Read John 15:1-8.

Introduction⤒🔗

Suppose you were to take a trip to France. More specifically, suppose you were to visit the Gironde region in southwestern France. That region situated along the Bay of Biscay is known for its vineyards that produce some of the finest French wines for export around the world.

Now suppose you were to observe the vinedressers as they prepared the land for the planting of the vineyards: First would come the backbreaking work of ridding the land of stones. Then would come the planting of the choicest vines. There would follow the months and even years of careful irrigation and cultivation.

Suppose that you were able to observe all of this painstaking labor as it took place over the months and even the years. Suppose further that you were now to inquire of the owner of the land, “Sir, why are you doing all this work? What do you hope to gain from your labor?”

Astounded by our failure to grasp the obvious, he would answer with one word, “Fruit!”

The vinedresser undertakes the hard work of preparing the land and the painstaking work of cultivating the vines for one reason: to gain a harvest of grapes from which to make some of the world’s finest wines.

Using the illustration of the vineyard, our Lord Jesus in this passage of John 15 informs us that the production of spiritual fruit is an essential part of the Christian life. Because the production of spiritual fruit is essential, we must see to it that we are, indeed, producing such fruit in our lives.

We Need to Recognize the Necessity of Bearing Spiritual Fruit←⤒🔗

In verse one our Lord Jesus Christ declares “I AM the True Vine.” What is He saying? What does He mean?

In the Old Testament, the vine is a symbol of Israel; the people whom the LORD “planted” in the Promised Land of Canaan. In Psalm 80:8 we read, “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.” The vine is a symbol of Israel, the people whom the LORD expected would “bear fruit." But to the LORD’s dismay and disappointment, that “vine” He had planted in the land of Canaan did not bear “good fruit;” on the contrary, it produced “bitter fruit and wild grapes.”

^2b...he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit... ⁷The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his choice plant. He looked for justice, but [he found] oppression; he [expected] righteousness, but [he heard the] cries of distress.Isa. 5:2b, 7

With this Old Testament background in mind, the Lord Jesus declares, “I AM the True Vine.” He is the only one who is faithful to God, the only one who bears good and pure fruit for God. Contrast the life of the Lord Jesus with the testimony of Jeremiah 2:21, a passage in which the LORD is addressing Israel: “I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?”

As “the True Vine,” Christ Jesus describes His life in the following terms: “The one who sent me is with me, he has not forsaken me; because I always do the things that are pleasing to him” (Jn. 8:29). Addressing His enemies, Jesus challenges them, “Which one of you can convict me of sin?” (Jn. 8:46a) Jesus asserts that the devil himself can find no point at which Jesus is vulnerable to temptation, and he can find nothing for which he can charge Jesus of being guilty of sin: “the prince of the world is coming. He finds nothing in me” (Jn. 14:30).

With regard to Christ, God the Father testifies, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).

Having identified Himself as “the True Vine,” Jesus now identifies all those who bear His name and have a connection with Him as being “the branches” (vs. 5). He stresses that the branches attached to the vine are expected to bear fruit: the production of fruit is mentioned six times in these eight verses, being summed up in verse eight, “My Father is glorified by your bearing much fruit, and you will [truly] be my disciples.”

What is the “fruit” of which Jesus speaks? What is the “fruit” that God, the divine Vinedresser, demands? Philippians 1:11 defines this spiritual fruit as “the fruit of righteousness;” that is to say, the living of a truly Christ-like life, the life of righteousness. Note that the Old Testament passage of Isaiah 5:7b links righteousness with justice: “He looked for justice, but [he found] oppression; he [expected] righteousness, but [he heard the] cries of distress.” A good part of the church’s sin of omission is the failure to practice and stand up for justice: justice demands equality of opportunity and equal standing before the law, but not necessarily equality of outcome.

Galatians 5:22-23 defines this spiritual fruit as “the fruit of the Holy Spirit;” that is to say, the righteous and loving character of God in its multi-faceted dimensions being reproduced in the Christian’s life by the Holy Spirit: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³gentleness and self-control.” Romans 8:29 speaks of God’s design that those whom He has redeemed become “conformed to the image of his Son;” in other words, this spiritual fruit is nothing other than our becoming like our Savior who Himself is the True Vine. The hymn writer, Albert Orsborn, prays in song to the LORD,

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All His wonderful passion and purity.
O, Thou, Spirit divine,
All my nature refine,
Till the beauty of Jesus
Be seen in me.

