1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 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. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have
spoken unto you. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye
shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein
is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 9 As
the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 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. 11 These
things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your
joy might be full. 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as
I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay
down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do
whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant
knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things
that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 16 Ye
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go
and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye
shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you (John 15:1-16)
If
DaVinci’s Last Supper were being shown at the local art gallery, the grounds
would be packed with art lovers seeking just a glimpse of that Masterpiece;
however, if the art exhibit were flooded by the works of Raphael, Michelangelo,
Van Gogh, and Durer, the greatest painting of all time (Last Supper) would
attract less attention. Humankind has a tendency to become bored with routine
labors, but they also become bored with great beauty which is presented in
abundance. The Gospels of Christ are full of the most beautiful and meaningful
Words of Truth ever written by the inspired pen. If we are not very careful, we
may become bored with their incessant and constant beauty of expression. The
best means of avoiding such distraction is to begin every Bible Study with
prayer anda mind that is eager to learn more and more. We can never learn all
that we need to know from Scripture, else we would definitely become bored with
its readings. God gave us appetites for food so that we would not starve to
death. The aroma of food will remind us of that hunger. The heart that belongs
to Christ must likewise have an appetite for beauty and truth so that it
hungers for the daily Bread of Heaven. I pray that we shall all have the hunger
today to see the beauty of Christ veiled in the truth of His Holy Word, and
allow the aroma of His Word in the beauty of nature and barrenness of the soul
arouse our heart’s taste buds.
1 I am the true vine, and my Father
is the husbandman. In the first three Gospels, we read
the heart-rending story of a certain man, or householder (meaning God), who
planted a vineyard and went into a far country. That vineyard was the Old
Testament Israel. The keepers of the vineyard treated harshly all that he sent
to collect the increase of the vineyard. Finally, He sent His own Beloved Son,
and they treated Him with great dishonor, cast outside the vineyard, and
murdered Him. Now the vineyard has been enlarged to accommodate the Gentile
nations, and Christ is illustrated hear as the Vine. The Father is the
Husbandman (Gardener). A vine cannot produce sap that is not consistent
with its nature. The nature of Christ is Truth, and all who are attached to the
Vine will be beneficiaries of that Truth.
2 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. My
wife is an avid gardener. She tends to her flowers, her vegetables and her
fruit tress which comprise her own vineyard of sorts. If a branch of the
persimmon tree ceases to bear fruit, she prunes it from the tree. The nutrients
that were going to waste in the severed branch will now nourish other branches
that will, indeed, produce fruit and that more abundantly. When the roses
become too small and puny, she prunes the rose bush and the roses will become
more vibrant and large when they bud. God often finds it necessary to prune
back our rapid and unfruitful growth when we become ‘too big for our breeches.
Quite often, another rose plant, of persimmon treelet will spring up in the
close proximity of another such plant. My wife calls these odd sprouts ‘runners.’
She always digs them up. They have separated themselves from the parent plant
and grow independent of it. They will never produce fruit. How many churches do
we have today that have abandon the True Vine and have shot up in close
proximity to appear genuine, but are really counterfeits of the real plant?
3 Now
ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. There
is a saying in Persia that when flowing water crosses over seven stones, it
will be pure. That may be an exaggeration, but flowing water definitely is pure
where it emerges from the spring. Christ is our Fountain of Water. His Word is
the pure water of life which purifies. As it courses through our heart’s
chambers and vessels, it will carry away the dross and deceit and fill those
organs with purity and truth.
4 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. If we
are attached to the Vine, we cannot help but derive our nourishment from it. We
are in Christ by being the branches of the Vine, and He is IN us because His
nutrient Word is flowing in our branch in the form of purifying water and
truth. If we are severed from the Vine, our branch will not only fail to
produce fruit, but it will wither and die. If we look about us on Sunday
morning, we can see many withered Christians dressed as fruitful branches, but
their core is dying for lack of the Water of Life. The only manner in which we
can ABIDE (live) is to have our source of nutrition from the Vine.
5 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 we
have no fruit, we are not joined to Christ. Some have forgotten that they are
the branches of the Vine and have come to believe that they, themselves, are
the Vine and not the branch. The find their waters from the dirtied streams of
the world, and their fruits are bitter and unwholesome. Men who preach a Gospel
not in strict accordance with the Gospel of Christ are such false vines. Men
arose in the Old Testament Church who added many burdens to the Word of God –
so much so that they could not be born of men. They began to believe that they
were the essence of truth and were the vicegerents of God on earth. Do we not
see the same corrupted views being erected in churches today?
