David's Sermons - John 15

The True Vine

Date: 23/3/99
Speaker: David Meiklejohn
Text: John 15v1-11

We have been looking at the names of Christ, and I'd like to look in this sermon at the True Vine. The vine is a unique plant, and our Lord has good reason for using this comparison.

John 15v1-11

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Before we consider the branches, we look at the vine and the husbandman. It is important that we start by considering Christ and the Father before we take a look at ourselves.
The True Vine - Jesus calls himself the true vine. As we look around us we see God's creation. Nature contains many pictures of spiritual truths, and here we see that the vine is the picture, Christ is the reality.
The Husbandman - the husbandman plants the vine, tends the vine and harvests the fruit. The Father sent the Son to this world to be the vine, he nurtured and kept Jesus while he was here and he is the reason for the fruit that is grown in our lives.

The Branches - we are the branches, part of the vine, grafted on so that our life force comes from the vine. As branches, we are:

dependent on the vine: our life, our nourishment, our ability to produce fruit all comes from the vine.
conformant to the vine: we are seen as part of the vine. We are the same wood, we have the same life. When others see our lives, they should see us as part of Christ, we should be just like him.
Serving the husbandman: our reason for living is to produce fruit that glorifies the Father. We have no reason for self-glorification, all should be for him.

The Fruitless Branch - some branches do not bear any fruit. Since the sole purpose of the branch is to bear fruit for the husbandman, a branch that bears no fruit is useless and is discarded. If our lives are not producing fruit, the Father may well discard us, for the good of the church, that it may be more fruitful.
The Fruitful Branch - even the branch that bears much fruit is not left alone. This is where the vine is different from any other fruit bearing plant. It needs to be cut back so much more severely. Instructions for growing a new vine say that each year the gardener should allow only two shoots to grow. When these have established themselves, one is severed, leaving just one to bear fruit. All the useless wood is cut away, and even the fruit bearing wood is cut away until the whole energy of the branch is concentrated in bearing one bunch of grapes. In a similar way, the Father wishes to purge our lives of all that is not good, then of some that seems to be good, so that we can concentrate on the one area of fruit-bearing that he has for us.

The Purging - the cleansing, or purging is by his Word. We have been given the Word that we may know the mind of God, that we may know what parts of our lives he wishes to take away, that we may be more fruitful.

The Grafted Branch - the branches are attached to the vine by a process known as grafting. Both the vine and the branches are cut; they are brought into contact, then they are bound together. As time goes on, the branch grows into the vine and the vine grows into the branch. All the branch's energy, all its fruit-bearing ability comes from the vine. For us to bear fruit in our lives, we must abide in Christ, and he in us. If we do this, his life and his energy fill us.

The Severed Branch - all life, nourishment and power is from the vine. If the branch is severed, it loses all power it has, and withers. We can do nothing while we are not abiding in Christ. All that we may appear to be doing is selfish and useless.

The Withered Branch - when a branch is severed from the vine, it shrivels up and dies. If is interesting to note that the same sunshine which gives the branch energy while it is attached to the vine causes it to wither when it has been cut off. The power of God enables us while we abide in Christ, but causes us to wither if we are cut off from him.

The Vine's Provision - this verse seems to say we can ask for anything and we will receive it. In fact it does say this, but with a condition: we must be abiding in Christ and his words abiding in us. If we are in such a state our will will naturally be the same as his, whatever we ask will be in his will and he will provide it.

The Branch's Purpose - we are branches in the vine that we might bear fruit. Our aim is to bear as much fruit as possible, not for our own glory but for the glory of the Father. If we bear fruit and keep it to ourselves it will rot and be useless. If we bear fruit for the Father, he will appreciate it and reward us.

The Vine's Love - the Father has loved the Son. This does not seem hard, since the Son obeyed the Father in all things, glorifying him by his life. But in the same way as the Father loves the Son, so the Son loves us. We who are undeserving of that love are given it, and we can go forward in our lives in the safe knowledge that he loves us, and always will.

The Vine's Example - we should not ignore the love of Christ towards us. It should spur us on to serve him and to obey him. He is our example, and his obedience to the Father is the target we should be aiming for.

Joy - what is joy? It is happiness, fulfillment, contentment, and much more. We can only have joy if we obey what we have just been told: we must abide in the True Vine, we must bear fruit for the Father, we must follow his commandments. If we do these things our joy will be full. Others will look at us and want what we have.

Jesus is the True Vine. We are the branches. Our purpose in this life is to bear fruit for the glory of the Father. All our provision from this comes from the Vine. We must abide in him, and he will abide in us, and our lives will be full of joy.