According to John 15:16, this spiritual fruit, the fruit of righteousness, may be used by God to produce the fruit of bringing others to Christ. Speaking to His disciples, Christ declares, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” James Stalker, in The Four Men, wrote,

Some years ago, during a widespread revival of religion, a friend of mine, a minister in Edinburgh, was visited by a young engineer belonging to his congregation, who informed him that he had come to a religious decision. My friend asked him how it had come about? Had he been attending the revival meetings? No. Had he been impressed in church? No. Had any companion been talking to him about the subject? No. How was it then? It was the way in which the foreman of the place in which he was employed did his work. He knew the foreman to be a Christian; and he wished to be a Christian of the same type.¹

The Apostle Paul exhorts the Philippians:

...Do all things without grumbling and arguing, ¹⁵so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without blemish, in the midst of a perverse and depraved generation, among whom you shine like stars in the universe, ¹⁶holding forth the word of life Phil. 2:14-16a

This, indeed, is the life, the “fruit-bearing” life, that God the Father, the divine Vinedresser, requires. The Apostle Peter testifies,

you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people appointed to be [God’s] own possession, so that you might display the virtues of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Pet. 2:9

Philippians 1:11 indicates that this fruit is produced “through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” This brings us to the next point: fruit-bearing is dependent upon maintaining a vital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

We Need to Maintain a Vital Relationship with Christ←⤒🔗

Jesus solemnly testifies of God the Father, the divine Vinedresser, “He removes every branch in me that does not bear fruit” (vs. 2a). Jesus speaks of some branches that are “in me,” but which do not bear fruit. In the case of such people there is only a formal connection to Christ; perhaps by means of baptism, church membership, or even the intellectual understanding and acceptance of the doctrines about Christ. But there is no living, spiritual connection to Christ. These are the type of people the Apostle Paul is describing in 2 Timothy 3:5, “having a form of godliness, but denying its power.”

There has been no entrance into the life of Christ, there is no experience of having the life of Christ in them; there has been no surrender of the life to Christ and no reception of Christ into their life. In this context we must soberly take to heart the words of John 15:2a, “He removes every branch in me that does not bear fruit.” The reason for this is expressed in Jeremiah 5:10b, “Take away her branches, for they do not belong to the LORD.” These words were spoken of that part of Old Testament Israel that professed to know the LORD but, in whose lives, no spiritual fruit was to be found.

In contrast to those dead, lifeless branches, the Lord Jesus instructs those who have a living relationship with Him to continue in that relationship: “Abide in me, and I [will abide] in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, it must abide in the vine; so neither can you [bear fruit], unless you abide in me” (vs. 4).

We cultivate our relationship with Christ through the study and practice of His Word. Compare verse four, where our Lord Jesus speaks about our need to abide in Him, with verses seven and eight, where, elaborating on this subject, He declares: “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you want, and it shall be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by your bearing much fruit, and you will be my disciples.” Abiding in fellowship with Christ and having His word dwelling richly in us (cf. Col. 3:16), causes our mind and our will to be informed by and governed by Christ’s mind and will. As we are informed by the word of Christ, and as our will and our prayers are molded by that divine will, we will be led to ask for the kind of life that bears fruit. Consequently, we can be assured that our prayers will be answered because they will be in harmony with the will of God, that divine will being the production of godly fruit in our lives as disciples of Christ.

Such prayers, and their accompanying results, will bring glory to the Father, because, it is implied, they will contribute to fruit-bearing in the Christian’s life, which is one great means by which we glorify God. As Christ indicates at the close of verse eight, this process is the evidence and the demonstration that one is, indeed, a disciple of Christ. Let us view the Apostle Paul’s prayer on behalf of the Philippian church as an example of the kind of prayer Christ has in mind:

⁹I pray that your love [i.e. love for Christ and all that pertains to Him] may abound more and more in knowledge and all insight, ¹⁰so that you may discern the things that are worthy, in order that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹being filled with the fruit of righteousness, which is through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Phil. 1:9-11

Our continuing relationship with Christ is the true and only source of fruitfulness:

