John 15:1-11 JESUS: THE TRUE VINE
Intro: The last verse in chapter 14 tells us that Jesus
and the Disciples are about to leave the upper room. They are headed
to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus will pray His great High Priestly
prayer and will later be arrested by the mob led by Judas. Apparently,
Jesus speaks the words which make up chapters 15 and 16 in route to
the garden.
In this chapter, Jesus is pictured for us as the True Vine. I can
imagine Jesus and these men going through the darkened streets of the city and then
passing beyond the walls into the surrounding countryside. During this time of year, mid
April, the grape vines would be beginning to blossom with the promise of a fresh harvest.
As Jesus walked with his Disciples, perhaps He reached out and took a vine in His hands
and used it to teach an object lesson to His men. His desire is to teach them about the
most vital relationship they have in their lives, the one that is with Jesus and His
Father.
We might ask ourselves, "Why did Jesus give them this teaching
now?" The answer is simple: They needed it! These men have just been informed that
Jesus is going away, but that His work is going to continue, and that it is to continue
through them and their lives, John 14:12. If they were to carry on the work of the Lord,
then they needed to know how to produce that kind of fruit in their lives.
This morning, we are 2,000 years removed from that night, but the work
of the Lord still marches forth. God is still working through the followers of Jesus
Christ to accomplish His work and will in the world today. Many of us may sit here and
wonder how we are supposed to do the work of the Lord and how we can produce that kind of
fruit in our own lives. Well, the answer is found in these verses. Because this passage is
all about being becoming a genuine Disciple and about how to bear fruit for the glory of
the Lord. Let's take a few minutes this morning to view this portrait of Jesus: The True
Vine and see how we can become more like Him.
I. V. 1-3 THE PERSONALITY OF THE TRUE VINE
A. The Genuineness Of The True Vine - Jesus and
Jesus alone possesses life within Himself, John 14:6. All other vines are counterfeit. He
alone is the true source of everlasting, abundant life.
B. The Gardener Of The True Vine - The word
"husbandman" refers to the vine dresser, the gardener, the one who has the
responsibility of caring for the vineyard. Jesus says that the Heavenly Father is the
Gardener.
(Ill. The key phrase in verse 2 is "in me". This lets us know
that we are dealing with genuine believers. Jesus is n't speaking about those who profess
Christ and yet have never possessed Him, He is not talking about wheat and tares, but only
wheat.)
The Gardener is involved in everything that has to do with the Vine.
This verse zeros in on three specific duties the Gardener in regard to the Vine.
1. Protection - That is, the Gardener provides tender
watch care and protection for the Vineyard. (Ill. Aren't you glad that the Lord sees it
all? I praise the Lord for the sure knowledge that nothing passes the gaze of my heavenly
Father - Pro. 15:3)
2. Purifying - The Gardener uses three primary methods
of purifying his vineyard.
a. He Challenges The Branch - "Taketh away"
means to lift up or to raise higher. That is, the Gardener will take the unfruitful branch
and lift it from to dirt into which it has fallen giving it a better chance to be
productive.
(Ill. On a personal level, this means that when we get to a place in our
Christian lives where we are unfruitful and barren, the Lord will have to reach into our
lives, disturbing our slumber and He will lift us up in an effort to challenge us and
shock us to growth. There are times when the Lord can only accomplish this through
chastisement. Which, if responded to with repentance, will help us to be fruitful for His
glory. If, however, we choose to go on in our sins, there is a sin unto death, 1 John
5:16.)
(Ill. Has the Lord been challenging areas of your life? If so, do not
run from His challenge. Instead of running from God, turn and run to Him. After all, His
chastisement is always a proof of His love, Rev. 3:19, and of your relationship to Him,
Heb. 12:8)
b. He Cleanses The Branch - That is, the Gardener
removes things from the branch that sap it vitality and strength. Things like sucker
branches, useless buds, misdirected shoots, spots, discolored leaves, etc. Anything that
consumes life but produces no fruit must go!
(Ill. So it is in the life of the believer. When we allow things into
our lives that hinder our walk with the Lord, then we are in danger of a pruning. Ill.
