John 15:1-8 I am
the True Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman.
2 Every branch in
Me that bears not fruit He takes away: and every branch that bears fruit,
He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now you are clean
through the Word which I have spoken unto you.
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 you, except you abide in Me.
5 I am the Vine,
you 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.
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 you abide in
Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done
unto you.
8 Herein is My
Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be My disciples.
Many sermons have been preached from this passage of Scripture, and usually they are related to soul winning. We are told that our greatest responsibility, once we are saved, is to win souls for Jesus. Truly that is an important ministry. However, what the Lord is speaking of here is much more important; it goes far beyond soul winning.
One could ask, “What could be more important than some person being saved?” Well, it would be more important to see someone saved and then become a disciple. It would be more important for that one to become totally dedicated to the Lord and to glorify the Father by bringing forth fruit.
Many Christians have never become fruit bearers. Yet fruit bearing is what glorifies the Father. Salvation is merely the first step toward a life that can glorify Him.
What is the main topic of this chapter? In verse 4, Jesus said, Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine: no more can you, except you abide in Me. In verse 5, He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit. Verse 6, If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered. Then in verse 7, If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.”
What is the Lord talking about in these verses? He is talking about abiding in Him and Him abiding in us. We must understand the importance of living in His presence.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.
Paul was living in Christ and Christ was living in him. His life had been taken over by the life of Christ, and it was no longer he that lived, but Christ who lived in him. That is what Jesus was talking about in John chapter fifteen. The divine life of Jesus Christ is the fruit. Bearing fruit is not winning converts; it is the bringing forth of the very nature of the Lord in us.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
These are not human characteristics. The love is not a human love, and the joy is not a human joy, etc. The fruits of the Spirit are the divine attributes of God.
One could say, “Well, I’m determined to love. I’m going to discipline myself to love and be joyful.” It can’t be done that way. The fruits of the Spirit can only come from the Lord. They are His attributes, and they must be appropriated.
The Lord tells us over and over again in John 15, If you abide in Me, and I abide in you, then you shall bear fruit. The fruit bearing of a disciple is the result of a flow of divine life into his being. Now let’s go back to John 15.
John 15:1-2 I am the True
Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman.
2 Every branch in
Me that bears not fruit He takes away: and every branch that bears fruit,
He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Jesus Christ is the Vine. Christians are the branches. But every Christian does not bear fruit. So Jesus says, Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
When we set our hearts to be disciples, and the nature of Christ starts coming forth in us, then we start bearing fruit. It is then that the Father begins pruning and purging us. He cuts back on our flesh life. He does this because He loves us and wants us to bring forth more fruit.
John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in Me.
Becoming a Christian and being a soul winner is not what glorifies the Father. Bearing fruit glorifies Him. But we will not bear fruit until we learn to abide in Him and He abides in us. Furthermore, we will not be good witnesses of the Lord until we abide in Him and He abides in us.
John 15:5 I am the Vine, you 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.
Without Me you can do nothing. That is why we can’t discipline ourselves to love. The flesh nature cannot be cultivated to grow the fruits of the Spirit. They only come from the divine nature of God. The Lord will not accept that which is brought forth by human energies. It is only what we do in Christ, or what we allow Him to do through us that will be counted as living works.
John 15:6-8 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 you abide in
Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done
unto you.
8 Herein is My
Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be My disciples.
Therefore, it is necessary for us to become disciples who bear fruit and glorify the Father. Now back to the fifth chapter of Galatians.
Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that
are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
They that are Christ’s: Those who totally belong to Him are the ones who have set their hearts to see the crucifixion of their adamic nature with the affections and lusts. That means human affections, human love, human joy, human peace, etc.; all of these things are of the flesh nature, and they must be crucified so that the fruits of the Spirit can take their place.
It’s important for us to become disciples. It is important for us to become fruit bearers, so that the Father may be glorified. And this is accomplished by abiding in Christ and Christ abiding in us. It is His life that glorifies the Father.
Copyright © 1995 by Henry DuBose