Introduction: We are in the middle of Jesus' last lecture to His disciples. The last supper is finished. Judas is out getting some soldiers to arrest Jesus. He has time for a final lecture. In John 14 He re-emphasized the doctrine of the Trinity; He said He would send the Holy Spirit to take His place; and he defined the meaning of loving God as obedience (14:15, 21, 23-24, 31). Here in John 15:1-17 He elaborates on what He already said in John 14:20-21, 23-24: We "remain" or "abide" in Jesus' love only as we obey Him. (The Greek word "menos" is used in both passages.) Jesus illustrates this idea of remaining in Him through obedience by the metaphor of the Vine and the Branches. This passage embodies five major points:
I. Jesus is the True Vine (John 15:1).
A. This would have startled the Jews, who thought of the nation of Israel, themselves, as the true vine (Psalm 80:8-9). In the Old Testament days, a relationship with God had to be sought through Israel (see Romans 9:4-5). Now that the Messiah had come and instituted the New Covenant, that was no longer the case. Jesus is now the only true vine.
B. People of our generation disagree with Jesus. They think that there are many true vines (religions), and that they are all ways to God, and that one may join any religion, and bear fruit, and find God. This is not the case. Jesus is the only true vine.
II. Counterfeit Believers Will Be Cut Out of the Vine (John 15:2,6).
There are plenty of counterfeit Christians. There are plenty of people who are in the Church, the Body of Christ, who will be rejected by the Lord on judgment day (Matthew 7:17-23).
III. All Real Christians Do Bear Fruit.
A. The fruit is described in Galatians.
Gal 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
Gal 5:20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
Gal 5:21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Gal 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
B. All Genuine Christians have quit living lives of sin (we don't claim perfection!), in favor of lives obedient to God's Word. John emphasizes this repeatedly (I John 1:6-7; 2:3-6, 24; 3:9-10; 5:18; 2 John 9-10). Our lives are characterized by "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." If anyone tells you different, he/she is a false teacher.
C. Bearing fruit, doing good works, has been the Christian's destiny from eternity past (John 15:16 and Ephesians 2:10).
IV. If you are a fruit-bearing genuine Christian, expect to be pruned (John 15:2).
A. The Heavenly Father's purpose is to make you more fruitful. He is like any other farmer who wants as good a crop as possible! An interesting progression here:
1. Fruit (15:2)
2. More Fruit (15:2)
3. Much Fruit (15:5)
4. Lasting Fruit (15:16).
B. Pruning is obviously unpleasant, but the results will be for our benefit. Consider these words in Hebrews 12:
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
V. "Abiding" or "Remaining in Christ" Defined:
A. The prevailing false view is that "abiding in Christ" means achieving some sort of a mystical/emotional spiritual attitude. For example, here are some statements by a top-selling Christian author, who has written many best-selling books about prayer and abiding in Christ:
"It takes time to grow into Jesus the Vine...It is not enough to read God's Word...He wants to press you to His bosom..to give you to drink of the rivers of pleasure at His right hand...many have come to Jesus who know little of abiding in Him...we must cast ourselves into the arms of His love...the soul must become utterly passive...we must come daily to Jesus, all empty and helpless...wait for His guidance...maintain the spirit of waiting and dependence...be a docile learner...seek a deep conviction of utter blindness...retire frequently to the inner chamber of the heart, where the gentle voice of the Spirit is only heard if all is still..."
The same author also wrote this:
"Without the branch the vine can also do nothing...He has made Himself dependent on us. Without His disciples He cannot dispense His blessing to the world. He cannot offer sinners the grapes of the heavenly Canaan...As neither vine nor branch is anything without the other, so is neither anything except for the other...The vine exists only for the branches. All that Jesus is in Heaven, He is for us. He has no interest there separate from ours. How great is His need of my emptiness!"
This is just heresy, and robs Jesus of his Sovereign Majesty as the second Person of the Trinity. He is in no way dependent on His creatures. Jesus once told the Jewish leaders not to congratulate themselves on being Abraham's children, as if that made them indispensible to God, because God could raise up children for Abrahm from stones, if He wanted to. This mystical/emotional view of abiding in Christ is what leads to monasteries, nunneries, cloisters and passive Christianity. It's not Biblical, and it leads to false doctrine.
B. Abiding or "Remaining" in Christ is really very plain and straightforward. It means walking with Him by obedience to His Word. (John 15:7, 10, 14). The better we obey His Word, the tighter we abide in the Vine. As the old hymn goes, "Trust and Obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."
Conclusion: To summarize: Jesus is the True Vine, Counterfeit Christians will be cut out of the vine; Real Christians all bear fruit. God prunes us to get more fruit. Finally, the better we obey the Word of God, the closer we abide, and the more fruit we bear. May God help us all to study His Word, to live by it, and to be very fruitful, and thus bring glory to the Lord.