With Dale Ratzlaff
John 15:1-11
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 bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 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. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also 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. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
This parable starts with “I am the true vine.” Two things immediately stand out. First, Jesus says “I, Myself am…,” clear reference that He is YHWH—The I AM, the Lord of hosts. Second, Jesus is the true vine. In the Old Testament Israel is pictured as the “choice vine” planted by the Lord. I think this parable is best understood from the perspective of the Old Testament and Israel’s failure to produce good grapes.
He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress (Isa. 5:2-7).
In contrast to the failure of Old Testament Israel to produce “good grapes,” Jesus now says that He, Himself, is the true vine. The Old Testament pictures a covenant made between God and Israel. In the New Testament we see a new covenant made between the Father and Jesus.
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison (Isa. 42:6-7).
Jesus applied this verse to Himself in Luke 4:18. Therefore, we understand when Jesus says He is the true vine. He is replacing Old Testament Israel as the “vine of the Lord” with Himself as the True, new covenant “vine.” We should note well that it is Christ who is the True Vine that replaces Israel in the new covenant relationship and not the church. The church is not the vine, but draws all life from Christ the true vine.
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away.
Later in our passage, Jesus expands upon this statement with:
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
I found considerable discussion regarding the meaning of these two passages. In both sentences, it appears that the ones who are “taken away” or “cast into the fire and burned” started out “In Me,” or connected to the living vine. Are those who end up being taken away or cast into the fire those who were once believers? Some say this is the case. I disagree for two reasons. First, Jesus is addressing His disciples and teaching them the importance of their mutual indwelling—the main thrust of the parable. On the morrow, they will hear the Jewish leaders asking for Barabbas to be released and calling for the crucifixion of Christ.
And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified (Mt. 27:25-26).
I believe, therefore, that a partial interpretation of those who are cast out or cut off and burned up applies to the Jewish nation that rejected Christ and not to Christian believers. A second reason that I do not believe this passage is teaching that true Christians will fall away and be burned is the many references by Jesus in the Gospel of John dealing with the security of the believer. As they have been discussed in previous lessons, I will give but one verse now.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life (Jn. 5:24).
This is one of the most powerful statements for believing that if we hear the gospel of Christ and believe in Jesus, we, (1) now have eternal life, (2) we will not come into judgment, and (3) we have passed once and for all out of death into life.
And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
Those who are “in Christ” will continually be “pruned.” This is the continuing work of sanctification as the Holy Spirit works out Christ’s righteousness in our lives. At times it may be painful as we are disciplined by God for our own good, to help us mature toward the fullness of the measure of Christ.
To His disciples, and to us, Jesus says,
You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
“Have spoken” is in the perfect tense, meaning that Christ has spoken once and for all a word of forgiveness, reconciliation, righteousness, and peace. At the Last Supper Jesus said to Peter,
He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you (Jn. 13:10).
Judas, the one who was not “clean,” was not a true believer and may be represented by the unrepentant Jews—those who are “cut off” or cast away. There are other examples in the New Testament of people who appeared to be disciples who were not true disciples. For example, in John 8:31 Jesus said,
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.”
If one reads to the end of John 8, it is evident that these people were really not sincere believers and could be classed with those who were cut off.
We, as true believers, were cleansed by His Grace, once and for all. Here we have both aspects of the Christian life: a once and for all declaration of the cleansing of justification, and the continual cleansing of sanctification that we may be more fruitful.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
Parables usually have one main truth. And the mutual indwelling of Christ in the believer and the believer in Christ is the central truth of this parable. Abide means to “remain.” We cannot abide in Christ unless He abides in us.
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.
This is an either-or statement. If we abide in Christ, we will bear much fruit. If we are apart from Christ, we can do nothing. Union with Christ is the essence of the Christian life. Unless we are united with Christ, we are not part of Him.
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
We should not always try to make every aspect of a parable have a corresponding literal meaning. The method of growing grapes and the care of the vines was well known in Biblical times. Rather than interpret this sentence as referring to Christens who once believed because they had been connected to the vine and will later dry up or be cut off, we should recognize that Jesus is emphasizing the necessity of union with Christ, as illustrated, by the example of caring for the vineyard.
We come now to one of the most wonderful promises. Before I give a presentation or sermon, I often spend time in prayer and repeat this promise and believe in faith that it has and will be answered relative to the truths of my presentation.
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
At first, this looks like an open-ended promise. Yet upon careful consideration the following conditions appear.
We must abide in Christ. Mutual indwelling is the central truth and the important condition. There can be no vibrant Christian life or maturity without this connection.
“My words abide in you.” Unless we regularly read the Gospels, we will not have access to Christ’s words. His words comprehend all truth. His words define and expand on the concept and application of love. We are even to love our enemies. His words usually define obedience as love.
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” This in itself is further demonstration of Christ’s love for His disciples. This statement deserves much contemplation. Do we realize the depth of love Jesus has for us is the same as the Father has for Jesus? If so, how will this affect the way we live, love, and express our faith?
“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.” Here is the secret of abiding in Christ: obedience to the words of Christ.
We might ask what Christ’s commandments are. Jesus, in the book of John, as well as all of John’s writings has made this abundantly clear over and over again. “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” In Christ, obedience and love are forever joined into one.
Some of us who grew up in a legalistic environment looked at obedience as difficult and sometimes discouraging. Here we see the direct connection between obedience to Christ and joy in the Christian life. “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” Joy, fruit-bearing, love, and obedience are all results of the mutual indwelling of Christ and the believer.
Let us review the conditions above and then come back to the most wonderful promise, mentioned above.
Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
We are not asking in a begging sense. Rather, we are asking, believing and knowing that it is the Father’s will that we ask.
My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
As Christ glorified the Father, so by our union with Christ, we bring glory to Him.
Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again” (Jn. 12:28).
As in the vineyard, so in the Christin life. A living connection with Christ is the necessity for spiritual life, the condition of fruitfulness, and the genesis of Christian joy.
Application
Rather than list a number of applications here, many of which would be but repetitions of what was written above. I encourage you to prayerfully do the following:
Read John 15:1-11 as noted at the beginning of this lesson, or from your own Bible, asking the Holy Spirit to give you insights into the truths contained therein.
Review the promise: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” And then read the bulleted points above.
Prayer
Father, thank you that you have provided the means for a vibrant Christin life by allowing me to be “in Christ” and “Christ in me.” Help me to realize all that this means. Help me to love others as you have loved me. May I experience the fullness of your Joy.
In Jesus name.
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