Jesus’ Life In My Life
John 15:1-8
Introduction:
We are going to talk about “abiding in Christ” this morning, from John chapter 15. Abiding in Christ is the essential power of every Christian and yet most of us don’t really know how to abide in Christ. We understand what the phrase means, we know it is important but we don’t really know how it is accomplished. It is not clear, it’s a mystery to most Christians.
It is like in a story which is supposed to have happened centuries ago when the Pope decided that all the Jews who were then in Rome should leave. Not surprisingly, there was uproar in the Jewish community. So the Pope made a deal. He would debate it with their most learned Rabbi, , and if the Jew won, they could stay, but if the Pope won, then the Jews would have to leave.
The Jews realized they had no choice, so they picked their most learned Rabbi a man named Moshé to represent them. Moshe agreed, but he had one condition, since he did not speak Italian and the Pope did not speak Hebrew. on one condition so neither side should be allowed to talk. Eventually, the Pope agreed. So, the day of the great debate came, and Moshé and the Pope sat opposite each other for a full minute, neither side moving or speaking. Then the Pope made the first move, by raising his hand and showing three fingers. Moshé looked back and in the most determined of ways, raise just one finger.
The Pope then waved his three fingers around his head. Moshé thought hard, and pointed his one finger to the ground where he sat. Finally the Pope brought out some bread and a glass. Whereupon Moshé brought out an apple.
At this the Pope looked utterly overwhelmed. "I give up" he cried out "This man is too good. The Jews can stay"
An hour later the college of Cardinals met with the Pope to ask whatever had happened. "Well first" said the Pope "I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded with just one finger to remind me that there is one God common to both our religions. So I waved my fingers around to show him that God is all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground, showing that God was also right with us.
So I brought out bread and wine to represent God's answer to human sin. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin which binds all people together. He had an answer for everything … what else could I do?"
Meanwhile, the entire Jewish community was crowding around Moshé to ask whatever had happened. "Well" said Moshé "He began by saying that the Jews had three days to leave Rome" I told him we were staying, right to the last one. Then he told me the entire city was going to be cleared of Jews. So I let him know we were staying right where we were" "But then what happened?" they asked. "This is the bit I really don't understand" said Moshé "He took out his lunch and I took out mine!" - http://www.ebcg.ch/sermons/050220.htm Evangelical Baptist Church of Geneva 2006
Abiding in Christ means simply learning to trust him in such a way that his power, grace and strength simply flows into us with no conscious thought of our own. It is simply living the way a Christian should live. Now lets see how Christ says this is accomplished in us.
The Vine and the Vinedresser - John 15:1-3
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.
Now Are Ye Clean
Jesus uses the symbol of a grapevine to explain the relationship between the Son, Father and disciples. He says, I am the “true vine.”
What does he mean by that phrase the true vine. Keep in mind that this is being taught on the same night as the Passover and more importantly the first Lord’s Supper. What Jesus is saying that he is the genuine vine of righteousness, the true vine. He is the vine that Israel was supposed to symbolize but failed.
Isaiah 5:1-7 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my
beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very
fruitful hill: 2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and
planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and
also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes,
and it brought forth wild grapes. 3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
men of Judah,
judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4 What could have been done more to my
vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should
bring forth grapes,
brought it forth wild grapes? 5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do
to my vineyard:
I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down
the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6 And I will lay it waste: it
shall not be pruned, nor digged;
but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that
they rain no rain upon it. 7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house
of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment,
but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
What Israel should have been, what it should have symbolized, a vine bearing fruit for their God, Jesus was the fulfillment. He was the true vine that would not bring forth wild fruit for the vinedresser.
He also says that his Father is the vinedresser.
The vinedresser was a specialized and skilled worker. To properly dress the vine was a task that took experience and knowledge, else the vine would not flourish. Under skillful hands the vine would produce an abundance of fruit.
The figure of the vine and vinedresser is meant to show that God gave His Son to be, the source of blessings to man; that all grace, mercy and blessing would flow through Him. God the Father would care for the branches that would be connected to Jesus our vine of grace.
