Preface
Jesus continues His last discourse to His disciples as they leave the location where they have enjoyed their supper together. This portion of His discourse may have been in the vineyard on the side of the Mount of Olives or in the valley of Kidron. A vineyard would have been an ideal setting for the truth that He was about to convey to his disciples by using the analogy of a fruit-bearing vine.
In the Old Testament the vine was a symbol of Israel (Psalm 80:9, 9; Isaiah 5:1, 7; Jeremiah 2:21; Hosea 10:1). Jews would have been familiar with this analogy, which is why Jesus’ application of the vine-analogy was revolutionary to His apostles. They had Jewish concepts and their pattern of thought was governed by the Old Testament. But to their amazement, Jesus did not use the vine as analogous to Israel. He says to them that He is the true vine. Why did Jesus use this figure of speech in this application? He uses it in order to emphasize that it is not a person’s identification with religion or an organization that is necessary in the plan of God. What is necessary is a person’s identification with a Person--the Lord Jesus Christ. This applied to both salvation and to (progressive) sanctification.
The analogy of the vine and branches used in this chapter is often taken out of context by Armenian or “legalistic” followers who believe it is possible for a saved person to lose his salvation--a concept that is far from the truth of God’s Word. The vine-analogy as used by the Lord in this chapter does not symbolize salvation. Jesus Christ is speaking to believers, and His focus is strictly on “fruit-bearing.” The Bible is clear. Salvation is a permanent condition for the one who by faith alone receives Christ alone as personal Savior, but the production of fruit in the believer’s life can widely vary between the time of the new birth and the time the believer moves on to be with God. Keep in mind the context of this chapter, which is centered on the formula for fruit-bearing (“fruit” is mentioned six times in the first ten verses) in the Christian life--and never on the subject of one’s salvation.
John 15:1-3
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”
Jesus tells His disciples that He is the “genuine,” as opposed to a “counterfeit” vine. With their background in the Old Testament, this concept was revolutionary to His disciples. He was telling them that their identification with the Jewish nation and religion was no longer essential. The important thing now is their relationship with Jesus Christ. Their relationship with Him in the matter of salvation had already been established, as they are reminded in verse 3. But now Christ was speaking to them about “bearing fruit.” Soon He would be leaving them to conduct their mission of establishing His Church, the Body of Christ, upon earth. Their creditability before man would rest in their successful production of fruit. Their creditability before God would always rest in their union with Jesus Christ, but man can only look on the outward appearance when it comes to the nature of man. This coincides with the theme of the book of James--salvation is validated in the sight of man by a believer’s good works.
The moment a person accepts by faith that which Christ did for him on the cross, depending only on Christ for his personal salvation, he is baptized (spiritually immersed) into the Body of Christ. At that moment of the “new birth,” he is forever united with Jesus Christ, indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit. He becomes a permanent branch of the “True Vine,” and God the Father is his personal “Vinedresser” (translated also as the Husbandman or Farmer or Keeper) who oversees the branch’s fruit-production. In the Old Testament God was the Owner of the vineyard; here He is the Keeper.
Whether of not a branch of the vine bears fruit does not make the branch any less of a branch. It is the same with the believer. Unfortunately every believer while on earth continues with a “sin nature” and the ability to make choices. He is faced with a never ending series of choices in his spiritual life. He may decide to listen to God through the assimilation of Bible doctrine and thereby grow in grace and fruit-production to God’s glory, or he may decide to allow Satan and his sin nature to dominate. In either case he will always remain a Christian and heaven will be his eternal abode. The security of the believer is a major Bible doctrine and should anyone wish to study it in detail, a lengthy and complex topical study on the subject may be found at the www.bibleone.net web site.
Fruit in this context is speaking of the “fruit of the Spirit,” which is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22, 23). When a lost world sees this fruit in Christians, the natural by-product is “soul-winning” and other types of valid fruit. As is often said, the believer is the only Bible that some lost person may ever read. If the believer reflects the proper fruit, the lost will wish to partake in the bounty. Otherwise, without fruit, the lost may go the other way. Christ is teaching His disciples of the importance of bearing fruit.
