Congregational handout; outline sermon text on following pages Sermon Notes & References The Vine, the Branches & Fruit John 15:1-8 January 15, 2017 A. Introduction 1. The Great I AM A. 2. Bible Illustrations B. E. The Vine, the Branches & Fruit........................ 15:5-8 1. Abiding Branches (5) 2. Sportive Sprouts (6) E. 3. The Nature of Fruit a. An Example (7) F. B. The Vine....................................... 15:1-2 1. The Vine & the Vinedresser (1) C. 2. The Dressing of the Vine (2) F. Conclusion b. An Objective (8) C. The Branches D.................................... 15:3 D. Abiding & Fruit..................................... 15:4 A Deuteronomy 6:4; Exodus 3 B John 5:24, 10:28 C Isaiah 5; Psalm 80:8-18; Jeremiah 2:21; also, Ezekiel 15, 19:10-14; Hosea 10:1 D John 13:10-11; Psalm 119:9, 11 E 1 John 2:18-19; 1 Corinthians 9:27,39:15 F John 15:16; Galatians 5:22-23
{1}. John 15:1-8............................................... The Vine, the Branches & Fruit A. Introduction 1. The Great I AM a. An Awana Incident (A) This past Monday evening I was an amused spectator as Greg was examining one of our T&T boys on a section to be passed. In it the boy had written a report upon a sermon he had heard. Greg was having some difficulty with the boy s writing and spelling these are no longer subjects taught in school, it seems. Greg: Where did you ever see David spelled with two i s? ; the boy: often! (B) Because this boy goes to Sunday School during the sermon time, he had decided to listen to Dr David Jeremiah on TV and report on that sermon. I made some frivolous comment on this to Greg, for while Dr Jeremiah is a very gifted Bible teacher, he can be quite profound and this would be pretty strong meat for a boy of 11! Anyway, all the more power to the lad in that he had persevered. (C) A moment later I hear Greg ask, What s this word?. Sh ma. Sh ma? Yes, Sh e ma a little more clearly this time b. Now a word of explanation: when the Bible was originally written it was not divided into chapters & verses, and in some cases where we have multiple books they are just one in the Hebrew Bible. So they would find passages by a reference to its subject at the Bush or the first words of the section of Scripture (A) So Genesis is known as Bereshith In beginning (1:1) (B) Deuteronomy as Elleh Haddebarim These are the words (which Moses ) (1:1) or simply as Debarim Words (C) Sh e ma is the first word of Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! a verse considered so important than in the Hebrew Scriptures, whether printed or written by hand, the last letter of its first and last words are larger than the others so that the verse is easily found by the eye. (D) the word Lord in this verse is the rendering of the sacred Name of God, never spoken by Jews, in the Hebrew equivalents to YHWH related to the I AM WHO I AM or I AM of the Bush event. c. in this gospel of John, it is recorded that Jesus applied this great blank cheque of God I AM many times to Himself (A) I am the Door (B) I am the Good Shepherd (C) I am the Resurrection and the Life (D) I am the Way and the Truth and the Life
(E) (F) (G) (H) now here in John 15 He says, I am the Vine and you will find the glorified Jesus using it twice further in the book of Revelation the Jewish rulers recognised Jesus claim to Deity in these words I have not cited all the instances: I leave you to discover them for your own selves; but let us take a moment to consider 2. Bible Illustrations a. In these instances where Jesus declares I am, he completes the thought with words that are illustrative of some aspect of His being (A) in this case, He is the Vine (B) and the aspect in view is His relationship to His disciples (C) in terms of their bearing of fruit or results b. now one must be careful in the interpretation of illustrations that is, parables and analogies used in Scripture not to go beyond what the explanation of the parables has to say, and certainly not to extract something from the illustration that is in conflict with rest of Scripture. The types used in Scripture are but incomplete pictures: there is, for example, no resurrection found in the OT sacrifices. c. so respecting the picture used here, there are three points (A) one: it cannot be interpreted in any way that conflicts with, e.g., (1) Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (John 5:24) (2) or, and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. (John 10:28) (B) two: the main thrust of the illustration should always be kept uppermost in understanding it: in this case it is the fruitfulness of disciples (C) three: in no way should the warnings addressed to believers ever be weakened or diminished; these words are spoken to true disciples d. under these considerations, this allegory largely explains itself B. The Vine...................................................................... 15:1-2 1. The Vine & the Vinedresser (verse 1) I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. a. The Son is the True Vine (A) In the OT the picture of the Vine is applied to Israel many times
