The Vine and the Branches

John 15:1-11

Let’s consider for a moment the picture Jesus paints here of himself as a vine, the Father as a vinedresser and Christians as the branches. Jesus, as the vine, is the source of all we need to sustain ourselves. We cannot exist without Him and really need to draw sustenance from Him on a moment by moment basis. To get a good picture of this example, find a vine, trim off a branch and see how long it lives.

Notice that the Father is the vine dresser and two activities are mentioned. First, He removes the branches that do not bear fruit. The proof of the Christian’s relationship to the Lord Jesus is the fruit we bear. That fruit may take many forms. The most obvious is our part in sharing the Gospel with other Christians and leading them into a personal relationship with Christ. Another not so obvious fruit is the prayer life we lead. If we effectively use the spiritual gifts the Lord has given us we will bear fruit.

The Father also prunes those branches that do bear fruit. He develops us so that our fruit is most productive for Him. To get a picture of this consider a rose bush. To get the largest, most beautiful blooms the gardener will prune off excess blooms on a branch so that each stem contains only one bloom; thereby producing a large beautiful flower. Another example is a fruit bearing tree. Frequently the orchard keeper will trim off many blossoms so that the largest, best fruit will be produced. The application, I believe, is that we should identify the gifts God has given us and carefully develop them and use them to honor Him. Notice v. 8 indicates the fruit we bear is proof of our relationship with Him.

Finally, the basis of our relationship with Him is love. He encourages us to “abide” in His love just as He abides in the Father’s love. Abiding in that love involves obedience to Him. We obey because we love and He provided the pattern for that. The result is that His joy is in us and our joy is full. The secret of Christian joy is abiding in Him as He does the Father.