^4bThe branch cannot bear fruit by itself, it must abide in the vine; so neither can you [bear fruit], unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me and I in him, he is the one who bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing. Jn. 15:4b-5

Many Christians make the same mistake as did the Galatians: they realize that they are saved by faith, but they mistakenly assume that they must live out and cultivate the Christian life by their own efforts and power. But consider the Apostle Paul’s question posed to such people: “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (Gal. 3:3) Just as Paul sought to point the Galatians to the Holy Spirit as the Source for living the Christian life, so our Lord Jesus emphatically reminds us that He is the Vine and we are the branches: He is the Source of our spiritual life and nourishment and fruitfulness. We would do well to learn from the testimony of a Christian lady who declares, “I came to trust the Lord Jesus Christ, not only as my Savior from the penalty of sin, but also as my Savior from the power of sin in my life.”²

In verse six our Lord again emphasizes the absolute necessity of maintaining this communion, this relationship, with Him: “If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and withers. They gather up [those branches] and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” If we do not maintain a healthy relationship with Christ we will eventually drift away from Him. If one drifts away from Christ the result will be spiritual dryness, barrenness, deadness, finally to be consigned with the rest of the world to the judgment of God. In contrast to that course, let us follow the one prescribed for us by the Apostle Peter: “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).

It is essential that we bear spiritual fruit, and we can only do so by remaining in fellowship and communion with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That relationship with Christ our Lord and Savior is cultivated as we read His Word (the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments) and apply it to our lives.

You Need to Accept the Father’s Pruning Ministry←⤒🔗

Jesus declares, “every branch that bears fruit” is pruned by the Father, “so that it may bear more fruit” (vs. 2b). “Left to itself, a vine will produce a good deal of unproductive growth. For maximum fruitfulness, extensive pruning is essential.”³ God the Father, as the divine Vinedresser, carries out this work of pruning by means of a variety of measures involving various forms of trial and affliction.

Divinely-appointed affliction can serve the purpose of “straightening” a wayward branch: “Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now I keep your word” (Psl. 119:67). Divinely-appointed affliction can serve the purpose of increasing the production of spiritual fruit: “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, so that I may learn your statutes” (Psl. 119:71). Divinely-appointed affliction is an evidence of God’s faithful and loving care for those living “branches” that belong to His Son, Jesus Christ: “I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me” (Psl. 119:75). Whenever the “pruning” seems to us to be excessive, let us remember that the One who does the pruning is none other than the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who loves us.

In verse three Jesus speaks to His disciples, and to each of His fruit-bearing “branches,” a word of assurance: “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” The same Greek word (καθαιρω) is used in both verse two, (where it is rendered, “to prune”), and in verse three, (where it is rendered with its usual meaning, “to wash,” “to be, or, to make clean”). In verse three our Lord Jesus is assuring us that the Father’s work of “pruning,” a work that involves the use of affliction and trial, is not some kind of probationary testing, which, if successfully passed, grants one admission into the Vine. The heavenly Father, as the divine Vinedresser, does not select “tender young seedlings” that appear to have spiritual potential, subject them to a period of probationary testing, and if they pass the test, He grafts them into the Vine, accepting them as a living part of the Vine. On the contrary, the heavenly Father, as the divine Vinedresser, “prunes” fruit-bearing “branches” precisely because they are in living union with His Son, Jesus Christ the True Vine. Consider Hebrews 12:5-11,

...you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: My son, do not make light of the LORD’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, ⁶because the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he scourges everyone he receives as a son. ⁷Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. What son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸If you are not disciplined, (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. ⁹Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! ¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

It is important to understand that this “pruning,” which is another way of speaking about discipling, (or, training by means of discipline), is something the heavenly Father administers to those who are fruit-bearing “branches” attached to Christ, the True Vine, in a living relationship. This “pruning” is for the purpose of causing such “branches” to bear more fruit, that is to say, causing His children to become more like His own Son, Jesus Christ our Savior, which is one of the ultimate goals of salvation:

...whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Rom. 8:29

It is essential that we bear fruit; therefore, we may expect that God, as our heavenly Father and the divine Vinedresser, will “prune” us in order to increase our fruit-bearing capacity.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

It is essential that we bear spiritual fruit. It is essential that the life and character of our Lord Jesus Christ be increasingly reproduced in our lives. It is essential that we increasingly become more and more transformed into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ, the True Vine, the one truly righteous man, the man with whom God is well pleased. It is essential that we bear spiritual fruit, for such is a vital means by which we bring glory to God: “My Father is glorified by your bearing much fruit” (Jn. 15:8a).