(B) (C) (1) perhaps the best known is the Song of the Vineyard, Isaiah 5, where God expected Judah to be His delightful plant (verse 7), and He looked to them to produce good grapes and they gave instead wild & worthless ones (verse 4) (2) a similar picture is drawn in Psalm 80:8ff, Thou didst remove a vine from Egypt; Thou didst drive out the nations, and didst plant it. & then describes God s punishing their faithlessness (3) or Jeremiahs 2:21, Yet I planted you a choice vine, A completely faithful seed. How then have you turned yourself before Me Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine? the nation of Israel had proven itself a false vine time & time again so Jesus, the Christ, is the true Vine; the true Israel; and those who are in Christ, by virtue of that union, are the true people of God b. the Father is the Vinedresser (A) the word in the Greek simply means farmer ; the AV translates it as husbandman the 17th century word for a farmer in general (B) the Greek word is georgos a farmer in general but the context shows is is particularly one who cares for vines (C) the Father, like a vinedresser, has planted the Son in this world as the Vine, the true Israel, that He should attach to Himself branches disciples who in turn would yield fruit to the glory of God 2. The Dressing of the Vine (verse 2) Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. a. here we have a general description of the vinedresser s work and it is the Father God who does so with the branches attached to the Son b. first, there are the useless branches (A) these have to be taken away (B) they have ceased to fulfill their purpose as part of the vine (C) these are taken away, cut out of the vine: the Greek is airei c. then there are those that do bear fruit (A) but the vinedresser know that they are capable of more fruit (B) the NASB says that these He prunes ; it is literally, He cleanses the Greek is kathairei he lifts takes away any dirt in our lives (C) from these branches are cleansed all that inhibits fruitfulness dead and unhealthy shoots
C. The Branches................................................................... 15:3 1. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. a. the disciples are being addressed b. the you in this passage is in the plural c. it is the 11 disciples who were remaining with Jesus in the upper room and are now probably on the way to Gethsemane as this is spoken 2. These Are True Disciples a. at the washing of the disciples feet, which took place at the beginning of the Passover meal, perhaps only two short hours ago, Jesus said to him (Peter), He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you. For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, Not all of you are clean. (John 13:10-11) Jesus makes an exception (A) then you will recall that Judas Iscariot was given the sop and went out on his mission of betrayal only these eleven were left (B) but now there is no exception: You are already clean kathairoi (C) so these are true disciples and the instruction and the warnings that follow are to be meaningful and applicable to them and to us (D) these are warnings to Christians; warnings against presumption; warnings against careless living as Christians b. the instruction is to be found in how they have been made clean (A) it is the Holy Spirit who brings such cleansing (B) but He does so by the word of Christ, which word He recalls to the Christian s memory as he or she has need of it (C) Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalms 119:9, 11 AV) (D) it is only that Word of God which we have first treasured in our memory that can be called to remembrance by the Holy Spirit D. Abiding & Fruit................................................................... 15:4 1. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. a. so now Jesus applies the allegory to these His disciples (A) knowing how they would be soon scattered in the hour of crisis
(B) but also how they would return to Him once He was resurrected (C) and in due time, they would be filled with His Holy Spirit b. He commands them Abide in Me, and I in you (A) the verb is a command that this should be their constant state (B) if they habitually, consciously abide in Him, then they will know His constant abiding in them c. this then, is the condition whereby they will bear fruit to bear more fruit (verse 2) than previously d. as it is with the branches of a vine, so it is with disciples of the Vine E. The Vine, the Branches & Fruit...................................................... 15:5-8 1. Abiding Branches (verse 5) I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. a. notice the increasing fruitfulness of disciples (A) verse 1 it was any branch that bears fruit (B) verse 2 it was bear more fruit (C) now, and verse 8, it is bear much fruit b. this is the promise to those who abide in Christ (A) again, abide is not making reference to a passing situation: just a quick morning devotion, but walking with Him all the day long (B) in no way twisting it, this verse could be expressed, he who goes on and on abiding in Me c. unless this be the case, there is absolutely no possibility of fruitfulness 2. Sportive Sprouts (6) If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. a. We have a grape arbour at the back of our property (A) we have harvested enough grapes some years to make a jar or two of some very tangy grape jelly (B) this year there was only a handful of grapes I think the wild turkeys who forage around our district ate (C) them but every year I have to pull down sportive branches that climb up the trees on the property of our neighbours behind us these are cut down because they will never bear fruit but rather damage those trees; they cannot be chipped ; they need to be burned b. this verse could be applied to unbelievers coming into Christ s church (A) they can say all the right things; go through all the motions