Christians often make the mistake that the evidence of a proper spiritual life is how one is correct in every given facet of spirituality or Biblical interpretation. They rush to be absolutely right in all doctrine, in method of worship, in the makeup of the local church, in the evaluation of the many practices within society, and in how they are to think and act in every situation--so much so that they quickly fall into the trap of “legalism,” which is a tool of Satan most often part and parcel to “religion.” In short and without realizing it, they sink to the level of the Pharisees. They adhere to the “letter” of the law, but never to the “spirit” of the law. With their pomp and in their pious manner, they fail to experience or reflect any of the individual fruits of the Spirit of God. Then they wonder why no one appears to care for them, and why they drive people away instead of toward Christianity and their local church. It is just so easy for them to be “always right,” instead of long-suffering and loving.
But as previously explained the choice is up to the believer. There are consequences should he not bear fruit. The Vinedresser (God) will remove the believer if he persists (and here the Greek emphasizes the “habitual” nature of the verb as it relates to the production or non-production of fruit) in not bearing fruit. In other words if a Christian continues habitually in turning his back on God in his spiritual life and thereby continues never to produce any fruit, God will take him away. What does this mean? J. Vernon McGee puts it this way, “He takes it [the branch] away from the place of fruit-bearing.” This may mean several things. God may sequester the believer into a life of hardship and sorrow, or, as is mentioned in 1 John 5:16, He may simply take him on through the door of physical death. In either case, as seen in verse 6 of this chapter, he will be a “branch” that is “withered” (emaciated and wasted) before man and will eventually end up under the distillation fire of God’s judgment. There will be more on this in the commentary on verse 6.
But before leaving verse 2, the Vinedresser treats the branch that produces fruit in a different manner. In the quoted version of this passage, it is expressed as “pruning,” whereas the true meaning of the Greek word (kathairo) used here is “to cleanse.” There is no doubt that God also accomplishes “pruning” in the believer’s life. He removes many things that hinder his spiritual life, but the truth here is about “cleansing.” This is consistent with the cleaning that is performed on vines in the Bethlehem area of today. Grapevines grow on the ground where they accumulate dirt and pests, which often necessitates the keeper of the vines to wash the grapes before and in order that they may fully ripen.
How does a believer experience cleansing in his spiritual life? First, he is to exercise the principle expressed in 1 John 1:9, wherein it teaches that as needed a believer should come before God “confessing” (name--take responsibility for) any “known” sins within his life. Upon doing this, God instantaneously forgives him of all known sins so named, and, in addition, cleanses (forgives) the believer of any “unknown” (forgotten and/or not recognized) sins in his life. This should be a daily occurrence in the life of the believer. Second, he may experience cleansing by routinely applying the Word of God (Bible doctrine) to his life (John 15:3; 1 Peter 1:22, 23; Psalm 119:9). As a believer applies these two principles to his life, God cleanses him and prepares him for ever increasing service and fruit-production. Jesus assures His disciples that their present state of cleansing is up-to-date, since they had been cleansed through His Word. Make no mistake; the assimilation of Bible doctrine in the believer’s life is absolutely critical to living a spirit-filled, fruit-bearing spiritual life.
John 15:4-6
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
Jesus now reveals to His disciples, the “branches” that are “in” (united in a spiritual union with) Him, the one key element necessary in their lives if they are to bear fruit and be the recipients of other spiritual blessings. The “one key element” is to “abide” in Christ. This is not referring to the spiritual union resulting from the new birth. The Greek word used here is meno, which speaks of the relationship in which one person stands with another--to be at one with another in heart, mind and will--or, to be in constant communion with another (in this case, Jesus Christ). This is a condition and an experience that can come and go throughout the Christian’s life. As the believer is able to “abide” in Christ, he will bear fruit. If not, then there will be no fruit.
