The True Vine

   “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”  John 15:1-2

 

“I wanna know — Who keeps doing this?” said an elderly lady in my class several years ago.  Waving her Bible back and forth she went on, “I’ve been studying this book for years, and every time I study it it somebody has put something new in it.” 

Something new in it, every time.  True words.

She was making the point, obviously, that even though she had studied the book of Genesis several times in her life – God had shown her new truths as she studied it again. Isn’t that just what He does for all of us if we are willing to be in His word?

 

This week I started to study John 15 for a talk I am to give in September. John 15:1 is a verse I have quoted from memory many times. Jesus says, “I am the vine, and my Father is the Vinedresser.” At least that’s how I quote it. But as I studied I saw that what Jesus actually says is, “I am the true vine…” For  the first time I wondered about that. Was there a false vine? Is there another vine? 

In the Old Testament Israel was referred to as the vine in Psalm 80, Isaiah 5; Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 15; and Hosea 10. These passages pretty clearly speak of Israel as faithless  or as the object of severe judgment. Jesus is a different vine, being the true connection between Himself and His people. John 15 points to our need to be “in Christ,” in the vine of Christ, in order to produce fruit for Him. He is the source of our power and ability to produce the fruit.  

“Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”  Jesus is not only the faithful, true Vine, but He and the Vinedresser  see and judge the hearts of the people  not connected to the Vine that do not bear fruit.  

Though Israel was the vine that God had chosen as His people, they chose to disobey and be unfruitful many times. They went through cycles of disobedience, repentance, and deliverance through the ages as God was faithful to repeatedly and mercifully save them from enemies. They would fall right back into the trap as if they were completely disconnected from God and had forgotten how He had rescued the previous generation. 

I fear for many today that the same disconnection is happening. Many people believe they are “in the Vine” because they simply attend church on Sunday, they have been confirmed in the church, or responded to an altar call and have ”accepted Christ”. Jesus, the True Vine of John 15, tells us there is more to our faith than spoken words or ritualistic church attendence. If there is no connection, no sustainance coming from the True Vine, then we will be unable to produce fruit. If there is no fruit then there is no faith, no life in Christ. The Father will take these branches away. 

When we do bear the fruit of faith God will still prune us so that we bear even more fruit for Him. The “True” Vine has the power, the vital sap, that is required for us to have the same nature as He does. But, if we chose to attach ourselves to systems and religious leaders (authors, TV celebrities, or Ministers) who will not point us to the True Vine, then we will not have the required nutrients to bear fruit. We will be thrown away.  

This is an old Truth from the scripture: there is no other way to heaven except through Jesus Christ. If we are in Him, and abide there, then He is in us. So many people read their Bibles but refuse to see this truth: Jesus is the True Vine – the only One who can save us, sustain our faith, and provide the power we need to produce fruit for Him. Any other place that we plant ourselves is the same old deception of the evil one trying to limit the Kingdom of God. Don’t fall for it. 

These are truths from the book of John. The fact is it is the same plan of redemption of man that God has had in place since Genesis – there is nothing new in scripture – but I challenge you to go and read it again and see, like that elderly woman waving her Bible around, what new truth He shows you this time.