(B) but they have never known the saving grace of God at Calvary (C) John wrote of such people in 1 John 2:18-19: Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us. (D) and these words are a warning to any such people in the church c. but let us not weaken the Scriptures by failing to apply these words to our own selves that it is possible for the believer to quench God s Holy Spirit within, and to grow cold in our devotion to God (A) to forget our first love like the church at Ephesus, Revelation 2 (B) in which case our fruitfulness will cease (C) Paul had this concern: but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified., i.e., rejected, a castaway (1 Corinthians 9:27) (D) and gives a similar warning, If any man s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:15 NAS) 3. The Nature of Fruit (verses 7-8) a. An Example (7) If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. (A) some look at John 15 and lightly say that the fruit that Jesus had in mind was bringing others to Himself that certainly is the emphasis of the parable of the soils in which some seed brought forth some 30-, some 60-, some 100-fold; reproducing in kind (B) but that seems too limited: this verse introduces what maybe is the most important fruit: prevailing prayer prayer emphasizes not what we do, but what God does on our account, in us, through us (1) this is re-emphasized later in this chapter (2) 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 of the Father in My name, He may give to you. (John 15:16) (3) whence we should note the permanence of this fruit (4) still other fruit must be mentioned, particularly the nine-fold graces of Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. b. The Objective (8) why are we to bear fruit? By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so
prove to be My disciples. (A) what is rendered here as so prove is literally, you will be becoming My disciples these eleven were already His disciples (1) but that did not mean that they had arrived (2) discipleship is a process of growing, by its very definition (a) growing in love and knowing the infinite God (b) so that growing can only cease when we fully know God (c) but this is absurd, as the old math books say (d) so growing as disciples should never cease (B) now, since it is the Father who cares for the Vine and its branches (1) the fruit produced by the branches, nurtured by the Vine, brings glory to Himself (2) because of God s infinite goodness, He does all these things in and through His people, you and me, for His own Name s sake F. Conclusion 1. let these verses be an encouragement to us to let the Father prune from our lifes any and every thing that would separate us from Him a. Little children, guard yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21 NAS)
1. 2017 by Garth Hutchinson, Faith Fellowship Baptist Church of Aurora (Ontario): may be distributed or quoted freely, only let this be done to the glory of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ (Titus ii.13). Except as noted otherwise, quotations are from the New American Standard version, used by permission. Various other English versions of the Holy Bible may be used in this sermon. Explanatory additions to the Bible text are shown in braces. Version identifiers are: ASV American Standard Version of 1901 AV Authorized (King James) Version of 1769 NAS New American Standard version 1960, 1995 The Lockman Foundation (usually the 1995 edition) NIV New International Version 1984 by the International Bible Society NLT New Living Translation 1996 Tyndale Charitable Trust NKJV New King James Version 1979 Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers NRSV New Revised Standard Version 1989 National Council of Churches of Christ WEY The New Testament in Modern Speech 1902, 1912 R. F. Weymouth Some of the commentaries and resources used in the preparation of this message are identified as follow: Bruce The Gospel & Epistles of John, by F. F. Bruce, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI; 1983 BM Biblical Museum, Editor James Comper Gray, ca 1870 NICNT The New International Commentary on the New Testament The Gospel according to John, by Leon Morris NTC New Testament Commentary, by William Hendriksen; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI; 1954 RWP Robertson s Word Pictures of the New Testament, by Dr. A. T. Robertson TEC -- The Gospel according to John, by George Allen Turner & Julius R. Mantey, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI; ca 1965