THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES, PART I.

The gospel of John, chapter 15:1, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser, (vs. 5) …… and you are the branches”.

These few words are loaded with meaning.

Jesus compares himself and his followers to a grapevine and its branches.

That means first of all that I, as a branch, am indelibly connected to the Vine, Jesus Christ.

That also means that I, the branch have no life in myself apart from the Vine.

Apart from the Vine I am dead, without life whatsoever.

This fact is confirmed in many places. In Acts 17:28 we read this: ……..For in him we live and move and have our being.

I Cor.1:30 says this: …….For of Him (our Father) are you in Christ Jesus………

Because of God’s mercies I am in Christ Jesus, only on that basis may I consider myself a partaker of the life that he is, John 14:6.

Branches of grapevines do not go around looking for vines to attach themselves to, likewise the initiative to be a Christian did not originate with me, but with the Vine.

In this chapter, verse16 Jesus says …..you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you….

It is the life in a grapevine that produces branches in springtime with the express purpose to produce fruit.

Fruit that contains the seeds to produce new vines that will show the same life and virtues of the original vine.

The branches do not produce the fruit, the life in the vine produces the fruit, all that is asked of the branches is to bear that fruit.

All this would make us ask two questions, one, this all seems to be very passive, what role do I play in following Jesus?

And the second question, what is “fruit”?

The first question we will address when we discuss verse 2 of this chapter.

Most Christians have been taught at one time or another that God expects us to “produce” fruit in our Christian life and usually a variety of reasons are given to back up that claim.

That “fruit” would be a catch-all term for all kinds of good works and Christian practises and disciplines, especially worship and witnessing.

May I submit to you that the fruit that this passage speaks of, are not things that we do.

Fruit is the manifestation of the LIFE that is in the vine.

And the manifestation of that LIFE is outlined as the fruit of the Spirit, Gal.5:22, 23.

That life that is in the vine first produces the branches.

Then, when the branches become mature, the life of the vine produces the fruit in the branches. ( I John 2: 12 – 14).

(For the process of becoming mature in Christ he gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, Eph. 4:11. This is also the message of Matt.28 : 19, leading believers to maturity in Christ.)

The same way that grapes, even juicy, ripe grapes do not perform any tasks for the vine whatsoever, they just hang there and are a manifestation of the quality of the vine.

These juicy, ripe grapes are not a manifestation of the quality of the branches, they are a manifestation of the quality of the vine.

I am the vine , you are the branches……..

The fruit then that is produced by the vine is the manifestation of the life of the vine that first produces the branches and then produces the fruit in the branches.

It is the life in the vine that produces fruit in the branches. The branches are nothing but a channel for the life of the vine to flow to the fruit of the vine.

Verse 16 of this chapter says that Jesus has ordained or appointed believers to bear fruit and that this fruit would remain, it would be of value eternally.

This kind of fruit is not what we do for God or others, it is the constant recognition and awareness what we are in Christ Jesus, children of God who are loved and accepted by Him, just the way we are.

Likewise, the fruit (note fruit, singular), of the Spirit of Gal. 5:22 is not the things we do, but what we have in Christ Jesus.

And what we do is but the outflow of what we are, reflecting in our daily life the life of Jesus by which we live and move and have our being, Acts 17 :28.

Love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, etc. are not actions on our part, these virtues reflect the character of Jesus who is the vine.

It is he, his life that is reflected in the virtues of Gal.5:22 and 23.

This fruit (of the Spirit) is the expression of the Life of the Spirit in us.

And the expression of that life will lead to deeds, good works.

But now these good works are no longer works we do for God, they are now works done by God through us.

Remember, branches cannot do anything by themselves, branches are fruit bearers, not fruit producers.

I am the true vine, my Father, he is the vinedresser and you are the branches.

It is the desire of the Vinedresser that the branches live in submission to the Vine, so that the fruit produced in the branches will be highly desirable to any one who passes by.

To be continued…….

St. Thomas, Dec./’08. Simon VanderKooy.