Two words are used here for pruning, in the Greek they form a play on words which we can’t see in the English. The Greek words airei, taketh away, and kathairei, purgeth. The play on words in English would translate as “cuts away” and “cuts back.” – Tyndale NT commentary on John pg. 176
Jesus then tells the disciples that they are now “clean” kathairei, cut back, though the word that he has spoken to them.
His teaching in the upper room, his sending away of Judas, his admonishing them for not knowing him or the place where he must go “cut back” their ignorance and “cut away” one of their own members, now are they were clean. All the words of Jesus to the disciples would cut away that which hindered them from being fit to carry His name.
The Cutting Back Of the Vineyard
If we are to be fruitful then we must understand and expect the cutting away and the cutting back of the Father’s care.
Jesus says this takes place in two ways, taking away and purging, cutting away and cutting back. If a branch does not bear any fruit, then it is taken away. A branch that is fruitful is cut back, pruned, that it may bear even more fruit. These figures picture our service, not our salvation. A believer who bears no fruit is removed. How God does this is according to His infinite wisdom. I can only guess but God will act to remove someone who says they are a believer but refuses to be fruitful.
The second dressing is for those who are fruitful. God cleans them, purges them, prunes in their life that that may be more fruitful. Jesus told the apostles that this cleaning had been done through the word that He had spoken to them. The application is easy to make, if we refuse to grow, to produce and reproduce, then Fathers sovereign, providential hand will take us away. If however, we desire to be fruitful for our Lord then Jesus tells us we will experience the Father’s hand “cutting away” that which hinders us from being all we are meant to be as branches of the vine of grace. This cleaning of our life is done today the same way it was with Jesus and the apostle, through His Word.
Paul used the our relationship with the Lord to teach Husbands how to love their wives and he added this insight in Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Notice the purpose) 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
We are to be set apart for a special purpose and cleansed with the washing of water by the Word. It is the Word, especially those of Jesus that keep us fit and fruitful in our service for Him.
Jesus then shifts focus from the vine and dresser to the branches.
The Vine and the Branches - John 15:4-5
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.
Abide In Me
Jesus tells the disciples to abide in Him, just as the branches must stay attached to the vine to live and grow, they must live in Him. “Abide in me and I in you.” He tells them why this is vital, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
He now emphasizes this relationship, a relationship that reaches from the throneroom of Heaven down to every believer on earth, He says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches.”
God The Father is the vinedresser, Jesus is the true vine and the apostles were the branches. He wants them to understand this and so He uses something they can comprehend, John 15:5 He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit...
As branch cannot live or be fruitful unless it is attached to the vine, so neither can the disciples spiritually live and bear the fruit of grace without a constant, consistent attachment to Jesus Christ. Emphatically the Lord says, “For without me ye can do nothing!”
Abiding In Jesus
The same key to the spiritual life to a full and fruitful life is knowing what it means to abide in Christ. Abide In Me, Jesus said then and is still saying today.
Today we look for hundreds of ways and means to be spiritually alive and fruitful as Christians. We use techniques and tricks that some well-meaning fellow believer has shared with us. We read innumerable books and attend seminars, classes or even watch YouTube instructional videos.
Others mislead Christians seek signs and miracles, or search for the latest and greatest healer and prophet in order to build and bolster their faith.
Contrast all that to what Jesus said, “Abide in me.” Just abide in Jesus, is it really that simply. Get all the spiritual, Biblical knowledge that you can but it must remain focused on this simple truth, does it draw me closer to Jesus?
What does it mean then to “abide In Christ?
Does it mean more effort, more energy, more money given to those things which result in numerical or intellectual growth? I don’t think so. In fact the symbol Christ uses teaches us exactly what it is that we need to be doing and what we should not be doing when it comes to Christian living.
Listen again to what He said in verse 5, “I am the vine ye are the branches. He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit for without me you can do nothing.”
Now think about it for a moment, the branch of the grapevine does not do anything of itself. It does not strain to grow a leaf or concentrate hard to send out a tendril or stress and fret about shooting forth a bud or study to know how to grow a cluster of grapes.
These things happen in the grapevine simply because the branch is attached to the vine. As long as the life-giving flow of nutrients and water move from the vine to the branches the fruit will come.