"Pruning" by its very name sounds painful, and it isn't always easy to cut the
junk from our lives, but if we do not do, the Lord surely will! Notice the advice given in
Hebrews 12:1.)
(Ill. How is this pruning accomplished? By the Word of God - v. 3.)
1. Like a mirror, the Word of God reveals problems -
James 1:23-24.
2. Like a knife, the Word of God cuts to the heart -
Heb. 4:12.
(Ill. The question this morning is this, has the Lord been speaking to
you through His Word? If so, have you been heeding the call from the Lord? If not, then I
challenge you to allow the Lord to prune your life with His Word. If that is not
accomplished, then he will take further and far more drastic measures.)
I. The Personality Of The True Vine
II. V. 2-8 THE PURPOSE OF THE TRUE VINE
A. V. 2 There Is A Distinct Purpose - The Vine
has but one purpose: to produce fruit. The Vine exists for that purpose alone. Without the
fruit, the vine and all of its efforts are wasted. The True Vine has a singular purpose
and that is to bear fruit to the glory of the Lord.
B. V. 8 There Is A Distinguished Purpose - The
reason the Vine desires to produce fruit is so that the vine dresser might receive the
honor. When fruit is yielded in a vineyard, the Vine, the branches, the soil, even the
fruit does not get the credit. All the glory passes on to the Gardener. So it is with the
Lord Jesus. Everything He did and does was and is to glorify His Father.
(Ill. This ought to be the burning desire of every child of God this
morning. That is, to so live our lives that every waking minute is bringing glory to the
Father in Heaven, 1 Cor. 10:31. There is something wrong in any life when there is no
desire to bring glory and hone to the God who loves us, sustains us and cares for us along
the way.)
C. There Is A Delegated Purpose - Notice this
truth. The Vine itself does not bear fruit! Its fruit are the branches. The branches have
the obligation of bearing the fruit. The Vine supplies its life to the branches and they
take that life and use it to bear fruit. Here is a word to the branches about our fruit
bearing.
1. The Qualifications For Bearing Fruit - There are
only 2.
a. V. 2 The Branch Must Be Attached To The Vine - If
you are not in the Vine, then there is no way for you to share in the Vine's life. This is
all about a vital union between the believer and the Lord Jesus Christ, the True Vine.
(Ill. We need to recognize our standing this morning. If we are in the
Vine, then we were in Him at Calvary and when He arose from the dead, Rom. 6. If that is
the case, then our old man has been crucified and we have been raised to walk a new life
in Jesus. If we are in Him, then we are in Him today, that is, we have already ascended to
Heaven and are seated there in the Person of our blessed Savior - Eph. 2:6)
b. V. 4-5 The Branch Must Abide In The Vine - That is,
we must maintain a close fellowship with the Vine if He is to live through us produce His
fruit in our lives. This is only accomplished by "abiding" in Him! How does one
abide? Prayer, studying the Word, deny self, draw nigh to God! The closer we abide to the
Vine, the more His life can flow through us to produce the fruit He desires. (Is there any
wonder that so many Christian lives are fruitless and barren? How would you describe your
life this morning? Are you bearing much fruit for the Lord?)
c. V. 5 The Branch Must Be Available To The Vine - May
I remind you that fruit bearing is a passive activity on the part of the branch? If the
branch will simply abide in the Vine, then the Vine will most certainly produce its fruit.
I don't know about you, but I find that truth liberating! I am not required to do anything
but abide. It is the Vine's responsibility to produce His fruit in my life. That frees us
from having to work and labor to get His approval. If we will yield, He will live through
your life and mine!
(Ill. When we speak of fruit, what do we mean? What will be produced in
our lives when we yield? How will we know if fruit is being produced through us? There are
three basic fruits the Lord bears in the lives of His children. They are:
1. Sanctification - That is, we become
more like Him - Rom. 6:22; Phil. 1:11; Col. 1:10.
2. Spirituality - That is, we behave
more like Him - Gal. 5:22-23.