God’s Word (and this is major Bible doctrine for the believer) teaches that the only way a believer can “abide in Christ” is by the filling (control) of the Holy Spirit, which then allows Jesus Christ to live out His life through the believer.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
. . . to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith . . . . (Ephesians 3:16, 17)
For to me, to live is Christ . . . (Philippians 1:21)
Again, to “abide in Christ” can only be accomplished to the degree that the believer is able to turn from self, to keep himself cleansed of sin (1 John 1:9) and to permit via faith the Holy Spirit to control (this is the fullness of the Spirit) his way of life.
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.
(Ephesians 5:18)
As you have therefore received [by faith] Christ Jesus the Lord, so [in same manner] walk in Him. (Colossians 2:6)
Jesus tells His disciples that if they in fact will abide in Him they will bear much fruit. If they habitually refuse to abide in Him then they cannot bear fruit. When the condition of non-abiding becomes habitual or persistent, then God will deal with them by taking them out, either in seclusion and total ineffectiveness or by death. J. Vernon McGee in his Thru the Bible commentary puts it this way.
Let me say again that this is talking about our fruit-bearing, the product of our salvation. It is not talking about how we are to be saved. Paul uses another illustration for this same thing: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” (This is talking about the works of the believers, the fruit in the life of a believer. Fire will purify gold and silver and precious stones and draw off the dross. Wood, hay, and stubble will go up in smoke. That is the same as our verse which says the works will be cast into the fire and burned.” “If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward” (1 Cor. 3:11-14). I believe that rewards will be given only for the fruit in our lives--and we don’t produce the fruit; He produces the fruit when we abide in Him.
A branch that is not abiding in Christ “is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” This is amplified by 1 Corinthians 3:15: “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” He may get to heaven smelling as if he had been bought at a fire sale, but he will not lose his salvation.
John 15:7-11
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Jesus again emphasizes the necessity for His disciples to “abide” in Him, except this time He links it with the principle of His Word abiding in them. This should go without saying, but the natural outcome of being filled with (controlled by) the Spirit of God (abiding in Christ) is the unquenchable thirst for and the assimilation of Bible doctrine in one’s soul, which results in a grace-filled life.
This joint abode, i.e., the believer in Christ and Bible doctrine resident in the soul of the believer, will insure the following:
- The believer’s prayers will be answered.
- The believer will glorify God the Father.
- The believer will bear much fruit.
- The believer will be seen as a true disciple of Christ.
- The believer will desire and practice obedience to Christ, an evidence of abiding in the love of Christ.
- The believer will experience true and complete spiritual joy in his life.
John 15:12-17
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.
Again, remember the context in which these words are given. Jesus has been emphasizing the vine-branch analogy around the theme of bearing fruit. Here He speaks of one of the main fruits that the believer will evidence if he is abiding in Christ. That fruit is proper (impersonal) love for one another in the same manner that Christ had loved them. In fact, this is the very one fruit of the Holy Spirit that is given a place of priority in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church, when he concludes, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Christians are to love one another. This should be the one overriding quality in every Christian circle, club or church. Yet it is amazing how little love abounds among believers. Often a believer is far too concerned about making sure other brothers and sisters in Christ believe exactly as he does, or goes only where he goes and does only what he concludes as right and proper. When another brother slips and falls, often there is a swarm of Christian “friends,” like vultures, waiting to deride and castigate the fallen one. When this condition prevails in a church or among believers, it only confirms that there is little to no fruit bearing present in the lives of those concerned.
Jesus emphasized that we should love one another, as He loved us. He portends His future on the cross and the giving of His life as confirmation that there is no greater love one may provide to man. He does this within the framework of “friendship.” He assures the disciples that they have no greater Friend than Him. And because of His deep, abiding and genuine friendship He will give the ultimate--His life for them. The implication is that this “friendship” should be reciprocated by His disciples. They are to “abide” in Him, and with this the case, they will find themselves obedient to His Word--the Word that has come from God the Father and which Christ had already made known to them--that they are to “love one another as He has loved them.”
He reminds them that He has chosen them for a specific task, that of bearing fruit. He has told them the key element that would insure fruit-production, abiding in Him. He has assured them that as they abide in Him and consequently bear fruit their prayer will be answered by God, but there is one more point to consider between the link of fruit-production and prayer. Whenever a believer asks God for something “in the name of Jesus,” which means for the purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus, the very answer to the request is fruit from God in the believer’s life. And this fruit “will remain,” that is, it will be fruit that will carry over into eternity and will generate rewards of approval from God the Father.
