I AM The True Vine - John 15:1-8

Woodland Hills Church of Christ Podcast

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Berry Kercheville

I Am the True Vine (John 15:1-8)

Introduction:

Seven times in John’s account Jesus uses an “I AM” statement to describe himself as God who has come to gather and restore his people. This is the final “I AM” statement in John and comes the night before his death. “I am the true vine” was one of the ways Jesus prepared his disciples for his departure so that they would know that they could continue to be fruitful if they would abide in him.

We read these words so quickly and easily as if it is just a nice parable. But the pictures and metaphors used in John’s Gospel are never superficial or simplistic. The vivid picture of a vine and branches, and thus a vineyard, is filled with messages of God’s intentions from before the foundation of the world. Here again, is God teaching us about our identity.

I Am the True Vine

The first challenge is to understand why Jesus uses this metaphor and how that should impact the apostles and all Christians coming after. As has been John’s pattern throughout the book, the signs and the teaching of Jesus offer strong references to God’s purposes foretold and foreshadowed in the OT. In fact, both the signs and teaching of Jesus illustrate that Jesus is God because he does what only God can do. Cf. John 1:18.

Let me call your attention to OT texts that should have taught Israel about the “Vine” analogy.

• Psalm 80:7-18 “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.”

• Jeremiah 2:20-22 Israel had become a “degenerate” vine

• Isaiah 5:1-7 The parable of the Lord’s vineyard that failed to produce

• Isaiah 49:1-3 The Messiah is chosen as the true Israel to accomplish what the physical nation could not do. What was that? Isa. 49:6 and the new Exodus.

• Isaiah 53:10 “he shall see his offspring”

Therefore, just the words, “I am the true vine,” have taught us our purpose and our calling. Consider that when Jesus said he is the true vine that the branches are part of the vine not separate from the vine. We are part of the vine. What the vine does, we do. What the vine does in producing fruit, is done through the branches. We know from the OT pictures that God had expectations of what should happen in his vineyard. Israel was condemned and their vine destroyed because there was no fruit. We must not fail as Israel did.

You Are the Branches

We first notice that there are different branches. Some branches bear fruit and some branches do not bear fruit. That would be typical of any vine. There are both kinds of branches and the vinedresser would naturally address both kinds of branches in different ways.

The branches that do not bear fruit look as healthy as the other branches. It is not as if they are dead branches. They simply do not bear fruit. Those branches will be taken away, and verse 6 says that after they are taken away they wither and are eventually gathered and burned. It is understandable that they must be cut off because they are a burden to the vine.

The branches that bear fruit, are also addressed by the vinedresser. He does not leave the fruit-bearing branches alone. This displays the work of the vinedresser. The vinedresser lovingly prunes the branches that bear fruit so they can bear more fruit. No branch is excluded, nor is the vinedresser satisfied that a branch bears fruit. He desires more fruit.

Pruning implies a certain amount of pain. Please look back on your trials. In many cases they were awful trials. We hated the pain and the unfairness of it all. There may even be some anger that we still have over what we had to go through. But let’s change our perspective. The Father saw us bearing fruit, and so he lovingly pruned us so we could bear more fruit. The trial made us better servants; it made us better branches. We are even better fruit-bearers than we were and the Father is glorified even more.

What a pleasure, what an honor to be a branch in the Lord’s vine! Look what God has done with us who at one time could bear no fruit. We were nothing without him. Now we are bear fruit in the Father’s vineyard, and the Father is glorified.

Bearing Fruit

No one can bear fruit by themselves. Fruit is borne only when we are connected to the vine. We do not bear fruit because we are so good at bearing fruit. Jesus causes the fruit to be borne in us. First, notice the process: we are not saved because we bear fruit. That is, the Lord does not look at us and decide to save us because we have borne good fruit. No, we are connected to the vine and by abiding in the vine, the vine causes the branch to bear fruit. Cf. Gal 5:22-23 – the fruit is the Spirit’s fruit resulting from the work of the Spirit in us. It is a mistake to simply concentrate of being more patience (etc.). Instead, we are to grow to reflect the glory of the Lord, causing us to be more like him so that fruit happens. We don’t preach at a tree to bear fruit. We make the tree a healthy tree and it can’t help but bear fruit.

