Vine and Branches, Part 1

Chuckle: "To become an angel you first must die. Then you go to Heaven, and then there's still the flight training. And then you got to agree to wear those angel clothes." --Matthew, age 9

Quote: "Those who seek to live like Christ must also relinquish ourselves to God, that we might learn to be and do nothing but his will. Realizing that we have not the ability to think or do anything good or holy within our own power, we must be willing to submit every faculty or body, soul, and spirit to Jesus." --Andrew Murray

VINE AND BRANCHES, Part 1

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5 NLT).

Jesus had a wonderful way of teaching his followers by using metaphors and parables familiar to his audience. Vineyards were common in New Testament times and everyone understood the principles of how a vine produces grapes. Accordingly, Jesus used bearing fruit to describe the Christian life which is totally dedicated to spiritual growth, sacrificial service, and leading others to Christ. Jesus went so far as to say we can do nothing apart from him. It is not the branch that bears the fruit, but the vine. The branch is just a rack to hang grapes/fruit on, but it is the vine through whom the spiritual life flows and fruit is produced. Jesus said all he wants from us is to be faithful branches and let him hang the fruit on us.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you" (John 15:1-4 NLT).

Christ is the vine, and God (the Father) is the gardener who cares for the branches to make them more fruitful. Branches are all those who claim to be followers of Christ. The fruitful branches are true believers who by their living union with Christ produce much fruit. But those who become unproductive -- those who turn away from Christ after making a superficial commitment -- will be separated from the vine. Unproductive followers are as good as dead to God's kingdom and will be cut off and tossed aside.

Notice the two kinds of pruning God accomplishes: (1) cutting off and (2) cutting back (pruning) of branches. Branches showing no life and producing no fruit are cut away at the trunk because they are worthless and also because they often infect the rest of the tree. Those who don't bear fruit, or try to block the efforts of God's faithful followers, risk being cut off from his life-giving power. Perhaps Jesus was making reference to Judas Iscariot, or to others like these: "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us" (I John 2:19 NIV). God prunes the fruitful branches to make them even more fruitful.

As we consider these words of our Lord, we must be careful not to assume God's role by setting ourselves up as the Gardener, and judge, to determine who should be cut off and who should be pruned -- that is God's business. This passage deals with God's relationship with individual branches (Christians) and He is the one who will cut off or prune them according to His own will and purpose without any help from us. We know that God deals with all His children from an attitude of love, compassion, and patience. His goal is to make each of us fruitful, and His heart must break when rebellious branches render themselves useless in His vineyard.

Love, Jerry & Dotse