So, the key to living, growing and being fruitful is simply staying as strongly attached to the vine, to Jesus Christ as I can. As long as that relationship is strong, there will be fruit. How much time am I spending with Him? How much of my study is centered around His words? How much of my life is defined by my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
Philippians 1:9-11 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Its all about Him. My being in Him and Him being in Me. There is no more important command for living the Christian life as it ought to be lived than, “Abide In Me!”
Are you plugged in?
In his book Spiritual Stamina, Stuart Briscoe tells the story of a man who bought a new computer. Bringing his new prize home, he carefully opened the box, gingerly took the machine out, studied its manual, and connected the wires. Eagerly he flipped on the power switch -- but nothing happened. Puzzled, the man switched the computer off and rechecked all the connections. He rounded up a screwdriver and fastened the wires more securely. He read again the relevant portion of the manual. Satisfied that he'd followed directions, he flipped the computer on -- and again nothing happened. As his anger rose the man's little girl walked into the room. "Hi, Daddy!" her cheery voice rang out. "What a pretty computer! Can I plug it in?" - Moody, 6-23-91
As the computer can not compute with power, or the light shine without electricity neither can the Christian be fruitful without Christ.
The Vine and the Promise - John 15:6-8
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.
Cast Forth Or Kept As Disciples
Jesus makes two promises, the first sorrowful, the second joyful. He says, “If a man does not abide in Christ he will be like a dead branch and will be thrown out of the vineyard. He is very graphic in this description, he wither, is gathered and burned.
The joyful promise is that If a man abides in Christ, and Jesus’ words abide in them then you shall ask anything and it shall be done, thus bringing glory to the Father. By abiding in Him and His words abiding in them, they truly will be His disciples.
Two promises both equally true and both equally misunderstood at times.
The first is a promise of loss because the believer has lost his attachment to Christ, he no longer abides in Him. This is not a promise of damnation in Hell. The passage is a picture, a parable in a sense and it is not about salvation but about discipleship and about fruitfulness. You should never use a symbol, an illustration or a metaphor to prove doctrine, that is how cults start and people lose their way. Jesus is saying that those believers who will not submit themselves to the pruning of the Father, the cutting and preparation of His word and who will not stay attached, stay close to Jesus, then they will be cast off.
Some will be cast off through the discipline of the church, some through sin that removes them from service to Christ, some though depression and anxiety that prevents them from experiencing fruitfulness. Their discipleship and their fruit withers in their life and they are cut away from the vine. But this cutting off is not eternal judgment, Jesus is simply following the symbol of what happens in a literal vineyard. The dead branches are gathered up and burned. It is a judgment of their unfruitfulness and their discipleship but not of their salvation.
Exactly the same thing Paul teaches in 1Corinthains 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.
The other promise is of fruitfulness, not of being cast away but of glorifying the Father through our discipleship. It is as simple as the illustration itself, the branch that is close to Christ is fruitful, the branch that abides in Him, brings glory to the Father and what he asks is done because of that closeness to Jesus.
Are We Truly Abiding in Christ?
Is this joyful promise of fruitfulness, of a full life, a blessed life, being fulfilled in me today? This is what we hope for, the completion of our purpose to glorify our Father in Heaven. We seek fruitful prayer life where they are answered because Jesus is in us and we are in Him. The key then and the key now is the same, staying attached, stay close, concentrate on Jesus. I must abide, live, dwell in Him? I must let His words dwell in me.
Spend a dedicated part of your day being with Christ? Most of us are too passive in our relationship with our Savior. Talk with Him, walk with Him, listen to Him as He speaks to you through His word. This week we in our Bible readings we finished the Gospels and I realized how much I loved to hear Jesus speak. I love hearing about Jesus, but I should long to hear from Jesus ask He speaks directly to me through His word.
This passage in Acts captures this elemental truth of how important my day by day, personal relationship with Jesus is, Acts 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Conclusion
Aiming To Abide
I let so many things in my life distract me from my life in Jesus. I’m so grateful He promised to never let go or forget me, but I’m afraid too often I can go too long without talking and walking with Jesus.
A new year is coming, I want to dedicate 2025 in my own life to Abiding in Christ. And I want us as a church to aim to abide as well. What can we modify to make more of our life in Him. What needs to be cut away? What needs to be pruned and made ready to bear spiritual fruit for our Savior? Let us put our heart and soul into staying close to the Savior. Aim to Abide!