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. How does Jesus identify Himself? See Jn. 15:1a, What is the O.T. background for this imagery? See Isa. 5;1a-2, Who was the LORD’s “vineyard”? See Isa. 5:7a, Out of this entire “vineyard,” the Lord Jesus is the only “vine” that produced fruit pleasing to His Father (cf. Jn. 8:29). In contrast to Him, what is our condition before God? See Rom. 3:10, 23, In whom must we trust for the prerequisite righteousness? See Phil. 3:8b-9,

I am the true vine and my Father is the caretaker. (Jn. 15:1)

¹I will sing for my beloved a song about his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. ²He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress. Then he looked for it to produce a crop of good grapes, but it only produced wild grapes... ⁷The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his choice plant. He looked for justice, but he found oppression; he expected righteousness, but [he heard the] cries of distress. Isa. 5:1-2, 7

And he who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, for I always do those things that please him. Jn. 8:29

¹⁰There is none righteous, no, not one... ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.Rom. 3:10, 23

Referring to his own self-righteousness and “good works,” the Apostle Paul testifies,

Indeed, I regard all such things as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, ⁹and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that is from God, [received] by faith... Phil. 3:8-9

2. What does Isaiah foretell concerning the future of the LORD’s “vineyard”? See Isa. 27:2, 6. What has been ordained for “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16), composed of all who believe in Jesus the Messiah, both Jew and Gentile alike? Phil. 1:10b-11,

On that day [there shall be] a vineyard [that produces] wine—sing about it! ...⁶In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall bud and blossom; and they will fill the whole world with fruit. Isa. 27:2, 6

The purpose (and result) of the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in the Christian’s life is,

¹⁰so order that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹being filled with the fruit of righteousness, which is through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Phil. 1:10-11

3. How do the “branches” become fruitful? See Jn. 15:4-5; note, also, Phil. 1:11. What is the Holy Spirit’s role in our becoming like Christ, the true Vine that bears fruit pleasing to God His Father? See 2 Cor. 3:18. As a Christian, are you yielding yourself to the Holy Spirit as He carries out this mandatory work in your life?

Abide in me, and I [will abide] in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, it must abide in the vine; so neither can you [bear fruit], unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me and I in him, he is the one who bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing. Jn. 15:4-5

...being filled with the fruit of righteousness, which is through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Phil. 1:11

...we all...beholding...the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory...by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3:18

4. How does the Lord Jesus identify God the Father (cf. Jn. 15:1b); what is one work that the Father performs (cf. Jn. 15:2b), and for what purpose (cf. Jn. 15:2c)? What is one way in which He carries out this work in our lives? Note Psl. 119:67, 71, 75; see, also, Heb. 12:11,

I am the true vine and my Father is the caretaker. ²He removes every branch in me that does not bear fruit. But he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it may bear more fruit.Jn. 15:1-2

⁶⁷Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word... ⁷¹[It is] good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes... ⁷⁵I know, O LORD, that your judgments [are] right, and [that] in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Psl. 119:67, 71, 75

Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Heb. 12:11

5. What other work does the Father perform? See Jn. 15:2a. Why does the Father remove “unfruitful branches”? Note Jer. 5:10b. What is the characteristic of a true disciple of Christ? See Jn. 15:8. What is the characteristic of an “unfruitful branch”? See Jn. 15:6a. What counsel do we receive from the Apostle Paul (cf. Col. 2:6-7), and from the Apostle Peter (cf. 2 Pet. 3:18a)?

He removes every branch in me that does not bear fruit. But he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it may bear more fruit.Jn. 15:2

Take away her branches, for they are not the LORD’s. Jer. 5:10b

My Father is glorified by your bearing much fruit, and you shall [truly] be my disciples.Jn. 15:8

If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and withers. They gather up [those branches] and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. Jn. 15:6

As you, therefore, have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Col. 2:6-7

...grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Pet. 3:18a