Finally, and once again, He emphasizes that they are to love one another--this is one of the primary commands, if not the primary command of Christ to every believer then and today--to love one another.
John 15:18-25
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’”
At this point Jesus draws a distinct contrast between the attitude and behavior of His disciples, as they love one another, and the world that they will soon face, which will be one of hatred and animosity toward them. And why will the world hate them? Because by vehicle of the “new birth,” they are no longer citizens of this world. They reside as citizens of heaven through Jesus Christ their Lord. Jesus reminds them of that which He has previously told them that as servants of the Master, they will be mistreated just as the Master was mistreated. And if any accept their Master, they too will be accepted by the very same. This will be the outcome of being in union with (saved by) and abiding in (controlled by) Jesus Christ. Because the world failed to recognize Christ as the Messiah and God as His Father, it will continue its persistent persecution of any and all who have become united with Christ through the new birth and abide in Him by the “filling” of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus confirms once again that when the world hates Him, it confirms its hatred of God the Father. This was validated by His coming and all the miraculous works He had performed before the eyes of the world. Without this clear indication of the Deity of Christ, the world may have been able to claim ignorance and that they had committed no sin. But this excuse had been stripped from them. The world stands naked and exposed in the light and life of Jesus Christ.
The believer who truly abides in Jesus Christ will not accrue the popularity of the world. He will be in contrast with the “religious” person who professes God, who attends church regularly and who performs all manner of human-good (good deeds that emanate from the sin nature, but are as “filthy rags” in the eyes of God).
The “abiding-in-Christ” Christian will not be like this. He will always point to Jesus Christ as he bears the fruit of the Spirit. He will be a loving and uplifting Christian in his relation to his brothers and sisters in Christ. He will not bring attention and glory to himself, but he will constantly honor his Savior in all that he does. And most assuredly he will show the light of the Gospel to the world, and this will expose its sins and its need of Jesus. For this the world will surely hate him. Jesus Christ confirms this message in this passage.
And finally, in the words of J. Vernon McGee out of his Thru the Bible commentary,
Some wag has said, “God created man in His image and now man is creating God in his image.” That is the kind of God they want today and the kind of God they think is running the universe. Jesus quotes this as a fulfillment of Psalms 35:19 and 69:4 when He says they hated Him without a cause. They hate Jesus Christ because they have created a false god who is not the God of the Bible.
John 15:26, 27
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
This chapter ends with a most significant doctrine of God’s Word. It is simply this. When the Holy Spirit, the Helper and “Spirit of truth” sent by Christ from the Father, controls a believer, the believer will always focus the limelight on Jesus Christ and what Christ has accomplished for all mankind on the cross of Calvary. And the Christian who truly abides in Christ will in fact be controlled by the Holy Spirit and thereby bear the same witness, which testimony is linked intrinsically to the fruit of the Spirit.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit on this earth since the days of Christ is to turn the lost world to Jesus. This is His foremost activity! Remember this as you view the many programs in various organizations and churches throughout the land and on numerous television and radio programs. The acid test of all of these is whether or not the program or minister lift up and glorify Jesus Christ--and constantly remind the listener of what Christ did on the cross of Calvary. Unfortunately, many programs and ministers are self-consumed in bringing attention to themselves, in extolling their ability to “heal,” to pray piously and to evidence emotion in an effort to convince the public they are of God. They dress well, they speak in lofty terms, they use the name of God throughout their presentations, they perform with amazing gyrations and forged emotions as they persistently cry out for financial support--which mysteriously ends up in shady pockets. Without Bible doctrine anchored in the soul and a constant abiding in Jesus Christ, the believer will fall for such trash.
Remember, when the Holy Spirit is present, only Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary will be glorified. And additionally, the commandment given by Christ for all believers to love one another will be evident. These are the standards by which you are to validate groups and programs purported to be Christian.
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