3. Souls - That is, we are burdened
like Him - Rom. 1:13.
2. The Quality Of Our Fruit - This is not the branches'
responsibility! When we are abiding in the Vine and He is reproducing His life in us, we
can rest assured that the fruit that is produced is honoring to the Lord. Again, this is a
liberating truth!
3. The Quantity Of Our Fruit - Again, this is not the
responsibility of the branch. Some will produce much, some will produce little. Which
depends upon the will of the Vine. Our duty, to repeat myself, is to abide!
(Ill. However, it is clear from these verses that God anticipates a
steady progression in the level of our fruitfulness. Notice verses 2 & 8 - no fruit,
fruit, more fruit, much fruit! The closer we abide in the Vine, the more fruit He will
yield through our lives.)
4. V. 6 The Quagmire Of Fruitlessness - Not every
branch abides in the Vine as it should. It is still attached, but it has ceased to draw
life from the Vine's fulness. As a result, it is fruitless and withered. When this
happens, there will be three certain results.
a. Loss Of Fellowship - Cast out - Not Abiding (Ill.
Cannot lose relationship. The withered branch still possesses the same nature as the Vine,
but it is not longer attached in the sense of life drawing fellowship.
b. Loss Of Vitality - Withered - Possessing no life!
Death and dried up. This describes many Christians this morning! It didn't use to be this
way, but now there is deadness where there used to be life. There is weakness where there
used to be power. There is emptiness where there used to be fullness. My counsel is for
you to come back and renew that long fellowship. Once again start to draw that life giving
juice from the Vine and begin again to produce fruit for Him.
c. Loss Of Reward - When this life is over, there will
be many who name the name of Jesus and were unfruitful. They will experience the loss of
every reward, 1 Cor. 3:13-15. Many think they will be content just to get to Heaven, but
there should be a desire to have rewards to lay at His feet. Will you hear, "Well
done?" Only if you are a fruitful branch!
I. The Personality Of The True Vine
II. The Purpose Of The True Vine
III. V. 7-11 THE PROMISE OF THE TRUE VINE
Those who abide in the True Vine can rest assured of certain precious
and sure promises!
A. V. 7 An Unhindered Prayer Life - (John
14:13-14) Why? When we are abiding as we should be, and when we are drawing our life from
Him, then His will will be our will. That is, every time we pray and every thing we pray
for will fit perfectly with His will and He will grant our requests.
B. V. 9 An Unending Love - Jesus loves all men
always, but those who are abiding in Him have entered into a special, ever-deepening
relationship with Him. This is the promise of the Vine to the branches!
C. V. 11 An Uncommon Joy - (Ill. Joy is not
happiness, which depends upon happenings, but it is a deep settled inner pleasure.) It is
the deep settled assurance and confidence in our relationship with the Father and with His
Christ that fills the heart with "joy unspeakable and full of glory", and that
ignites the heart to serve God.
Note these truths about joy:
1. Joy is Divine in nature - It originates with God and
is only given by God. It is absolutely unaffected by earthly or material things.
2. Joy is not dependent upon happiness - God's joy
abides at all times, even the most difficult!
3. Joy is the product of faith - When one is assured of
one's standing in Christ, joy is the result!
4. Joy in the Lord produces faithfulness to the Lord -
Neh. 8:10, His joy is our strength and that which gives us courage for the battles.
Conc: Jesus is the True Vine. His desire is to live through you life so
that you might bear fruit unto the Heavenly Father. As we close, there are a couple of
questions that need to be asked right now.
1. Are you "in the Vine"? Have you
ever been saved and grafted into Jesus?
2. Are you "abiding in the Vine"? Are
you drawing your strength from Him so that He is able to produce is fruit through you
life?"
3. Are you bearing His fruit today?
Where do you stand with Jesus today? If God has revealed areas in your
life that need to be pruned back or other wise dealt with today, then I challenge you to
come to Jesus and let Him take care of you need. If you have never been saved, please come
and let me show you how you can be placed into the Vine and become a child of God. Is
there a need? If so, Jesus is the supply! You come if the Lord has called you!