7 If ye abide in me, and my words
abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. How
is this possible – that we may ask what we will, and it shall be done? If the
Words of Christ have the Sovereignty over our hearts, our hearts will be brim
full of grace and mercy mingled with love – so much so that whatever thing we
ask will not be our own desire to do, but that desire of God reflected in a
heart sold out to Him.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that
ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. Do we
dishonor Christ with our little fruitfulness? Yes, we do! If the truth of God
is powerful, and we seem anemic in our walk, we discredit the Person of Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ takes pride in His Elect. He would have be abundant
producers of fruit for the sake and glory of His Father just as I would have my
grandchildren be successful in their walks to satisfy the dreams of my own
Father.
9 As
the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. Can
you even begin to imagine the love of the Father when it is equated by Christ
with His love for us? He gave His humanity, His broken Body. His life’s Blood
for us, and He tells us that such love is akin to the love the Father has for
Him. Do not err in your appreciation of the love that God, too, has shed abroad
in our hearts. It was of greater pain for the Father to observe our horrific
treatment of His only Begotten Son than perhaps even for Christ in His own
suffering. I cannot resist sharing again this lovely hymn that fairly describes
the Love of God:
The love of God is greater
far
Than tongue or pen can
ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest
star,
And reaches to the lowest
hell;
The guilty pair, bowed
down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He
reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
Refrain
O love of God, how rich
and pure!
How measureless and
strong!
It shall forevermore
endure
The saints’ and angels’
song.
When years of time shall
pass away,
And earthly thrones and
kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse
to pray,
On rocks and hills and
mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall
still endure,
All measureless and
strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s
race—
The saints’ and angels’
song.
Refrain
Could we with ink the
ocean fill,
And were the skies of
parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth
a quill,
And every man a scribe by
trade,
To write the love of God
above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll
contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky
to sky.
Refrain
10 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. Is
there any means by which we can perfectly obey God in view of the Commandments
which are also those of Christ? There is only ONE way of which I know: “Love
covereth all sins.” (Proverbs 10:1`2) The love of Christ for the Father
was of such magnitude that He simply could not sin against Him. How about our
love for Christ? How great is that Love?
11 These things have I spoken unto
you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. Do you
remember the joy we had in small victories won in school? When we studied
diligently and aced the exam, do you remember the self-satisfied joy and peace
of mind that attended that small victory? Or do you remember the times that you
parents may have gone on a trip from home and you completed faithfully all of
your chores prior to their return? Do you remember smiling eagerly as they
observed what an obedient child you were? Christ has told us all things needful
for our joy and production of fruit. Have we listened and have we obeyed?
Unfortunately, the prevailing notion of joy in the world is to enjoy life as
much as possible apart from the moral restraint of God. But Jesus desires that
we know that only true joy comes in abiding in Christ and loving and obeying
the Father.
12 This is my commandment, That ye
love one another, as I have loved you.
Herein lies the mystery of obedience! If we can keep this one commandment of
love, - love of God, and love for one another – then the obedience to all
commandments of god seem natural and desirable. We are not even tempted to
disobey when the apple of our eye and desire of our hearts is to please the
object of our deep affection.
13 Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. What
Man has laid down His life for you? If you know that Christ has had the grace
to do this, then are you His Friend. What an honor, privilege, and blessing to
be called the Friends of Christ – not as an empty title, but in complete
reality! Christ laid down His life for you. You are His friend, and He is more
than a friend to you!
14 Ye
are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Friends try to accommodate one another. Christ has made the ultimate
accommodation for you by providing the means for you to be adopted into the
family of God. Does He ask that we also die for the prize? No, He wants our UNDYING love. If He is our best friend
(and if we have any wisdom at all, He IS), we shall do all in our power to
deserve such a Friend by our loyalty, faithfulness, and love. We shall do
nothing to bring shame or disgrace on such a friend. Sin does bring such
disgrace and He tells us that we are better than that!
15 Henceforth I call you not servants;
for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends;
for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Why
are we not servants or slaves? Because servants and slaves have no choice but
to follow and obey their masters. We are friends of Christ because we come
freely to Him and we love Him with a love akin to that divine love which He
imparts. He has shared with us His choice truths which we alone can comprehend.
The world cannot comprehend because they have chosen darkness and not Light.
16 Ye
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go
and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye
shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. Here
is a profound truth that, could we fully grasp it, offers the greatest possible
comfort to us. To know that we are weak and hopeless to improve our lot is easy
enough. But to know that our place in the heart of god is not subject to our
feeble ability to earn the same is a great benefit. We may have a calling, but
ultimately not be chosen in Christ. But to know that he has chosen us (and all
who are chosen KNOW it without doubt) is such a blessed comfort. “….many
be called, but few chosen.” (Matt 20:16).
If we
be chosen in Christ, He makes no bad choices – we will definitely bring forth
fruit, and our prayers shall rise to the very ears of God. He will answer when
we call – no wrong numbers, no hold buttons, no ‘out of my office’, no delays.
Have
you that privilege, friend?