“The one who abides in him bears much fruit.” This is the answer to a lack of fruit in our lives. If you say to yourself that you are not really bearing any fruit, the answer is to “abide in him and let his words abide in you.” Becoming more connected to God’s word and therefore to Jesus so that you see more clearly your identity and purpose, will cause you to bear fruit. Bearing fruit will become a natural part of you life.

Being closely connected to the Vine is the answer to a multitude of ills. We tend to look in every worldly direction when problems and trials arise in our lives. Marriage problems? Let me go to a marriage counselor. Depression or dissatisfied with life? Let me read a self-help book or take a drug. Grieving? Let me solve the problem by a counselor or believing the one I lost is still sending me subtle messages or watching over me. It isn’t that medical attention is not occasionally needed, it is that turning to Jesus and his words are often not even in our thinking.

Example: Let’s suppose a husband complains that his wife is always sharp and bitter towards him. His comment is, “I can’t seem to do anything right.” What is the solution? We might ask what he is doing that makes her upset? Or ask what does she complain about the most? The better answer is, “How much time are you spending with you wife?” In other words, the real problem is deeper. It is the fact that the husband is not deeply connected to his wife. As with the marriage relationship, the real problems are solved when we are abiding in the vine.

Vs. 7 Abiding in him is equivalent to having his “words abiding in us.” Luke’s account of the parable of the sower explains the good soil: Luke records the parable like this:?“But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, bear fruit.” (Luke 8:15 HCSB)

So, at this point are you feeling a little intimidated by the challenge of bearing fruit? Consider further in verse 7. When his words abide in us, “ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” What is our context here? It is in the context of being fruitful as a branch in the Lord’s vine. Whatever we need to become more fruitful so that the Father can be glorified is what we can ask for and be confident that the Lord will give us our request. After all, he is the Vine. The Vine provides what is needed for the branch to live and bear fruit. The Vine supplies the life for the branch. Therefore, the Lord is willing to give us what we need to live in a way that the Father is glorified. That just makes sense.

Therefore, the Lord has solved our problem of doubt. He is the supplier of what we need to bear fruit. We only need to abide in him and in his words, and when we need help, ask!

Vs. 6 “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.” Do you feel like you are drying up spiritually? There can be only one reason. You are not connected to the Vine. There really can be no other reason. We often do not want to hear that answer. We would prefer an easier path and a quicker fix because praying and studying deeply and effectively so we are connected to Jesus is not done by a casual effort. It takes work, determination, and endurance. But not being connected to the vine has a devastating result. There is only one true vine. If we want life, there is only one choice.

Vs. 8: “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

If we are not glorifying the Father, we have lost our purpose. Isaiah 49:3 The reason God chose Jesus as “Israel” is so that he might be glorified. In the text, God is glorified when the Messiah/Israel becomes a light to the world to bring salvation to the end of the earth. That we are now the “Israel of God,” means that God has chosen us to do the same.

It is the bearing of much fruit that proves us to be his disciples. What have we seen in John? A constant contrast between partial believers, those who are not truly disciples (8:31-32), and those who are the real believers. Now Jesus summarizes one of the primary points in the book: the proof of who is the real disciple is the one who bears much fruit.

Conclusion:

With the final words of verse 8 we have come full circle. In Isaiah 49:3, God chose the Messiah so that he could be glorified by bringing salvation to the end of the earth. Now in this verse, Jesus reveals that the Father is glorified through the fruit disciples bear from being connected to him, the true vine. We now are the “Israel of God,” chosen so that God will be glorified!

Berry Kercheville