John 15:1-8
John 15 is a powerful discourse in which Jesus does all the talking. He is on his way to the Garden of Gethsemane, when he tells his disciples, “I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman, or gardener” (v. 1). Using the analogy of the vine and the branches, Jesus explains to his disciples that there are two types of branches in him – the unfruitful and the fruitful. There are many that decide to follow Christ; these are the branches. Some turn back to their old way of life, loving the things of this world more than Christ. Those are the unfruitful branches. Some continue in the ways of the Lord, setting their affections on things above. Every branch in Christ that does not bear fruit our heavenly Father cuts off. Every branch in him that bears fruit our heavenly Father prunes so that it may be more productive.
My late husband was an outdoorsman. He enjoyed planting vegetable gardens, fruit trees, flowers, and a variety of shrubbery. If there’s any validity to the “green thumb” theory, he certainly had one. In our yard he was the gardener; he cut away and pruned. It seemed sometimes as if he trimmed some bushes nearly bare. Yet they always grew back more fully and more beautiful. So in this analogy of the vine and the branches, Christ illustrates that true believers abide continually in him, the Father prunes us, and because of the Father’s tender loving care, we bring forth an abundance of fruit. That pleases Him.
Christ commands us to abide in him, and he will abide in us. A branch cannot bear fruit apart from the vine. It must remain in the vine to be productive. That’s how it is with each child of God. Each of us must remain in Christ Jesus; he is the vine. Outside of him we become fruitless, and the Father cuts us off. As a free-will moral agent, we can choose to abide in Christ or not.Yet we must willingly believe God’s word; it is a benefit to us. “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God” (1 John15:4). We need Christ because apart from him, we are lost and spiritually malnourished. The sustenance we need comes from him; therefore, it’s absolutely imperative that we abide in him to live. What can the believer do without Jesus? Jesus gives us the answer in verse 5, “Without me you can do nothing.” If we confess Jesus as the Son of God, and faithfully abide in him, we will live eternally.
If a believer does not abide under the shadow of the Almighty, which protects him, he or she is vulnerable to Satan and his attacks. Satan will abandon us and leave us to burn in misery, shame, and hopelessness under the weight of the cares of this world. Unfruitful believers are like the prodigal son’s older brother who never left the church, but he was selfish and didn’t have love or compassion for his brother who returned to the church. The Father welcomed his repentant son who “was dead, is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:24). Jesus said, “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; men gather them, throw them in the fire, and they are burned” (v.6). That was the attitude of the older son.
Then he goes on to tell his disciples, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you can ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you” (v.7). The truth of the matter is we must abide in Christ, the true vine, and his words abide in us. We have the promise that our prayers will be answered. Do you want to glorify the Father? Abide in Christ, and he will prune you, purify you, so that you may bear much fruit. Fruit-bearing believers glorify the Father and are Christ’s disciples. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).