Now, as Jesus and His disciples are walking through Jerusalem on their way to Gethsemane, we see Jesus’ discourse on the true vine and the branches beginning in John 15:1. “I Am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.” Jesus calls Himself the True Vine for several reasons. The first is explained in Isaiah 5:1-7 where the prophet says the Lord planted His vineyard (Israel) with great care and provision, expecting it to bring forth good fruit. But, instead, it bore only wild (useless) grapes. Here, Jesus is the Vine that, under the right conditions, will bring forth good fruit. I say right conditions because there are 3 conditional statements in Jesus’ comments that determine whether good fruit is produced. I’ll, of course, point them out as we go through this.
This is verse 2, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He trims off; and He prunes every branch that bears fruit, to make it continue to bear more fruit.” “Every branch” is every believer. And those branches that do not bear fruit are trimmed from the vine. This should trouble those who want to believe in the popular doctrine of eternal security. Those believers who produce fruit are “continually pruned”, so they will produce more fruit.
At this point let me remind you of the meaning of “fruit”. This is from karpos and is used as a word picture to illustrate the character of God. We saw this in lesson 116 and Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. In verse 22 those who get entangled in the cares of this world (seeds sown among thorns) don’t bear fruit. Those who hear the Word and consider it carefully (seeds sown in good soil) do bear fruit. Again, John the Baptist challenged the religious crowd in Matthew 3:7-8 to show fruit that proved true repentance, a clear reference to Godly character in light of the fact he had just condemned them as a bunch of snakes. Paul uses “fruit” to illustrate Godly character, then tells us what it is by name in Galatians 5:22-23.
Back to John 15:2, the translation above says the Father (remember, He is the Vinedresser) purges the branches that bear fruit. The word translated “purges” (“prunes” in some translations) is from kathairo and means, to cleanse or purify. The practical explanation here in the context of the vine and vinedresser is that the Father cuts away anything that corrupts the believer’s life, enabling him to manifest more and more of His character. This is so they will continue to bear more fruit. The verb in this last phrase is a present subjunctive, indicating repeated, continuous action, a picture of spiritual growth.
But, let’s be clear. Spiritual growth is never a result of the Father imposing His will on our lives. True spiritual growth comes when we recognize the opportunities we experience to reject the world, agree with God, make the right decisions in our life and change from who we are to Who He is. The very fact that we live in a corrupt, fallen world gives us ample opportunity. It’s up to us to take advantage of those circumstances and situations in life that make us choose between the ways of the world or the ways of God. When we do what He wants us to do, we’re “purged” and thus enabled to produce more “fruit”.
Then in verse 3 Jesus uses the noun form of kathairo, katharos, to describe the current spiritual condition of the disciples, saying, “Now you are purged, because of the teachings I have given you.” The meaning here is that at that point in time the disciples were pure or clean in their devotion to Jesus and belief in Him (compare Matthew 5:8). As we know, future circumstances caused them to waver, but in the end they persevere.
This brings us to verses 3-4 and the first condition necessary to produce good fruit. “Dwell in Me and I will dwell in you. Just like no branch can produce fruit by itself without being vitally connected to the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you are vitally connected to Me. I am the Vine and you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears an abundance of fruit. But, apart from Me, you can do nothing.” Jesus’ meaning here is clear. The true character of God can only be produced in a life that is connected to Him. No branch (believer) can produce that character by itself or apart from Him.
Man’s religious institutions promote morality based on whatever rules and regulations they decide are right. Of course those moral standards vary from group to group and change over time, so what was deemed wrong in the past might be OK today, depending on the ever-changing standards of the world. But, the Scriptures are clear, man’s idea of what is right is “filthy” in God’s eyes (Isaiah 64:6). Jesus condemned the supposed righteousness of the Pharisees that was based on their own rules (Matthew 5:20) and explained in detail how they had distorted the Word of God for their own advantage (Matthew 5:21-48). Paul was determined to obtain a righteousness that comes from God, not from following the rules (Philippians 3:9). And I use the example of righteousness, because it is simply nothing more than agreement with the character (Who He is) and nature (what He does) of God.
In verse 6 Jesus further explains His comment in the beginning of verse 2 about the branches that don’t bear fruit being trimmed off. “If anyone does not dwell in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withered. These branches are gathered up, thrown in the fire and burned.” Again, the meaning is clear and the eternal security crowd has some explaining to do.
Now we come to another verse (7) misunderstood and misused by many. “If you live in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you will and it will be done for you.” This is another conditional promise. Here Jesus doesn’t simply say “ask whatever you want to and I’ll do it for you”. Though that seems to be what some want to think. This promise is prefaced with a condition, “If you live in Me and My words remain in you”. It’s not up to us to decide what we want to ask for. The context of Jesus’ promise must be kept in mind. It’s much the same as asking “in My Name”. The point is obvious, He stands ready to give us what we ask for concerning the development of His character in our lives! Scripture can only be properly interpreted by comparing it to other Scripture and cannot be taken as isolated verses or phrases.
“And when you produce this abundance of fruit, My father is honored and you prove that you are true followers of Mine.” (Verse 8)