira - Acts 5
Simon the Magician - Acts 8
The erring bother - 1 Corinthians 6
The lazy brother - 2 Thessalonians 3
Demas - 2 Timothy 4
The churches Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Laodicea - Revelation 2-3
Diotrophes
Etc…
All these represent disciples who were dead branches whom the Father removed.
They were not producing fruit because they had been removed by the Father’s judgment and, in time, were being removed historically, or before men.
Consider those who remained:
The eleven and Matthias
Paul
Barnabas
Priscilla and Aquila
Epaphroditus
The faithful few in Smyrna and Philadelphia
Demetrius (3 John 12).
These and many others in the NT, all bear the testimony of disciples who remained identifying with Jesus Christ on HIS TERMS and His Word.
3 And this we will do, if God permits. 4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. 7 For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 32 But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, 33 partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. 34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. 35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. 37 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. 38 But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
Now this makes sense.
Those who identify with all the blessings and powers that come with Christ and then, in time, leave Him, are in a position to have sealed their condition.
They are fit to be burned.
They are those who cannot repent again.
This is called “apostasy.”
It is a “falling away” from
Christ - Hebrews 3:12–14
Christ - Hebrews 3:12–14
12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,
His Words - 1 Timothy 4:1
His Words - 1 Timothy 4:1
1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,
His people - Matthew 24:10
His people - Matthew 24:10
10 “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.
His Law (of love) - 1 Timothy 4:2–5
His Law (of love) - 1 Timothy 4:2–5
2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,
3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.
4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;
5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.
Therefore, those who remain with Christ, Christ remains with them, will remain in His Word.
30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. 31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
“…ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
“…ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
How is this related to the above truths?
Simple.
Jesus is telling these men what He has been telling them all along: ask God for requests and He will grant them.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
This reality of prayer becomes a dominant theme in the upper-room discourse:
13 “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
23 “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. 24 “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
This is why Peter said that it was crucial for him to remain in “prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4-5).
This is why James said that prayer has conditions:
James 1:5–8 = the double-minded man is a the man who always backpedals what he says.
The prayer of that kind of man will never be answered since it is not of faith, but a man like this is unstable in all his ways.
James 4:1-4
A man who prays selfishly, temporally, and for his personal gain will not receive that for which he was asking.
The purpose of his prayers is not for the things concerning the kingdom of Christ, but things concerning the kingdom of his pleasures.
James 5:14-18
It is the prayer of a “righteous” man that produces much!
The prayer of the unrighteous, selfishly motivated man does nothing.
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight. 9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But He loves one who pursues righteousness.
29 The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them. 20 The Lord keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.
7 You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. 10 For, “The one who desires life, to love and see good days, Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. 11 “He must turn away from evil and do good; He must seek peace and pursue it. 12 “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Prayer is like wisdom.
20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; 21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: 22 “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge? 23 “Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 “Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; 25 And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof; 26 I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, 27 When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, 29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord. 30 “They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. 31 “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices. 32 “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. 33 “But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”
5 Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11 “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
John 12–21 (1) The Mashal of the Vine and the Branches: A Portrait of Discipleship (15:1–11)
This bearing of fruit, therefore, not only indicates that the followers are true disciples (mathētai) of Jesus but also that God is glorified in their discipleship.
“…In this…” emphatic position.
This refers back to v.7 = remaining in Christ and His Word.
It has been in this that the Father is always glorified.
This goes on to chapter 17.
John 17:14
14 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
These men are characterized as those who held onto Christ by means of His Words (cf. John 6:66).
Judas abandoned Christ and His Word.
Thus, the “by this” reality, that they have remained, the Father is glorified.
And, by this fact, that the Father has been glorified by their abiding in Christ and His Word, they would bear fruit.
The Father is therefore glorified by the disciples who remain and in that glory, the Father, by “cleansing” the remaining disciples, gives proof positive of the true nature of those who remain: disciples.
Again, remember,
But My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
The Father is not glorified in “shrinking back” disciples.
Cf. Acts 20:18-20, 26-27 = Paul did not lower his sails in order to stop going the direction that was intended.
This is why it says further:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
It is precisely those who abandon the local assembly who are evidencing leaving Christ, His Word, and His people.
God is not glorified in this and the fruit of prayer is hindered, and they, in God’s estimation are fit for destruction.
If the vinedresser is glorified, then you will bear much fruit.
The fruit of prayer, answered prayer, glorifies the Father thus producing fruit and therefore confirms discipleship.
Answered prayer, abiding in Christ, remaining in Him, having His Word remaining in you, all evidence the glory of the Father.
The sure result, then, is the fruit of discipleship.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Christ cannot be separated from His Words.
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” 28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.