Living in the Vine (John 15:1-8)
I started college weighing nearly 250 pounds, and I knew I needed to be healthier. Thus, I limited myself to 25 fat grams a day, and I started to lose the weight. After I had lost about 60 pounds, the college’s vice president suggested that I read a book called Fit for Life. The book isn’t so much a diet as it is a way of suggested eating throughout the day. One of the book’s main principles—one I followed for a while—was that you only eat fruit before noon.
When I had a morning class, I sometimes took a banana with me. During our break in the middle of class, I would eat a couple bananas with my coffee. I started eating so many bananas that one of my professors—Coy Roper—began calling me his favorite monkey. And, enjoying cycling like I do, I probably eat more bananas now than I ever did in college!
You probably have some fruit that you really enjoy. Maybe you have an apple or pear tree in your yard. Maybe you enjoy picking fresh blackberries or strawberries. Maybe you like a banana split or a good watermelon in the summer. Maybe you enjoy a blueberry pie.
I hope you enjoy fruit because Jesus said you need to be bearing fruit! This morning’s text teaches: “Jesus’s disciples bear fruit.”
Scripture (John 15:1-8)
verse 1:
The Old Testament called Israel a vine and God a vinedresser. A golden vine inside the temple represented Israel’s strength. Jewish coins from around the time of Jesus depicted Israel as a vine.
Jesus, however, is “the true vine.” He is, in other words, the culmination of Israel and her hopes.
verse 2:
The Father takes away every branch which does not bear fruit. Farmers would remove fruitless branches so that the vine’s strength could go to those branches which were bearing fruit. The taking away of a branch is a clear sign of judgment.
The Father prunes every branch which does bear fruit so that it might bear more fruit. Just like a skilled farmer would prune productive branches to make them even more productive, the Father disciplines the faithful Christian to make him even more faithful.
verse 3:
The word Jesus had spoken had cleansed the disciples.
verse 4:
The only way a branch can bear fruit is to be a part of the vine; the only way a Christian can bear fruit is to remain—to abide, to dwell—in Jesus.
verses 5-6:
The branches that are taken away are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned. Obviously, a vine’s branch is worthless for construction; therefore, the ancients used them as fuel. Judgment is clearly being depicted.
verse 7:
The one who abides in Jesus can ask him for anything and the Lord will do it for him.
verse 8:
The Father is glorified when the disciple bears much fruit and proves that he is Jesus’s disciple.
Application
“Jesus’s disciples bear fruit.” If you are Jesus’s disciple, you will be bearing fruit. Jesus never expressly said here what fruit he expects his disciples to bear; however, it appears that Jesus talks in general terms about living a Christian life. In other words, all the good deeds you do are different fruits you are bearing.
Do you, this morning, wish to bear even more fruit for Jesus? The Lord told you how to bear fruit in this text. In order to bear fruit, you must be a:
Disciplined Disciple
God disciplines the faithful Christian so that he may bear more fruit: “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (Jn 15:2). God will discipline you for growth: “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb 12:7, 11).
Discipline seeks to help you grow and do better. God providentially allows you to face struggles so that you grow in faith and good works.
When you face difficulty, do yourself a favor:
- Pray and ask God to help you grow in your faith;
- Thank God that he loves you enough to help you grow; and
- “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (Js 1:2-3).
Dieting Disciple
To bear more fruit you need a healthy diet of the Word of God: “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” (Jn 15:3). The Word of God cleanses the soul: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word” (Ps 119:9). You have “purified your souls by your obedience to the truth” (1 Pet 1:22).
If you are to bear fruit for Jesus, spend time in Scripture. How much time do you spend in Scripture? Do you make reading the word of God a priority? Let me challenge you to spend time every single day in Scripture. Be clean through the word he has spoken.
Dwelling Disciple
To bear fruit, you must be dwelling—abiding—in the vine: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me” (Jn 15:4). You must live your life in Christ; doing so gives you confidence for the Second Coming: “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming” (1 Jn 2:28).
Decide that no matter what comes you will not leave the Lord. Paul made that decision: “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). Make that same declaration. Make everything about your life about Jesus. How dedicated are you to dwelling in Jesus?
Devotional Disciple
To bear much fruit, you need to devote yourself to prayer: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (Jn 15:7). This obviously is not a promise God will give you your every whim; remember that Jesus prayed for the cross to be taken from him within an hour or so of speaking these words, and the Father refused. You know, however, that God hears and answers your prayers.
Disciples must pray. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt 7:7). You are to be “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Eph 6:18). “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Col 4:2).
How devotional are you? How much do you pray? How many cares do you take to the Father? Do you adore the Lord through prayer? Do you worry more or pray more?
Conclusion
What if this congregation truly understood that “Jesus’s disciples bear fruit?” We would thank God when we struggled, for we would know that God was pruning us for further growth. We would spend ample time on a daily basis with the Word of God. We would be determined to allow no one or no thing to draw us away from Jesus. We would be on our knees in prayer.
Do you really understand that “Jesus’s disciples bear fruit?” Are you bearing fruit?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.